Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-01-12
Democracy and the Canal Treaty.

what a blunder Senator German made
when he assumed that he could take the
southern Democracy by the nose ana
lead It into battle against the Panama
canal treaty. The Literary Digest mas
gathered a lot OF newspaper and other
sentiment from the South in this mat
ter and puts it in an interesting form.
It starts off with the story Of the Span
ish general who supposed that he had
worked his troops up to a tremendous
pitch OF enthusiasm to annihilate the
heretics, only to discover that most of
his soldiers We're heretics themselves.
and says that Senator German will find
himself in much the same predicament
when he tries to rally the hosts of De-
mocracy against the treaty. The sem
ator gave trumpet call to arms. but
II did not elicit the response which he
expected, particularly in the South,
where the Strengthens Of Democracy
are now to be found. The Louisiana
legislature, for example, responded
with a resolution instructing the Lou
isiana senators to vote for the treaty.
In a Washington interview a Southern
senator declares that the same action
may be taken in other states OF the
South, saying:
"Missssippi's Legislature meets next
mouth and South Cardinals Ken
tucky's and Virginia's also in January
What would become of the German
plan of campaign if these state legis-
larures should all instruct their sena-
tors to vote for the treaty? The Mary
land legislature will meet in ten days
and If I am not false prophet. some
thing will be heard from Maryland on
the subject. That will spike Senator
Germans guns entirely and settle the
question:
The simplest observer of popular
speech, has urged all of the Southern
senator's to support the treaty. The
boards of trade in half dozen leading
Southern cities have expressed like
desire. The Atlanta Constitution. cd
tied by d member of the national Dem
ocratic committee. has this to say of
Germans opposition:
THE simplest Obserber of popular
tempcrs in this country cannot mistake
how the American people feel about this
matter. They approve what has been
done to date. they want and mean to
have that canal and they Will WISH
their wrath upon whatever men or par
tv may defeat their wishes. The de-
feat of the treaty would simply delay
the canal and enrage the people. That
defeat would be fatuous and fatal to
the popularity of the party producing
It. 1t would give no prestige to the
Democracy. but would give to the Re
publicans the largest and best issue
against the Democracy that current
political conditions could afford"
The New Orleans Picayune and the
New Orleans Times-DemOcrat are OF
the opinion that Senator Germans at
titudc toward the treaty must elimi-
nate him from the presidential race.
The latter paper says:
1T has been the boast of Republicans.
and a boast which unfortunately has
some foundation in fact. that no matter
whether their party has Il winner issue
on which to go before the country or
not, the Democrats can be depended
upon to make some mistake that will
insure Republican success. This boast
will assuredly be made good in the
coming campaign if the party should
follow the lead of Senator German in
the matter of his opposition to the Pam
anna canal. Should the Democratic
party go before the people on any such
platform as that proposed by Senator
German. it will meet with merited de-
feat. and the most disastrous defeat
that has ever come upon it. There is
fortunately no danger that such a pro-
gram will be successful in the senate
for there are enough Democratic SEN
ators with gray matter in their heads
to defeat any such arrangement"
Coming North. we find that many in
fiuential Democratic papers are calling
upon the Democratic senators to sup.
port the treaty. Among them are the
Brooklyn Eagle. the Detroit Free Press
the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the St
Louis Republic. The Brooklyn Eagl,
warns Senator German that the coun.
try will have no patience with obstruc.
tfonists. saying:
The Panama canar project is not
political matter. 1t is an enterprise o
character strictly commercial It
history has. until recently. been any
thing but fortunate but the thick fos
has risen-it now has a comparativel,
clear track. The obstructionists a
Bogota have lost much and learned no
IL hist