The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-05
ONE OF THE DANGERS.


 present Congress. From 2 recent speech of his we judge him to be sound on the Presidential question. Among other things re dciared that "an effort is un- der way to line up the Democrats In be- half of radical candidate to disorganize and demoraIize the party before the con- vention meets'' He assured the Repub- licans that i've do not intend to throw away our opportunity" and declared his belief that the Democrats at St. Louis will put out a candidate and platform '.that will insure a united and triumph ant Democracy in November" .
 As we view It. the worst and perhaps the only danger to Democracy is that the Hearst movement may demoralize the party before the convention meets to such an extent that harmony in that body will be difficuit. if not impossible. It is not that we believe his nomination possi- ble but that the attempt of himself and his followers to control the convention will seriously Jeopardize the chances of united action. A split there would be serious, but would 1t be any worse than the nomination of Hearst? The Rich mond Dispatch is one of the sound est and most conservative Democratic papers on our exchange list. and here is an expression that may be looked on as a prediction and a warning:
 Democrats might as well look the sltua- tion squareiy in the face. If william R. TT~. l. f~.rA A~A Az A- la doom of the Democratic party will be sealed. The party has stood many a shock, but 1t cannot stand Hearst. If he is nominated, hundreds of thousands of the truest and best Democrats in the land, and many of them Democrats who supported Bryan, will let the election go by default, so far as they are concerned, and the Democratic party will peter out into Popullsm: If any reader of this paper doubts the statement let him ask about 1t. The Tlmes-Dispatch is no alarmist, but we have the conviction that the very life of the Democratic party Is involved in this movement.
 This, we repeat. is both prediction and a warning. and it will be well if it Is needed in time. We do not believe that even the nomination of Hearst would re- suit in a concerted bolt on the part of conservative Democrats, and the forma- ton of another ticket, for that would only add to the suicidal features of the case, though it would not add to the cer- tainty of defeat. What would be practi- caliy certain would be such profound dis gust on the part of Democrats that general feeling of apathy will deaden all their party pride and loyalty.
 It really seems that Democrats ought to learn from the sad school of experience. In the four States of Connecticut, Indi- ana, New Jersey and New York. all of which are essential to Democratic suc- cess, the aggregate Democratic plurality in 1892 was 72,sS2. In 1896 the aggregate Republican plurality was 477,SS7. These four States had CT electoral votes, all of which were cast for the Democratic ticket in 1892 and for the Republicans in 1896.
 Now, it is useless to argue that all Democrats who voted for Cleveland in 1892 ought to have voted for Bryan in 1896. We are not discussing what Democrats ought to do. We are merely repeating what they did do and predicting what they will do If Hearst is nominated. These 67 electoral votes taken from Mo Kinley's column and added to Bryan's would have made the latter President but he failed to get them.
 We have used these four States as an illustration. because they are always al- 1,,d fa tofa r1ybi inI1 fha Do,, kC should carry. The change in some other States was equally great, but these we have named are enough to illustrate the point we make. and that is that the great body of Democrats cannot be depended on to vote for a man in whom they have no confidence. This lack of confidence was shown in 1896 in a way that no one can mistake. As great a statesman as Patrick Henry used these words: "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guId- ed, and that is the laE of experience. I know of no way of judging the future but by the past
 Will it not be wise for Democrats to adopt the great Virginian's method and assume that the results of 1896 will be duplicated in 1904 If the same reasons for 1t exist? And the same reasons will ex- ist if the St. Louis convention fails to nominate conservative ticket What Democrats ought to do at the polls is not always what they actually do, and our party may as well bear that in mind and be governed by it. A doubtful man can not be elected