Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-01-09
SENATOR eoRMAN AND PANAMA

New Orleans Times-Democrat
has been boast of the republicans.
and boast which unfortunately had
some foundation in fact that no mat
ter whether their party has a winner
issue on which to go before the coun-
/ try or not, the democrats can be de-
pended on to make some mistake
which will assure republican success.
This boast will assuredly be made
good in the coming campaign il the
party should follow the lead of Sena-
| tor German in the matter of his OPP
position to the Panama canal. He
declares that he is in favor of the
canal but opposes its construction
| just as another statesman declared
| that he was in favor of GER
tain law, But agin its enforce
| ment"9
Should the democratic party go be-
fore the people OH any such platform
as that proposed by Senator German
it will meet with merited defeat. and
the most disastrous defeat that has
| ever come to it, There is fortunately
no danger that such program will be
successful in the senate for there are
enough Of democratic senator's with
| gray matter in their heads to defeat
| such an arrangement. The only eff
| feet Senator Gormans speech can.
have is to eliminate him as a candi-
| date for the democratic nomination,
| Tor 1T is not conceivable that the del.
egates from the south, at least, would
| vote for man who went out of his
| way to attack the material and sem
timental interests of this section SO,
wantonly.
AS matters stand, the democrats
| have a splendid opportunity to elect
the next president The hostility of
certain powerful elements in the re-.
publican party toward Mr.. Roosevelt,
the ill-concealed antipathy of Senator
Hanna, the real leader of the party,
10 his administration, and the violent
antagonism of those who have hereto
fore put up the corruption fund of the
party, make the democratic prospect
especially bright. But the democratic
party is not in a position to make any
peanut politics of Senator German be
adopted as the party policy no man
whom the democrats may name for
the presidency will have the slightest
show of defeating Mr.. Roosevelt or
anyone else whom the republicans may
choose to nominate. The people of
the country will demand the construc-s
ton of the canal, and the southern;
states especially will demand it. If
the democrats wish to inscribel the
word 1chabod" across their banner,
Senator German has pointed the way,
and he has pointed the way to moth
ing else. The chaff of being in favor
OF canal but against its construction,
Will appeal to no one
AS Senator German has said, the
country does not desire a second Ma
polean" nor does lit desire an OBJ
structionist who has nothing to offer
to it but opposition to progress.
Whatever engagements this country
has made to Panama will be fulflled.
The new republic if it has been Great
ed by the grace of this powerful couh-
try, as charged. will be sustained by
the power which created it. And the
canal. which the United States stands
committed to the world to build, will
be built. Peanut politics viii not be
permitted to stand in the way, and
any candidate for the presidency who
desires to run on such a platform of
obstruction will find himself without
a party to assist him in his ambition.
The democratic party NAV make some
mistake III the campaign to pleasure
the republicans, but this gigantic en-
ror proposed by Senator German, will
not be one of them. The building Of.
the Panama canal is as certain as
anything in the future can be certain,
ana any attempt of democratic sena-
tors to stand in the way of it's con-
struction will result in the disruption
OF the party only.
The folly of fighting our political
|
ory has been more than once demon
strated, and we should take care to
avoid such blunders in the future be-
cause OF the party Generalization and
disintegration which appear to follow
on the heels of such contests. Mr..
Williams, democratic leader of the
house of representatives, struck the
keynote few weeks since when he,
IN published interview, declared in
effect that the party must conform
it's policies to the stern logic of con-
crete conditions rather than to the
chimerical idealisms of an abstract
theory. Let us declare that lit is a
condition and not a theory which con-
fronts us" in the Panama matter. and
accept that condition without further
protest. For, whatever be the pater-
nifty Of the new child" the founding
has won a warm place in the popular
heart, and the men or the party that
would make it's presence there a cause
of domestic dissension will meet with
public disfavor.
AFTER A DESERVED PENSION.