The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-23

ana. touched upon legislation secured by
the newspaper men, and, in a reminiscent
vein, recOunted the history of Republican
newspapers and their editors in the State
for the past forty years.
Inc programme Tor the morning was
opened with a discussion of Charles l..
Henry's address THE Issues OF the
Campaign" led by S. n. Cragun, of the
Lebanon Patriot
MISSION OF PARTY PRESS.
William II. Sanders. of the Marion Chron-
icle, delivered an address on 1.-The True
Mission of the Party Press" in which he
said in part:
There is a process of nature called cleo
trolysls, sort of chemical decomposition.
that eats into iron subways, such water
pipes. etc. 1t is said that il is now work
ing its way into the steel-laid foundations
OF the majestic buildings that stand in our
large cities as monuments to nineteenth
and twentieth century enterprise. If this is
true, and nothing is done TO circumvent 1t,
then one day these proud structures Will
crumble into ruin and when they go they
Will take many a human being with them.
So at the foundations of this government,
increasing lack of respect for our institu-
lions and increasing want OF faith in them
are the electrolysis that is ceaSelessly at
work this day. To what extent this exists
no man knows, but do know that il is
there, we do know that it is ceaselessly at
work, and we do know that its insidious-
ness and its persistence are more TO be
reared than the mailed warriors OF all the
world.
'Unquestionably the forces of disintegra-
ton are more actively at work to-day in
this country than they have been at any
time since the civil war. The dispatches
say, for example. that the Nebraska proph-
ct of silverism disclaims being Socialist
This may be true, but at the same time
1t is none the less true that the teachings
OF this same man have made more Social
lists than Democrats, and il is a shorter
step from Organism to socialism than ii is
from Organism TO the principles of Andrew
Jackson And for a number Of years, what
ever the individual voter may think about
II. the organization known as the Demo-
cratic party has contributed more TO
querulouS discomfort than to eager, active,
healthy and hopeful AmericaniSm and in
the minds of the people it has left more
communism than Old-fashioned Jefferson
ianism. in the coming campaign, whatever
the preteXts mislab eled issues, we know
that the appeal will be to the spirit of rad
icaliSm and of iconoclasm.
And note the tendency. for this, after
all. is the one thing most important The
significance of the New York State election
two years ago. for instance. is not that
Governor Odell was reelected by a few
thousand plurality, but that $4,000 Ameri-
can citizens should stamp with their APP
prevail a platform that few years ago
would have been regarded as too fragile
for even a Democrat TO stand on. And the
significance of Ohio last fall is not that
Tom Johnson went down before a hundred
thousand plurality, but that Tom john
son should secure control of a Democratic
State convention. and that at the polls $780,
600 Buckeyes should indorse that kaleido-
scope of isms known as TOmjohnsonism-
isms that few years ago would have had
no consideration whatever. And to-day note
the spectacle OF a Democratic national
committee trying in vain TO run away from
Hearstism: trying in vain to escape the
responsibility Of a natural paternity;
Hearstism, which is the natural and the
inevitable offspring of the misalliance be-
tween democratism and populism, miscalled
Organism.
MUST BE FACED
lone thing is clear. This trend of things
must be faced and fought. 1t must be
fought intelIgently and courageously. 1t
must be directly aimed at, and it is not
sixty seconds too soon to begin this just
now. This association can do no better
thing, it seems to me. than to register
VOW this moment to keep the thought of
this uppermost so long as this activity con-
tinues among the forces OF disintegration.
The one thing 70 meet this is cOnserva-
tisEl-nOt the conservatism of an individual
here and there but organized conserVa-
tism; not moribund hating conserva-
tism, but progressive conservatism; the
conservatism that believes in progress, but
at the same time declines to lose its head
In this giddy twentieth century swirl of
things; the conservatism that believes in
Improvement, but, at the same time, in the
saving grace OF common sense; the con-
servatsm that stands for evolution as OPP
posed TO revolution, but would quicken the
pace of evolution just as the farmer or the
Dreeder, Dy directing the FORCES OF nature,
accomplishes in a few years or in a few
decades what nature left alone would re-
quire centuries or ages for"
The discussion of Mr. Sanders's address
was led by NJ. c. CARRIER, of the Madison
Courier In the AFTERNOON r. S. Truitt, of
the Noblesville Ledger. read a paper on
Systematic Business Methods" the dis
cussion of which was led by "A. w. How
ard, of the Spencer Journal, and needed
legislation and knotty problems of the
publishing business were discussed in an
Informal way.
Last night members of the association
and their wives, to the number of fifty,
witnessed the production of "A Japanese
Ni0hfingaler at EngliSh'S Onera House