Evening capital., 1904-08-30
MONDAY. August 70. 1904
POLITICAL sTRAws.


The familiar old adage "Straws
show which way the wind is blow
ing is strikingly illustrated by con
ditions and facts in the present state
Of the political atmosphere Let us
briefly refer TO a few of them.
Notice the apathy, coldness indiffer.
ence and cut and dried air which
showed in every move in the Republi-
can National Convention, the nipping
black frost on everything striklngly
suggestive of the name of one and the
color of the other leading orators and
the name of the chaplain who asked
the divine blessing on the chilly affair.
A cannon could hardly arouse il. Com
pare all this with the enthusiasm,
vigor and freedom Of discussion, charac-
teristic of the whole proceedings of the
Democratic Convention and IL must be
admitted that the advantage of all this
is clearly with the Democracy. Now
begin after the nominations are made
and the platform adopted. We find an
eleotor on the Republican ticket in
West Virginia declining because he
intends to vote for Parker and Davis
aud a candidate for judgeship ON the
same ticket declares like purpose
and many of the best Republicans in
the state announce that they will help
TO sweep that state from it's Republi-
can moorings and bring it into the
Democratic harbor OF safety.
Then i'm New York, in the cities
and in the rural districts most remark
able changes are noted, among farmers
who have always been staunoh Republi-
cans many are for Parker and in the
cities organizations of the strongest
men of that party have declared that
by vote and voice they will support
the Democratic nominees. But why
multiply instances? Every state and
county abounds with them. In Massa-
chusetts 30, 600 Republicans have sign
eel and committed themselves to vote
for no man for Congress or the Legis-
lRtnre who will not pledge himself to
vote for reciprocity with Canada and
thus TO that extent get rid of the
odious Dingley protective tariff. The
discords and dissensions which abound
in the ranks Of the G. o. +. in Wis
consin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and
Delaware are giving the managers
much anxiety and render success in
some of those states improbable. in
some of them impossible. The strenu-
GUS efforts they are making in Maine
and Vermont look as if they even fear
Ell defeat in those states. Among the
German newspapers of the country
scarce half dozen were for Bryan.
Now a very large proportion of them
are for Parker and the independent
press witr scarcely an exception is
for him.
The New York Herald, whose full
filled predictions in the past have
given her estimates character almost
prophetical, in carefully prepared
SiiVMS 1ttiuoNlahiC oNNNtSo
not only in the Presidential contest,
but also in securing the lower house
of Congress as almost assured. Other
political straws too numerous to men.
tion point in the same direction. But
above all this and more than all this
is united and enthusiastic Democracy
which, when united, has never known
defeat, and which stands for all that
is best for the material interests of
our beloved land and her eighty mil
lions of people, with the platform il
has adopted and the candidates it has
nominated the prospects for victory
are very bright. The only discordant
grunt that we have heard is from Mr..
Hogg. of Texas, but his influence is
not likely to much reduce the near
quarter of million majority which
the lone star state is likely to give
the Democratic ticket. Root Hogg and
die will be very appropriate epitaph
for disgruntled and defeated Roose-
veltism.
The Governor wants to convert the