Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-11-17
TOM WATSON, FACTOR,

~ oSI uool thereafter before setting on
foot any great movement. This man
Is Tom Watson, Georgia's populist can
dldate for the presidency. Though Mr..
Watson's name will not be mentioned
In any report of the vote taken when
the electoral college meets he will
figure prominently in the councils of
the democratic party in the years to
come For Mr.. Watson, unlike Judge
Parker, is not crushed though he is
beaten in the race for the presidency
He Is as much alive as is William
Jennings Bryan. The two are similar
In many ways. Their beliefs are prac-
tically the same along political lines.
They can easily fraternize on com
mon ground which would combine the
salient features of the democratic and
populist platforms.
Watson has already commenced talk
Ing about the presidential race in 1908.
Whether he has hopes of seeing the
democracy reorganized along such
radical lines that it would come to him
for its candidate, or for some other
cause, it is sure that he is taking no
little trouble to air his views since
the result of the election of one week
ago was announced.
Mr.. Watson says one reason for the
election of President Roosevelt is the
Iatter's great popularity, but that an
other reason was the unpopularity of
Grover Cleveland's second administra-
ton. He declares that the last election
was the first opportunity the people
have had to express their opinion Of
that administration and that the re-
suit shows what they thought of it.
w. ]. Bryan also comes in for at
tention by Mr.. Watson. He declares
that the Nebraska leader by heartily
indorsing the Parker ticket, has tied
his hands for the next four years, so
far as new reforms are concerned, be-
cause the creed adopted at st. Louis
last July must stand for the next four
years.
Mr.. Watson proposes as remedy
for the existing state of affairs to be-
gin now to reorganize the people along
the lines of, Jeffersonian democracy.
In that way he hopes to be successful
in the campaign Of 1908.
It is obvious that Mr.. Watson wants
the people to know that he Is in the
political arena, beaten but not quit
ter" With one sentence he dis
misses the Nebraskan who has led the
democracy to two defeats, saying that
his support Of Parker has put him on
record as in favor of the principles for
which Parker declared. These prin-
ciples, Watson says, will never win a
campaign for the democrats. Accord
ing to his view of the situation, the re-
organization must be 4 complete one
and all his rem arks along this line
tend to but one conclusion-that Tom
Watson is the man to head this march
of the reorganized democracy.
In order to show that the populistic
sentiment is national and not sectional
Mr.. Watson goes into detail to ex-
plain that he this year received some
thing like half million votes scat
tered through several states, after
having made campaign Of only three
months, without cam paign fund and
without much newspaper support. BY
inference he lets the reader who be-
neves with him see how much greater
would be his success if he were al
lowed to Head the ticket of the demo-
cratic party, given the support usually
given to that organization, and run as
presidential candidate on a radical
platform
Throughout the statement made by
Mr.. Watson runs a vein of criticism of
Mr. Bryan. It is easy to see that the
Georgian wants to get the Nebraska
editor-farmer out of the way and
that he believes that with this task ac-;
compiished he (Watson) will stand
head and shoulders above all other as
pirants for the nomination on the
ticket of the reorganized democracy.
Lest his object should not be clear to
the most casual reader Mr. Watson
rather spreads 1t on in his criticism of
Bryan when he says:
Mr. Bryan, while a great democrat
Is not the democratic party. There are
other distinguished democrats who are
yet to be heard from and they may
not indorse his populist platform.
There is John Sharp Williams of Mis-
sissippi. there is Joseph W. Bailey of
Texas, there is Senator Morgan of
Alabama. there is Senator Ben Tillman
Of South Carolina, there is Senator
John w. Daniel of Virginia. In fact,
there are quite a number of distin-
guished democrats who may claim the
right to put In word before the next
national democratic platform Is fixed.
"They may not be willing to take,
for instance, Mr.. Bryan's foTty-seven
different systems of government rail-
roads; they may not be in favor of
some other planks in his platform. Be
that as it may, Mr.. Bryan has no more
right at the present to say what the
democratic platform shall be in 1908
than any other distinguished demo-
erat.
4''For the next four years the demo.
cratic creed must remain what the st.
Louis convention of 1904 made 1t. and
the machinery of the party must re-
main in the hands of the men who now
hold it. The air still rings with the
eloquence with which Mr.. Bryan in
dorsed the candidate of the St Louis
convention, spoke of him as the Moses
of democracy, spoke OF Parkers ideals