Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1904-11-18
or BRYAN.
Conditions z rl':liIt'1 that N. Now Con
front the Democratic
Party

" Party .s
The following are the salient parts
Of ". J. Bryan's statement on the re-
suit of the national election "
'"The democratic party has met with
an overwhelming defeat in tie nation.
al election. The questions for consid-
Grafton ut this time are what lesson
does the election teach, and what Of
the future. The defeat Of Judge Park
or should not be considered a personal
one. He did as we'll as he could under
the circumstances. he was the VIC
, tim Of unfavorable conditions. and of
a mistaken party policy. He grew in
popularity as the campaign progressed
and expressed hims elf more and more
strongly upon the trust question, bit
he could not the heavy odds
against him.
"The so-called tariff democrats
charged defeat of 1896 and 1900 to the
party's position or the money ques-
tion, and insisted that a victory could
DO won by dropping the coinage ques-
tlon entirely. The convention &C.
copied this theory and the platform
made no reference to the monev ques-
ton. put Judge Parker felt that it
was his duty to announce his personal
adherence to the gold standard.
"His gold telegram, as IT was
called, while embarrassing to the
democrats of the West and South, Was
appraised by the Eastern press. He
had the cordial Endorsement of Mr..
Cleveland, who certified that the party
had returned to ''safety and sanity" ;
he had the support of the Democratic
papers which bolted in 1896 and be al
so had the aid Of nearly all of those
who were prominent in the campaigns
of 1896 and 1900, and yet his defeat
is apparently greater than the party
suffered in either of those years.
1T is unquestionable also that
Judge Parker's defeat was net local
but general, the returns from the
Eastern states being al disappointing
as the returns from the West. The re-
organizers were closely AFFILIATED with
the party. They planned the cam
paign and carried 1t ON According to
their own. views and the verdict
against their plan is q unanimous
one. Surely nobody can be blaned for
this defeat. for the campaign 1atkas run
on . gold basis. Neither can Athe de-.
feat be charged to emphstic Sondem-
nation Of the Trusts. for til trusts
were not ~assai1ed ~ vigorouly this
year ~ they were four. ,yesrs Mo. It
ii evident that tho campaign ND not
turn upon the question ,,of ;imilplterial-
Him, and II ii moi; fair to ooaasi1sf: the
result q . personal victory fr the
president. although his administra-
ton was the subject of criticism.
THE result was due to the fact that
the democratic party attempted, to be
conservative, In the presence of oondi-
tions which demand radical remedies.
It sounded q partial retreat when It
should have ordered a charge all
along the line. In 1896 the line was
drawn for the first time during the
present generation between plotocracy
and. democracy and the party'.s stand
for democracy ~alienated a large num-
Der of plutocratic democrats who IN
the nature of things cannot be ex-
pected to return, and it drew to it.
self a large number Of esrneet advo-
f'Uoaaes of reform whose attachRtent@to
these reforms is much stronger than
attachment to ally party NAME.
The republican party occupies the
conservative position. That is1 it de-
tends those who, having found unfair
advantage through class legislation,
insist they should net be disturbed,
no matter how oppressive their exac-
lions may become. The democratic
party cannot hope to compete sue
cessfully unless it has an issue that
touches the people individually.
Injustice to the Filippinos is not
resented as We would resent q harm
to ourselves and the costliness Of the
philippines Is hidden by the statistics
and ..our indirect means Of taxa
tion. While theparty mutt maintain
its position on this subject it cannot
present this az the only issue.
1.-THE party must also maintain its
position on the tariff question. Nc
answer has been made to the indict-
ment against the high tariff and yet
here. too, the burden of tue tariff
system is concealed by a method by
which the taxes are collected. It can
not be made the sole issue in q cam
paign.
1.-The party must renew its demand
for an income tax, to be secured
Through a constitutional amendment,
in order that wealth NAV he made to