The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-08-11
The Sphinx Speaks.

The safety and sanity" of Judge
Parker's address of acceptance will GER
tainly not be questioned, either by his |
capitalistic campaign executive COM
mittee or by the financial forces back
of it. The address will also probably |
make strong appeal to Grover
Cleveland, and to the conservative ele-
ment of the party generally. But the
western democracy, which gallantly
followed BRYAN in two campaigns, and
went down With him to a last in
glorious defeat at st. Louis last month,
will be quite unable to find anything
in the address that recognizes it's ex-
istence in any way, or upholds any of
it's main contentious. The address be-
| gins with a restatement of the gold
standard doctrines of the famous Par
ker telegram, and then proceeds to run
| the gamut of conservatism to the very
| last sentence. It is pitched SO per-
fectly in the conservative key that it
seems to be intended exclusively to the
eastern section Of the party which
| perhaps is good politics, for if the ppur-
pose of the democratic national COM
mittee not to open western .headquar-
ters means, as it, probably does, the
abandonment of the west to Roosevelt,
/ why shouldn't an address such as
Judge Parker has just made, be chiefly
| for consumption in those eastern
states, where he believes the result of
the campaign will be determined?
Judge Parker finds fault because the
republican administration is per-
manently denying the right Of self
government to the Filipinos," and on
such a premise, which is VIGOROUSLY
false, as the reading of President
Roosevelt's address of acceptance will
show, he proceeds to build fabric
of criticism of the republican party,
surmounting it with defamation
against the evils of imperialism. The
republican Philippine policy was a
paramount issue in the 1900 campaign,
and the large republican majority in
4 the electoral college ought to have
made the democratic party careful in
it's utterances now. But the democ-
racy has ever learned slowly, when it
has learned at all, the art of gaging
public opinion and rejecting it in
party platforms. There has never
4 been in American politics a more over
whelming Endorsement of an admins
Il ltration than that which was given
President Mckinley four years ago,
and 'imperialism was in the most of
the states the paramount issue, and in
all of them very important one.
The Parker address speaks for a
lower tariff, but is careful to point out
: that, owing to the fact fthatSthe sem
s ate will be epublican for at least four
years longer, it will not be possible for
the democracy, in case he is elected,
l to do anything in the way of revision.
This is one Of the cleverest touches
t in the address.
1 There is an indirect criticism of
President Roosevelt for what the dem
. ocratic leaders call his violation of the
: constitution, by which they probably
d mean the issuance Of the old soldier
pension order. The fourteenth
amendment to the constitution is re
: ferred to at least twice, but the adj
dress very discreetly fails to include
r any reference, direct or indirect, to the
!, negro question. Evidently the demo
s cratic campaign, managers hope tc
:. capture a part of the negro vote 0!
: Indiana, Illinois and West Virginia
/ Notwithstanding their platform trie:
i to make the race question an issue.
v The most interesting statement II
: the address, and in fact almost the
d only one that raises it above the dea6
e level of banality, is the one in which
g Judge Parker says that if elected M
h will not be candidate for second
e, term. He tells why he thinks presi
8 |dent should not try to succeed him
e Eself, and admits that there are argu
# ments on both Sides but as for him
Q self, one term will be enough.
= There is scarcely any comparison
d possible between the Parker and tn
e Roosevelt addresses of acceptance. An.
: fair man reading both must come t
: the conclusion that the republican
t, candidate has something to say tina
) he wants the people to hear. The rec
n ord Of his party is something in Whicl
y he takes pride, and he outlines tina
IS record in way that challenges criti
'e cism, at the same time offering it a
/
Is tone of his address is optimistic an
1t there is about it the ring of patriot
d sincerity The democratic candidat
,E strikes a lower key, which he main
Ill tains to the close of his address. Fl
III isn't certain about anything, excep
n that he wants the democrats to wiz
lei If they win, as he ingeniously point
out it will not be possible for them t
ty do anything in the way of fulfllin
rs platform pledges.
= The New York Tribune has it on goo
- authority that w. F. Sheehan, whom th
New York Times a few years ago Gale
IAN unconscionable political blackleg,"
= to go to the United States senate in tn
IN
!. event of Judge Parker's election Rune
u also awards to August Belmont his pic
Of the European embassies. It would /
~ a choice eoterie of trustbusters and pc
1itical tricksters that would gather aboi
= Parker If the democratic party were /
-, win this year.
- Taggart as a Bogie Man.
A. The friends Of Chairman Taggart {
st the democratic national committe
m have undertaken to brighten the cour