The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-03-28

/ washington Cor. New York Times)
| To have transformed bucking, STAN
pedng mob into a disciplined and soldier
| ly army-to have transformed that which
for six years was the Democratic minor
! ity in the house into that which Is the
| Democratic minority todaY-iS feat or
I political generalship which must excite
| interest in the man who performed II.
! 70 have done that I'm the space Of five
| days suggests the return of the age of
| miracles. That the man who did ii was
| a man who never before had been sus-
/ pected of talents for leadership. and
! whose selection for theA captaincy was
/ the signal for headshaking among the
| WiseaCreS, makes the event stand out
| boldly from all party reorganizations of
! the past. Hence is il that John Sharp
/ Williams of Mississippi is one of the most
| interesting men in the country today.
| The condition of the Democratic minor
| ity in the house from the time of Charles
| +. Crisp's death and the defeat of Bryan
/ is matter OF national notoriety. Chaos
| is its best word OF description. A plOw-
| ing, snOrting herd of Texas steers, sud
denly released from all restraint, Is its
| nearest analogue. Baileys nominal lead
eTship was flouted and shattered by the
| men he attempted to lead. Under him II
! was every man for himself. Richardson
| was recognized as leader. but under him
| the minority was a nerveless. arranging.
/ disorganiZed. undisciplined mob. which
| could not by any possibility be united
for anything except the river and harbor
bill.
This condition grew worse and worse as
| the years went on. until the country had
! lost all respect for the minority and II
| had none for itself. On the Democratic
| side there was no longer q party; there
I was only a horde. Even the Republic
| cans, who at first had rejoiced at the
! plight OF their enemies, began TO wish
! for a respectable and worthy body OF
| opposition. There were perils for the ma
jority in having no opposition worth the
| name.
An Unknown Quantity.
When Richardson retired from the lead
| ership the only names mentioned for his
place We're those of Williams, De Almond
| and Champ Clark. There was little inter-
est IN the fight on the part OF the coun-
/ try for il was assumed that whoever was
! elected the Democratic party was past
/ redemption. Williams was chosen lie
| had never had a chance to do any Lead
ing, and no enc knew whether ne eoulo
| do il or not He was known as a bril-
! liant and magnetic speaker, and that was
all simply an orator" was the general
/ comment ana il WAS predicted freely
| that he would be second Richardson.
The only hope for the party seemed TO
be in the simultaneous appearance 90. rot
! German as the head of the party IN the
| senate. There was such faith IN the SEN
ator's executive ability and power OF
| leadership as amounted almost 10 ietci
! worship He was 10 be the party Moses,
| and there was nothing he could not do,
Ii took Williams five days TO turn the
mob into the army II now is-an army
| better drilled and disciplined than the
| Republican majority. His policies NAV
be dissented from. but or the TACT thaI
the Democrats will follow him for those
policies with the GOODNESS and indomit-
| ableness of veterans, and that they can
not be shaken or ratified Tor moment
| there is nowhere any doubt Nor is there
any doubt that they are pressing t1ose
policies home with a sieepless vigilance
and a tactical skill worthy or the hest
Republican days of Reed.
The five days spoken OF were the dAys
OF the only fight Williams had to wage
within his party. The Cuban reciprocity
problem confronted him, an issue on
which his party had been as hopelessly
| irrecOncilable as crowd OF street ARABS
disputing over crap game. Williams
had already determined that tariff re-
/. vision should be the Democratic WATCH
word as far as he could make II, and ne
determined that the party must support
Gum-shoe Methods.
The unspeakable dismay which his de-
termination evoked among the Democrat
&c senators is still rememoered IN W ASH q,
ington His position was not known until
| his fight was begun and under way
| There were hard words, but Williams,
! gently and affably. and treading on no
ones eorns. conducted his gum-shoe cam
paign until, for the first time in years
! the Democratic minority was presenting
| a united front.
AFTER that he had no more fights to
wage. The Democrats only needed the
hand of a true leader to guide them his
Panama policy differed from that oi
many senators. but the house minority
swung into line for it like regulars. Thoy
were all split up about Il when they
came to Washington. and half of them
| were loaded to the muzzle with speeches
which will never be delivered.
On the tariff his belief is that the Re
publicans have injured themselves, es-
cynical abandonment OF the policies OF
, Blaine and Mckinley. He Is determined
, TO move the Democratic army up into
free trade talk: there is no horizontal
reduction in his programme; moderate
tariff revision. the abandoned reciprocity
treaties and the flagrancy of the Ding
lev rates are the burden OF his song.
p These principles are hammered home al
every opportunity. and he makes oppQr-
! tunities. In one form or another bills
, and resolutions are continually being in
: PRODUCED Now il is a resolution call
ing en- the president, to get the mgr
/ Joint commission together, now a bill fol
! a drawback for the benefit Of sufferers
by the Baltimore fire At every point
| the Republicans have 10 meet him, anc
| the resulting campaign material Is soWl
. broadcast in the west
A year ago the Democrats were as
wildly irrecOncilabe on the tariff as OF
every speech sounds as if Williams hae
: delivered it, John Lind his abest lieu
! tenant on tariff matters, is setting this
northwest afiame-
The Failure of German.
And all this time GormaL. NAe much
heralded Moses has. by common CON
sent. failed dismally TO unite the Demo
. cratic senator's on either Cuban reel
procity. the tariff. the Panama issue. OF
: anything else. True he had a hard stu
alton TO meet. but so had Williams.
year ago the house minority was more
. OF mob than the senate minority.
Before congress met there was "A iOi
Of talk about raising the race issue. about
bills 10 repeal the war amendments, ans