Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1904-03-31
HOPELESSLY CONFUSED

According to our judgment there has
never been any reasonable chance for the
Democrats to win in the presidential cleo
ton of this year. From the beginning,
even of a campaign of preparation, they
have been hopelessy confused both as to
the choice Of a candidate and platform
on which to place the man they may Sc
lect. As the time approaches for making
these selections the confusion becomes
more intense. Made up as the Demo
cratic party is OF "a disOrganized mass Of
humanity" as stated by the Richmond
Times Dispatch, it is not strange that
there is such a diversity of ideas among
the leaders and the masses of the party.
Their opinions are SO divergent and con-
flictlng that there can be neither unity Of
thought nor of action. Without these two
things it is impossible for any political or
ganization to be successful in a national
election, especially when the result of that
election meaDs so much for the public vel
fare. Our esteemed contemporary, the
Norfolk Virginian- Pilot, has very forcibly
and truthfully portrayed the condition Of
the Democracy by the following:
There are today two grave dangers
that confront the Democratic party, and
the menace of each is about equally grave.
The one is that 1t shall sell itself to Wall
Street for campaign fund and become a
sordid, soied and despised thing of the
bargain counter, and the other is that it
shall lapse into socialism, become a
stranger to sanity and wild-eyed and
dishevelled advocate of the visionary and
impossible"
This severe but truthful confession as to
the trend of the Democratic party under
the conflicting views of the TWO leading
factions shows how dangerous it would be
to the interests of the people to have either
faction placed in control of the. general
government. These dangerous elements in
the party are admitted by our contem-
porary to be acting under the direction Of
Mr.. Cleveland and Mr.. Hearst, respect
lively. Mr.. Bryan is united with Mr..
Hearst in the effort to put "the visionary
and impossible" in operation, while Mr..
Cleveland has associated with him large
portion of the so called respectable ele-
ment of the party in his movement to
make it "a sordid, soiled and despised
thing of the bargain counter" to be pur-
chased by Wall Street. Our contem-
porary, made frantic by the situation.
charges the wholesome and sensible ele.
ment of the party with responsibility for
its unfortunate condition. The Virglnian-
Pilot says:
"The danger of its doing the one or the
other is, we say, great, and the danger
persists because the sound, wholesome.
sensible element of the party does not
realize that the danger is imminent, and,
therefore, refuses to bestir itself, while the
time approaches apace when it will be too
late to act
Has our contemporary failed 10 see that
these two factional elements, one led by
Cleveland and the other by Bryan, consti.
tute nearly the entire Democratic party ?
And does it fail to recall the fact that Mr..
Bryan has declared that the cleavage be-
tween the two factions extends clear
from the top to the bottom2
That the breach is extending still further,
if possible, is demonstrated by the follow.
ing declarations of our contemporary:
1.-The CleYeland press continues to
whOop for the Great Stuffed, Mr.. Hearst
goes ahead capturing delegations, Judge
Parker looks pleasant and Hon. David
Bennett Hill plays at a game of politics
that no man knoweth, but one that can be
depended on to find it's finish in the
debris, as usual"
If this does not look like the Demo
cratic party is getting into condition of
contounded, what does it show