The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1905-02-24
WILL THERE BE
REALIGNMENT?
A Possible Outcome of Roose.
velt's Reform Policies.
PRESIDENT WHO DOES THINGS.

Possible Political Revolution Would
emit says, to Greed of Certain Corr
porate Interests--A Feature of the
Situation In the Attitude of w. j.
Bryan Toward the President.
j. M. Miller, the Washington COR
respondent of the Newark On. j. News,
sends to his paper the following ar
ticIe:
Discussion of the question whether
President Roosevelts policy of doing
things is to result In political reyolu-
ton and party reallgnment must be en-
tIrely tentative. What i3 % Happen
will depend entirely upon certain great
corporate interests, which for many
years have had strong grip on both
great parties through certain great par
ty leaders in congress. 1t may be fair
ly assumed that the president will not
back track. Should certain gentlemen
who sit beneath the capitol dome be
equally determined to stand their
ground 1t is difficult to see how the
country, with Its present confidence In
the executive and Its earnest support
OF his policies looking to the better reg
uiation of the great carrying com
panies, can be prevented from taking
matters into It's own hands and accom-
plishing through political house clean
ing those things which the president
wants.
That something OF this sort Is threat
cned no one attempts to disguise, and
hence the printed discussions of pos
sible break between the president and
senate over rate legislation and the
probable results Of such q break In the
readjustment of party lines.
An interesting feature of the situa-
flon Is the attitude OF w j. Bryan,
who is a good deal closer politically to
the president, Republican, than he Is
to the safe and sane" leaders of the
reorganlzed Democracy, who got into
the saddle last year and will be In
nominal control of the party machinery
until 1908 Bryan has nothing In com
mon with these Democrats, and his
contamination Vi tlltH1 illU VI bitli
policies has been vigorous and inces-
SAINT. Every time that he indorses the
president he gives side blow to these
''gafe and sane" leaders, and that may
explain In part why he has been SO
outspoken recently I'm praise of the
president. But 1t does not explain 1t
entirely.
The president, in his attitude of de-
manding better control of the railways,
tariff modification, the repression of the
criminal trusts, proper recognition of
the rights of labor. a better adjust
ment OF the relations existing between
labor and capital, the development of
the semiarid west by irrigation. the
amendment of the public land laws
and the punishment of violators of
those laws, reform In the postoffice de
partment, proper restriction of immi-
grafton, etc, has pre-empted good
deal of ground which the Democratic
party had thought to occupy alone. He
has skillfully adopted what he has re
garded as the best things in the Demo
cratic platform and Incorporated them
into his own vigorous policy.
Because Of this fact he is better
Democrat, according to the Bryan def
milton, than any of the present leading
lights in that party, and Mr. Bryan
probably feels that he cannot con-
sistently refuse to give praise when
praise Is due.
Meanwhile the Roosevelt policies
seem to be estranging certain promi
nent elements of the Republican party,
the SO called conservative elements,
represented in congress by certain
prominent men from the eastern states.
These elements have much in common
with the "safe and sane gentlemen of
the reorganized Democracy and little
In common with such Republicans as
Roosevelt. 1t is possible, therefore
that should conservative Republicans
have the courage OF their convictions
they will refuse to give the president
the legislation which he and the gen
eral public are demanding. Such would
bring the president inevitably to the
parting of the ways with the conserva-
tives and at the same time just as in
cvitably bring him nearer the position
Of Bryan and the radical Democracy.
1t might easily happen, such being
the situation, that there would be new
party alignments. the Roosevelt Re
publicans Joining forces with the Bryan
Democrats and forcing the conserva-
tive Republicans to unite with the
'safe and sane" leaders Of the reorgan-
ized Democracy. This would mean a
revolution such as that of 1860, which
swept the new Republican party into
power.
The issue Of 1860 was moral issue.
human slavery. The issue which now
would bring about a readjustment of
party lines is the repression Of corpo-
rate greed and the bringing of the great
corporations to position where they
will be compelled by law to recognize
that the public has rights which are to
be respected.
There is the further possibility,
though remote that the president