The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1905-04-09
THEODORE
ROOSEVELT
WILL HE BE RENONINATED FOR
PRESIDENT IN 1908:
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
1t Is Time for Plain Speech and De-
finite Understandings - Must
Democracy Die to Be
Born Again:

Washington, d. c.. April S.-"Theo-
dore Roosevelt will be renoninated for
president Of the United States in 1908,
and he will be Reelected Through his
domination OF the party organization and
his control of the postotfice department,
! Mr.. Roosevelt already has the nomina-
| ton in his own hands. There will be
no trouble about obtaining majority of
the delegates in the National Convention.
He will be re-electd-not merely because
he is the idol Of the people or on account
OF his virtues or by reason of the mis-
takes that add to his popularity, but be-
cause there will be no real opposition.
The Democratic party is and will be
hopelessly divided against itself"
The above is literal extract from the
New York World. whose editorial COL
umns were the ableSt written advocates
of Alton B. Parker III the last national
campaign
1t is an editorial utterance deliberate.
definite and stated without limitations as
the judgment of one of the most infiu-
entail of the great American newspapers
which generally support the Democratic
party and it's candidates.
The World usually trains with the ul-
tra-conservative or Eastern wing of the
Democratic party, and its views may be
reasonably construed as representing in
Ia large degree the attitude and opinion
of Eastern Democrats. This makes the
utterance significant and especially wor-
thy of note
1t is exactly the political position fore
shadowed in the peessirnistic prophecy OF
the World which has been in my mind
as an apprehension since the election and
which has been the inspiration of ma
jority of the letters which | have con-
tributed to the discussion
An utterance like this from a source
like this is enough to challenge every
Democratic voter in America to serious
thought and to vigorous action
There is no doubt that President
Roosevelt is riding the crest of the pop
ular wave at this time. Even the South
is relaxing-if it has not already relaxed
the prejudices aroused by his negro ap-
pointn1ents, and there are Democrats all
over the country who are thinking and
,f ~,
ageous and vigorous administration, that
Roosevelt is a better Democrat than
Parker.
The Presidents party, if not sympa-
thetic is at least quiescent. either through
astonishment or timidity. and he is go
ing straight forward in great career
Now, what are we doing i'll Demo-
cratic ranks? Wrangling, as usual, with
unabated ferocity. The Eastern Demo-
Gratis are eagerly urging William J.
Bryan to break away from his engage
ment with the Iriq,ois Club in Chicago
and to come instead to the Jefferson din
ner in New York. To this insistent i'll
vitation they are adding the questionable
entreaty. But if you don't come to us
for Gods sake don't tie up with those
radical Democrats in Chicago"
Where is the hope or harmony in an
attitude like this?
There in Congress we saw John Sharp
Williams, leading the Democratic mi
nority, deliberately turn his back upon
the best and soundest railroad reform
bill that the generation has produced,
and commit his party to hasty and inl-
perfect measure which needed constant
amendment. for no other ostensible rea-
son than that he was unwilling that the
credit for this vital reform measure
should go to William R. Hearst, who
had already done Titans work in eff
fective Democratic warfare against the
trusts and the public gratis of the time.
And where do we find the hope of get
ting together in spirit like this?
The Eastern Democrats are even now
coquetting shrewdly with the rising for
tunes of Joe Folk of Missouri. who has
had the good sense to hear their b1an-
dishments, to eat their banquets and to
hold his tongue
And Out yonder i'll the great wide ter
ritory of the Central West there are
hundreds of thousands of the same stur-
dy Democrats, who stayed away from the
polls at the last election, just waiting
grimly to see what the Democratic party
of their faith and the Democratic party
of their fathers is going to do.
II may just as we'll be repeated here
that the difference between the wide