Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-02-24
THE CAUCUS DEBATE
UNUSUAL DISCUSSION IN SEN.
ATE BETWEEN BAILEY End
PATTERSON
Bailey Scored the Colorado Senator
for His Declaration Against Caucus
Rule for the Democratic Senators
Stands for Party Loyalty.
ESPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE
Washington Bureau Of tho Courier.

Washington Bureau Of the Courier.
Washington, D. c., Feb. 20.
General regret Is expressed that the
Illuminating debate between Senators
Patterson and Bailey anent the ethics
OF party caucus when treaties are I'M
DER discussion. should have had as its
basis matter in which politics should
have had no place, rather than some
question not involving so vitality the
interests Of the nation.
Senator Bailey, who Is without
question one of the brilliant men OF
the senate keenly realizes this fact and
ordinarily would not attempt to make
a. treaty the subject of a caucus de-
cree. He was spurred to take the
course he did by the fact that repub-
licans line up almost solidly some
times regardless of the individual
views In details of Individual Senators
and felt the necessity for getting his
minority well in hand.
Bailey Is for Caucus.
Baileys idea is that each treaty
should be the subject of caucus &C.
ton as 1t arises, rather than that any
caucus should lay down rules for the
general government Of the minority.
He believes the treaty over the ac-
QUESTION OF the Philippines should
have been the subject of caucus &C.
tion, but he was not in the senate at
that time.
The action OF the democrats in the
senate with respect to Patterson
makes 1t clear that the bolter in the
United States. whether 1t be in poll
tics, society or war, is pretty harshly
dealt with. 1t seems to be one of the
characteristics of the people OF this
country to look with disfavor upon
men who pull away and jump the regu-
lar traces.
The Boilers Hard Lot.
The democrats who bolted free sill.
yer IN 1896 are still somewhat in dis
favor and will probably remain so
With large membership of the party
Notwithstanding the fact that tie sill
yer issue has long since disappeared.
The one thing that gave Judge Parker
any strength In the campaign Of 1904
was the fact that in the two Bryan
campaigns he had been regular" and
had contributed in money and adj
vice as we'll as voting for Bryan.
Throughout the south that was the
chief argument used by Parker's
friends. 1t is doubtful II any demo.
crat who bolted Bryan will ever re-
ceive a democratic nomination for the
presidency. The old time democrats
OF the house and senate who were
driven out on that issue have never
been able to get back; the men who
are today the minority leaders in the
senate and house are the men who
worked for the free silver cause no
matter what their personal views may
have been.
Occasionally an exceptionally strong
man can remain in public life in OBJ
position to his party on some great is
sue. Lamar remained in the senate
from Mississippi as sound money
man, when all his people believed in
free silver. Senator Hoar received an
election to the senate from Massachu-
sets, after he had given expression to
utterances which were not endorsed
by a majority Of his constituents and
which formed large share of the
campaign literature of the democratic
party in the following year. 1t is
creditable to any state that it grants
it's senators or representatives this
right of Individual Judgment, and yet
such cases are so rare as to be nota-
BILE.
Severe punishment of the bolter re-
suits in bringing to the front in public
life the type Of man who does not take
questions very seriously; who Is not
easily aroused by evils and abuses;
who is cheerfully optimistic. There
is type of man in the world who
feels keenly the things in which he is
interested. Patterson, of Colorado,
with all his vagaries, is such man.
Senator Hoar belonged pre-eminently
to that class. So did Edmunds. 1t is
rather typical Of the older stock OF
New England to believe IN something