Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-06-07
THE COMMENTATOR.

THE COMMENTATOR.
Political comment in this STATE for
some years has been confined almost ex-
clusively TO Republican politics. perhaps
Tor the reason that there has Teen no
other kind worth mentioning The
Republican party has been IN the as-
tendency and therefore has Gone things
TO occasion comment Then too. the
iactional quarrel has made a great deal
OF news, and this has become the legiti-
mate subject Of discussion The fac
tional quarrel seems in a way to be set
tied, and viewed as q game, there is no
longer any reason for two Republican
parties. The spirit and leadership of
one faction is the same which rules the
other. From a hght ostensibly one of
there has been a dogeneracy
until almost frankly both sides admit
that they are engaged in a political game
in which there are no principles Of ethics,
not even OF good faith.
Neither of the Republican organiza-
tons represents the best sentiment of
the great mass of Republicans of Della
ware. For so many years have the
voters been under committee rule that
II has come to be usual and is acquicsced
m; but no real man who contemplates
il greatly likes IT, II has been said that
IN the past Addicks. Alice, Layton and
one or two other persons in a Philadel-
phia hotel have decided upon candidates
and policies for the mass Of Union Re
publican voters. The counter charge
has been made that a handful of men
meeting on Delaware avenue have per-
formed the same service for the Regular
Republicans. Both statements are
literally true, and when the time came
for adjustment of a common ticket not
even the two State committees did IL.
but subcommittee consisting of from
three to five persons from each faction
In this manner our candidates have been
chosen and our platforms written, and
the voter was told that it was Republ-
canism and must be supported by Re
publicans on pain Of accommodation.
Party organs and campaign speakers
laud our institutions and profess great
concern for the rights and wishes OF the
masses, but they know that the dose
which is fixed up for the voters to swallow
Is brewed in private conference in which
only few professionals are present. 1t
is inconceivable that this state of affairs
will be tolerated forever, yet signs of
effective protest are lacking. Certainly
there is a considerable element which
has been identified with the Regular Re-
publican party which is dissatisfied;
they experienced a qualm when their
ticket named in 1904 was revised with
out their consent and without con-
sultation with them They be-
came supporters of Col Henry A.
du Pont when that gentleman was put
forward as the champion of the cause of
clean politics. No man ever had more
loyal followers; defeat did not dampen
their ardor, and the dearth OF rewards
did not unnerve them. If ever men
waged a fight for principle in politics,
these Regular Republicans were the men,
But there came a time when new
counsels prevailed. II was assumed that
this following could be handed over to
any candidate and made to espouse any
set of principles. And the power of
habit, the sentiment attached TO the party
name, and the absence of any attractive
alternative led most of them into sup
port of a ticket made up by a half dozen
men, and to follow the banners of men
that politically they had despised. But
when they cast their ballots they
did not know all They were not aware
till later that alongside of the honest
ballot they had cast lay another ballot
that was corrupt They did not learn
till later that the great victory which
was assured on election night was Sc
cured, not through their loyalty so
much as through the lavish use of
money at the polls. There are probably
10000 Republican voters in Delaware
who would vote for any ticket on any
platform labeled Republican, and with
out direct consideration. There are
at least 5000 that demand money and
the rest are the good citizens who want
to do the right thing, Their support OF
the ticket, no matter how reluctantly
places the balance of power in the
hands of the corrupt voter, and, there
fore. whoever secures control of that
element wins The thoughtful, honest
element might hold the balance of power,
not by deserting their party, but by
sternly and insistently demanding a
higher plane of decency in the conduct of
the party with which they are affiliated.
Does this element intend TO assert
itself in the councils of the Republican
party ? They know the conditions.
They know that under the leadership
they have trusted, in the last campaign
great corruption fund was poured into
Kent and Sussex They had expressed
ha for fnrt ~ ole hn "a
put themselves to considerable incon-
venience to fight il; in certain instances
they had braved unpopularity and had
even suffered in business for the faith
that was in them Then they heheld
Union Republican leaders travelling TO
Kent and Sussex with satchels of cor
ruption money furnished by Regular
! Republican leaders in Wilmington The
question is what are these honest Re
/ pubhcans going to do in the future ?
| Are they going to revise their morals be
cause a new leader from Kentucky bids
them If formerly they were Republi-
cans then they are something else now
/ unless they shall succeed in bringing the
/ party back to its moorings.
To make this unpleasant story com.
plete something more ought 10 be said
| There is the lame defence that the money
| spent in the last campaign was con.
| tributed for general expenses that the
donors had no precise knowledge Of the
purpose for which IL was 10 be used But
/ such can hardly be the case when IL i.
susceptible Of proof that certain minol
| politicians made frequent trips to vii
mington with schedules Of the doater.
! IN. Lhn .-ar.nma dl.Lrinls and The amount