, 1906-09-17
rerms or subscription.
THE PARTY OF THE PEOPLE.

Democratic party leaders are prone
to pirate about their party being the
party Of the people and to charge that
the republican party is run by the few
and is Errayed against the masses.
Nothing could be farther from the
truth. Never in the history of America
has there been n party run by ms few
leaders or given attention by as small
a number of individuals prior to cleo.
ton day as the democratic party Of the
present time. Reference is had to par
ties polling a considerable number OF
votes and which have claimed national
Importance during a number Of years.
This fact has been aptIy illustrated
in Wyoming during the past sixty
days. In the republican ranks there
has been keen interest and a lively
canvass was made for the several nom
nations on the state ticket. Good men
tho best the state affords-competed
Tor places. In some counties almost as
many votes were polled at the primaries
as will be polled by the republican
party on election day. The people We're
interested in having for their standard
bearers men of their choice. 1t was
the voters who were expressing them
selves, just as they should do under a
republican form of government In
county conventions the representatives
elected by primary meetings showed
enthusiastic interest in what was be-
ing done and they elected representa-
tives to the state convention who made
it their business to expend the time
and money necessary to perform the
duty entrusted to them. These dele.
gates assembled from every county in
the state and the result was a ticket
actually chosen by the people through
their representatives-not a ticket Sc
lected by a convention made up of a
very small number of delegates and a
few proxies, such as hat which assem-
bled at the city of Cheyenne on the
18th inst. At no time in the democrat
ic convention were there as many as
thirty delegates actually chosen by the
rank and file of the democratic party
and at every session of the conven
ton approximately fifty per cent of the
delegates came from a single county,
that in which the convention wis held.
1t was in no sense a representative
convention. 1t was a gathering of a
few of the party leaders who had\ Sc.
lected themselves as ~so-calIed repre-
sentatlyes of the people. There has
been not the slightest interest in any
of the counties of the state. The peo-
pie were not anxious to know who
would be named, for they knew that
the choice of the great majority would
be favorable to the men nominated at
Casper-the men actually chosen by
a representative convention.
The meeting at Cheyenne attracted
no attention among the citizens OF
that city. There were seats in the
gallery, but they were not occupied
In fact not more than % per cent OF
the seats on the main floor were used
Delegates did not attend in sufficient
numbers to make it necessary to di
vide the chairs off into counties. Some
of the counties appeared to be with,
out representation. At no time did
ladies honor the convention by theiI
presence. Aside from a few newspa.
per representatives there was none
who took enough interest in the pro
~ceedings to take the time to attend.
Under such circumstances how can
the democratic party claim to be a rep
resentative party? How does it repre-
sent the people of Wyoming?