The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-03-11
BY LINCOLN STEPHENS.

WitHout any precise regard to party. me
Speaker put his Philippine bill through
only with the help OF the Democrats; and
rice. the last special interest taken
care Of" by "Uucle Joe" Cannon In his
free trade measure, was excepted to win
over enougkh Southern protection Demo-
Gratis to overcome the insurgent high
tariff Republicans. The party line there
la MS confused as that sentence. And,
as for the Hepburn ratio bill. everybody
voted to pass that measure up to the
Sennte to be fixed. So there's no DIFF
ference there.
And, taking the Senate. what's the DIFF
ference between Aldrich, the Republican
leader. and German, the Democratic
leader? Or between Clark. Democrat, OF
Montana. and Wetmore, Republican. of
Rhode Island? Bailey, of Texas, is n
Democrat but he Is not 80 much Of a
Democrat az La Toilette. a Republican.
OF Wisconsin. And certainly Dolllver
Republican. Of Iowa, Is at least as Demo-
cratic as McLaur!n, Democrat, of Mis-
sIssippi.
There are differences among these men,
and these differences are political They
are broad enough to build political par
ties on. But the old political parties
arc not built upon them. The new par
ties will have to be. and. as a matter
OF fact, the new parties are being built
upon them now. here. as elsewhere, in
the United States.
What are those differenccs7 What Is
the line the President and Mr.. Aldrich
could not draw In words? What Is the
American issueH
Out In Chicago some twelve years ago,
group OF reformers undertook to clear
the boodlers out OF their council The
street railways. which needed corrupt
council In their business. were in politics,
and they fought reform. The fight has
been waging ever since. municipal own
ership' is the form the issue has taken
out there, but the fight is really between
the public service corporations and the
people for the control of the government:
and men divide according as they are for
special interests or the common interest
In Cleveland the story is essentially
the same. The form of the issue is
'rhree-cent fares" but the fight which
has extended into the State. is between
the railroads and other public service
corporations on the one hand and the
people on the other for representation
in the government. and the voters are
dividing as in Chicago.
In Wisconsin. Robert NJ. La Toilette
undertook to tax the railroads like any
other property. They resisted. He taxed
them. They were going to take 1t out
of the people of the State by means of
higher rates. He undertook to regulate
rates. The issue there was. az In Chicago
and Cleveland. representative govern
ment; the fight was between privileged
business and the people. and the voters
abandoned the old parties and took sides
according as they We're for the special
interests or the common Interests.
Everett Colby. Mark Pagan, George L.
Record and their friends in Jersey are
just beginning to tax the railroads. Their
cry is equal taxation" But the people
OF Jersey are really fighting against the
special interests for the control of their
government In the common interest of all
of them.
In Wisconsin the common interest par
ty calls itself Republican and it controls
the Republican organization, but the La
Toilette half-breed party contains many
Democrats. In Ohio the reformers call
themselves Democrats, but they won wi.h
Republican votes. In Jersey the Repub-
lican party is the party used, but in
the last election the voters paid no heed
to old party lines. They were for them
selves. And so 1t has gone In Pennsylva-
MIA, Missouri and elsewhere. Wherever
the people have found leader who would
lead. they have crossed all party lines
to follow, and they are forming new
party. For Folk (DemocraO and Colby
(Republican): John Weaver (Republican)
and Tom Johnston Democrap; La Fol-
,lette (Republican) and Dunno DemocraO;
all belong to one party Differ though
they may In Ideas. in wisdom. in the
slogans they have raised and the SYM
fbols they vote under, they all are fighting
one fight raising one issue. They are
dividing old parties Into new parties.
! and all that Is needed to complete the
alignment is national leaders to bring
them together.
~ HtSrr To hny rgror hov>o
In the same way and from the same cause.
When the President undertook to pass
a rate regulation bill he opened up that
old crack which runs across tho front
of both the old parties.
That bill Is called an attack on the
railroads. It isn't. It may not be wise
bill, but 1t isn't unfair. Purportlng to
empower the Interstate Commerce Com
mission to regulate railroad rates, 1t Will
do nothing of the sort. The best friends
of the Hepburn bill. as 1t passed the
House. do not pretend that it will solve
the railroad rate problem: the most
that they claim for 1t Is that 1t Is "a
step forward" and the advocates Of the
effecting regulation OF rates want to
amend the bill to make 1t do Its work.
So while the bill may be weak. it is
not harsh. But It was a challenge to
the power of the railroads in the ma
tional government and they prepared to
oppose It's passage.
Public opinion put the bill through the
House, and the railroads hoped to avoid
an open fight by ''fooling'' the President
into accepting amendments. Everybody
thought that they would succeed In this,
hut they didn't. The President saw the
game. When Senator Aldrich expressed
his concern lest the bill, was unconsti-
tutional the President is said to hava
answered: "Then why do you object to
it?" When Senator Knox offered IN
amendment to perfect the bill and At
torney-General Moody reported that the
Knox amendment did little moro than
that, the President lost some of his faith
in one of his most trusted advisers and
Mr.. Knox lost his temper.
The fight was on. Further attempts
were made toward a Reconciliation"
and the President listened to them. But
II he won't lead, others will. It certainly
looks as If the fight would go on to the
end. the fight that is waging In so many
parts of the country. The apparent iss$,
here is an accident; railroad rate regu-
Iation may not be central or essential,
but neither Ia three-cent fare central or
a.