Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-02-27
HARD HIT eY TEXAN.
No Question as to Who Struck Tom
Patterson.


There is much contrariety Of opinion
Of the man who struck Billy Patterson,
says Savoyard the well known Wash
ington correspondent, but everybody
in this town is agreed that 1t was Joe
Bailey who struck Tom Patterson
there is no doubt as to this latter, and
he gave him a devil Of lick. It was
all about conscience in politics and in
cidently the question arose whether
1t was the office Of the Democratic
party In congress- to furnish the
Roosevelt administration with the re-
quisite number OF votes 1t requires to
carry out its wishes 1t seems that
there was Democratic caucus Of sem
ators the other day and they resolved
by one more than a two-thirds ma
jority that there Is a Democratic party
in this country, Notwithstanding that
1t has been lost, strayed or stolen for
more than dozen years. except when
Mckinley Of Roosevelt needed Dem
ocratic votes In congress. The cau-
Gus also resolved that to be q Demo-
cratic senator, a member Of that au-
gust body must vote with his party and
abstain from giving aid and compact
10 enemy. j.
Mr. Tom Patterson, a senator from
Colorado, labeled Democrat, declar-
ed his independence Of the caucus, and
laid 1t on his conscience. The Repub-
licans were delighted. Having no con-
science Of their own to parade they pre-
pared to seize the opportunity to make
political issue OF Mr.. Patterson's
conscience. Henry Cabot Lodge pre-
pared a resolution, but Mr.. Patterson
forestalled him with a string of plati-
tudes very edifying to Mr.. Patterson
and his Republican sympathizers. 1t
seems that Mr. Patterson, having bolt
ed Cleveland in 1892, is ambitious to
be Roosevelt Democrat In 1906.
Mr.. Roosevelt is in need Of four
Democratic votes In the senate to vi
talize his policy Of making this country
the collector Of usury of the scamp re-
publics to the south Of us to satisfy
the monstrous claims Of Shylocks ev-
erywhere. The Republicans are unan-
imously for 1t. OF course, that makes
1t party issue. It is true they hold
no caucus. They don't have to. What
is the use Of caucus when there Is
Roosevelt to order them what to do?
The Democrats accepted the challenge.
They argued that the Republicans
were solid all the time and that the
and they resolved that this was one Of
the times when a Democratic party
would be solid, or know the reason
why. The result was the caucus order
to oppose the San Domingo treaty.
Mr.. Patterson's conscience rebelled,
and, as in 1892, he seeded. He made
a great speech on the subject Of con-
science and the Republicans were
greatly struck with it, for they found
themselves very much in need Of Mr..
Patterson's conscience at that time,
and they would be glad Of several 9TH
er Democrats consciences.
When Mr.. Patterson concluded, Jo-
seph w. Bailey rose and In five min
utes demolished Mr.. Patterson's house
of cards. He showed how fiimsy 1t
was, and then stated the correct po-
sition. Patterson had been elected to
the senate because he was the nomi-
nee of a caucus and you can no more
run a party without a caucus than you
can chop down tree with handle
without an axe. Mr.. Bailey argued
bound by the action Of the caucus to
violate his conscience, If Mr.. Patter-
sons conscience would not permit him
to obey the Democratic organization
his duty was clear. Let him do as he
did in 1892-get out of the party.
Bailey is the oldest constitutional
lawyer in the senate-the strongest
logician. He convinced the senate that
Patterson's position was absurd. He
Is not so brilliant a man as Carmack
not nearly so accomplished. He made
his hearers pity Patterson; Carmack
would have caused them to laugh at
Patterson. Bailey covered his adver-
sary with a consciousness Of absurd
ity: Carmack would have made him
ridiculous.
But the best Of the whole thing is that
It shows that there is a Democratic
solved that there shall be no more
nonsense. The caucus meant this. If
a senator's conscience requires him to
vote for Roosevelt's politics he must
get out Of the Democratic party and
do it. That is all the caucus was, and
II Is the first act Of virility OF which
the Democratic party has been guilty
since 1892. l have more hope OF the
old thing than I have had In more
than a dozen years, and If John Sharp
Williams will take my advice he, too,
will resort to a caucus at the south
end of the caDitOl,