The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1906-01-25
Editorial Symposium
Selected from Columns of the Leading Newspapers
Of America.

shut the people out of all the prelimi
naries.
IF THE PEOPLE COULD SPEAK.
Cleveland Leader Great railway
and mining companies and powerful
capitalists undertaxed by a com
plaisant Arizona Legislature rave
against joint statehood with New
Mexico and more equitable distri
button of the burdens of government
1t is what might be expected.
Railroad companies struggling hard
to maintain systems of rate.making
which have juggled with the rightt
and fortunes of cities and States al
we'll as those of individuals and cor
porations, malign the President.
Patronage brokers in the Senate
and the House and bosses not In office
hate Theodore Roosevelt for his
devotion to civil service reform.
But what If the people could speak
at the polls?
Let any honest man ask himself
what direct vote upon the question
whether the Presidents policies
should be sustained, broadened and
given new power or defeated, smother.
ed and repudlated, would show.
What proportion of the people OF
the United States would vote against
him on the railroad rate question
/ One-tenth?
How many would oppose him in the
, matter of the merit system Could
the spoils, brokers, officials and others
muster one vote in every dozen?
How would the country vote on the
proposition to admit Arizona and New
Mexico as two States, with as many
Senators as New York and Ohio ?
Does any one doubt that 30 per cent.
would be on the Presidents side?
Comparatively few Americans are
interested in Santo Domingo, but of
the voters informed upon that island 's
problems how many disagree with
Theodore Roosevelt in regard to the
necessity of averting European inter
vention and at the same time prevent
ing injustice to the honest creditors
of the Dominican republic?
Such questions answer themselves.
If 1t we're possible to take poll of
the people of the United States on
the genei al issue between the Presi-
dent and his antagonists and secret or
open critics and enemies in Congress
the result would silence the opposition
for years to come. His triumph would
be overwhelming.
President Roosevelt's ablest enemies
know full well that this is true.
THE GREATER POLITICS.
Ohio State Journal Behind every
political boss there is monopoly or
trust. Every party machine is run by
a financial aggregation of some sort.
1t is through these agencies that COR
porate power IN aintains Its sascendency
over the people. This is the road
to the overthrow of popular govern
ment, and the dissipation of self
reliant citizenship.
1t Is a very important matter, the
most important of all issues, whether
the brutal force of wealth shall domi-
nate all the interests of this country.
No one knows the foothold 1t has al
ready; no one can picture the situa-
tion when the sway Is complete. In
dividuality is at the mercy of mon
opoly. Hundreds of insurance Offices
squeezing outrageous salaries out of
thousands of policyholders and paying
hundreds of thousands of dollars to
political committees to uphold their
oppression, is simply an illustration.
A blow at such autocracies can al.
ways be made by striking down boss
or smashing a machine. 1t Is always
easy to manage boss. A few thou
sand dollars will do it. See Platt's
testimony in the New York insurance
investigation. A 80 900 now and then
settled him. No adverse legislation
followed. The people we're sold out.
What is a boss ? ae is creator of
henchmen. he is a dispenser of
patronage so as to make himself a
dictator. Many people think this is
politics, but it is only selfishness. The
monopoly magnates understand this.
But we can't do without leaders.
or course not. But they must be
leaders of the party, not of faction,
which is the logical result of a patron
age. Some people think that cannot
be that leader must have machine.
Such people can be neither good Re-
publicans nor good Democrats.
We hope that the Republican party,
at once, will get out of that notion,
and get up on the plane of patriotic
politics and fight the battle of the
people against sordid faction of
greedy trust. There is a strong ten
dencv that way now, and it will grow.
There is new deal of forces at play
In this country. and there Is needed
some otnec 4Astiumentality than the
old time political machine methods to
fight them. That instrumeptality is
true, fearless, intelligent manhood
that will not be led astray by salary,
office, retainer, stock or perquisite of