New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-05-21
COLONEL WATTERSON TO THE RESCUE.

Colonel Watterson has devised ingenious
scheme for revivifying the Democratic party
Desperate situations call for heroic remedies
and SO the coloners plan involves at the very
outset nothing less than the retirement Of Mr.
Bryan as the party's Presidential candidate in
1908 and the nomination, on the colonels own
personal voucher of q mysterious substitute
whose present abode is somewhere west Of the
"Alleghanies and north of the Potomac and the
Ohio" The national convention is presumably
to take the nominee on faith and not on sight
Some nom de guerre will doubtless be used TO
conceal his Identity and Mr. Watterson will put
himself under bonds to reveal the unknown's
name in case there are enough Democratic votes
In the next Electoral College to make 1t really
worth while to count and deliver them.
The editor of THE Courier-Journal" says that
his great untagged Is Democrat without en-
dangling alliances with any of the money
powers, vet without any antecedents which
would drive away conservative Democrats
Safe from interviewers and photographers not
having to write a letter of acceptance or to
make public speeches. the candidate with the
Iron Mask, as Mr.. Wntterson predicts, could
still the discords and restore the harmonies-
yea fill the loose sails of the old Ship of Zion
with hopeful gales and perhaps prove an Abra-
"ham Lincoln to the lost sheep of the house of
better than sound, and mystery and novelty are
piquant attractions in the game of politics
Colonel Watterson's idea of q submerged and
nameless Democratic candidate has much TO
commend It. Vote for the mysterious for
President would be an attractive rallying cry.
With the Oldest and most popular Of our alge-
braic symbols at the head of the national ticket
would have any justification for asking
petulantly What Is Democrat?'
Colonel Watterson naturally wants his unseen
and unknown leader TO stand a properly
cryptic platform. Away with the foolish and
dissension stirring issues of the last three Pres
identfal campagns Let the Democratic party
forget the present and renew Itself in the wis
dom of the past! Let 1t "go back TO the Con
stitution." That immortal document ought to
help ito fill the loose sails of the old Ship OF
Zion,' stuck on the sandbanks between conserva-
tism and radicalism. Who would want to vote
against the old flag and the Constitution? But
Mr.. Watterson hestates to appropriate the Con-
stitution just as 1t stands as q summarzaton
Of Democratic principles. Some judicious inter
probation, he thinks. is necessary. As he ex-
plains
When The CONFECTIONERY" says Back to
the Constitution" we propose no resounding
manifesto. no glitterlng generalization, but a
specific and itemized declaration of principles
and purposes wholly practical in character and
in kind.
The next Democratic platform. Mr. Watterson
contends, must be short and crisp" Here are
Its main outlines as indicated In advance by the
volunteer chairman of the committee on plat
form and candidate:
The tariff must be reduced to a revenue basis
The government has no right either in equity
or IN law to collect a dollar OF taxes except for
its own support. Publicity for the franchise
corporations. The railways to be reached and
tied he into tat rfe
Commission; but the law to be limited to the
supervision of their capitalization and their
relation to the general public. striking down the
possibility Of discrimination and excuses, either
as to passengers or shippers. The railways are
the property of The people. Their managers
should be made to obey the law. But all laws
enacted In hot blood or for revenge in the
end only recoil upon the people. The separation
of Church and State. The further Improvement
OF the labor laws more fully to meet the
reasonable demands of labor as against the fire.
quent impositions of capital. and thus by elm
mating just causes of di. content to aay agita-
ton and make progress toward the complete
reconciliation of capital and labor.
The separation of Church and State is specif
ically enjoined by the Constitution, but so far
know nobody is at present demanding
their union. AS for the other declarations OF
principle offered it would be hopeless to look for
them in the Constitution They are mere polit-
icaI policies based on constructions Of the Con-
stitution and entitled to acceptance only in so
far as they can be established by practice and
argument. Colonel Watterson unfortunately
does not carry his logic far enough. He ought
TO stand pat the Constitution without in
terpreting constituting it. There is always
danger In being too definite Let him draw a
platform as non-cOmmittal, elusive and mysteri-
as the Presidential nominee he has in mind
Then the success of his unity project is certain
The Democratic party can undoubtedly be united
next year If it will agree TO accept the colonels
sealed platform and canned candidate.