Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-09-12
FOR PLATFORM
OF DEMOCRATS.
swackhamer and
JE. MARITIME offer Suggestions.

Hndspeth of the Democratic State COM
mittee, has been receiving in reply to his
public invitation for Democrats to write
HIM their views upon who the nominee Of
the party should be, and what the princi-
pies declared for in the platform should be,
are interesting ones from Samuel s. Swack-
hamer, former Assemblyman from Somer-
set County, and from James E. MARITIME, Of
Plainfeld. who is an aspirant for Demo-
cratic nomination for Governor.
'ayox populi, vox Del" declares Mr..
Swackhamer, should be the first and most
important plank IN the party platform, and
there should be man nominated for Coy.
who stands firm upon that plank. The
Swackhamer letter in full, is as follows:-
Permit me to reply briefly to your open
letter recently Published, asking for sug-
gestions as to platform, principle, etc. If,
from the ranks OF Democracy, we could
bring forth Daniel O'Connell, William
E. Gladstone or an Andrew Jackson, there
would be small difficulty in selecting
candidate to head the ticket. You may
make platform as fine and faultless as the
Declaration of independence, but it will
avail nothing, unless the man who stands
upon it is an acknowledged and fearless ex-
ponent Of the principles declared
IA man to win must be popular leader,
commoner, a known friend Of the people,
a man whose character, sentiments and
record are the subject of no doubtful specu-
lation. This is time that is fine for the
statesman, but fatal to the demagogue
''Tallyrand said language was invented
to conceal thought, but the candidate who
now acts upon that maxim will go down in
the dust of defeat ground to powder under
the indignant feet Of an army of insulted
voters.
Wendell Philips once stood before an
angry and threatening audience. expecting
every minute to be mobbed His wife
called out from the gallery no shilly-shally-
lng, Wendell. Rising to his full height,
with the fire of courage and resolution in
his eye, he hurled forth his burning and
defiant utterances in the teeth of the mob,
and gained mastery which he meyer lost
The man who asks for the votes of the
people in this campaign must speak out in
clear and unmistakable tones His position
relative to the vital issues which confront
us must be clear cut and correctly defined.
He must tell the people land his word must
be better than second mortgage on an old
Virginia farm) where he stands with refer
ence to the subject of actual equal taxation;
where, with reference to the full value as
sessment of the property of corporations;
where, with reference to the election of all
tax assessors by the people; where, with
reference to the election of U. S. Senators
by direct vote Of the people; where, with
reference to public utilities bill, confer
ing plenary powers upon the commission;
where, with reference to the introduction
of the Australian ballot; where, with ref
erence to the initiative and the referendum,
and the great principle Of home rule in
municipal affairs.
II is the right of the voter to know the
political views of his representatives before
election day. The opinion of the represen-
tative may or may not be correct, but if it
is his business to declare his principles and
policy, SO that his fitness for the place he
seeks may be determined by his own polit-
ical standard in advance
We all know that class legislation has
plundered the people; the unlawful COM
binations have acquired almost omnipotent
power in the State; that political machin-
cry has been contrived and operated for the
benefit of the few at the expense of the
many; that the classes have been getting
rich forward, while the masses have been
getting rich backward.
We all know that the great body polite,
lying on its back like an unwieldy turtle,
has been trying in its awkward way TO get
on its feet, while the trusts have ridden over
it regardless. All this we know, because
eminent friends and members OF the Re-
publican party have told us so. Now, it is
evident that to say we govern ourselves' is
a false pretense. There is between the citi-
zen and the State gang that mans the po-
litical machine and keeps it going for the
purpose of collecting kind Of political
mama called graft. Ii differs from the
Biblical mama in that it drops up from
hell, instead Of down from heaven, and can
be sayed up. The mamma is very tempting
and those who feed upon it are determined,
If possible, to hold the ground where it can
be gathered. One set of these grafters would
be put out Of commission by a direct vote
for United States Senators. Another by
the election Of the assessors who value the
main stem of the railroad company. Anoth-
er, BY the submission Of important ques-
tions through the instrumentality OF the re-
ferendum.
$50 the list might be fengthened in such
a way as to crowd the mourners ont Of their
seats and abolish the political middle-men
that fatten on the substance Of the people
and owe their allegiance to the machine.
The first plank live oak in the Demo-
cratic platform should be sVox populi, yox
Del. The voice Of the people has been