The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1907-07-04
P0IiC1| Comment.
SeIf-Eliminating.

SCI fcu lldl HIS teAihS are usually iCDAACs
to Democrats who dare to suggest
some thing concerning the next cam
paign. If Henry Watterson says he
has candidate, Bill wants the dark
horse trotted out right away. If some
other Democrat urges the policy OF
naming a candidate from the South,
Bill protests that section must not be
considered. If hudson Harmon nod
estly hints that people want the tariff
revised. Bill says. .All right, but that
isn't the main thing; we must go after
the trusts and railroads"
This constant nagging on the part OF
MIR. Bryan, this taking issue with every
other Democrat in the country on every
proposition advanced, thereby setting
himself up as the party oracle and the
only one. is doing more to. make bis
nomination improbable than could be
accomplished by years of organized eff
fort Prominent men in the party are
getting tired of Mr.. Bryan's bOmbast
He had no sooner stepped foot on Amer
lean soil after his trip around the world
than he placed his party on the de
fensive by advocating the government
ownership of interstate railroads and
state ownership of intrastate lines. This
radical socialism created such a furore
that Mr.. Bryan was compelled to mod
ify his statement, and he then de
clared it would be the natural outcome
after government control was proved
revision, and he has been studi0usly
silent OF late on that proposition. FL
nally he asserted that Roosevelt was o
good deal of a Democrat, because he
had stolen Democratic principles and
adapted them to his administration,
whereat John Temple Graves suggested
that as a true American citizen, Mr.
Bryan should 90 before the Democratic
convention and nominate Mr.. Roose-
Welt. Suddenly Mr.. Bryan discovered
that Mr. Roosevelt, after all, was not
a Democrat.
The fact is. Mr.. Bryan is founder
ing. He wants to be President so bad
that he has lost his head He has
taken up one issue after another, only
to find that the people will not follow
his leadership. He has been trying for
more than ten years to get into the cur
rent Of public opinion and swim with it
but he cannot locate ii. He doesn't
seem capable of properly analyzing con-
ditIons-Toledo Blade.
Southern Democratic Strength.
Commenting on the fact that of the
5,077,97l votes received by Parker in
1904, only 1928, 133 were drawn from
the Southern States, that gave him 140'
electoral votes, while the more than
3,O00,O 900 Democratic votes of the North
represented no electoral votes what
ever, the Houston Post says that scarce
" q third of the Southern Democrats
go to the polls and that their aggre
gate is NOR. than 100000. The Pest
asserts that 'there is but one political
party in the South that results are
settled at primaries and that hundreds
of thousands of voters disqualify them
selves by refusing TO pay poll taxes.
"Here In Texas" 1t remarks, I've have
900, 900 voters. of whom COG, 1000 are un-
doubtedly Democrats, but last year
scarcely 10000 votes were cast. for the
Democratic candidate for Governor.
and less than 100000 voted In the Dem
ocratic primaries, while our records
show that only about 100000 are quail
fed to vote under the laws of Texas"
AS more than a third of the votes in
all the Southern States IN 1904, and a
fourth of those cast in Texas. were
Republican, the statement that there is
only one party in the South is mac
curate 1t Is repeated with such par
rot-like persistence that many believe
It, Whether the voters in the South
who remain away from the polls are
Democrats or not is matter unprnved.
They are more apt to represent, il not
opposition. various forms of dissatisfac-
-tion. At all events, the ballot that is
not cast must remain unclassified until
it takes its place in the returns. Only
IS per cent of the population OF Texas
are negroes. The Texas Republicans
numbered u .242 in 1904, and there are
excellent reasons why The number will
be Increased in the next national cleo
tion.-St. Louis Globe-Deniocrat-