The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-09-26
From Kansas City Star.

| From Kansas City Star.
If the majorities for the Democratic
party in the last election in Oklaho-
any nope of Republican success in fu-
ture years, even though the Demo
cratic party commit wrongs that
should cause its defeat, there will be
regret among both Democrats and Re
publicans who believe in good public
service more than they do in yellow
dog" politics. They feel that condi-
ton that would cause either party to
be kicked out of office if its represen-
tatives were false to their trust would
be an ideal guarantee of clean, vigo-
rous government.
Whatever the majority of the Dem
ocratic party in the late election may
prove to be, the conditions that Great
ed it were SO abnormal that citizens
who are more loyal to good govern
ment than they are to- any party,
when that party is wrong, rely with
confidence upon the independent vot-
er finding a way to assert himself.
They propose encouraging the Repub-
licans to believe that there is enough
to fight for. and that it will be against
good government to abandon the state
entirely to the Democratic or any 9th
er party. These citizens would make
the same appeal if conditions were
reversed, and the Democrats, instead
of the Republicans, were in present
defeat.
No person will know reasonably
until the next state election the act
ual strength of the Democratic and
Republican parties in Oklahoma. At
the beginning the Republicans were
handicapped with the odium of long
continuance in power, coupled with
being the representative of the fed
eraI government This power, with
it's attendant patronage. has weaken
ed the Republican party by provok-
ing factional feuds, which sapped the
life of vigorous party organization.
For two years the Republican party
in Oklahoma, as a fighting machine,
has been useless. Broken into bands
engaged in an internicfne war, it was
powerless to protect itself from am
buscades or to win in the open field
against its Democratic enemy.
The campaign for the election of
delegates to the constitutional conye1
ton found the Republicans utterly de-
moralized. Each territory has it's Re-
publican organization, both torn with
internal dissensions, and without
common acquaintance. Fearing that
the loss of control would endanger
the success of schemes for selfish per
sonal advantage, party leaders at the
head of these respective organiza-
tions refused to consolidate them into
one central state organization, and
the result was a double-headed cam
paign, with the committees working
at cross purposes.
The Democrats showed wisdom in
perfecting a single campaign organi-
zation and appealed directly to the
people for support While Republicans
were wrangling, the Democrats were
working The Democrats elected 100
and the Republicans II of the 112 del
egates in the constitutional conven-
ton.
Then came the master stroke of the
Democrats. The people of the two
territories desired statehood above all
other things. The only way to get
statehood was to make and adopt
constitution. With its majority in the
convention, the Democratic party
made a constitution The constitution
was condemned as bad. SO bad as
to endanger good government. but
there was never a moment wnen it
could have been made bad enough to
cause its rejection by the people. aun-
CRY for statehood
Day by day in the convention the
Democrats appealed to the people. Ev
cry day was a campaign day for the
Democratic party. The Democrats
saw that the Constitution would be
their platform in the state campaign
The Republicans realized this and
knew they must take an opposite
course or contradict the Democrats
in order to get campaign issue. The
Republicans wished to take some kind