Middletown transcript., 1907-02-02
CommIzn znicased. ]
THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT

fOu 3 l0tAU AAO uAAOs AAAe- - . ~ T.
sufficient space in your columns
or very few words2
The late convention of the Re
publican party in the State of
Delaware, with a great deal Of
painstaking care, drafted and
adopted platform upon which
It proposed to stand, and de-
clared a policy which it pledged
itself upon the honor Of its lead
ers to pursue, if again intrusted |
with the administration Of the
of the State. At
the election following the party |
received a very substantial vote
of confidence, returning 10 the
Legislature thirty-six Rspubli-
cans ont of the fifty two mem 5ers,
Among its platform pledges.
the party promised, if intrusted
with power, to grant to the peo-
pie their constitutional right to
vote upon the question Of focal
option. !" The time allotted for
the session of the General As
sembly is now about half gone,
and this promise yet remains
unfulflled. There would be moth
ing disquieting in this mere fact
alone, for there is yet time
enough for the keeping of every
pledge which was so enthusias.
tically and vociferously made in
convention. But the rumor is
abroad that "The Bill'' will pass
the House but will meet its death
in the Senate. 1t is with deep
and ferVent interest that | ask
the leaders of the party, can this
be true? Ii it is true, then it
follows that the party is either
impotent on the one hand, or i'm
beetle on the other. Impotent,
because it is unable TO make good
it's platform pledges, or else i'm
beciIe because II has not the wis
dom to discern the crime COM
mitted against itself in the breach
Of them. l would be one Of the
last to accept either conclusion,
yet | do believe that, even in
politics, honestyis the best policy
as well as the best principle, and
that it is not honest to make plat
form pledges and not keep them
If we fail in this behalf it will
not be sufficient to say at the
next hustings that our system
of district representation in the
General Assembly returned some
Republicans who would not sup
port the party's platform declar-
ations, A very large body Of
men, without whose moral sand
actual support we cannot sue
ceed, will not accept any such
excuse. They will hold US ac-
countable for what they will
term a breach of faith on our
part. We believe that the day
has come even in Delaware, when
mere party shibboleth will not
be sufficient to win. The people
want, and demand measures, and
righteous measures. Whether
the whiskey saloon and beer gar
den tends to good or evil among
our citizens is one thing And
whether they shall be prevented
from making their choice in that
behalf by very small minority,
is another thing.
The simple provisions oI the
constitution in th"s matter are
altogether demo cratic, and to re-
fuse to permit them to make
their choice Hereunder is an.
outrage on common rights, and
any party imbued with d true
spirit of what we call democracy,
could not refuse it, much less a
party which had solemnly prom
ised in its platform to grant il.
My relation to the party is an
humble one and have no desire
that it should be otherwise. IfI
I did. I would probably be DOOM
ed to disappointment. Never
theless | am one of the many who
has earnestly believed ID the
principles that give it birth. For
more than thirty years 1 have
toiIed in its organization work. |
When other men were asleep I've
trudged over lonely country |
roads till the small hours in the
morning comprising every shool
house and hamlet from the Mary /
land line to the Delaware Bay, I
and whether others concede it or
not | claim the right to speak in
"meetin." Every man, from the
highest to the lowest, who ac-
cepted a nomination at the hands
of the party, stands honor bound
to do his utmost towards the
realization Of its platform Piled
ges. And the State COMMITTEES
which was elected by the conven
ton that drafted and adopted the
platform should do its utmost to
accomplish that end. 1t is be-
lleved by many that the commit
tee has it il its power to do much
in%hat direction. Let its chair
man call it together and let it's
members take as strong and in
sistent action as the convention
that elected them. Their infiu-
ence should be exerted upon the /
mem bers of the General Assem-
bly,. The party's highest inter-
ests demand it. There are
large number Of Republican mem
'bers in the General Assembly
who would not be there but for
the votes Of men who broke party |
alliances to support them in the
belief that our promise was made
to be kept. You have got these
men to reckon with, and if you
give them occasion to feel that |
they have been tricked, it is our
nnipion 4hot van ~, t,,.,, -.-;ll |