The farmer and mechanic., 1907-09-10
"a Toilette, Octopus Chaser.
by SaX OYaRD.

roads were disciplined and rraryers
banished e . all that
From 1890 till Iss4 Wisconsin va.
Democratic Both SenatorS-Vllas
and Mitchell - that party AID
there is not he slightest doubt thar
Wisconsin would nave eon4E-stte.l
cratic party had remained CIes elauI-
ish. The same Is true OF numerous
other Northern States. but when the
Democratic party deposed Cleveland.
Wisconsin deposeI me brm3.4.s.4l
party That Is how Il came that T.a
Toilette got 10 be governor and
Spooner got back his Job as Senator
IN the state Villas Spooner ana
Bragg Ia Toilette as governor.
chased the octopus. and would have
been glad 10 put Spooner out Of a
job. but Wisconsin remembered how
she had taken Carpenter out cf the
Senate some twenty years earlier. and
elected a legislature that s.ood by
her greatest living Republican
But La Toilette had hia eyes on
the Senate. aud when another vacancy
occurred he took IL. after debating FOR
long time In his mind whether oc-
topue chasing at Washington was TO
be preferred to octopus chasing at
Madison. lie decided for the Ma
tional Capital. and entered the Sen
ate in January. 1906 just as the
grand octopus chase OF the Fifty ninth
Congress was about 10 begin When
the rae bill came on TO be heard. the
new Senator participated He made
great speech on the subject that the
proof-readers or the Government
Printing Office read. The eist OF It
was that the American republic has
gone 70 the dogs and that the Amer
lean people are undone | have heard
that speech some 10, 600 times. and
have written miles and miles OF that
sort of stuff for the newspapers my
self.
The President of the United States
"as the leader of the octopus chase,
with the Hon. lea Tilliaan chief
huntsman in the Senate ana the II on.
the outside The Republicans were
much disconnected when they found
their President in the Democratic
carnf> but Uncle Allison came along
and fixed things so that the Presi-
dent got back home. not. however.
until there was held a stormy chap
ter Of the Ananias Club. where
knights o mendacity were hurled
against one another like so many Ro-
lands and divers. When Senator
Aldrich saw the President safely reg
cued from the camp of Tillman, Ba:
ley and the other Democratic octo-
pus chaseys he went TO Europe. Con
gress adjourned, and the country fell
to it's old trade of President making
In the Democratic camp there Is an
absolute autocrat to whom everything
must be referred Nothing is Demo-
cratic of which ne disapproves. Ger
tainly he will make the PLATFORM;
doubtless he will head the ticket.
There was some brave talk of a South
ern Ian: but Mr. BRYAN met It with
sneer that put thai talk TO silence
However. some things might happen
be ween dog days, 1907. and the con-
vention Of 1905.
On the Republican side Of the
hedge the situation is more interest
ing. Never before were there 50 many
candidates, active and ptive-
Taft Fairbanks. Cannon, Knox,
Hughes. Cortelyou, Cummins Crane
Shaw, Spooner Foraker, Scott, and
La Toilette Then there is the third
term talk, and everybody knows that
Roosevelt can have it for wink or a
grin Taft would be the strongest
man of the whole layout on the day
of election but it is doubtful If he
ton to the administration will con-
centrate on Fairbanks or Cannon or
Knox. possibly on Hughes, never on
Cummins or La Toilette. At this
writing he Co~telyou boom has the
floor. much to that gentleman's dis
gust who would gladly have post
poned his stunt until planting
time next year. There is a tradition
that he IS a regular Napoleon Of poll
tics. and that veteran bosses stood
aghast at some Of the strategies he
successfully practiced when chief OF
staff of the party in 1904 He has
been head of the Department Of Com
merce and Labor and knows the cor
porations from skin to core; he has
been head Of the Postoffce Depar;-
ment that has most or the bread and
butter He IS now head of the Treas
ury Department that has ramific2-
tions in every community from ocean
to ocean. He planned and executed
The victorious campaign Of 1904 IF
he is endowed with the genius for
politics he is suspected Of possessing z
it will necessary follow that he will
make monkeys Of the rest Of en- at
the convention.
la Toilette is the radical candidate.
Roosevelt is not half the octopus
chaser La Toilette would be. Bryan
NlIlSetL Is not set . DlI more UlS-
ging The rate bill got La Toilette S
vote. but it was not half baked in his
opinion He claims to be tariff re-
former too this man who sat at the
feet of Pig Iron" Kelley and alb
sorbcd the political economy Of Hen
~ C. Carey that is the mother Of
every trust that oppresses the peo-
pie. There is no economic evil now
existing that IS not directly traccahle
to paternalism in government and a
protective tariff is the upper crust and
butt cut Of all paternallzr1 Here we
are on the brink Of socialism and
by 1924 this republic will have to
fight for its very existence against
socialism which can point to the pa
ternallsm Of the Republican party.
chiefly the tariff. az precedent for It's
frenzy Mr. Bryan's ultimate" gov
er1nnent ownership and operation Of
railroads is but the legitimate fruit of
the paternalisrl we have had for for
ty years. The BeveriJke child-labor
bill. which Mr. Bryan indorses is pure
paternalism and 2 total annihilation
of States rights.
La Toilette purposes to reform The
tariff by the friends Of protection AS
E. w Carnack pe-tirentIy said. there
Will be no reform Of the tariff until
il is accomplished by the friends II
rhe tsx-DayarS When the PaprhI5