Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1908-02-13
CAN'T AGREE ON ANYTHING.

One of the most serious faults of the
Democratic party is that its leaders, its
press and even its rank and file cannot
agree upon anything. We hear much
about differences and ruptures in the
Republican party, such information
generally coming from a Democratic
source, but when the time for action
arrives the Republicans always get to-
gether. They do this by uniting on
fundamental Republican doctrines and
casting aside their differences on non
essentials. There is such a variety of
opinion among Democrats as to what
are fundamentals and what are non-es-
sentials that they cannot act as do the
Republicans.
When President Roosevelt recently
sent his great message to Congress, it
was received by the Democratic men,
bers of the House of Representatives
with thunders of applause. The party
press was almost unanimous in praise
of its tone and suggestions, and the
Democratic masses greeted it with
shouts of approval. Even the Peer
less" leader of the Democracy was
among the first to give his unmeasured
sanction to the utterances of Mr.. Roose-
welt, and to congratulate him on getting
to see things as he, Mr.. Bryan, had
been seeing them. You can still hear
Intelligent Democrats declare that the
message is the greatest state paper
that has ever been prepared by any
President of the United States.
A change, however, is now taking
place among the Democratic leaders
and press in their estimate of the char
acter and quality of the message. John
Sharp Williams, Democratic leader in
the House of Representatives, has dis
covered that the message contains
things that are sensational, federahs-
tic and dangerous to the American Re-
public"
The Norfolk Virginian-P Pilot, Roose-
welt hater, calls the message the BRA
zen Serpent" And speaking of the
Presidents suggestions, says:
Gan these are but calculated tricks
of the demagogue to raise a spirit in
the multitude angry enough to give him
free rein in the path of usurpation.
And there be Democrats who are caught
withsuch transparent bait and who are
so besotted in their infatuation as to go
about singing paens to him who is work.
ing their downfall hour by hour. They
are like those misguided children of
Israel who grew weary of the worship
of Jehovah, and set themselves up
a brazen serpent in the wilderness and
fell down before it."
Our esteemed Norfolk contemporary
is about as much at fault in its estimate
VI Vic Shdl aSlCA VI Tic IIGSlQCnI ana
the purposes of the message as it is in
correct in its recollections of Bible his
tory. The children of Israel had turned
from Jehovah and were worshipiny a
golden calf when they were being de-
stroyed by the bites of poisonous ser
penis. Moses, finding them in this ter
rible condition, was told by Jehovah to
put up a brazen serpent and to call upon
the afflicted Israelites to look upon it.
promising that all who looked should
hive.
Our Norfolk contemporary has given
the message an appropriate name. Let
it be called the ''Brazen Serpent"
Then let all who have been worshiping
the Golden Calf, those who have been
bitten by poisonous reptiles, look upon
the brazen serpent and be saved. Our
Norfolk contemporary will do well to
look.