The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-06-26
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY is IN
FULL RETREAT.


and joined in the demonstration in
favor of President Roosevelt and
Senator LaFollette must have felt
| indignant as they watched the panic
stricken delegates running over each
other in their effort to get away from
the LaFollette reforms, some of
which had been endorsed by the
president himself Congressman
Cooper, of Wisconsin, representing
the LaFollette men, brought in a mi
nority report signed by himself
alone. Fifty-two members of the
committee signed the majority re-
port and one signed the minority
report. The republican party will
find the ratio of fifty-two to one
very embarrassing one to deal with
in the coming campaign. Mr.. Coop
er's report contained a declaration
in favor of publicity as to campaign
funds. 1t was lost by vote of $50
to "a, more than nine to one, and
yet the president has been advocat-
ing legislation in favor of publicity
as to campaign contributions, and
Secretary Taft wrote a letter to Mr..
Burrows advocating the passage of
publicity bill. How fortunate it
was that Secretary Taft's letter was
finally discovered and PUBLISHED! Sen
a 10 ,hNv
the Taft letter was addressed. was
the temporary chairman of the con-
vention, and the convention over
which he presided turned down the
publicity plank by vote of nine to
one! Who will deny that, on this
subject. the republican party is re-
treating?
Another plank of the LaFollette
platform authorized the ascertain
ing of the value OF the railroads.
! This plank was lost by vote of GIT
to 63-nearly fifteen to one-and
yet President Roosevelt has advocat-
ed this very proposition Here is
retreat on the railroad question.
In another column reference is
! made to the injunction plank. The
injunction plank adopted by the re-
publican convention is retreat from
the position taken by Secretary Taft
in his speeches, although neither of
them went as far as they ought to
have gone in their effort to prevent
what is known as government by
injunction. Here is the third retreat.
The president has advocated the
| income tax as means of prevent
ing swollen fortunes and of equal
izing the burdens of government
| The republican platform is silent on
the subject, Was the president right
in the position he took? If so, then
the convention was wrong in not en-
dorsing him. Will the republican
voters follow the president in this
! just demand or will they follow the
republican organization in retreat
/ ing from it?
! The president advocated an in
heritance tax, but the republican
convention is silent on that subject
Was the president ahead of the re-
! publican party in advocating this re-
! form, or has the republican party
/ receded from the presidents posi-
ton? Did the president give false
I alarm on this question or has the
; party sounded retreat?
In the presidents message to con-
| gress last spring he presented an in
dictment against the conspiracy
formed among the great lawbreakers
to prevent the enforcement of law
and to eyade the punishments pro-
vided by law. The platform adopted
by the republican convention con-
tains no intimation of danger. If
| there are any conspiracies, the con-
vention did not see them; II there
are any combinations, 1t had not
| heard of them; If there are any dan
gers ahead, 1t was unconscious of
them. Was the president mistaken
when he issued his defiance. or are
the republican managers deceived
when they think that an aroused
public will calmly contemplate the
encroachments of predatory wealth.
! This is retreat number six.
| The convention, by vote of $50
| to fillmore than seven to one
voted down the plank in favor of
the popular election of United States
| senators. 1t is true that the president
and Secretary Taft have never advo-
Gated the popular election of SEN
ators. They seem to take the Ham
| iltonian rather than the Jefferson
! ian view, but the most popular re-
form in the United States today is
the reform that has for its object the
election of United States senators
by direct vote. 1t has five times been
endorsed by the national house of
representatives-th times when