Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-03-23
ing fall. On Washington's birthday Mr..

lu8 ldll. vi WI Su!lSlOu DlEtuudy MI.
Hearst held conference with many Of
his supporters in Chicago and was by
them authorized to call convention
after the Republican and Democratic
conventions" for the purpose of put
ting forth a declaration of principles
and nominating Il presidential ticket.
One feature of this action IS signif-
cant. Not long ago the announced pur
pose Of the Independence league was
to put its ticket in the field before the
convention of either old party. Another
significant thing was that in his adj
dress to his confrcres Mr.. Hearst re-
Trained from any attack upon the Dem
ocratic party. combining himself to the
statement that nobody could tell what
that party might do until its conven
ton had acted. In brief. an observer
might be justified in guessing that the
Independence league WAS really wait
ing to see whether the rcactionaricS
would control either or both of the Old
parties ana that its position would be
taken in accordance with the facts thus
discovered.
In long letter printed in his New
York American of Jan. II Mr.. Hear
set forth the platform which he would
urge upon the Independence league.
Even synopsis of this platform
would Inc Impossible in a letter of this
length. yet it may he said with the ut
most confidence that there are only
two suggestions made by him, two rec
concentrations for which he stands.
that might not win place in Il Demo
cratic platform. lie declares for Il ship
subsidy. one of the issues on which
Democrats are Il unit in opposition to
the Republican policy. And he APP
proves. though. it is true, with Il certain
hesitation and some apology, of the is
suancc of money altogether through
the national banks and not by the gov
ernmcnt direct There may be omiS-
sions from his platform of Democratic
ideas. but these propositions seem to
me the only ones that would not find
favor in Democratic committee on
resolutions. This being the case. if the
purpose of the leader of the Indcpend-
ence league is to press principles
rather than men it seems probable
that he will find his vital principles in
the platform to be adopted at Denver
next July.
Politics Afloat and Ashore.
Some little idea of what a subsidized
merchant marine might mean may be
derived from the storm now raging in
the capitol, the navy department and
in the press over certain charges made
by Congressman I.illey of Connecticut
concerning undue influence eXerted by
shipbuilders and particularly by build
ers of submarine boats over members
Of congress. navy officers and repre-
sentatives of the press.
Everybody in Washington-that is.
everybody who mixes in congressional
or department circles-knows that the
hungrest seekers for congressional ia
vOrs are the men who are here preach
ing the greatness of the United States
as nation and urging that they be
permitted to build the torpedo boats or
the submarines that shall defend it's
high standing When a battleship costs
$1O,O0000O and the administration asks
that four should be built, it makes very
pretty pickings for the men who are
hunting the contract, particularly as
outside of the government yards, which
1t has been the policy Of this admins
tration to discredit. there are only
three shipyards capable of building
vessels of this class. The industry Of
building submarines is still in its in
fancy. Navy people call them the fly
Ing fish of the sea-now on the surface,
now plungng below. The people who
represent the builders of submarines
have another quality in common with
flying fish. They travel in schools. They
nre buttonholing members of the naval
committee at every point. Indeed, one
member of that committee said to me
that the tunnel, not yet quite COM
pleted, which enabled Il representative
to go from his Office in the new build
ing to the house without seeing any
body who was awaiting him at any
doorway was to him better source of
safety than the disappearance of the
submarine boat beneath the water was
Be that as it may, the scandal in
which the names of some very distn-
guished Republicans are mentioned is
likely to be aired very shortly. But
the whole inside truth, the real story
of the extravaganza and possibly worse.
in the navy department will never be
known unless the American people
select an administration which shall
have no interest in covering up what
has been done in that department for
twelve and more years past.
Democratic Conventions.
The Democratic state conventions so
far held have shown q gratifying una
nimity of purpose relating to national
affairs. Wisconsin has instructed its
delegates for Mr. Bryan; so. too. has
Kansas; also oklahoma. The really
notable fact about the conventions in
these states was not so much the in
StructionS as the fact that not In eight
years has the attendance upon the con-
ventions been so large and so en-
thusiastic. In every state which has
thus met in convention the tone Of the
Democracy capmpd ~ ha that of on