The Mena weekly star., 1908-06-25
PARTY PREJUDICE

PARTY PREJUDICE
 If General Luke Wright permits official honors to purchase his politi- cal preference and induce him to take the stump for the Republican ticket the South may be inclined to revise the high estimation in which he has always been held. Arkansas Demo crat,
 After the splendid example set by President Roosevelt in asking Gen eral Luke Wright, a born and bred Democrat, to become a member of his political family and take the most important portfolio in the direction of the affairs of this great government, it is unfortunate that a Southern newspaper should insinu- ate that this mans real worth could be depreciated by his political classi- fication. When the head of the Re- publican party can see and rewai d a man according to his true value, regardless of the fact that that man is of opposite political faith, it cer- tainly shows anything but broad minded spirit for a Democratic paper to imply that General Wright would stand any lower in the esti- nation of his people should he be rr,xrI .,. annfLay no rtx,
 Can't man differ from you re- garding principles of government and still be as great as if he agreed with you?
 President Roosevelt evidently be- lieves he can, and it is this honest, fair-minded, fearless dealing with the people and his party which makes him the most popular man ir the world today.
 Politicians and political papers that are so blinded by party preju- dice as to be unable to see or unwill- ing to give credit where credit is deserved are doing much to retard the best efforts for reform and advan cement in our government.
 Roosevelt has fought with all the power within his great being for reform that would actually bring relief to the masses, and yet in a conservative manner, in an effort to avoid too serious disturbance in the social and business life. He has fought against Congress controlled by the plutocrats in lis own party and in this he was aided by some of the statesmen in the opposite party. Unfortunately he has not only had his motives impuned and miscon- strued by the Republican politicians and the press. controlled by the special privilege interests. but some of the Democratis politicians and papers really in sympathy with the masses. yet fearful of finding some good in a Republican or Republi- can administration have done all in their power to belittle these efforts. He carried the fight to the Chicago convention by an effort to have a successor named and platform framed that would insure a con- tinuance of the square deal fight. For this the Democratic press has called him a dictator"
 A few months back it was a com mon charge that he was not sincere in his anti-third term expression and the people were warned against im- perialism, but now, since this "dicta- tor, thls would be royal monarch" did not take the third term nomina- ton and did not succeed in dictating sufficiently to embody all of his re- form ideas in the Republican plat form, even the great statesman and reformer Bryan stoops near enough to the politician to say in his review of the Chicago platform that the President acquiesees in the sounding of the retreat. {"
 If there was less political preju- dice the reforms needed today would  surely move with greater strides.