Amador ledger., 1908-02-07
Unhappy Democrats.

publican thus pays his respects TO the
democratic party:
"With what strange faulty the
democratic party always does the
wrong thing at the wrong time That
may be the secret of it's evolutionary
elimination. The process of evolu.
tion is conditioned by the survival of
the Httest and the determination of
the unfit. And fitness consists In
adaptabllity to environment. A furry
animal which persists in shedding its
coat in winter and clothing itself
heavily in summer, will soon cease to
survive. A tiger that develops COW
ardice or rabbit that develops oour-
age will soon DO eXterminated. Yet
all these things, under reversed oond-
lions, lead to SUCCESS. So with
parties and political movements.
Survival is as much a matter of time
illness as of right There is right in
both radicalism and conservatism.
In fact, human progress depends on
the interplay of both. But, even
aside from questions OF economic
soundness, and of the particular quail
lty of radicalism or conservatism
manifested in a party, there is much
in the capacity shown by the party to
meet the conditions of time at the
time, and not afterwards or before.
''This has been the failure of the
democratic party. Omitting for this
time, historical examples, OF which
there are many, consider only the
last campaign and the present. Four
years ago, there was no possible ex-
cuse for any but a radical policy.
Within the narrow precincts OF dem
ocratic caucuses, the pendulum had
swung to the conservative end, but
everywhere else it was at the extreme
radical point. The great RETURNS OF
president Roosevelt were just getting
under way and the reaction against
the methods by which they were &C
compllshed had not yet begun. While
no man could have defeated Rouse-
velt, progressive candidates could
have divided the vote, and left a re-
spectacle remnant of his party with
which to begin the next campaign.
But the democratic politicians fatu-
ously chose the opposite course, and
committed themselves TO a conser-
vatism that was at least untimeIy,
and SO, for the purpose of that
campaign, wrong. Now. however,
the time has come when there is
genuine conservative reaction. The
radicals are in the majority, still,
and reactionary candidate of the
Knox or Parker style, could not win
on either ticket. But at least con-
sentative, OF the liberal sort, could
divert very large element to the
democratic side and restore the party
to position Of respectable minority.
Even Hearst sees this, and has be-
come a conservative Of the conser-
vatives. Only the democratic leaders,
shut in their own cell, fail to see it.
Because their pendulum was conser-
vatlve, last time, it shall be radical
this time, and Bryan is to DO the
candidate. OF course, if the republi-
cans were to choose reactionist, that
would pay. But with the republicans
choosing man like Taft, a radical
IN politics and conservative in
methods, the only possible hope of
the democrats is in just the course by
which they courted certain failure
last time 1t would not be hope of
success, then. But between a modern
defeat that would rehahiIitate the
party, and total Iout, which will
wreck 1T, the democratic leaders show
a blind genius for choosing the latter
3ourse,
Somehow, the democratic party
always manages to get wrong, even
whom it is right. 1t is distrust of its
leadership, as historic blunderer,
quite as much as disagreement with
its policies, that keeps the American
people so firmly determined not to
put it in power"
I pd crar & ChicaoO Intar-Ocaan 30 IN