Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-24

what the effect would be upon the |
masses of the people of great torch |
light procession bearing banners in
scribed, johnson. the Poorhouse Can
didate."
To me it is almost incredible that
even at this day Mr.. Hill should have
been guilty of such bad taste and
worse politics. To begin with. Governor
Johnson was not brought up in poor
house, but was rather self supporting
member of an unfortunate family, and.
Furthermore, the time has gone by
| when the American people could be
swaved in their determination of q
| presidential issue by such plea
| yune political devises as the one sug
tgested.
Great Men and Their Disappearance.
| Talking with an old Democratic
| politician who in the last three or four
years has been out of touch with the
current sentiment of the party. was
| forced today to listen to jeremiad
concerning the disappearance of great
men from the Democratic party.
Where today" lie cried, ARE our
| Germans. Bayards, Whitneys, Tildens.
| Humans and men of that type who
| twenty years ago led the Democratic
party and made it a controlling factor
in the affairs oe the DationT' Idle, in
deed, was ii to respond that perhaps in
some of these instances-never mind
| which--the Democratic party had done
| more for the individual than the indi-
| vidual had ever done for the party.
| Nor did it seem worth while to point
out that against the bygone galaxy OF
power. many of whom were in politics
for what political activity would bring
them. we might fairly set up today the
names of Bryan. Folk, Tom l.. Johnson,
D. r. Francis. Charles A. CulbersoE,
John Sharp Williams, J. W. Bailey, B.
r. Tillman, John A. Daniel and the
two senator's from Oklahoma, Gore and
Owen. The tendency TO exaggerate the
virtues of the statesman of the past
and you know Tom Reed said that a
statesman was a politician who was
dead-lnd to underrate the merits OF
those still living and fighting seems In
eradicable, but if the wall of my Demo
cratic friend should be we'll founded
the Republican party has been and
will shortly he in even a worse state.
With the execution of Theodore Roose-
welt himself, the biggest men in the Re-
publican party, the most veteran leg
islators, the men most thoroughly
verSed in affairs both business and po-
litical. are exactly those who during
this Republican convention have been
+hruSt aside by Il new and almost I'M
tfnoTn CLIQUE of politicians. To substi-
tute for Foraker as q leader In Ohio
Vorys IS TO put very unknown guam
tity in the place of a great national fig
!; ure. To set aside Murray Crane OF
!; Massachusetts is to remove from ma
tional prominence man who, what
ever we may think of his political
views, has unqUestioned ability. sa-
gacity and political acumen. And so it
goes through the list. Fairbanks and
La Toilette. Cannon. Allison. Knox and
, even Hughes have been crushed by the
: rcmorscless steam roller. Perhaps in
few weeks the Republican party
may wake up to discover that it has
suddenly become destitute of all lead
ers known to the American people save
|-only tie boss leader who occupies the
, White House today.
QLeer Vice Presidential Suggestions.
Perhaps = was for just this reason
namely. the Elimination from the inner
Republican councils of so many of the
biggest men in the party-that just be
, fore the convention so many utterly
unknown men were suggested for the
l nomination for vice president. There
e was. for example. John l.. Hamilton
who comes from Hoopeston, III. Now
who knows v here Hoopeston is or whc
: Hamilton is? Even in Chicago when
: his headquarters We're opened and his
2 name was being discussed in hotel cor
ridorS newspaper correspondents were
: going around offering rewards for any
:, man who knew who he was or whence
G he came. Then there was Frank P
:. Kellogg of Duluth. Everybody ha!
7 known of Duluth since Proctor Knott!
l. famous speech about the zenith city o
:. the unsalted seas. But nobody knew
S Kellogg. And. finally, there was Johr
d Hays Hammond, a millionaire mining
i man and engineer. Mr. Hammond's ex
d parience in politics in the United State
y began about six weeks ago. He die
Y mix somewhat in politics in South AT
, RIGA few years ago when he becam
t involved in the Jameson raid ant
It would have been hanged by Dom Pau
k except. for the timely interposition o