The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-09-10
THE REPUBLICANS CAN WIN.

THE REPUBLICANS CAN WIN.
With the nomination of good candi-
dates, the Republicans can win the city
election in November. And they are
very likely to name good candidates.
AT the fail election in 1908 the Re
publicans carried the city by nearly a
thousand plurality 1t is certain the
party is in better shape now than ever
before. because it has been gaining
in sOlidity and effective strength every
election for the past four years.
And II IS equally certain that the
American party is by no means in as
good shape as 1t was a year ago. Then
it was entirely united, strongly or
gained, equipped with a big campaign
fund and its campaign was managed
with a vigorous and united organi-
cation. Today It IS torn with dissen-
sions. troubled with internal quarrels,
and crippled with personal jealousies.
One Of the elements Of its weakness
is the defeat administered to 1t by the
Republicans last fall. A third party,
yond the local, lives while it is tri-
umphant; and dies when it Is defeated.
That is because It has no lines Of at
tachment TO any larger organization.
It has nothing but the spells of office.
And when it loses these, It loses all its
excuse for existence.
The American party is weaker be-
cause Of its own bad record IN the year
that has Just passed, added 20 the bad
record it had made before. It VIII go
into the coming campaign handicapped
with a looted treasury, with a record
Of graft and bad municipal conduct
and with the certain responsibility that
its chief officer is father OF the odious
stockade plan. No matter what the
American party leaders may say IN the
coming campaign, their victory at the
polls in November would be under
stood as a promise TO reopen the stock
ade which the Republican party has so
effectively closed.
There is a theory in the minds Of I'M
thinking men that the Republicans
won the city in 1908 because the Dem
ocrats threw their vote to the Repub-
Iican ticket. But there is no basis for
that belief, because the Democrats in
1903 cast more votes than-they did in
19O7-and yet the Republicans won.
The victory last year was not at the
expense of the Democrats, but at the
expense Of the American party. The
American party plurality in 1907 was
5000. The Republican plurality in 1908
was a thousand. Yet there was an in
crease of more than 1000 votes in the
city in that year. Every party IL
creased its vote over the year before.
But the Republican gain was at the
expense Of the American party-absO-
lutely. And it can do It again.
Scores Of men and women who have
voted the American party ticket in the
past declare that they have voted it
for the last time. Without saying that
so openly, It evidently was their posi-
ton a year ago. They left the Amer
ican party for the Republican because
they saw 10 further use or need for
the former. They realized that It was
a party Of hate, and Of false pretense
They realized that its leaders had ut
terly lost sight OF any principle that
may have animated them at the begin
ming, and had become simply a party
devoted to the spoils Of Office. They
realized that the Republican party was
not party Of hate; that It did not
live on any quarrel; that It conceded
citizenship rights to all, and asked
nothing un-American Of any one.
They realized that the nation and the
state and the county were safe in the
hands OF the Republican party. and
that every interest of local government
would be secure in the direction of the
party which IS recognized-the nation
over-as composed Of good citizens,
and as productive of good citizenship
They are tired Of intolerance, and con-
WINGED Of the wisdom Of abandoning
that cult.
The detection from the American
party is far greater than it was a year
ago. The Republican party is stronger
even than it was then. It carried the
city then. It can-with good candi-
dates-carry the city this year. And
there is no doubt its nominees will be
of a character to command the respect
and secure the support Of a large ma
jority Of the people Of Salt Lake at the
city election in November, 1909.