The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1909-02-18
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Houston Chronicle

GET bACk ~ lie VIII -
Houston Chronicle.l
When the mariner has been tossed and
beaten by the storm, and the ship has been
strained and it's sails torn or its engines
weakened, the first step he takes, when
calm has fallen upon the sea, is to take his
bearings, fix his latitude and longitude,
and determine along which course he will
sail.
The Democratic party has just passed
through terrific storm, and it is now In
order for the party to take its bearings, and
readiust its compass, and see how much OF
it's political cargo it will have to throw
overheard.
The only way open to it, if it expects
ever again to successfully appeal to the
popular judgment and conscience, is to fix
it's bearings and direct its cruise according
to the fixed and fundamental principles OF
the ancient faith of the Democracy.
That faith is as simple as a primer, as
free from complication or difficulty OF
comprehension as the decalogue. It's basic
principle is equality of privilege and OPP
portunity and the least possible interfer-
ence with the natural, inherent rights OF
the primal unit in the problem of govern
ment by the people, the individual citizen.
There has been no Improvement on the
truths preached and the principles pro"
claimed by Thomas jefferson. They have
been elaborated to attenuation, and some
people have been deluded enough to be-
lieve they have been improved upon, but
they have not.
Mr.. Jefferson was. in the matter OF gov
eminent and whatever related to human
rights, the wisest man that ever lived.
He devised a system of government
without guide or model, and fitted to pro-
mote and secure the blessings of repre-
sentative government to generations as
yet unborn.
He taught the least possible interference
with the natural rights of the citizen and
contended that the people were best gov
erned who were least governed, and that
every dollar taken from the people, except
for the payment Of the expenses of the
government economically administered
was an abuse of the power of government
These are the essential, fundamental
principles, the basic truths of democracy,
which means liberty and equality, and
when to these are added a declaration in
favor of scrupulous recognition of the re-
served rights of the State, and an indie
pendent, untrammeled judiciary, we will
have condensed, concrete expression Of
Democratic faith, just such a deliverance
as would admirably serve as Democratic
platform.
Such platform will be comprehensive
by the masses, because it will state truths
in which they believe.
There is broad difference between a
policy and principle, yet in recent years
the Democratic party has been steadily
lengthening its platforms until it has hac
the appearance of endeavoring to prescribe
a panacea for every passing politica
ailment, magnifying temporary evils into
enduring cOIlullloHS, IuStedu VI Stdllus
principles and leaving their application tc
the representatives of the people.
A declaration for the preservation of the
rights of States, an Independent judiciary
single term for the president, and, mos
important of all, tariff for revenue only
{ and the Democracy will come again into
its own.