The Paducah evening sun., 1910-04-20

lures; but the loss of their grip on
the senate. The west is in revolt
lagainst the domination of the old
! machine; the Republican candidates
for congress defeated In these two
lby-elections are of the old school,
that is more widely distinguished
from modern progressive Republi-
Icanism than II is from national De-
mocracy. A by-election in Iowa with
an insurgent Republican candidate
} in the race would soon determine
whether the results Down East IN
Idicate a return to the Democratic
lparty. IL IL were a Democratic vic
II tory they foresaw, Aldrich and Hale
would retain their seats and walt
till the storm blew over; but me
loss of control of their party IN the
senate is a more serious matter to
these old dictators.
The results are indications of
what The Evening Sun predicted
many months ago; the disintegra-
tion Of the old order of things, an0
the domination of the majority
4
cies. The Reactionaries, as they are
known, made their last stand against
the Progressives. led by Roosevelt,
in the campaign or 1908 for the
presidential nomination, when Taft
defeated Charles Fairbanks, In
tense individualism, the protection
lof capital in the development of ma
Iterial resources, disregarding ethical
considerations and the welfare of
the laborer in the production of
wealth, were the distinguishing feat
ures of the era. which began to end
with the Inauguration of Roosevelt.
The conservation of the fuel, ore,
Timber and water power for the
benefit of society. the development
of means of communication by
water, the restraint or combinations,
the protection of investors in
stocks, the reform of the tariff,
the adoption of safety appliances on
railroads and the new doctrine of
employers' liability are the specific
proposals of the Taft administra-
tion, but in general II representa-
consideration of men above prop
erty. This is why the national
democratic party is inadequate to
meet the situation; because the sit
uation requires the expansion of
federal authority, a doctrine abhor-
rent to traditional Democracy.
President Taft, far from sympa-
thizing with the Reactionaries. in
reality has forced their concurrence
up to this time in bills in harmony
with his campaign utterances ana
platform pledges, which bills were
carefully prepared by the cabinet
and submitted to congressional COM
mittees. Had the administration,
with its wealth of patronage and
moral influence over congress, sym
pathized with the Aldrich-CannonI
combination, is IL possible that the
Insurgents could have given the
speaker Of the house so severe a
rebuke, and forced the two leaders
of the senate to discover at this
critical period that their health
would be impaired by further serv-
ice? We think not AS long asI
the two houses of congress are orr
ganized along party lines, and Taft
must depend upon the party vote to
support administration measures, inl
all his Official dealings with the
house he must recognize the exist
ing organization il he hopes for the
fulhllment of his pledges ThE
must. be admitted; but by the in
sistence on their adoption of poll
cies obnoxious to them, the presi-
dent-gently, to be sure, and with
a kindly smile and cordial word
sickened and paled the ambitions of
the Reactionary leaders and made
their leadership illogical.
We must understand the practical
effect of our party system and form
of government on practical politics
to appreciate the situation today.
From the time of Jackson to that
of Roosevelt-excepting the ex-
traordinary conditions during In
coins administration-con
leaders controlled the party, and the
president was always part of the
organization they controlled. Roose-
welt insisted on being the head or
the party. Taft is doing the same
Now, neither the Reactionaries nor
the Insurgents are willing that this
should be SO. and, consequently, the
headstrong opposition to the housvl
and senate Organization are more
openly bitter against the president
personally than are Cannon and
Aldrich, who got all they wanted of
fighting the president during Roose-
velt's terms. and have endeavoreo
to create the impression that they
have the endorsement of the ad-
ministration. How we'll they have
succeeded is evidenced by the re-
cent humiliation of Joe Cannon and
the announced retirement of Aldricn
and Hale.
Roosevelt will return to find his
old political enemies entirely routed
under the administration of his own
choice for successor. Will Roosevelt