The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-08-13
SWAN SONG OF sTANDPATIsM.

The decadent swan song that
| floated over the standpat convention
at Tacoma marked, 1t Is to be hoped,
the passing of reactionary republi-
canism in the commonwealth of
Washington.
The forces of privilege finding
themselves in the saddles, with an
unobstructed course before them,
rode too far in a wrong direction.
Also they shouted too loud. They
shouted so loud for self privilege
/ and plumber that the people on the
outside began to sit up and take no.
tice. The spirit of the Guggenheims
brooded over the convention and
dominated it, and, inspired by that
influence, it promulgated principles
that would reduce, and has already
reduced, members Of the American
congress to a level with members of
the Russian Douma. They Endorsed
both by speech and resolution, sys-
tenn that endows the speaker of the
| house of representatives with des-
potic powers, more far reaching and
absolute than was ever exercised by
the Caliph Harson Alraschid in his
angry robes of scarlet, and they went
on record as favoring tariff for ex-
tortion as against a tariff for reason
able protection. All this shocked
and amazed the well-meaning men,
bers of the party who had hitherto
been beguiled and thrown Off their
guard by the misleading shibboleth
of party regularity" This ex-
plains the tremendous ovation given
to Congressman Poindexter by the
Young Mems Republican Club of Sc
attic Even the most easy going
and thoughtless of regulars realized
that the republicanism of Lincoln
was being throttled and that Poin-
dexter was being attacked and read
out of the party for no other rea-
son than that he stands for the prin-
ciples of Lincoln. What are the
principles of Lincoln? Fundamen-
tally this: Equal rigrts to all;
special privileges to none" Also
freedom of thought, conscience and
political action. Surely there is
nothing wrong with these principles,
and yet, simply because POindeXter
stood for them, both he and the
Third district of Washington were
disfranchised during his entire term
in congress. Do the standpatters
realize what they are doing? Do
they appreciate the logical results of
their principles! Do they deliber-
ately mean to transform this cOun
try from a democratic republic into
monarchial republic? Shall this
be a country of special privileges or
country of equal opportunities?
Poindexter stands for equal oppor-
tunities; his opponents stand for
special privileges. POindeXter be-
lieves that a political party is not
group of politicians, each with his
following, combining to win the
spoils of place and power. He be-
lieves that such an organization is
not a party-it is band of brigands
and it's appeal in the name of the
party and of party regularity are
mere attempts to beguile and de-
fraud the voter for it's selfish pur-
poses. Such organizations are mere
ly the tools and agents of lawless
interests which know no party, at
tempt to use all parties, and prac-
tice only the policies of profit. He
would save the republican party
from this.
May I ask how many voters there
are in Chelan county who would be
benefited by responding to the fren-
zied appeal of the standpat Tacoma
convention and voting special privi-
lege into power to the number of
those who would be so benefited?
Are they worth considering as
against the overwhelming number
who would be pillaged by the ascend
ency of special privilege?
How many voters in Chelan coun-
ty can be convinced by the stand
patters that swollen and dangerous
fortunes are necessary to assure
reasonable wage to the workingmen
whether he works as banker, mer-
chant, clerk or hod-carrier? How
many voters in Chelan county mag
inc they will be benefited by the
continuance of a system that enabled
the steel trust to raise the value Of
it's plant from an actual physical
value of eighty million dollars to
fictitious value of a billion and half
dollars? Is there any voter in Che
Ian county so dense as not to know
that the difference between eighty
million dollars, the actual value OF