Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-10-18

by political parties has operated to
create two strong partisan organiza-
tions which have usually been able 10
absorb about all the popular interest in
public affairs. There has consequently
! been very little encoura cement for
citizens dissatisfied with party man
| agement to fight out their differences
within party lines; SO that in times
past, If anybody complained of what
MS party has done, it was regarded as
d sufficient answer, il he claimed TO be
a. republican, 10 start the hue and cry
! against him that he was a democrat.
+ The machinery Of press and hustings
/ was all ready for action. and it usually
made short work of the disconnected
/ brother. II is true that almost from
4 the beginning Of The government, and
particularly in times Of great unrest in
come into existence, and even fourth
/ and fifth and sixth. These minor or
ganizations have operated. as a rule,
ito absorb and drain away dissatisfac
I ton within the great parties. leaving
them oftentimes. with diminished
nun, bers ard reduced vitality, but leav-
ing them also more manageable and
more completely responsive TO the will
Of the leaders. Within recent years
new phenomenon has been more and
more noticeable. Parties of lesser i'm
poroance have dwindled away. losing
their distinctive character by fusion
and other processes OF anal gamation.
while at the same time the democratic
parry, tho still Very strong il numbers.
has been unable 70 maintain its in
fuence in the administration of the
government The result has been a
steady transfer OF its voting strength,
outside of the extreme South. where
the negro question oversha dows all
others. 10 the republican party. This
process has made the republican party
so completely domino m in national at
fairs as to attach 20 its fortunes all the
enormous private interests which have
grown Up in the country. and to over
burden its leadership with the sordid
pressure OF greed and selhshness L is
now obvious that but for the blunder.
II that can be called blunder which
was unavoidable Of stalking everything
on proposal for the free coinage Of
silver. the opposition party might have
been able to frame program OF social
and political reform in keeping with
the moral progress Of the times. 1t
might al least have shared in those ma
tional esponsibilities which have been
lefc altogether upon the shoulders of rs
adversary Mr.. Bryan. himself an
idealist % extraordinary talents. has
| complained always without bitterness.
that his opponents, not content With
beating him a the polls. have syste-
+ matically carried away from his plat
/ form its most desirable pIanks There
I is some truth in this lamentat:on. altho
II ove-looks the "a that the ideas to
which he refers. IS so far as they we're
worth anything belonged in the COM
mon stock of neglected political wis
dom long before he claimed them for
his own. He did not see them first.
and. what IS of vastly more s;gnif-
canoe. he vas not in a position 10 pick
them up.
A study Of The history Of other times
shows that no inconsiderable part Of
/ the progressive Movement in society has
begun outside OF the political organiza-
tons which ultimately gave practical
effect 10 the new doctrine. Behind the
republican party. fifty years ago. there
I lay scattered upon The ground the great
/ principles of civil liberty which after
wards beca me the substance Of its faith
and are now the monuments Of its
achievement The men who uttered
these vital truths had no political fell
lowship anywhere: yet their preachir g
vas not IN vain They had only 70
await me fulIness of time until at
length the leader appeared who could
/ com prehend their message. give their
opinions access 20 the public attention,
confourd their enemies in argument.
/ and turn 10 living realities hopes and
dreams once derided and naligned A
Ike experience has overtaken the re-
publican party in these latter years It
J IS not very far from the exact truth TO
say that the men and women who first
gave expression 10 a body of political
opinions. many of which are now ev
/ erywhere accepted by the great politi-
! cal parties. could find no freedom Of
thought or speech without turning
their backs upon cherished partisan as
isociations.
In those days Il was settled maxim
that party platforms should contain no
doctHnal statements calculated to in
troduce an element OF discord into the
campaign. SO that whoever desired to
advance new doctrine. whoever had
grown weary OF Improbable platiru des,
either had to flock b. himself or organ
4 iZe a party or MS own, or. In case ne
retained his membership, submit. with
as good grace as possible, while ped
dlers in ancient political wares de-
scribed him as half breed, mug
wump. or a young scra tcher. a glance
at one of the little books which contain
/ the platforms of all the political part
les covering long period of years re-
veals the interesting fact that nearly
every step in the progress Of the gov
eminent many of them taken long af-
forwards by unanimous consent. was
frts suggested by some obscure political
convention. which. for the very reason
itha, it did not have to weigh the
chances of success. felt at liberty 70
speak the truth. It is not certain that
the world will ever have time go ac-
knowledge its Indebtedness to the men
and women who have allowed them
selves to be nominated for office with
out the hope Of being elected, for the
chance of getting public interest di-
rected toward the shortcomings Of our
industrial and political life. It is en-
tirely creditable TO the republican party
| Of today that it is awake to the prob
lens which have been created by the
organization, capitalization and man
agement of the railway system: but