The Washington herald., 1910-09-30
WHY HE IS A DEsIoCRAT.
His Party In Touch with Masses and
Free from Alliances.


From Speech b. Woodrow Wilson.
4 have had a great deal to do first
and last with the plain people have
all my life long been poor man. /
know what 1t is 10 be careful In living.
| careful in expense. observant OF the
conditions that affect great bodies OF
7 men. Moreover, gentlemen, know this.
/ that nobody who has ever read the pages
/ of history can fail 10 notice that the real
wells Of strength and sources Of renewal
are in the great body of the people.
Every great State Is Ike great tree;
I II does not receive it's nourishment and
/ renewal from its fruit and branches; II
! is received from its root. and every
/ great State IL rooted in that great soil
/ which Is made up of all the vast body
OF unnotieed men. the great masses of
/ toilers, the men who never emerge TO
/ the general view, the men who go quiet
/ ly. painfully on from day to day, from
month TO month, from year TO year, from
generation 70 generation and sustain by
their labor the whole economics Of a
political body
I aANAF - iilN sap Ol the tdAiDli anu TIC
! glory OF America has been that again
and again, not rarely so as 10 make any
I singular circumstance. but again and
again plain men have arisen from the
ranks IN order 10 be first the captains
/ OF the things they find Immediately 10
do and after awhile the captains OF the
country itself
4 found a gentleman to-day with
whom I was talking who did not know
that one Of the most celebrated charac-
tiers Of our history gained his elevation
by ardOus effort just in that wayne
less person than George Washington.
he could not afford more than a COM
mon school education: had TO go out in
the rough country that surrounded his
| home 10 serve as a surveyor. and TO
endure all the hardships OF a frontier
and struggle for an education. which he
gained from practical affairs. and never
20 the end OF his life could he spell cor.
rectly
This great figure that all the world
turns to as the typical figure Of America
was rooted in the common sort OF every
day life Of the country where he lived.
and so ! say that party which has. so
far as I have known Il. always felt the
keenest intensest sympathies for the
greatest body and mass OF citizenship
is the party I wish 10 work with, and
believe in the long run can serve the
party best
Then there is another reason, a reason
which concerns the Republican party
II has a very distinguished history and
! would not want 10 take away from its
laurels in any respect. but from eircum-
stances ] need not stop TO narrate 10
you. the Republican party has in one
circumstance and another identified itself
with policies which were meant 10 sus-
tain special interests in this country. I
say that because OF changes In eco
nomic policies it has been at pains 10
serve the particular economic interests
which sprung up from generation to gen
Grafton II has established a partnership
which II cannot break
BY saying it cannot break il, I am not
suggesting corrupt reasons why II can
not break It. il cannot honorably break a.
II II has tied Itself up in SIS policies with
certain dominating interests in the coun-
try. leave IL TO you. is II honorable for
1t 10 break It 70 get the votes OF a large
number Of citizens? And 7 say that the
Republican party has identified itself
with particular interest from which II
cannot be expected TO divorce itself in a
single generation.
you VIII say that the Democratic
party has not done so because It has not
had the chance. 7 DO not think that is
fair Judgment at all, but let US assume
that is the case. The Democratic party
hasn't formed these alliances. and the
Democratic party IS. therefore. free 10
go in any direction II pleases TO go IN
the service Of the country
7 think for my part that is a very
good reason for choosing my own party
lines. Not that would have you believe
am Just choosing them, for have been
Democrat ever since I was born. I
was first a Democrat because I was
born that way. then I became a Demo
crat because I believed that way. Now
l am giving YOU the reasons why I
believe that way. want 10 belong 70
party which at present, at any rate.
Is free 20 serve the country without too
many entangiing alliances. because there
are a great many things that II IS neces-
sary 10 do. and only men free from such
alliance can do.
This Is not an easy time in which
TO live. gentlemen. do not wonder that
great mistakes OF policy have been made.
I could point out 10 you the tremen-
dous economic changes which have oc-
CURED In this country within a single
lifetime; aye. in some instances in a
single decade, that have changed the
whole face Of economic endeayor.