The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-21

have been sent to the frontier in the hope of preventing the picture being taken
 from the country.
 
 and ideas. Senator Martain had already served for three times, and there was was nothing in his record or in his com nections to arouse any proper enthusi- asm; yet he and Swanson beat their op- ponents some two to one on an uncom- monly full vote. The state wasn't in q mood for an experimenting kind of demo- cracy.
 In Maryland the democrats had a gubernatorial primary election about two months ago. The successful candidate was Arthur P. German, son of the late United States senator of the same name. Neither the German tradition nor the past performances of this young man in politics could have warmed the popular heart for him; but by a very decisive vote he beat Blair Lee, a most estimable gentleman, who had proclaimed himself an apostle of some indeterminate .ad- vanced' democracy. You will have read that German had lead of but one vote over Lee in the nominating convention This was mere matter of bad apportion- ment between the counties! The popu- lar vote told a different story. After the
 
 city of Baltimore, Germans popular ma jority was some 1900. equivalent to 22,- 00 in states of the size of Alabama.
 In the real election the republican can- dldate beat German by a nose, but it did this by the votes of Baltimore busi- ness men, who unquestionably were af- frighted by radical talk of some of the democratic stump orators, to which Cor man seemed to give assent.
 Tn KapSaS fha other dav tha democrats carried a district which had always been conceded to the republicans. The repub- l:can candidate was an insurgent.
 In Nebraska the democrats saved a seat in Congress. There, too, they were opposed by a republican for the 'pro- gressive" stripe. MT. Bryan supported the democratic state ticket and proclaimed that he was working as much for the interests of Senator LaFollette, in his competition with President Taft for the republican nomination, as for his own party. How much he will have helped La Toilette, we do not know. The demo- cratic ticket was beaten.
 In Ohio three years of democratic re- form had given so much satisfaction that Cincinnati and Columbus each, for the first time in years, elected democratic mayor by good round majority.
 At this election in Massachusetts Eu- gene N Foss won his third fight over Henry Cabot Lodge. That night Senator Lodge hit his fist on his table and said: 'The tariff did it;'' and he was right.
 It ought to be clear that I do not any more believe in a do-nothing democracy than in such catch-penny plans as were pursued in 1896 and 1900. I suppose nobody in the country was more shocked than ] was by view expressed by Senator Bailey in 1906 when interrogated about the dances of the democrats carrying the House. He said it would probably be fortunate if the party did not succeed in capturing the House; that, the Senate be- ing republican, no democratic laws could be passed, and it would be safer if, on the eve of the presidential election, the party should have no part of the re- sponsibility for what was done. I would rather trust laws made by one republican and one democratic House than laws that satisfied the republicans of both Houses; and it is plain enough that the democratic party has won the confidence of the country more by the Underwood plan of pushing ahead and reforming the laws so far as the President permits than by all the oratory of all its leaders in the days when it was a merely negative quantity: also that the President has lost and the House democrats have won in popularity since Conress adjourned.
 Of the democrats who are most talk ed about nowadays, the gentleman who is having more palpitations than any other over the chances of his being for the President said few days ago that he would like to make the race on the platform of annexing Canada Well, a good many voters, democrats as well as independents, would not care about our annexing Canada If we could; and everybody knows we could not. It does not seem a sensible. thing to risk the presiden- tial election to the votes of those who would lose sleep in planning to have Congress pass a joint resolution to the effect that if it should ever become possible we shall annex that ambitious dominion. Let's call on the people to elect a Congress and a President who, after the manner of the present House, will make laws and laws that have some bearing on the present comfort and progress of our people
 When one fad has succeeded to an- other we have been told that it would save Missouri to the democratic party if 1t didn't do anything else. That was the reason given to me in 1908 by Congressman James T. Floyd--a man of exceedingly good judgment in most things, who did himself credit last year as chairman of the democratic congressional campaign committee-for ms auVOcdcy Ol Diy ''o~ oiJ uh, being nominated in 1908, did not carry Missouri.
 Missouri has grown to be a great commercial state, much more kin to ohio and Indiana than to Wyoming and Idaho.
 Never in my recollection were there so many democrats. Never were there so many independent voters who are in accord with the democratic party on the dominant issue of the day, to- wit: The tariff and on the questions of strict honesty as we'll as economy in national and state administration, of unterrified and unbought elections and of respect for the laws by those hav- ing the chief commissions to administer them It is the simplest thing con- ceivable to avoid splitting this tre- mendous aggregate of votes by new prop positions on which there are at least two opnions in each party and to elect democratic President next year.
 A Practical Question Purely
 Finally I wish it understood that l a n, not irving to give any idealist re-