The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-10-04

has never been a boss ridden party.
There has never been in the demo
cratic organization anything approach
ing the federal machine built up by
Mark Hanna and maintained and ruth
lessly operated by Theodore Roose-
velt. The very character of the dem
ocratic organization makes boss dom
ination of the party nationally impos-
sible. while the conditions the re-
publican party are favorable 10 its
easy control by machine in posses
sion of the federal government Col
onel Roosevelt has cited only three
states in his references to democratic
bosses. New York, Indiana and ILL
nois, where he alleges Murphy, rag
CART and Sullivan rule. There will be
no argument as to the undesirabllty
of domination by the Murphy type and
democrats generally regard the New
York democracy as an incubus 1t
was emphatically repudiated by the
Baltimore convention and acquiesced
in the nomination of Wilson only al
ter his nomination became inevitable
in spite of its opposition. Sullivan
is a minor boss who has never exer-
cised any considerable influence III
the councils of the national democracy.
In Flynn of Pittsburg Colonel Roose-
velt has in his own camp more pow
| erful boss, and a boss with a very
much more disgraceful record. Tag
CART of Indiana does not dominate.
This has been abundantly demonstrate
ed in the last four years of Indiana
history, during which time Indiana has
become thoroughly democratic, elect
ling governor who takes dictation
from no man, who is his own master,
who has made that state an admirable
Ipublic servant and electing two demo
cratic senator's, one of them over the
active opposition of Taggart
But to return to the contrast be
tween conditions in the democracy
and the republican organization.
majority dominates republican ma
Itional convention. A republican pres
lident can always count on the vote of
about dozen southern states in which
There / sno republican party except
1.-THE federal office holders. Thus, a re-
publican president carries in his vest
pocket all Of the time a vote that
makes long step toward control. He
needs to get only few other states
Ito control national convention.
! Every republican president has exer-
lcised this power. Harrison renomi-
mated himself in this way. Roosevelt
could not have been nominated in
1904 if he had not been in possession
of the federal government. He used
this power ruthlessly in 1908 to nomi-
: mate Taft over the protest of the pow
: erful republican states including New
York Pennsylvania and Illinois. If
Taft had carried in the election of
1908 only the republican states that
Roosevelt carried for him in the ma
tional convention, he would have been
beaten worse than Horace Greeley.
Nearly two-thirds of the states that
: cast republican votes in the electoral
college were against Taft in the Chi
cago convention of 1908. The demo,
cratic party has no such pocket bor-
4 oughs as the republican party has in
the southern states. 1t is the only po-
: litical party with a really national or
ganization. two-thirds rule is re-
D quired for the nomination of dem
q ocratic candidate for president and un-
8 der such circumstances it is impos-
sible for the bosses to dominate the
G democratic party. What remnant of
local boss rule there may be in the
$ democratic organization in a few OF
8 the states will vanish very soon after
q the election of Woodrow Wilson and
e no man in the United States can be
e more certain of this fact than Colonel
2 Roosevelt himself