The Washington times., 1912-08-07
THE TALE OF THREE PORTRAITS.

Il High up on the front wall Of the Coliseum a
Chicago, over the stage, when the national conven
ton Of the Progressive party Vas called to order
were arranged Ave pictures Of famous Americans
now, numbered with the great Of bygone da,s A
the other END OF the hall, facing them, was por
trait Of Theodore Roosevelt.
i The purpose, the motives the inspiration Of III,
new party, could not be better suggested than BY tn.
selection Of those Ave portraits that faced Roose
yeltsR own. OF course, Washington and Lincolr
were two OF them no American of any party woule
question that those two must come first They arc
above and beyond all thoughts Of partisanship, OF
seosionalism, or prejudice.
But the. other three !? They we're Jefferson, Jack
sen, and Hamilton
anybody with the most elemental recollection
of history there is very real sig
ntcance IN the selection of those three portraits
Hamilton and Jefferson have been posed for CEN
fury and more as the two great rivals OF the forma
tive period OF our constitutional government Haml
Ton was the federalist the centrast the advocate oil
strong general government; willing that the powers
OF the States should be progressively absorbed into
the greater and broader sovereignty Of the nation
He saw the nation always first. Jefferson on the
'other hand feared that too much Capitalization would
be Injurious; that t-would give both incentive and
for the domjnation of the country by
concentrated aggregaons of powerful interests. Jef-
ferson was the real democrat academcally; he
believed that the people not only could rule, but
could rule better than anybody else could possibly do
It for them. That is just exactly what the progress
svsm of today believes and proposes to accomplish
Hamilton on the contrary had no such confidence
in the people. He wanted the government removed
as far from their immediate touch as possible. He
was an aristocrat, an intellectual just as jefferson
was democrat in every habit of mind and thought
ae But, both were, personally, Of the aristocracy
Jefferson was head of tnat wonderful group of
Southern men OF leisure and statescraft, who made
Virginia the mother Of Presidents, who dominated
SO largely the earliest generation of constitutional
government who viewed national affairs from the
standpoint Of the planter with cotton and tobacco to
export, and small thought Of domestic commerce or
manufacturing Hamilton and Jefferson were very
different kinds Of arisocrats, but both we're arsto-
Gratis none the less. Jefferson became the genius
and patron Of the Democracy which held to the no.
tons Of federation; Hamilton of the Federalists
and later the Republicans, who wanted nation not
a confederation Their opposing views shine forth in
every debate on constitutional question in Con-
gress today; Hamiltons, in the contention that il
is competent for the Federal Government to inspect
meats, control interstate commerce, provide pure
gvings that followers of the Staterights school al
ways voice. to the proper power of Congress to do
these things:
This debate was we'll on its way toward that in.
evitable crisis that put the nations life in jeopardy
when Jackson came on the scene and entered his re.
markable career as the domnator of American poll.
tics He was democrat in all the senses; demo-
rat as Jefferson was one democrat as Hamilton was
one; an aristocrat in wise. He was of the people
and for the people, backed by them, and believing in
them. 1t was under Jackson that something like
general manhood suffrage established; under his
leadership that the power of choosing Presidential
electors was taken away from the legislatures and
given to the people; under him, in Short that this
nation became the democracy that it has been and is
still fighting to continue. ;,
Jefferson the academic democrat, accepting his
democracy straight and fearing none of its implica-
tons; Hamilton, the marvel of constructive, ad-
administrative craftsmanship; and Jackson who was
ederalist enough to stop notification Statesrghter
enough to continue the South's idol and always
democrat of the most practical ype--thesc three
epresent fairly the whole summary of the aims, pur-
poses and traditions that justify the formation of
new party at this time. The conjunction OF these
hree figures tells the whole story of what the new
party is and is for"
.n.. ... POOR AT FIGURES