The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-10-02
BETTER POLITICS
IS PRESENT need
ATTORNEY GENERAL MILLER
THINKS OLD LINE POLITICAL
FIGHTING Is OBSOLETE AND
REPUBLICANS SHOULD TRY TO
REPRESENT PEOPLES IDEAS.

1.-THE paramount duty of the repub-
lican leaders in the movement for bet
ter politics in this country" said At
torney General Miller today at the
Gardner hotel, "is to discard the criti-
cism Of opposing parties who happen
to be in power but to revive the party
along stronger lines into a fighting
living force that will be progressive in
it's doctrines ana enact! the legislation
hat will represent the ideas Of the
people. .. ...... ...- '
Criticism Of the actions of the OPP
posing political party and attacking
it's legislation Is old time partisan pol
tiles in vogue a couple Of decades ago.
That Is something which the present
from and those who indulge In it still
are&those who are holding over from
h days when such methods were the
general practice. ."5-.:
1.-THE present democratic admins
tration is in itself evidence that such
methods are a thing Of the past. Pres
ldent Wilson'S election was in itself a
chastisement to the republican leaders
who did not give the people what they
wanted nor put into effect the princi-
pies which they promised beforehand.
The people simply would not stand
for it. & ..s ..av
president Taft was elected on a
platform that promised revision of the
tariff, which the people runderstood,1to
be a downward revision. The election
Of 1912 was a rebuke administered to
the republican leaders. Through. their
own perfidy we suffered defeat. The
people wanted tariff revision down.
ward and they intended to have it..
1.-The democratic. party, since it has
1 hPpn in nnUpTr has fulfilled ffc Y1rnra-
ises in that respect. 1t has revised the
tariff downward in compliance with it's
promises and President Wilson has
therefore won the confidence of the
public which believes now in his hon.
esty,j patriotism and sincerity.
whether the democratic revision of
the tariff will prove beneficial is an
other thing. 1t has yet to be proven.
Until it has been put to a test and
thoroughly tried it would seem, unfair
for anyone to condemn it as all bad.
That sort Of attack was used twenty
years g when it was popular to as
sail all the legislation Of the opposi-
ton, good Or bad, simply because it
emanated from the other side. 4.s
i would not say at ali that / ap-
prove OF the Underwood bill in It's en-
tirety. There are many things about
1t I do not think particularly advan-
tageous, especially to the people of
lag oSL1CuIIuLo LOIIlW0St. Edu L
been a member of either house I do
not think I would have voted for, it.
But that Is not saying it is a measure
to be censured Immediately, even be-
fore 1t has been given a fair trial.
"As for the currency. bill, something
along that line is what the people
wanted. And President Wilson is
seeing to it that the democratic party
Is fulfilling It's pre-eampaign pledges.
THE thing for the republican lead
ers to do to regain the confidence of
the people Is not to begin flaying any
and all this Administrations actions
just because they happen to be demo-
cratic. -, aE&.sE -
What we republicans should do is
to begin to reconstruct the party
along progressive principles that will
represent the ideas Of the people.
Evolve something that will be of bene-
fit to the people. Not just attack the
opposition for the mere purpose of
getting back into power, without
knowing just what they are attacking
excepting that Z" is democratic. That
is too patent.
what we need is the rejuvenation
Of the republican party built along
progressive lines that will represent
the thought and spirit of the people
and the times and forever discard the
old line partisanship fighting that is a
thing of the past. IL the older repub-
liean leaders are hoping to get back
into control on the same old basis they
will be mistaken, for the people do not
want tina kind of politics any more"