The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-04-03
CHAMP CLARK NOT SULKING;
ADVISES DEMOCRATS TO
AID WILSON.
BY Clyde II. Tayenner,
Member of Congress.

! By Clyue II. IhSeIlHcf,
| Member of Congress.
Especial to The Leon ReporterO
Washington, March 31.--Speaker
! Champ Clark intends to cooperate
! in whole hearted sincerity with
| President Wilson to carry out the
promises contained in the Baltimore
platform. From the moment the
| Baltimore convention adjourned, he
! never had any other thought in view
but on the contrary has taken ad-
vantage of every opportunity to ad-
wise all democrats to pull together
for the success of the administration
and the good of the party.
That Champ Clark is not the kind
| of a man to sulk, and that he will
! not, was borne home forcibly to ev-
ery democratic member or the new
house, at the recent caucus at which
| the speaker was unanimously re-
elected to preside over the Sixty
| third Congress. Unfortunately, no
neWspaper men were permitted to be
present at this caucus, and the ring
ing speech made by Speaker Clark
on behalf of party solidarity did not
get into the newspapers to any APP
Dreciable extent. l have the consent
of the speaker as we'll as the demo-
cratic caucus to publish such parts
of the speech as i desire. Space will
not permit of the complete remarks
of the speaker, which is to be regret
ted because the speech is a COM
plete refutation of the intimations
!! which have appeared in the press re-
Gently to the effect that Mr.. Clark is
unfriendly to the new administra-
ton. ...
Since the foundation OF our gov
eminent" declared Mr.. Clara. no
party ever had fairer prospect OF
a long lease of power or better
chance of promoting the welfare and
prosperity of the country than the
democratic party has. What will we
do with our opportunity The voters
have placed us on probation. Can
we make good? Can We vindicate
the vast army of voters who gave us
the power to conduct the govern
ment? Undoubtedly we can. How?
BY keeping faith with the people. By
religiously carrying out the promises
by reason OF which We won. By
transmitting into law our pledges to
improves the conditions under which
we live. If we do this the people
will recognize it and approve our
: conduct.
Democratic, Promises Plain.
There is no doubt what our
promises were. They were writ large
in the Baltimore platform. Our
first promise was tariff for revenue
only, and to give the people that, or
as close as approximation thereto
as possible, is the first duty of the
new adm inistration and OF the new
congress; and in passing it may be
said and ought to be said, that tariff
reduction which does not reduce the
cost of living is not worth the paper
on which it is printed.
"Following that we promised to
strengthen the antitrust law; to
, establish an income tax; to revise
the banking laws; to improve our
Waterways; to provide for reason
able conservation system; to create
department of labor, which We
have already done, and to declare
the nations purpose touching the
Philippines. 1t is an extensive pro
gram, but it is our duty to work it
out. The only way to achieve 1t is
for every democrat in official posi-
ton to give the best there is in him
to help redeem our promises by sub
ordinating individual ambition to the
public veal.
THAT any man fit for official sta
ton will let his personal likes or
dislikes to interfere with his CO.
operating with any other democrat
in unifying the party in it's herculean
20 roc n
pledges and thereby contributing, as
| believe, to the American people,
is a thing incredible. The sugges-
ton OF such state of affairs comes
from faint hearted democrats who
are forever seeing ghosts or from
malignant marplOts who, though
masquerading as democrats, are not
democrats at all but wolves in sheep
clothing. Certain of lnese venom
Gus eleventh-hour democrats are
lOud-mouthed in prOclaiming trouble
where none exists and in laying
down a rule of conduct for real
democrats.
Genuine democrats, who have
the good of the party and the coun-
try at heart would do well to give
no heed to these self-styled demo-
Gratis whose chief business IS to stir
up strife among democrats by foully
slandering any democrat who has
earned their enmity by being a
democrat at all times, under all cir
cumstances and at all places.
Democrats should take to heart
the philosophy of the old saying:
Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts
Most assuredly democrats should re-
member what happened to them by
reason of their family quarrels from
March 4, 1893, to March 10, 1870,
when for the first time in seventeen
years the democrats in the house
electrified the country by voting to-
gether-no. a man missing in Il
great struggle. That was red-letter
day in the history of democracy.
Will Act With Wilson.
"The house democrats have BEEN
together ever since and while Meth
er prophet nor the son of propn-
ct, predict that they will in the Six
ty-third congress act in unison, not
only with themselves but with Presi-
dent Wilson. #