The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-04-15


bounties is a doctrine for which the
Democratic party has stood from time
immemorial." He refers to the ex-
emption plank as little plank"
and to the pronouncement on bounties
and subsidies as the Largest plank"
and says:
What opiate does the little plank
contain that it can make those who
accept it oblivious Of the larger plank?
BY what rule of construction can the
small plank be made binding and the
large one ignored The secret of the
strange power exerted by the little
plank is to be found in the fact that
it carefully conceals the means by
which it is to be carried out. Had the
word subsidy or bounty been in
serted in this plank, it could not have
secured the Endorsement Of the con-
vention because the contradition be-
tween this plank and the larger plank
would have been Immediately appar-
ent. If the same care had been used
In the drawing Of this plank that
was used in the drawing Of the plank
on the merchant marine, the tolls ex-
emptiOn plank would have read as fol-
lows: We favor the exemption from
toll of American ships engaged in
coastwise trade passing through the
canal, but without imposing additional
burdens upon the people and without
bOunties or subsidies from the pub
lie treasury
But even il the platform had not
contained within itself a complete re-
futatiOn Of the position taken by the
advocates of free tolls, the president
would have been justified in the po-
sition that he took by the changed
conditions which confronted him. A
platform is a pledge and is as binding
upon an official as the command of
a military officer is upon a subordi-
nate-the statement can not be made
stronger. But the subordinate officer
his judgment where a change of
which the commanding officer is not
aware has taken place in conditions.
1t is not only the right Of the subor-
dinate to judge the situation for him.
self where conditions have changed
since the order was given, but 1t il
his duty to do SO. In the case under
consideration the president takes re-
sponsibility for an official act which
he regards as necessary for his cOun-
try's welfare and the people must
decide whether or not he is justi-
fled; and those who refuse to act with
him also assume responsibility and
they, too, must abide the judgment
of the public. Such q change has
taken place since the Baltimore plat
FORM was adopted lad the Dano~
Gratis in convention assembled been
confronted cy tne condition which
now exists and had they Know what
those Row tEow who voted FOR repeal,
no such plank would ever have been
placed in the platform. The conven-
tion's attention was not even brought
to the fact that q majority Of the
Democrats in the house had voted
against the free tolls measure and
that it had, in fact, been passed by
a combination Of minority Of the
Democrats and a majority Of the Re-
publicans."
Mr.. Bryan says that platform
planks dealing with international
questions must be accepted with the
understanding that we act jointly
with other nations in international
affairs" that even if the plank had not
been contradicted by aother plank
in the platform and even il it "hai
not concealed a subsidy policy repug-
nant to Democratic principle and his
tory" that even if conditions had not
changed, a platform plank should be
taken on international questions ''as
the expression Of wish rather than
as the expression of determination,
for no nation can afford to purchase
a small advantage in the face of q
universal protest"
If a nation continued the secre.
tary, desires to array itself against
the world, it should be sure that tho
thing which it is to gain is worth
what it costs. The president. know
ing that every commercial nation ex-
cept our own construes the treaty as
a pledge of equal treatment, would
have been recreant to his trust had
he failed to point out to the American
people that our diplomatic relations