South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-04-09
DF,MAGOGUERY AP-
Piled TO THE CHICAGO
ELECTION.

ILItI1ADN
Lorimerism in Chicago. apparently
is not dead. even If the blond boss is
under indictment. That is the only
Interpretation that can be placed on
Tuesdays election there; that is. If it
Is 90 be Interpreted at all as a partisan
victory. And il is a partisan victory
10 a certain degree 1t is partisan TO
the extent that apparently the better
element OF the democratic party,
choosing what TO them seemed the
lesser Of two evils, Joined forces with
the republicans 10 prevent a sure and
promised return 10 the old days of
commercialized vice and political rot
tenness which Mayor Carter II. Harri-
son appears to have made a sem
blance OF an effort TO upset.
II might not be so very unwise for
the democracy of Chicago TO take "a
lesson from the fig tree while the
branches are yet green" The noIhi-
nation of Robert NJ. Sweitzer over
Mayor Harrison at the recent primary
was made upon the understanding
within the democratic party that
Sweitzer's election would mean the
return OF a wide open" Chicago,
which perhaps would have been quite
TO the liking Of a majority of demo-
Gratis. but the minority voting with the
republicans, seem TO have declined TO
have il worked out TO any such limit
under democratic administration
Thompson. while not avowedly a re-
form candidate, has it at least 10 his
credit that he did not openly and
persistently, if not boastingly, pose as
a vice candidate, and under such con
ditions we can readily understand why
democrats who regard the welfare of
humanity in general as of more i'm
pOrtance than the supremacy of the
vice element should have no partic-
ular computations against choosing
even a LOrimer candidate. with some
chance OF Improvement, as against
Roger Sullivan candidate, with no
chance at all.
This as we view it, is the answer
TO the whole question. Republicans
are. OF course. trying to draw from it
a bearing upon national issues, and by
so doing are making II that much
harder for a democrat TO ever again
vote with them for any reason. 1t
was the friends of Carter Harrison,
and OF his reform measures, regard
less of how long delayed nor how in
completely SUCCESSFUL; these Joined to
the opposition 10 Sweitzerism, that
did the work. national politics having
Just enough TO do with it TO enable
the republicans TO present the front
Thompson is swept into Office on a
wave of republican politics plus DEM
Ocratic disaffection and Indignation
over wide open" townism. The cleo
ton is. rebuke TO the like of Don
Robertson as Chicago rebukes it. We
are not expecting anything great to be
done for the Windy city by the Hon.
William Hale Thompson, but what he
fails TO do will not have been deliber-
ately done by mayor who is a demo-
crat The republicans get what little
glory there is in winning the Office,
bat they also get the responsibility
And we half anticipate that it is
republican realization of the reason for
Nr Thompson's success. and a quite
certain knowledge that in actual exc
cution OF anti-vice measures. he is TO
be a dismal failure. that leads parti-
sans of that faith TO SO anxiously seek
10 tie the accomplishment TO the ta!
OF their national kite. If they can
only make the public believe that the
people OF Chicago thought they were
voting for protective tariff. and a
return 10 Lorimer, Barnes. Root. For
aker, Penrose. ct cetera, there will be
less excuse for keeping an eye on
Thompson and noting his failures.
Besides it will serve 20 put some
feather in the caps of Lorimer, Barnes.
Root. Foraker. Penrose. ct cetera.
which is a very particular spot just
now whore feathers are needed. one
might have guessed from the muni-
eipal elections OF 1913 that the Indiana
democracy was TO have been wiped of
the map i'm 1914, but when the votes
were counted last fall they told
quite different tale. just as significant
of the difference between municipal
issues and state and national issues, as
voted upon hy the people. as the cleo
ton I'm chicago may eventually prove.
To be sure the republican interpre-
tation Of the Chicago victory having
been voted 90 revise the tariff" was
30 be expected. and what the republi-
cans seemingly regard as a bone
headed" public is by them, Of course.
expected TO believe it, but that is
merely in keeping with the republican
estimate OF the public intelligence. It