The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1916-12-01
NEEDS PATCHING UP


ing up as much as if not more than the
Democratic party did after its split
on free silver in 1896. For several
years after that notable defeat, the
opposing groups of money changers
in the Democratic party attempted to
seize and control the organization, but
the most that they could do was to
encompass the party's defeat by work.
ing with or abetting the favored in
terest groups of the Republican par
ty. When in 1904 the Democratic
National Convention submitted to the
demands of Wall Street and nominal
ed Allen B. Parker for President, the
rank and file stayed at home on cleo
ton day and caused such slump that
Parker was swamped by popular ma
jority of 2,541,296. 1t was the serv-
ing of notice.
After the election of 1908, when the
reactionary group of the Republican
party refused to listen to the popular
demand for a revision downward of
the tariff, ignored the platform pledg-
es of the party and gave the country
that abomination of all the tariff
laws ever enacted-the Payne-Al-
drich Act-the more progressive
leaders of the party as well as the
rank and file revolted, and the people
administered a stern rebuke at the
following election in 1910 by electing
Democratic National House of
Representatives. The more liberal
minded of the party broke loose, or
ganized new party and in 1912 NOM
mated a Progressive national ticket
headed by Theodore Roosevelt. This
split in the old Republican party in
sured Democratic triumph and the
election of Woodrow Wilson, with a
Democratic Senate and House. The
way in which the Democrats carried
out their platform and campaign
pledges to the people is familiar his
tory.
Notwithstanding the drubbing they
had received, the old leaders of the
party bourbonlike refused to Learn
anything or eoncede anything to pop
ular sentiment. They held on to the
party machinery, but held out tenta'
tive proposition to the Progressives
to return to the fold, and with two
national conventions meeting at the
same time and in the same city, they
parleyed while arranging their coup
The only concession they made to the
Progressives-which was a snub tt
their idolized leader--was the nomi-
nation of a Justice of the Supreme
Court who had been out of politics for
six years, and whose position on any
of the questions uppermost in the
minds of the people was'as undecipher-
able as the Sphynx. But the reac-
tionaries, the party bosses and expo
nents of special interest groups, if
they did not have some secret under
standing with him, picked their man
with rare intuition. The Progressive
convention at once nominated Roose-
welt again, and he threw them down,
went over to the enemy and tried to
pull them after him. The country
knows the result. With a partially
restored party on old reactionary
lines, the special interests poured an
unprecedented campaign slush fund
at their feet. The fight was hard,
bitter and close one, but they were
routed and Mr.. Wilson was reelected
by popular majority of about half
million. M
In the Heterogeneous opposition to
the Administration were the reac-
tionary bosses, the "Madman of Oys-
ter Bay, whose political consistency
is mush and whose dependability is
delusive, the few Progressives who
could not throw off the glamour Of
his personality, and that large part
of the rank and file that clings, like
ivy to some dismantled ruin, to old
associations and prejudices. Out Of
these the new organization must be
drawn and harmonized. Two domi-
nant political parties must perforce
have their being in republican form
of government like ours, and to make
the new Republican organization eff
fective, the Shoots, the Lodges, the
Penroses, ct id genus omne, must be
relegated to back seats, and men like
LaFollette of Wisconsin, Hiram John
son Of California and Cummins Of
Iowa brought to the fore. The leo
i. L. L. Il