Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1916-06-01
THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM

1t ia announced, on the authority of
Charles ID. Hills, republican national
committeeman, that mi of the four
major planks to be incorporated into
the republican platform at the Chicago
convention will he one directing atten-
ton to the shortcomings of President
Wilson and his administration. There
can be no doubt that the committee
will point to the many shortcomings of
President Wilson and his administra-
tion," said Mr.. Hills in an interview.
why shouldn't they?"
Well, since Mr.. Hills asks it, there
are several reasons why the republican
party should not Speak of Mr.. Wilson'S
shortcomings. The chief reason is that
a review Of republican accomplishment
since the assassination of Lincoln, u
matter of half a century, with proper
deductions made for the Cleveland ad-
minlstrations, fails to reveal any achiev-
ement to which the republican party can
point with pride or with any other lofty
sentiment. Instead the nation, during
that time, has been the victim of much
misrule, CLOSED over with the glamor
of %triiles, and, particularly marked, by
republican failure when in power to
furnish the nation with adequate de-
fense'', .snon-partisan tariff commits
sion" and merchant marine,' the
other three items on which the party
is to seek a decision with the democrats
at the hands of the people.
The record Of the republican Office
holding is one Of shortcomings from end
to end, not for a single term, but for
ten terms. On the other hand the
Wilson administration, newly come to
Office and with the burden of establish.
ing itself in routine, has accomplished
reforms the republican party has been
promising since the Civil War. Presi,
dent Wilson's party, which Hills would
criticize for its shortcomings, enacted
the greatest currency law this country
has ever had, after the republican par
ty had tried and failed; it reformed the
tariff. which the republican party had
muddled, to the advantage of big bust
ness; it created a trade commission,
after the republican party had evaded
the duty; it doubled the size of the
army and framed the greatest naval
bill in the history of the nation, after
the republican party had refused to ac-
cept the lesson of the Spanish Ameri-
can wal and had permitted the navy to
drop from second rank into miserable
fourth place. 1t is preparing to take
the tariff out of politics with a non par.
tisan tariff commission to rehabilltate
the merchant marine. both efforts
against the opposition of the republican
party which will make "non-partisan',
tariff and merchant marine a part of
its platform. And finally the democat-
10 partly has kept the nation out of wal
and maintained our homer by processes
81 peace when the republican members
ofs congfess were doing all they could to
inflame the people to war by misrepre-
senting the effort 81 the administration.
The fact is the republican party is
- desperately hard pressed for an issue
thatsthe best in . do is to attempt to
hang its course on pegs long since
1el10ved q ia process Of removal by
dcnocrAcy. Not . single n Of the
1cnr...major planks' proposed by Hills
Ill bearths weight Of republican fail
- a accomplish their fullfillment
y lower. The democratic pErty has
mors "a three years than the re-
party ID forty years Of power.
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