The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-02-10
A REGULAR MAN.

/ REGULAR MAN.
A great army of independent voters has developed
| in America in~the last ten years. The intelligent
people of this country have grown weary OF the pro-
fessional politician and his tactics. The theory of
democracy is the rule OF the people, not the rule OF
political clique. If the parties-al parties-are
suffering from a public distrust it is the fault Of
those politicians which have placed party amove
principle. and have made the people their pawns in
the game of politics that they playing in the
United States senate. where small minority are
preventing the will OF the great majority of the
ate being enacted into law.
The ward politician and the county politician, the
state political gameser and the national dictator
going-going-gon and in their places the people
are going to place man who puts Amerieanism
| first
The man they have picked is Herbert Hoover But
Mr. Hoover has already shown them that he is not
going to be man on string to dance to the tune
Of any party parties. Mr.. Hoover has already
made it very clear that he is not for disrupting
either party. He has not yet declared himself and
he is demanding a showdown from both the DEM
ocrats and the republicans to what policies he
will commit himself, if he becomes candidate for
the presidency
According to press dispatches Under date Of Feb
ruary Sth, he is not advocate for third and
party, separate and distinct from either the demo-
cratic republican parties.
One of the abest democratic newspapers in the
country the Tulsa Tribune, leading paper Of the
west, in discussing the possible candidacy of Mr..
Hoover, in its current issue says:
There is Overwhelming army Of righteous
minded patriotic and purposeful citizens who have
joined the grand army of ballot scratchers who de-
clare they will no longer bow before political ring
They will cast their ballot for the best man and
endorse the best principles in whatever party col
umn they find those and those principles
THAT is why America is ready to receive such
praSf Hanfia ale
ticisn says he doesn't know whether Hoover has
been regular or il he has there is no record to
show he has been regular long enough.
THAT very fact delights the independent voter
That is of Hoovers greatest political assets The
regular politician usually hasn't brains enough to
recognize a political asset when he sees it. Were
we to leave either party to their regular and gnor-
ant town and county bosses they would kill the
party in campaign.
In this column reminded our readers the other
day OF the campaign 1865 in which both the demo-
cratic and the republican parties a race to see
which would nominate General Grant. The repub-
licans beat the democrats to it. The republicans had
sense enough not to hesitate to nominate Grant even
though he had never cast republican vote in his
life. The first republican vote he ever cast was
when he voted for himself But he elected That
is the point. The republicans were wise They set
out with patriotic design to elect president and not
partisan And they did it. That is what every
party must do f't is to be respected by the voters
Whenever party goes about looking for ITSELF in
variably gets lost.
If the republican party today is looking for
didate who is first republican and second an
American it is looking for that the great army
of independent voters will not endorse~
If the democratic party is looking for a candidate
for president who is first democrat and second an
American 1T is looking for candidate whom the |
great army of independent voters will not endorse
And if either party hopes TO elect president, it
must recognize the fact that it is the awakened con-
science of the independent voters that swings the
balance of power which determines the election.
I'm 1872 the democratic party endorsed the candi-
dacy of Horace Greeley for the presidency. For %
years before that Horace Greeley had been the most
forceful opponent OF the democratic party. But
when Horace Greeley represented the principles
which the democratic party ready to endorse it
accepted him as its standard bearer and though it
failed of election, under his leadership the party
polled more votes than it ever had in any preyous
contest
In 1896 the democratic party nominated William
Jennings Bryan for the presidency without asking
whether not he regular AS a matter Of
act he not regular He was about as frres,,-
ar as they make em. for only four years before he
lad opposed the democratic party in an open and
rigorous campaign for the populist party
The politician is regular in his devotion tn
party The states is regular in his devotion to nrin
,ple.
TO day find some politicians-petty Marty