The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-03-14
THE TIMEs-UNION KICKS.

The Palmetto News is not at all pleased with the
extra requirements the democratic executive COM
mtee put in prerequisites to participation IN
the democratic primary. 1t says:
The state democratic executive committee
passed resolution that all who vote in the
coming democratic primary shall sign an oath
to vote for the nominees in the general election.
II this resolution is enforced we, with fifty
thousand others, will have to be counted out.
We would not sign any such oath. II the
nominees not to our liking, we will not OPP
pose them, but well be darned IL we would
support them, especially il our friend Cats
should unfortunately be nominated. The trouble
with the democratic party in this state Is that
its executive committee is devoid Of brains
Fortunately the rank and file will not submit
to enforce any such resolution.
Years ago the Times Union made statement
editorially that much criticised at the time 1t
said that it would support yellow dog candidate
who democrat in preference to the best repub-
lican In the United States. This remark was not
inspired by bitterness against republicans for some
Of them among the personal friends of the
writer. The statement meant this: The Times Union
cares Enthusiastically for in comparison with
principles. A yellow dog candidate who was dem
ocrat would be pledged to carry out the policies
this paper believes in and probably would do so
and thus it would get what it wants and believes to
be best while the best man in the republican party
would be pledged to carry out the policies o: that
party-poliees think vcious-and wouf. do
so and thus would get just what we do not
want.
But the world has progressed so far down the hill
that it is not at all certain whether a candidate
bearing the democrat will carry out democratic
policies policies than republican. We
don't know what the national convention will do
this year. The platform written four years ago
Ill.
leaders has recently announced a number of essen
tial principles-not of them democratic A
candidate is considered for the democratic nomina-
ton who does not profess to be democrat in
name or in principle and number OF papers called
democratic are commenting favorably his candi-
dacy. What if the democratic convention nom-
mated man who did not profess to be democrat
on platform not democratic? This is not mpossi-
BILE and not SO highly improbable Recent perform
ances show that all that remains to the democratic
party is the name. Must democrat swear that he
would support candidate and a platform of this
kind. He viii not be willing to do it if he is a
democrat. He will take the oath prescribed willing
ly if only he cares nothing whatever about prin-
cipIes.
We believe that oath to do a thing when you
have idea what that oath win obligate you to do
would be an immortal oath and contrary to the pol
icy of the laws
We believe that when the legislature passed laws
governing the primary executive committees had no
longer the power to add essentially to them or take
from them
We believe it is an outrage to require more for
participation in the democratic primaries than is
required of a nominee of democratic convention.
We believe the committee had no right to i'm
pose obligations the democrats of Jacksonville
Tampa and Pensacola that are not imposed on Demo
Gratis elsewhere in the state.
We would not hesitate to vote for candidate
personally distastefu. We have done that whenever
the nomination required it for forty years and are
ready to continue it to the end. But we are moi
willing to swear to support the action of CT
yention that may nominate candidate who is not q
democrat and adopt platform that is mol demo-
cratic.-1imes- Union