The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-03-06

really tried to put good men in public places and
thesnorthern Democrats went back on him. With
the election of Harrison in 1888, the Republican
party began to ride for fall. 1t increased pro-
tective to prohbitive tariff, and began to try to
lift itself over the house by pulling on its boot
straps. 1t was about then that old man H. c. of
l.. came of age, and has been growing ever since
The Mckinley tariff boosted manufacturing at
the expense Of farming, only for the manufacturers
to find they couldn't sell their goods. Mr. Cleve-
land was reelected in 1892 on wave of re-
action against Republican policy. No doubt he
did the best he could himself. but be had little
help from his party, and no blessing resulted to
the country from his administration.
The Mckinley administration was aided by the
inevitable rebound from depression; also. at the
same time, the country triumphed in war over
Spain. The country increased in prosperity. lux
ury, taxes and prices. Roosevelt followed McKin-
leys policy, but right in the middle of his days
came panic. which the country was barely re-
covering from when Wilson and the Democratic
party went into power on the usual pledges of econ
omy and reform.
We all know there was nothing of either and
the outbreak of the world war probably saved the
country from just such another experience as it
had during Cleveland's second administration. Re
form of the national financial system was probably
the one wise and scientific measure of the Wilson
administration. This was a great achievement,
and r,r0bahlxy eavaJ tba e.
collapse in the late summer and autumn of 1914.
AS to how Mr. Wilson's peace policies would
have eventually worked out there is no telling, for
the war knocked all calculations into cooked hat.
There was a greater prosperity in this country in
l9l6-l9 than it ever saw before, but it was
hectic, and was ebbing in 1920.
The defeat of the Democratic party in 1920
was due to discomfort about the war. 1t was in
control of the government during the war, and
was blamed for all the mistakes and conquences of
the mistakes. There is no reason to believe that it
made any more mistakes than the Republicans
would have made but the people were sore and
mad and took it out of the party in power 1t
was good thing for the Democratic party that
it was defeated For now it can sit back and
criticise the Republicans for making more mis-
takes. 1t is likely that the Democratic party would
have been defeated in 1920 if there hadn't been
any war. The Republicans may lose in 1924,
and if they do not they will lose in 1923.
The truth is that electing president has be-
come game. We nominate our man and go out
to elect him in pretty much the same spirit that
we watch ball game or horse race 1t is only
the raw and inexperienced or the hopelessly bone
headed that expects the result to benefit the people
We don't profit from each others mistakes. One Of
the greatest curses to the country is the vast num-
Der of superRuous office holders. Each party, as
it comes into power, increases them. At the close
OF the Wilson administration the country had more
worthless Office holders than at any other time in
its history. And did the Republicans reduce the
Offices? Not more than they could help They
filled them with Republicans, and have created
some more Offices of their own.
Here in the South, we have vital issue-white
supremacy. That will never bother the North.
1t wouldn't bother the South if the North would
let it alone. Otherwise you may take any hundred
Americans, from all over the country, mill them
around, divide them equally. and they will come
very near counting up $3.50 in ability and honesty
as we'll as numbers
The reasons why taxes and expenses are so high
our steadily increasing laziness and extrava-
sance and the steady decrease of our natural re-
Sources
In the past fifty years, there have been iavented
and put to use more labor-savirg devices than in
all the centuries together before in the history of the
world They should have all been put to work
adding to solid progress. to enlightenment, to bet
ter hcalh-to everything that is really worth while
But such large portion Of them are pandering to
ideness useless activity and luxury that the good
result of all has been more than neutralized.
The American stock that won this continent
frcm the wilderness was industrious and frugal