The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1931-01-22
THE RUFFLED FEATHERS
OF AN ANGEL


"While the Republicans are busy
running the government of the nation,
the traditional and happy lot of the
Democratic party is to sit on fence
and criticize Sometimes lone DEM
ocrat pitches in and helps-Senator
Robinson, at the London naval confer
ence, for example. Generally speak
ing, normally for the Democratic par
ty means the cool and comfortable job
of the wise outsider looking in," COM
ments the New York Herald Tribune.
'eIt is easy to find fault and hard to
accomplish anything in this world of
trial, error and human frailty-as Mr..
Hoover has learned to his sorrow.
Hence the contrast which our Demo-
cratic contemporaries have been stres-
sing now these many months, between
the efficient, contented and united
Democracy, looming along toward
promised victory in 1882, and the
wrangling, sweating, confused Re-
publicans trying to help the nation
weather major financial storm, and
getting called all the names in the
calendar for their pins. To complete
the scene of bucoli pece, the Demo-
cratic party had at last secured an
angel in the person of Mr.. John j.
Raskob, who relieved it of the major
practical worry to which parties are
heir.
"What rude shock, therefore, sud
denly to discover, thanks to Mr.. Ras-
kob's highly explosive nature, that
the Democratic dovecote was not the
happy family home which had been
pictured. One rubs ones eyes in
amazement at the virulence of his at
tack upon Mr.. Frank Kent, of The
Baltimore Sun. To be sure, the latter
had spoken out with his customary
frankness and freedom Of phrase. But
he had called noanames; he had notre-
motely suggested a religious issue or
any other infammatory topic. He had
simply said what he thought of the
power which Mr.. Raskob was secur-
ing over the party. To quote the es-
sential point in his column:
"Add up all these items, and
the Raskob ownership of the
party seems pretty well estab-
lished. Never in the 1875 years
of it's history has it been so
heavily obligated to single in
dividual. Never has any party
been so deeply in debt to one
man. The thing is unprecedent-
ed. 1t is real news. 1t is amaz-
ing that not more has been made
of it."
"Mr. Raskob replies to much other
matter in Mr.. Kent's article. He re-
pulses hautily the foul SANDER that
he could have ever been Republi
can, making it plain that he is a
Democrat by inheritance, environment
and marriage-though conceding that,
like many another Democrat, he fell
from grace in 1896, and over subse-
quent Presidential votes preferring to
draw veil. He attacks Mr.. Hoover's
Republicanism, somewhat irrelevantly,
and accuses Mr.. Kent of conspiring
with the Ku-Kluxers, wholly irrele
vanity, since the evidence upon which
he makes this charge is not visible
to the naked eye.
"But he makes no reply to Mr..
Kent's real point. And now that the
indiscreet Mr.. Kent has brought it up,
we wonder if any one can reply to it.
Let it be conceded that every corpus
Gle of blood in Mr.. Raskob's body is
100 per cent Democratic, uncontam-
mated and undefled. Grant that his
motives are nobler than those of any
other angel that ever flew these
mortal airs. What business has a self
styled party of the people to be finan-
cially dependent upon any one rich
man?
"When Mr.. Raskob gets his feathers
smoothened down we shall hope to
hear from him on this point. In the
meantime, at the risk of grieving our
Democratic friends, we cannot escape
expressing the conclusion that it will
be necessary to hold an election in
1882, after ALL"
A SOUTHERN VIEW