Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1940-08-01
THE PLATFORMS OF 1910
(St. Paul DiSpatch)

Like the Republicans, the Demo-
Gratis now have platform. One really
would have served for both and
spared an immense amount of labor
and delay, except that then the DEM
ocrats would not have been able to
fulfill their contract with the city of
Chicago, which paid them we'll to
come there, and expects that they
will remain the regulation number of
days. Eliminate few telltale phrases,
and the proverbial man from Mars
would have great difficulty detecting
which platform belonged to which
party.
This is not really remarkable, even
though it would seem that after all
the controversies of the past seven
and third years, and in view of the
tremendous TODD about war policy,
and the unprecedented third term
candidacy about to occur, some real
clash might be expected on proposals
for constructive action
But it is not so. The fuss and
feathers in both conventions on for
eign policy results in declarations
about the war and aid to Britain
which are no different than tweedle-
dunn and tweedledee. Apparently all
America thinks alike-happy land to
be so united. And apparently both
parties take the liberal view toward
economic matters without thereby de-
parting from conservative principles.
There was one place where it might
have been supposed that fire would
strike. The Republicans have NOM
mated utility executive. The DEM
ocrats went to work on this morsel
with terrific flourishes. They ended
with the discovery that the issue is
whether water power shall be used
for all the people or just few, which
is worse than nonsense-it is stu
pidity compounded by ignorance. If
there is any issue it is private versus
public ownership and operation of the
utilities, but the Democrats, with I'M
derstandable caution, prefer to ignore
such endorsements. Thus it occurs
that the party responsible for the
greatest extension of public owner
ship of the utilities has made declar-
alton of policy to which the leader
of the opposing party, himself a pri-
vate utility man, will be able to sub
scribe without the slightest reserva-
ton.
But the flatness of party platforms
is not remarkable. It is a result of
our tWo-party system, without which
democracy would fail, falter and fall
into chaos, as in the multi-party sys-
tenn of France. These platforms are
the work of inner committees striv-
ing to please and cajole, first, larg-
er committee of possibly a hundred
persons; second, a convention of
roughly thousand persons; and third,
nation of some 40 million souls.
Naturally they come out of the mill
in the form of generalities, refined,
and then refined again and again, so
as to be clean of any possible cause
for irritation to any one whatsoever.
BY such genius of compromise,
democracy contriveS to get over the
rough spots and then do the necessary
things as intelligence directs at the
moment when problems refuse to be
longer ignored.
With rare exceptions, the value of
party platforms is confined to the
political effect produced at the time
they are adopted, for thereafter no
one thinks of them again. And that
is very good thing. If ever there
was year when the candidates are
the real party platform it is 1910.
Roosevelt is the Democratic platform;
Willkie the Republican.
Of all the vices of the earth the
one that is most difficult to under
stand is the vice of gossip. For most
crimes we can find some explanation,
but for gossip there is no explanation
except depravity or insanity. How
people can find enjoyment in making
life hard for others is one of the
eternal mysteries. The slanderous &C
tivity of malicious tongues has caused
more havoc in the world than any
other one viciousness. And one thing
we forget-the person who listens is
only slightly less culpable than the
one who talks.-Larry HO.
1t is now revealed that P. T. Bar
mum was himself sucker, having
been stuck for $4,000 in a phOny