Life — September 1, 1904 — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“\ While there is Life there's Hope.” VOL. XLIV. SEPT. No. 1140, 17 West Turty-Fi eet, Naw Yorx, Published every Thursday. $5.00 0 year in ad: Fance. ‘ostage to foreign countries in the Postal Union, $1.0) a year extra Single current copies, 10 centa Mack numbern after three mooths trom date of publication, 23 centa. No contribution will be returned unless accompanied by stamped and addressed envelope. The illustrations in Live. are copyrighted, and are not to be reproduced. Prompt notification should be sent by sub- scribers of any change of address. BSOLUTELY and without reserve, we acquit the President, Mr. Cortelyou and the Republican managers ', from complicity in the burning of the murder- ers of the Hodges family, and all the rest of the negro-baiting that took place a fort- night ago in Bul- lock County, Geor- gia. Nevertheless, these occurrences make votes in the North and West for the Republi- can candi- dates. To be sure, they are not very reasonable votes. Party lines do not touch negro-burning. All half-decent people everywhere are like- minded about that. They do not even touch mere lynching. All reasonably wise people, North and South, are agreed in condemning that, and thou- sands of Southern Democrats are ready to risk their lives to stop it. Neverthe- less, when a story like this new one from Statesboro, Georgia, goes out over the country, spattering disgrace on every American that reads it, it in- evitably induces in a certain number of doubtful voters an increased dispo- sition to vote the Republican ticket. Is that reasonable? Nota bit. The influence of such an Administration as =U RE* Parker might give might easily be more helpful to the law-enforcing Southern- ers than any influence that can now emanate from President Roosevelt. But the doubtful voters don’t all con- sider that. Their tendency is to say “Here we are, disgraced again by a brutish Southern mob. Every disgust- ing, negro-burning blackguard in the country will vote the Democratic ticket. Well, then, I'll vote the other one.’’ How is it, Governor Terrell? Is no one going to get hurt? Can nothing be done to make negro-burning un- fashionable ? HE founders of the Parker Consti- tution Club, which thirty-seven New York lawyers organized on August 1s, comprise as distinguished a com- pany as the New York bar could well furnish. Most of them are Democrats who voted for McKinley, but the list includes one or two Republicans. They want to beat Colonel Roosevelt at the polls, and the special reason they give for that unkind intention is that he has shown a dangerous disposition toignore the rules laid down for the regulation of Presidents, and to “set up a policy of autocratic force.” They say of him in their declaration of principles that ‘the has shown that a President who has the will to usurp legislative func- tions, to exalt the power of the Executive above the Constitution, and to commit our nation to violations of international justice, easily finds a These lawyers, as we have said, are nearly all old-time Democrats, and are doubtless glad to have a chance to vote for such a Democrat as Parker, and have no more need of special excuses for doing so than Dr. Andrew White has for voting Republican. Nevertheless, in the excuse they have made they have put their finger with dexterous accuracy upon a sore spot. ‘The misgiving that they have put into words is sincerely entertained by a good many voters, and, whether just or not, it constitutes the most serious obiection to Colonel Roosevelt's election that exists. These lawyers have in their minds such special incidents as the constructive recess, the Executive or- affair, and they will deal with them very thoughtfully. They propose to instigate the formation in other cities of clubs similar to theirs. That purpose may bear fruit; it may not; but the appearance of this one group of emi- nent men of affairs on Parker's side goes in itself a long way towards allaying the fear, somewhat prevalent, that there are not enough sane, able and responsi- ble men left in the Democratic party to supply the necessary brains for a successful Democratic Administration. HERE now we come to a painful subject, to wit, to Governor Odell. What think you of him? Is he the victim of calumny, or is there due basis for the opinion of the large and growing company that are used nowadays to speak of him as ‘ta bad egg’’? He has been Governor since 1got. He is Republican boss in New York State, When he began to be Governor he was advertised as a man infatuated with the purpose of securing good service for the people of the State. All the changes he made were either reforms or economies—so we were assured, But nowadays he is adver- tised as a man infatuated with the purpose of doing something for Ben- jamin Odell. Mr. Root says he can't afford to be Governor, Mr. Odell gives the impression of making a de- termined effort to reconcile his official obligations with the duty of making pecuniary provision for his own future. Undoubtedly he has lost in reputation. He is, if possible, less favorably re- garded than even Uncle David Hill. He is the only candidate for Governor that Hill might beat, and Hill is the only candidate against whom Odell would have a chance of winning. What's the matter? Are these twoextra bad men, or is the job of being party boss in New York State necessarily such a dirty job that no man can hold it without sacrificing his reputation? comicbooks.com