Life — August 26, 1909 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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“ While there is Life there's Hope.” AUGUST %, 199. No. 1400 VOL. LIV. Published by PUBLISHING COMPANY LIFE AL Muveneee 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York Prevt. h MILLI, 5 EY ZRY good citizen of New York State, without dis- tinction of party, ought to wish godspeed to the ef- fort of Edward M. Shep- ard, Thomas M. Os- borne, Judge Parker, Judge Morgan O'Brien and others to revive and rehabilitate the Dem- ocratic party in the State of New York, These gentlemen have called a conference of 450 New York State Democrats, not holders of — public office nor officers of the Democratic State machine, to meet on September 9 at Saratoga and take thought and action to bring their party back to useful life in this State The call is timely. ir some past the case of the New York S has extraordinarily depressing. Its active managers have been Tammany at one end of-the State nd the egregious Conners at the other, Tammany is remarkable; so is Conners. They can get on together fter a fashion, but a party in which the leadership is divided betw two, with assistance or resistance, as may be, from McCarren, McCabe, Finucane and other local chief: tirely without attraction for New York voters of the Tilden and Cleveland, or the men who have sum- moned their sympathizers to Saratoga. Of course, the ruination of the Democratic party in New York has come chiefly through Bryan. The men who were fit to lead the party would not lead it Bryanwards. Inevitably the control of the organization fell to men whose chief political concern ‘was local; who found a profit of some kind Democracy been n these s, is ¢ class of in being loc es, and would do anything national or State concerns if only they could keep, or strengthen, their hold on the ma- The con- necessary in chinery of their own cities. sequence is that there is now no con- siderable Democratic organization in the State that a young voter of honor- able politic wants to tie up to, There is no encouragement for aspirations such youths to begin their political lives as Democrats. In New York City, for example, there is no of being an active Democrat except by joining Tammany Hall, Tammany has plenty to offer to the young Democrats who come to it. It rewards ability and industry in a thousand ways; the trouble is with its price. For the price of Tammany’s avor and of participation in its politi cal life is obedience to Tammany Hall. No Tammany man in office is a free Whether he is in Con- Legislature, or in way gent. gress, in the State some municipal office, his first alle- giance is to Tammany. He is not servant of the people, but of Tam- many. When it gets it, or he must quit political life. That condition might be tolerable if ammany stood for good government and the service of the people. But it doesn't. It stands for control of the overnment of the City of New York in the interest of the Tammany organ- ization, Its profits, of course, are enor- For a clever young man who mmany wants his vote mous. wants to share them the way is made y. But the price is and dishonor, and for youths who have no. mind to pay that price for anythin; there is now no opening to participa- tion in active Democratic polities in slavery ze or [ is this situation, among others, that, as we understand it, the Sara- toga conference is called to cure. Its business is to open a door in New York through which reasonably intelfigent and public-spirited Democratic voters in get into the Democratic party. If it only opens a side door it will be bet- ter than nothing, especially if the younger voters can be induced to pass through it. Political regeneration is more apt to come through a man than through a conference. A man with inspirations that will draw all men unto him, or else a Tilden, astute to plan and organ- ize, is what the New York Democra needs, ful step in discovering the necessary man and opening a path to him, gp RePorts from the north shore of Massachusetts represent that Mr. Tait is resting well. He takes his repose partly on the golf links, partly on the back stoop, but largely in an automobile. These are all milder methods of repose than were used by the late administration, but there is a larger physical surface and mass to be tranquillized and restored in Mr. Taft's case than in Mr. Roosevelt's, and prob- ably the sum of daily restoration achieved by Mr. Taft in golfing, gaso- line exercises and sitting around is not less, by accurate than was attained by Mr, Roosevelt. There is no reason to believe that anything that has been said about the tariff bill has cost Mr. Taft any sleep. The grumbling about that has been di- rected mainly at the Republican party, Mr. Aldrich and Speaker Cannon. The two latter culprits talk of going out of the business of politics, from which, if they both on handsome competences, but the Re- publican party will stay in the game no matter what, and will have to set- tle for its sins in the Congressional elections next year. The most popular method of aton: ment so far suggested is to turn Uncle Joe out of the Speakership, which is good as far as it goes, and likely to be Uncle Joe used to American sentiment well, but that was several years ago, when we were a much more sinful people than we are now. Uncle Joe, being too old and set to full benefit. from the recent uplift. lagged behind us in ethical progress, and ought to be dropped. He talks of moving over to the Senate after next year, and there, of course, he would find congenial bad associations. measurement, choose, they can retire represent pretty done. average receive moral has comicbooks.com