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Show THE POLITICAL SITUATION. Except for Senator Hanna's death, President Roosevelt would have had a walkover for the nomination nom-ination for President. Mr. Hanna had been appealed ap-pealed to "but he had refused; "then a pressure had been put upon him to name a candidate if he would not permit his name to go before the convention, but he had set down hard upon the proposition, declaring that the President was the logical candidate, expressed the belief that he could win and said further, "If we nominate Roosevelt and fail to elect him, still we will be in .good form to recover all the lost ground in 1908, while if we nominate another man and lose, there will be such contention within the party, that it may mean Democratic ascendency for a dozen years." So had Mr. Hanna lived there would have been a nomination by acclamation, but now so many politicians in so many states are left political politi-cal orphans by the death of Mr. Hanna that they may try to unite upon a standard bearer other than the President. But they will fall; the President Pres-ident will get the nomination. The Democracy are in an even worse fix. When Senator Gorman failed to defeat the Panama treaty he lost his prestige for a nomination. Now what have the Democracy left? There is Hearst, who will have the backing of Bryan, and ex-President Cleveland. Bryan is big enough to defeat Cleveland but not big enough to nominate Hearst. There will have to be a compromise candidate. It will be someone who either cannot draw the conservative (money) crowd to him or who cannot can-not command either the labor vote or the semi-populistic semi-populistic vote that will again shout for Bryan, Bry-an, or, at Bryan's bidding, for Hearst. Neither party Is now on a bed of roses. We mean the active ac-tive politicians, those who make the noise and look out for plums, are not on beds of roses. Of course many things may happen. The Panama business has gone the President's way, but things do not look good in the Orient. There some very firm and steady work will be needed and it will be easy to criticise. Then the men of the South may assert themselves them-selves and no longer consent to play second to the dictation of Northern Democrats. But at this writing the President has the best show for the Republican nomination and W. R. Hearst for the Democratic nomination. Conventions Conven-tions at times, like drowning men, grasp at straws. To insure a Democratic triumph in No vember, some Important Northern States must be H idded to the solid South. To carry such states, q corruptible vote must be enlisted. That can M . 'y be done by purchase and Mr. Hearst has H money. Who else has? Of course the New M y .i'k money syndicates would get behind Mr. M Cleveland, but then what would be done by the M Bryan-Hearst great contingent? I The situation is interesting; it will grow in in- fl terest up to the time of the nominations. When one thinks of the average National convention he M wonders that they perform as good work as they M do, for half the time a National convention is H but pandemonium. Think of ten thousand men H springing to their feet and yelling like so many H catamounts for fifteen minutes at a stretch. Then H think of calling such an assemblage "a dellbera- H tive body." H This year there should be vast care in pre- H paring the platforms. Both parties ought to rise H to a higher plane than has been approached in H forty years in National convention. The Repub- H lican convention will be held first and from their H platform everything petty and small should be H eliminated. The delegates should realize that H whether we would have it so or not, our nation H has become a mighty world power and the ex- H pression of a great party representing half the B people should be such as would be an evidence H of our nation's greatness and the justice which guides its methods and intentions. Across the spa , this year's platforms will be more closely scanned M than ever before and they should bo worthy the M parties that frame them. M The Democratic platform this year should M mark a new departure. The party should turn M from the regrets that clouded Calhoun's last days and go back to the hopes that filled the H heart of Jefferson and gather inspiration from them. M For forty years that party's platforms have H been little more than an Indictment of their op ponents. To promise to undo what others have H done does not constitute a catching appeal to the H people. A negative policy does not commend it ' H self to Americans. A platform should be aggros- H sive stating a party's beliefs and promising ag- I gressive performance. A wail over something H that every member of the party would engage in I if he had a chance will not count. Simulated I sympathy for cut-throats which no one care3 I about does not count. The platform should state I what the party wants and what it will do if given I the chance. H |