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Show ROLLIXG THE ROLLER OVER SENATOR JAMES A. REED Senator James A. Reed, of Missouri, Misso-uri, was elected a delegate to the Democratic national convention by the Democrats of his home district in Kansas City, the strongest Democratic Demo-cratic congressional district in any part of the country outside the Solid Sol-id South, where public opinion cuts no figure in elections. Although the election was iii every ev-ery way regular and practically unanimous, un-animous, the. Missouri Democratic state machine assumed the right to deny self determination to the Democrats Demo-crats of this district, and declared the Senator's seat vacant. Whereupon, Where-upon, the Democrats of the district held another convention, as directed, direct-ed, and proceeded to re-elect Senator Senat-or Reed. The Democratic national committee commit-tee thereupon decided that Senator Reed was not entitled to a seat, although al-though clearly he was the chosen representative of the Democrats of his congressional district. This decision de-cision was made at the dictation of a President who has written many essays and . delivered many speeches on the subject of the right . of the people to rule, rather than to be controlled con-trolled by small groups and "bosses" It was made by a body of politicians, everyone of whom,, practically, has been laid under obligations to the national administration in the distribution dis-tribution of federal patronage. Thus is illustrated anew the difi erence between Wilsonian theory and practice. For public consumption high-sounding speeches are made about "democracy'' and self deter mination of peoples." But when it comes to dealing with the affairs of his own c untry and party, Mr. Wilson Wil-son falls back upon autocracy in its most extreme and objectional form. It was not claimed, and could not be, that Senator Reed did not fairly represent the opinions of the people of his district, who had elected him a delegate. It was only charged that he had been guilty of the high crime and misdemeanor of disagreeing with the Democratic Supreme Be-; ing. : How the journalistic sensationalists sensational-ists would have rent the air wit: their ululations it a Republican j led States senator, elected a delegate dele-gate to the Republican national convention con-vention Senator Hiram Johnson, for instance had been denied a seat in the convention by vote of the Republican Rep-ublican national committee because . his presence was not desired by some supreme party boss. As it is. this flagrant piece of steam rollcrlsm seems to have caused little comment. So accustomed has the country become be-come to Wilsonian autrocracy, that this outrage) was accepted as a mat-4! ter of course. And the court journals jour-nals of the Demcoratic and near Democratic breed applaud the decision deci-sion on the ground that Senator Reed has not been a "regular Democrat." |