Democracy Grows

The Democratie party is uow beginning to gather the legitimate fruits of its action in cutting itself loose from all the elements that inisrepresented its principios and its policies. Those wüo have beeu doubtful heretofore may now clearly perceive the wisdom behind the movement that compelled the Chicago convention to discard all shifts and evaeions and to make a platform declaration genuinely Democratie in all its parts. Our national conventions had for so long been the victima of shif ty methods, and had on so many occasions put forward declarations intended to mean one thing in the south and another and quite a different thing elsewbere, that a good many timid men svere inclined to doubt the wisdom of surrendering to the popular movement that demanded an honest and a fearless declaration of Democratie principies adjusted to the conditions of tho hour. As a rcsult, when the Eepublicans were victorious last November there were many good taen ready to greet the more entbusiastic party mvn with the usual "I told you so" salutation. But when the re turns were all in it was found that the Democratie party, instead of losing ground, had made enorraous gains al! along the line. The party stood oom pact and solid, with 0,500,000 serious and honest voters snpporting it, a larger numberof votes than the party had ever polled before. This f act was remarkable enongh to give solace to the doubting ones and to fire enthusiasta with fresh hope. By the light of that fact could be seen what the result would have been if the party leaders had failed to accede to the demanda of the people for a broad, a genuine and an unequivocal declnratiou of Democratie principies. Evasive declarations would have overwhelmed the party with ruin. As it is, though the party did uot elect its candidates, it more than held its grouud in the respect and confidence of the people. It was defeated, but that was because it had a political siu to answer for. In the eyes of many thousauds of voters who would othenvise have joined its ranks it was tainted with the record of its administration, and not even the clear and unequivocal declarations of the Chicago platform could quite clear the skirts of the party. Though the party had repudiated Clevelandism in the strongest terms possible, it was nevertheless responsible for Cleveland. It had lifted him from obscurity, where he could do no harm, to a position where he had been able to plunge the country into financial ruin. Well, the party has paid the penalty. That shameless experience is a thing of the past, and now the reaction has set in. The symptoms of this reaction have been visible ever since the opening of the new year, but now they are taking substantial shape in all sections of the republic - in the far east, in the far west and in the great middle west. It is usual, of course, for a slight reaction to set in in favor of a defeated party, but the raovement that is now going on in behalf of the Democratie party is more in the nature of a landslide. While it ia trae that local issues control municipal elections, yet the general result is significant ia showing that in the midstof local issues the people have not forgotten to pay a very hearty tribute to Democratie principies. -In Ohio the aggregate result is of treruendous importauce and will have a bearing in national politics. It has given the Democrats the control of the machinery for the election of state officers and members of the legislature. It is to be borne in raind that the Republican governor, who is to be a candidate for a second term, and Hanna, who desires to be elected to the senate next November, have had a hand in the organization of the municipal campaigns. The Democrats, on the other hand, have been apprised of the importance of these municipal contests in the aggregate, and they have worked with that fact in full view, so that the campaign in its entirety was something more than a series of municipal contests. The result makes it highly probable tbat Mr. Hauna will be retired next November and that the Democrats will carrry the state in the gubernatorial contest. As in Ohio, so in all part of the repnblic, though in not so ruarked a manner. The people are rallying to the Democratie standard with more enthusiasm and unanimity than have ever before been known in a nonpolitical year, and this enthusiasm will strengthen and grow and spread until genuine Democratie principies make themselves feit in remedial legislation for the relief of the people. Why shonld this be so? The explanation is very simple. The people, with uo sectional issues and prejudices to confuse their miuds, are beginning to discover that our institutions are adapted only to the operation of genuine democratio principies and the policies based on them. These iustitutions are substantial enough tosurvivethe shocks of alien principies, but under democracy alone can the people be prosperous and happy. This fact they are now finding out, and it will become more and