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About The independent. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1903)
Ami -lr . 4 pa pin, ni WL VI' u v; r ii i i it ii i ii i ii n i i n n i : Vol. XV. LINCOLN NEB., AUGUST 13, 1903. ' ' . No. 12. 0 J THE POPULIST REVIVAL -j FERRISS DELIGHTED. James H. Ferriss, editor of The Joliet News, was so pleased that he gave six columns in the News of the 3rd inst. to a report of the conference, starting it ; with a cartoon head en titled "Populists Unite," representing a long, lank, lean, long-whiskered in dividual, labelled "Tex." (did he mean Editor Mallett?) clasped in ths em brace of a powerfully built person, probably intended for Senaiw Allen, marked "Neb." . Following thU the headlines &ay: "The rankest radicals, and the most conservative of conservatives come to gether at Denver On the Omaha Plat form No Fusion Convention to be teld first An excellent attendance-is- 11 completely satisfied Organization to extend into every state, and the Old Guard called into action." The -report itself, being similar to that of The Independent two weeks ago, need not be here reproduced; but Editor Ferriss said some things edi torially that Independent readers ought to hear because Ferriss is without doubt one of the ablest mid-roaders, a staunch populist and a successful newspaperman. He said: A very large number of our readers are pleased to see the populists again a united and happy party. We are sure of this for we populists ourselves in a neighborly way are pleased to wu ress the pleasant things that fall to anybody. If things go well, when ora tors speak truly, and candidates are 1 onorable we populists feel for the lime being that we are republicans or democrats as the case may be and re joice with them in their victories We are truly glad to welcome a Roose velt or a Bryan to our city. None on these occasions has a wider, more , tiuly hospitable smile than a popul ist.. ', . The bulk of the News readers are not active, working populists. We think they believe in public ownership and government money; we know they do in the referendum for their vote showed it, but as the world goes they " fcelong to ,the older parties. They en courage these good things when it does r.ot hurt their own party and seem to be hoping in a vague far-away manner that in some mysterious way these measures of improvement and relief will be brought around in their own party lines. They surely have an in terest in the good luck of the pop ulists. . When the Chicago democratic con vention of. 1898 was in session it was a question as to which was the third party in the field as to numbers, the democratic or the populist. Bryan's speech turrit thp tide in favor of the cemocrats. The fusionists by a few votes compelled the populists to in dorse Bryan in the populist conven tion at St. Louis a few days after. A large partof the populists doubted tne wisdom of this action, although as a rule they supported Bryan heartily. Especially was this-true in the north. Soon after the election the party split and the two divisions were com monly known as fusionists and middle-of-the-roaders. As they drew farther and farther apart their dislike for each other increased. Truly since the St. Louis convention populists have done little less than make war upon each other. Their common ene mies, democrats and republicans, were given a season of refreshment. .- The News espoused the mid-road cause, but did not enter into a discus sion of populi3t differences. Partly because it is a newspaper and the dis cussion would not interest its readers. Tartly because the editor hoped for a time when all who believed in the principles would come together raid toad and fusion, Bryan democrats, sin gle taxers, some socialists and all good reformers and true Christians. All of these at least are brothers and their differences are so little time will ad Just all before , their president is elected. Truly the fight was quite bitter. The fusionists supposed the mid-roaders at heart desired to help the republi- cans. They called us "Hannacrats." On the other hand we supposed the ; fuglonists , tot be. mere, democrats in disguise, making a sneak for offices and personal profit But we are joined together new for no more fusion and all are good and true brothers once more. We mid roaders were surprised , to. find that these fusionists were still as true to the principles as ourselves. In the past so many democrats hare come into our ranks to desert again as soon as nominated for office we were afraid of fusion as the burnt child is of fire. These were men of great l.rominence, Thurman, Vorhees, Ew ing, Plaisted, " Carey, sufficient to fill this page in this type, and some like Palmer went over to Wall street and became the most bitter of opponents. Bryan was of different mettle. He is one in a million outside the pop ulists. He has been such another as Jackson or Lincoln, steadfast to his ideas, and thus populists who followed him were not tempted to lay aside their platform. " - ; v It is remarkable that these men, (onsorting with democrats and the lust of victory, have remained so true. It is now twenty-seven years since the writer enlisted in the cause and many were ahead of him. Thc:e years in a party sense have been full of grief. There was no luxury in it surely to tempt an ambitious politic ian. Military men who stand in the breach for ten or fifteen minutes are honored with medals, promotions, and monuments. History records their great achievements, volume on vol ume, but these friends of ours, the A health to the old guard boys, ." A health to the brave old guard, Who dared to march In the-ranks of truth, In times when the way was hard. Who bravely stood for the people's cause, ; And made that cause their own, In days before it had won applause, In days when they stood alone. - - ' " A health to the old guard boys, A health to the brave old guard, Who gave their time and their life and means. With hope of no reward. Who battled long 'gainst Mammon's might, Like veterans true and tried, Who dared to fight for love of right, 'Tho they fought on the losing side. A health to the old guard boys, A health to the bruve old guard, Who little knew how much we owe, To these warriors battle-scarred; But when tlie fight is won at last, The world will place each name. . Away up high for future's eye, On the deathless roll of fame. (Song composed by J. A. Edgerton; music by L. Du Pri; sang at opening of Denver conierence, July 27, by Miss A. M. Smith.) - Yes. "a. health to the old guard boys." a health to "those who have come all the way over the trail," and fond memories of those who have crossed the "great divide." The single taxers had their inning on May 14. The Henry George Edi tion, It is conceded, did much toward disseminating a knowledge of the "philosophy of freedom." The social ists, too, have reason to be proud of their showing in the Karl Marx Edi tion of July 23. But these special editions have not converted all populist readers of The Iadependent to either the single tax cr socialism. There are some thou sands of them who are not yet con vinced that a tax on land values only will solve the problem, so long as con tress Illegally delegates to private per sons (known a3 banking corporations) the power "to coin money and reg ulate the value thereof." They cannot f,ee relief in the simple levying upon "economic rent" of land, so long as the laws require that rent to be paid not in the energy or products of the rent payer, but in a particular commodity, which can. only be had by borrowing at usury from the national banker or owner of gold, or by sacrificing human energy or products of toil in order to buy the bank notes or gold with which ("Old-Guard" Edition populists, have stood in the t reach, imperiling life, reputation and prop erty for thirty years. They surely furnish a substantial basis for a great party. Populist is an honorable name. These were heroes . who gathered around the standard at Denver. Bryan is highly respected by the populists and some adore him, but the gold bugs have been capturirg hia party machinery. The Wall, street influence utterly despising both Bryan and Roosevelt, promise to raise $50. 000,000 to elect Cleveland. Again should Bryan or a friend of his be placed in nomination what would it avail! Merely a continuation of petty warfare in the party. The steady rise and accessions of the Wall street influence in the femo cratic party, and the waste of. time re quired to build up reform in a divided wrangling party should the Bryan element by a miracltrcontrol the next national convention are two " things haying much to do with this early conference. Senator Allen in his in terview in this issue enlarges a littl 3 fully on this. Again, the populist signal fires will burn brightly on the hill top3. Their orators will gather 'their listeners at street corners and in. the country school houses. Thore" will bo im mense mass meetings, fairs and excur sion trains. Farmers, merchants and workingmen will hoard up documents to work upon neighbors and the fam ily doctor will have his pocket3 filled with tracts. There is harmony, hope in the entire populist party, something "for Thoaa Who Bnv Com AH th Vjr CWer the Trail.' to pay the "economic rent" or single tax. " Neither are they ready to join in the demand for the collective ownership of all the means of production and dis tribution of wealth; and, hence, they rre not ready to become. socialists. Populists hold that there is a .well defined practical line of demarcation between those businesses which must le public and those in which private, individual initiative seems best. That this line changes, is doubtless true; and the time may come when the so cialist demand will seem imperative. It is' also true that .one's position In life has its effect upon his views of economic problems. Doubtless pop ulists hold to their doctrines because as a rule they belong to what the socialists call the "middle class;" that is to say, farmers, home owners, small business men in a word, all those directly dependent upon agriculture or income from land. . But to date the populists "stand pat" upon tire fundamental principles enun ciated in the Omaha platform, July 4, 1892. None of these reforms have been actually accomplished; and until they shall have been, the economic neces sity for the people's party or Borne other occupying similar ground will continue to exist , The Independent of September 10, 1903, will be known as the "Old Guard" Edition. We want to fill it not with academic discussions of populist prin ciples, but with short letters from the old-timers "who have come alf the way over the trail." These letters should be in the nature of short auto biographical sketches of the writers snd not to exceed 300 words; less would be better. Tell year born, and where; former politics; when you broke away; part taken In fighting the battles of reform; what you consider tb' greatest economic issue; and, final ly, how you feel over the Denver con fe;ence. And send us a list of the old-time, true blue populists in your neck-of-t he-woods. We want each of them to sub'vribe and 40 cents out of every doliar paid on new subscription will go to the Organization Fund to assist Chairman Edgerton in his work. Ad dress THE INDEPENDENT, Liberty Bailding. Lincoln, Neb.; to live for and above all perhaps to carry him forward, the knowledge that uur neighbor democrats and republi cans believe the populist principles to be true and that they believe the populist bimsel? to -be an honest, con sistent, courageous specimen of man hood. ; We predict the populists will have a great revival and that it is to be a great party. : , , Beal & Wimmer in the Custer Coun ty Beacon, Broken Bow, Neb., (issue of the 31st) said: ' "The conference of populists how In session at Denver have united on the good old populist principles and the upward tendency of the people's party will date from that great conference. - A part of the dec larations of the principles is as fol lows:" (Quoting from the address.) MACK'S OPINION. In these days . when - those wo7 at- -tended the Denver conference, and those who sent them letters of ap proval, are subjected to caustic criti cisms from the democratic press and denounced as "assistant republicans" for daring to express an opinion as to what course the people's party should pursue in the future, it is refreshing to read an editorial opinion of a dif ferent nature, coming, too, from a New York state democratic newspaper whose editor is a member of the democratic national committee no lees 'a . personage than Norman E. Mack, editor of the Buffalo Evening Times, with whom, some time ago, Richard L. Metcalfe, editor of the Omaha World-Herald, exchanged some open letters on the subject of the next democratic national .. platform. Mr. Mack said editorially in the Times of August 3: . . II WHO ARE THE POPULISTS? Of far greater Interest than at first appears is the result of the national conference of the' people's party in Denver, while the cumulative effects of that result may prove to be of far reaching importance. The mere amalgamation of the two wings of the populists is "significant in itself how significant, time alone can show. It is to be noted that be- ' sides the adoption of a resolution of unification of what the populists arr pleased to style as "reform" forces, there is also a pledge of hostility to affiliation with either democrats or republicans. Of late years the populistlc parly has TiOt cut much of a figure in politics; but that it did so at one time it were useless to deny, the populists electeJ city, county and state officials, besides representatives in congress and mem bers of the United States senate. It is not to be forgotten that in 1892 James E. Weaver, the populist candidate for president, received more than 1,000,000 votes more than enough, in fact, to turn the scale one way or the other. Because their political individuality has been lost or merged for several years is not proof that the party itself is dead, or even that it is less numer ous than before. As a matter of fact, it may prove to have a greater numerical strength than ever, when the "show-down" comes. It may have secured adherents Rbere least suspected. There are prin ciples In its platform, if such it may be called, which appeal to many men who have hitherto been known as re l.ublicans or as democrats, and its ranks may be largely swelled by re cruits from each of those parties. Among the declarations in the ad dress adopted at Denver are those for money issued exclusively by the gov ernment, whether gold, silver or pa per; for public ownership of a system of transportation and of the transmis sion of intelligence meaning, we sup rose, government ownership of rail way, telegraph and telephone facili ties; a demand that land be put to active use, instead of being held for. speculative purposes; that ownership of land in the United States by for eign residents be abolished, and that. American ships be provided for Amer ican commerce, without a dollar of subsidy being granted. These are propositions which will challenge the attention of the thought-