Ifif Iff IfWTrTM ;
Vol. XV.
LINCOLN NEB., DECEMBER 17, 1903.
No. 30.
..The Old Guard of Populism..
An Organization of Those " Who Have
Come All the Way Over the Trail."
The Old Guard of Populism is the
name of an association of populists
now being formed, having for its ob
jects several immediate purposes and
one ultimate end in view. For the
immediate present it is designed to
secure, as far as it is possible to do,
an enrollment of all populists who
are still strong in the faith; who be
lieve that the economic -salvation of
the American people depends upon the
enactment into law and the enforce
ment thereof the populist demands for
reform in "money, land, and transpor
tation" as set forth In the Omaha
platform; who despair of accomplish
ing any of these reforms through the
medium of either of the two old par
ties, and who are not ready to join
with the socialists in their demand for
the "collective ownership of the
means of production and distribution."
As a convenient means of designat
ing this enrollment, the name, "The
Old Guard tf Populism," was selected.
Men who entered the "greenback"
movement and voted for Peter Cooper
, in 1876; men who entered the people's
party and alliance movement and vot
ed for James B. Weaver in 1892; and
men who have since then become con
verted to populist principles, are all
eligible to enrollment in the Old Guard
of Populism.
Another immediate purpose of the
Old Guard of Populism is to bring its
members in closer touch with each
other and thereby assi3t in spreading
the populist gospel. Ten or twelve
years ago when populism was at its
high tide, there were hundreds of
books and pamphlets and thousands
of papers being read and circulated,
and every populist was on his mettle,
with high hopes of soon secunng the
reforms he advocated. Since that time
the tide has receded, ebb tide has been
reached; but every -indication points
to the return of a higher tide of pop
ulism. Of the more than a million
men who voted for James B. Weaver
in 1892, very few, now living, who then
sincerely believed in the wisdom and
justice of the Omaha platform, have
changed their minds. But the ad
vanced ground taken by the demo
cratic party in 1896, coupled with the
known integrity and sincerity of its
candidate for president, led many
thousands of populists to believe that
some immediate reform might be se
cured through that party. Other pop
ulists and especially many of those
who had been through the campaign
of 1868 and the subsequent greenback
uprising and later destruction by the
democratic party bitterly resented
anv alliance with either of the old
parties. And. hence, resulted a schism
In the people's party two antagon
istic wings, popularly known as "mid
ro9d" and "fusion."
No good can be accomplished at
thl3 time by an extended discussion of
the wisdom or unwisdom of "fusion"
or of "mid-road" tactics. It seems
evident that the major portion, of the
million who voted for Weaver in 1892
were satisfied to vote for Bryan in
1896 and 1900, inasmuch as Barker,
the "mid-road" candidate for presi
dent, polled only 50,373 votes in 1900.
But it is also evident that the logical
result of "fusion" has been to annihi
late the people's party organization In
nearly every state where It was prac
ticed. The Nebraska populists alone
have succeeded in retaining their or
ganization and at the name time co
operating with the democrat! on state
bsucs. In most of the other "fusion"
gtatea, the populist abandoned their
party organisation and participated
dlrectly'ln the democratic primaries
and convention. Desiring etonomie
reform alons? the lines Indicated by
the Omaha platform, no earnest iop
ullst could objet t to thee reforms at
the hands of either of the ol I parties;
and altho'ieh the democratic plat
forms of IH'w; fni im are by mi
mems tvnel ( rlth Urn from a pop
ullt standpoint, the wrr a long step
In the rkht direction. Hnee, It Is
not utritnto thai many earnest wipil
N favored f'tnlon," H it lhc.e who
favored the "roM-road' cotire, re
roetJiltertnjg the rbe and fU of the
jreenbc psrtr, naw no hop In th
pew Men tVen hv dmrvrsoy v'n
an-1 relitelir epet It.
la a great many of the itatet where
the populists abandoned their organi
zation and affiliated with the demo
crats in primaries and conventions, as
soon as-the populist organization had
been completely destroyed the demo
cratic state conventions began to re
pudiate the national platforms of
1896 and 1900, especially as to the
money plank. As early as 1901 it be
came evident that with the people's
party out of . the way, the democratic
party would return to its old-time tac
tics of being an echo of the republican
party, except upon the tariff issue.
It had been demonstrated that If ev
ery populist should vote the demo
cratic ticket, there would be enough
democrats voting the republican tick
et to secure a republican victory. So
those who had favored "fusion" began
to see what the "mld-roaders" had
urged' all along namely, that there is
no hope for reform through either of
the two old parties.
With the decline of the people's par
ty organization began the growth of
the socialist party an offshoot of the
old socialist labor party. Many pop
ulists of late years have voted the so
cialist ticket as a protest, because
THE ENROLLMENT S3
Although the 960 lest letters were
no,t mailed until late in the afternoon,
Saturday, December 5, 1903, the en
rollment for the first week, including
last mail Saturday evening, Decem
ber 12, Is as follows:
Samuel M. Maund, Daleva, Ala.; farm
er, merchant and teacher.
W. H. Burdyshaw, Jonesboro, Ark.;
farmer.
A. W. Files, Little Rock, Ark.; lav
yer; member national committee.
Oliver S." Jones, Prescott, Ark.; farm
er and mechanic.
W. D. Wilson, boxl22, Booneville, Ark.
William Wallace Bates, 38 W. Second
ave., Denver, Colo.; retired ship
builder; author "American Naviga
tion." , Washington, D. C.
D. L. McKinnon, Marianna, Fla.; law
yer. A. C. Barton, Danville, 111.; contractor
and builder; author "Life and La
bors of the Late Col. Jesse Harper."
J. S. Jones, Iuka, III.
Flayius J. Van Vcrhis, Indianapolis,
Ind.; lawyer; political economist.
Samuel W. Williams, VIncennes, Ind.;
lawyer; member national commit
tee; Central division organizer.
Abel D. Chase, Ardmore, Ind. Ty.;
farmer and trader.
Lewis Iddings, Mapleton, la.; farmer
and stock raiser.
A. Norelius, R. F. D. 1, Kiron, la.;
retired farmer. ,
S. A. Black, R. F. D. 2, Manhattan,
Kas.; farmer.
Anthony Dolezilek, Silver Lake, Kas;
farmer. "
H. B. Hewitt, Stafford, Kas.; harness
dealer.
M. Kozel, National military home,
Kansas; physician.
Joseph A. Wright, Lebanon, Ka3.; real
estate; editor for 17 years until re
cently; secretary county committee.
James H. Lackey, Canton, Ky.; phy
sician; member national committee.
F. W. Anthony, Mattawan, Mich.
A. T. D. Austin, Alden, Minn.; farm
er, salesman and fruit grower.
J. II. Briscoe, R. F. D. i, Harrison
ville, Mo.; farmer.
George A. Campbell, Odessa, Mo.;
farmer.
J. S. Cantrell, Northvlew, Mo.; farm
er; secretary state committee.
Jacob Florea, Kirksvllle, Mo.; car
penter. Oswald Hicks, Macon, Mo.; farm loans;
member state committee.
A. II. Livingston. West Plains, Mo.;
lawyer.
J. T, Poison, Laclede, Mo.; physician;
chairman county committee.
A. C, Robertson, St. James, Mo.; re
tired farmer.
Chris Smith. It. P. D, 1, llunroton.
Mo.; farmer; chairman county com
mittee. .Ml. I'aldcrhe.id, Helena. Mont.; tele
graph operator; at present state
auditor; member natlon.nl commit
tee; e rctary Denver conference,
John A, Marker. Franklin, Neb,; edi
tor and puMhher The Franklin Sen
tinel; chairman county committee.
Charles W, Meal, llm'sen Mow. Neb.;
hwyer; editor Outer County Ilea
eon.
W. tt. Ueebe, Seward, Neb.; firmer;
chairman nuiiity committee,
!fc A. Metier, Oicroia, Ncb.j nursery.
man: former editor.
W. V. Mrwks, Cook, Neb.; physician;
author,
B. N. Cleaveland, Fremont, Neb.; re
tired farmer.
H. E. Dawes, 1832 S. 15th st., Lincoln,
Neb.; educator; assistant superin
tendent International Correspon
dence schools. ' -
Chas. Q. De France, 1836 S. 25th st.,
Lincoln, Neb.; associate editor The
Independent.
Frank D. Eager, 1328 O st., Lincoln,
Neb.; business manager The Inde
pendent. James R. Ferris, 1452 O st, Lincoln,
Neb.; real estate; secretary state
committee.
John H. Felber, Hartington, Neb.;
merchant; chairman county commit
tee. L. R. Fletcher, Bancroft, Neb.; farmer.
O. H. Gilchrist, Mead, Neb.; black
smith. A. F. Parsons, North Platte, Neb.;
lawyer.
Geo. A. Roberts, Edi3on, Neb.; farmer
J. O. Smith, Ord, Neo.; carpenter.
W. C. Starkey, Violet, Neb.; farmer;
formerly coal miner.
T. II. Tibbies, 1328 O st.,. Lincoln,
Neb.; editor The Independent;
farmer, author and lecturer.
B. R. B. Weber, 511 So. 16th st, Lin
coln, Neb.; farmer; real estate;
chairman state committee.
J. J. Streeter, Vineland, N. J.; editor
the Vineland Independent; East di
vision organizer; author of the Cin
cinnati plan of organization.
E. B. Whitmore, 52 Reynolds Arcade,
Rochester, N. Y.; solicitor of pat
ents. R. H. Reemelin, 36 Garfield PI., Cin
cinnati, O.; physician. ,
H. C. Patzwald, R. F. D. 1, El Reno,
Okla.; farmer.
Wharton Barker, Philadelphia, Pa.;
former editor The American; author
"The Great Issues;" candidates for
president (1900) "mid-road' peo
ple's party.
J. M. Mallett, Cleburne, Tex.; editor
The Watchman; president National
Reform Press association; chairman
county committee.
Milton Park, Dallas, Tex.; editor
Southern Mercury; treasurer allied
people's party national committee;
vice chairman Denver conference.
W. M. Sanders, New Salem, Tex.
R. T. Short, Putnam, Tex.; mechanic
and farmer.
Newton B. Sandy, R. F, D. 19, Man
nlngton, W. Va.; farmer.
Total enrollment, 62.
Vocation: Farmers 22, editor and
newspaper men 9, lawyers 7, physi
cians 6, not given 5. mechanic 4, mer
chants 2. real estate dealers 2, retired
shipbuilder. teacher, iiurntryman,
telegraph operator, ana farm loan
acnt, 1 eavh.
Former political affiliation: Repub
lican 21, d mx rat 17, not given 18,
Kreenba. ker or Independent &,
Nativity: I'ntted States H not
Riven 16, Canada 2, Austria. (!rmany,
Sweden, and Switzerland, 1 each.
Age: Nineteen ntaJe no report; of
the 43 reporting C are over 7v, 15 are
0 or orer. I are over 5. ten are 4') or
over, and 3 over and 1 under 3'). The
youngeat is 2i; the eldest 77, and the
aver a tittle under li.
8Ute and territories irpreie oted:
Twenty-three.
Cash contributions, $2177,
as National Committeeman E. Gerry,
Brown of Massachusetts aptly ex
pressed it they were "locked out" of
their own party and "on strike"
against the two old parties. Doubt
less some who were populists are now
genuine socialists, but the great ma
jority of former populists who now
vote the socialist ticket do not, when
pressed for an answer, desire the
"collective ownership of the means of
production and distribution." What
they do desire to accomplish Is to se
cure public ownership of certain
things usually designated as "natural
monopolies" which is nothing more
than populism. For example, the pub
lic ownership of railroads and gov
ernment operation is sneered at by so
cialists as "state capitalism" and vic
ious, because the employes would
work for wages; and the aim of social
ism is to abolish the wage system al
together. Socialist philosophy also
contemplates the wiping out of the
"middle class" before the co-operative
commonwealth can be ushered in and
the wage system abolished the Idea
of securing happiness through the uni
versal bankruptcy of the- home own
ers, farmers, merchants ' and other
small business men.
Even if we grant the truth of much
that is taught by socialism, it is not
reasonable to expect, for example, the
owner of a blacksmith shop, small
store, or a farm, operated by himself,
to wish to turn over that shop or
store or farm to the "collectivity" and
then operate it under "orders'" from
some boss or overseer even if he has
a voice in electing him. History does
not show that the disinherited of
earth have ever accomplished for
themselves any betterment of their
condition by their own independent
action. . The slaves of ancient Greece
did not free themselves; the serfs did
not free themselves; and the practical
unanimity with which the vast ma
jority of the wage-slaves today vote
the plutocratic ticket, is a strong In
dication that the socialist dream is an
idle one which contemplates captur
ing the powers of government by
means of a "proletarian," propertyless
party. Even so eminent a writer as
Achille Loria believes that the disin
herited can do nothing independently
in their own behalf; but believes that
the 'property ovners, if educated to
understand the ' materialistic conccp- -tlon
of history," can do much to amel
iorate the condition of the non-property
owners and thus assjst in hasten
ing the coming of what he considers
the inevitable co-operative common
wealth. However this may be, there Is un
doubtedly an economic necessity for a
people's party, representing the "bone
and sinew" of America, the so-called.,
"middle class," as opposed to plutoc
racy. The republican party Is firmly
intrenched as the representative of
the plutocratic interests "the money
power" as populists nre wont to ex
press It; and there aro enoueh repre
sentative?? of these plutocratic Inter
ests within the democratic pnrty to
prevent lt from ever standing as a
true representative of the small prop
erty owners. At lent that has been
the history of the democratic party
for forty yenrs. And It exoialns why
so many democrats vote the republi
can ticket whenever the denwrMe
nnrtv deelnrefi for anv menire whleh.
If enneted l"to Jaw, would benefit the
"mlddlo class."
I need not recite the itepi lea dins
up to the Denver conference, or give a
detailed account of what was done
there. The fortv or fifty pn;wn,t, both
"fuKlonUt" and "mld-roadem," weta
unanimous In their opinion thnt ex
perience han "demonstrated the fntll
ity of any attempt to neeure the enact
ment of cmr prlnrlplf through either
the republican or drno rstie pnrty;"
and they mid iso In the mMr" j re
paired bv the resolution committee,
nddlns? that "we ll!eve the time h
now at hand whri the unl'ed iMoib'
party nho'itd d l.ire Urf emihth-J.
lr oi.rH.'d to nv ffUjitbm with rub
er of those pnr(e nd unamllnllv In
Nvor of hileiwrdent nation! politi
cal rtlon." The tmtlonvl committee,
headed repetlv by Marlon Ibitler
and Jo A. INuker, met on July