Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1888-01-26
il MIX.

IN We polltlcaI OUTLOOK IN DakO<a there
is a mixture that Is liable to make con-
fusion worse ~confounded at the next
falls election, should we be SO unfortu-
nate as to continue in a territorial condi-
tiol. We have tae Republican ard
Democratic parties, the third or prohibi-
ton party, the Fa imer's Alliance, and
last the anti-prohibitionist-aii pulling
in opposite directions. The man who
runs for Office is liable to find 1t an
extremely cold day, and d-emegogues
and mountebanks are liable to be placed
in positlon-men utterly unworthy; AID
as a result of the mixture, an era of ex-
~travagance will follow, unheard OF in
the history OF the territory. Where par
ties get spread out oyer so much country,
i. e., beyond the two regularly recognize
ed parties, the result Of elections are
generally disastrous to the peop,a; and
especially SO ifa man is elected to Office
by any n idea party. Such men are
usually h~ard-headed and run things on
q principle alltheir own, and while they
are generally honest and conscientious.
they are surprised to find that their poll
cy has imposed an additional burdea
upon the people.
What is true of Dakota. is also true of
the several states and the nation. The
existence of the third or know nothing
party that ran Fillmore for President,
beat the Old Line Wing candidate and
gave the Southern mea a sufficient lease
of power to enable them to securely plot
AMI carry out their reasonable designs
against the government, that come so
near disrupting the union and destroy
ing, for another thousand years, the pros
pect of the solution OF the problem of
self.government-a government BIZ and
Of the people.
Every unfortunate epoch in the history
of the government have grown out of
the existence of parties having but one
or two ideas at farthest, and to narrow
to comprehend the broad lines of states
manship that wanted to build up our ar
my and navy, to develop our national
resources, build manufactures, improve
our coasts, harbors and inland streams,
develop u merchant marine, and. in
these various departments of national
growth, furnish to labor a sure reward
Tor IFS best effort. The Mugwump, or
Civil Service Reform party, consisting of
CIV. Curtis and other educated cranks,
is a practical exempliication of this
thought. Outside of civil service reform
not a man of them could seethe necessi-
ty of widening and deepening the cham
aels of nationsl growth.
The existence of a third or prohibition
party with only two of the leading issues
of the day, is grave mistake and will
result in disaster to the interest sought
to be advanced by it. If the party will
organize and take a broad and compre-
hensive position as to the multuorDa ir-
terests of the nation, as did the Repulli-
al party In 1856, then will it appeal to
the good sense and patriotism of every
citizen, and draw men to it who are anx-
ious for prohibition to prevail, but aho
are not prepared to say that it stands
,naraporntta retI-ea
development and growth. Thousandsvf
men are ready TO desert both of the old
parties for a new n that promises some
thing more than a mere scramble for Of
fee; and no party can secure this dissat
is6ed. conservative element IN the Re-
publican. Democratic and labor paftier.
that fails to present a broad and compre-
hensive platform, covering all the issues
that interest every well balanced citizen
of the Republic.
Bring the matter down to tie indivfd-
ual, to better illustrate our thought
Here is a man with a remarkable intel.
lect, q mind well stored, but he does not
its garnered wealth to any practical or
useful purpose. He is devoted to the de-
velopment of perpetual motion, and can
talk of nothing else. You would respect
his intellect, listen patiently to his long
dispositions on perpetual motion, and
then go away and express the deepest
sorrow that such a fine mind would be of
no practical benefit to his fellows. A
party is like an individual. It's menu
bership may have wonderful mental ca
pfibilities, but If they ignore everything
in the political world save the one or
two thoughts around which ~revolves the
whole machinery Of the mind-prohib:-
ton and tariff, which represents the per,
petual motion of the individual, will not
the practical citizen listen patiently,
then 60 away r~egretting that, whiio
these principles are good. the whole ca
pa5ility of the party is not developed,
and. standing aloof. cling 10 the old party
simply because the new does not em-
brace all that is for the best good of the
nation.
A political mix with third, fourth and
fifth parties in the field. has, almost In
variably produced disaster to the Repub-
lie and suffering to its people. A littla
calm, sensible review of our history will
convince every one but a crank, that
parties not setting forth in their plat
forms that diversity that embraces every
question affecting the welfare of the ma
ton, can never reach and convince more
than a class of our people, while the ma
iority of all classes, sympathizing with
them, can not yield support because Of
this want of breadth and comprehen-
siyeness.