Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-10-06
THE LOSS OF A PARTY.

George 0. Jones, the one remaining
Greenbacler of intelligent force and or
ganizing power, recently gathered in
Cincinnati few followers, to outline
the future of party which has become
lost in the onward march of events in
this country. There was once a time,
and that time within the easy recollec-
ton of persons who have not yet passed
the age of %, when Greenbackism was a
political force in American politics. For
half dozen or more years. beginning
with 1888 or 1874, the Greenbackers held
the balance of power in several western
states, and in some of the states during
part of that period they were virtually
in control of affairs. Men who had
previously and who have subsequently
been ardent and conspicuous Republicans
or Democrats, and who were or are ex-
treme and pronounced partisans in one
or other of those organizations, were
radical and jealous members of the
Greenback party during the days of its
power. In the presidential election of
L L,
received 81, 740 votes in the country at
large. -Four years later James b. Wea-
yer, its national nominee, polled 307 ,306
ballots. AT that time the greenback
wave reached its greatest height and the
ebb in the initiation tide set in. In 1884
Benjamin F. Butler, its presidential cam
didate, obtained only 1885 votes. or
fewer than the Prohibitionists had. The
year 1884 marked the last appearance of
the Greenback party in national cam
vaSS.
Since that time the old-time Green
back leaders have either drifted into the
Democratic party with General Weaver,
or have become part Of the force of the
labor parties and socialistic movements of
various sorts. The trouble with the
Greenbackers was that they could not see
the honest difference between meeting
an obligation according to contract, and
meeting it with printing press money,
"tlat' money, as 1t was appropriately
called, They declared in substance:
I'VE will pay the national Indebtedness
in cheap money. This will reduce the
burdens of taxation, and the extra sup
ply of greenbacks which will come into
our hands if the printing presses hold
out VIII make Us ali wealthy and hap
py. Sensible people pointed out to
them the failacy of such reasoning, but
they would not believe it and went on
until time and sober second thought
caused the great numbers who followed
them to drift away into honest company.
The Developments SO far had in the
Hamilton case in New jersey have con-
tributed as much i'll the way of norto-
riety as the most grssping after that sort
of fame could desire. The victim G. of
the conspiracy is now in position, or viii
be as soon as be shall have obtained
enforcement from his wife. to begin to
reap the more substantial fruits of the
martyrdom. When the entangling al
lance with his pseudo wife are dissolved
he Will be ready for engagements with
the lecture bureaus or dime musuem
arrangements of the country, either of
which fields will yield bountifuIly of
the aforementioned crop, no doubt 1t
would De paying lead for him to form
an alliance with the servant girl who
has been a co-sufferer from the con-
victed woman's wiles ana vengeance.
The Commercial aud Financial Chron-
icle reports the cotton crop of 1SSS-S9 at
6,935,0Sa bales (weighing 3,4S7. 4OS. 400
goundsl, against 1,917,107 bales weigh
ing 3.406, 06S, 49, poundsl as the crop for
the year ending August 81, 1888. The