Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1890-08-29
FARMERS AND POLITICS.
A Brief But Comprehensive Outline of the
Political Situation From A South
ern Stanapoint.
The Party Should Belong to the People In
stead of the People Belonging to
the Party.
Labor Journal, San Antonio, Tex.

Labor Journal, San Antonio, Tex.
The monopoly press is sick because the
farmers and wage-worllers are taking a
hand in politics. The men who have been
running the political parties seem to think
that the proper place for those who create
the wealth and pay the taxes is i'll the
fields and workshops, except on the day
Of election when they should sally forth
and vote for the men who are nominated
by the bosses and rings.
When the people adopt the methods
of the bosses of the two old party leaders,
and have their candidates nominated for
office, they at once become political GRIM
inals and the bosses talk of driving them
out of the party.
Now, suppose the bosses of the demo-
cratic party of Texas were to rule every
body out of that party who belong to labor
organizations where would they get votes
to elect their nominees?
If the people see proper to organize for
political purposes, whose business is it?
They have as much right to have a, party
as the corporations. The trouble is with
those who have been running the politics
for several years. They don't want to
give the old parties over to the control of
the people, as they know that when tile
people take hold of politics, those who
have been running the country politics
will be compelled to give way for better
and more patriotic men.
We have said for years that there are
two distinct parties in the democratic
ranks of Texas. and the issue now be-
fore the people between the feather bed
and corn-stalll democracy are only sthe
elimination Of a storm which has been
brewing in the party for years.
The feather bed' have been controll-
ing the party in Texas as well as most
every other southern state since the war,
if not years before But the people have
wakesat,el 4fr,.t tl1riir rutirical tetkarg
have gone to battle with their enemies in
the party, and no amount of abuse or in.
tiuidation can drive the masses from
their political position.
The enemies of the people must prove
to them that all lhc legislation for the
past quarter Of a century has not been
accomplished by the secret conspiracy
of the political caucus before the masses
will believe that il is a crime for them to
60 INTO politics and demand that the
voice of labor shall be heard III the
councils of the nation.
There never has been, within the his.
tory of the country, such an uprising ol
the common people in the interest of re.
form us we see now, and which will con
tinue until the changes desired are accom-.
plished. The discomfort manirests itself
among all the departments of productive
life, and the farmers, who are said to be
the most conservative all our people.
are Oh the political war path and threaten
to take the political scalp of every politi-
clan who refuses to endorse their de-
mands. In Tennessee they have cap
tured the democratic convention and
nominated the president of the state alli-
ance of that state for governor.
In Minnesota the state alliance. with
600 delegates present, nominated full
state ticket.
In Kansas, the farmers have gone into
politics and threaten to denolish the re-
publican party of the state In fact al
most every agricultural state is being
agitated politically.
The most peculiar thing about the
movement is, it is non-partisan. and
it seems that party ties are being dissolv-
ed in spite of the protests of the old
school of political leaders.
An investigation Of the subject will
prove that ut least three-fourths of the
farmers care nothing foraparties only as a
means to carry out the objects of reform
They have realized that the party should
belong to the people instead of the people
belonging to the party and that partisan
slavery has been the bane of the country.
The Journal believes that the future is
more hopeful than ever before, as free
thought in politics is the only hope of the
perpetuation of liberty. That the ulti-
mate result of political slavery is physi-
cal slavery.
The people have revoltcd against the
perfidy of their leaders, as they have dis
covered that the platforms of the two old
parties have been flied with slittering
generalities for the purpose of keeping
the masses in party lines.
The Journal has no fear of the people
If the country is to be delivered from the
of the money power. it must be
done by the great middle class of our peo--
pie, and he who fears them should be
politically Stunned. and politically
quarcntinrd. Such people should not be