, 1890-12-18
BLOOD ON THE MOON
An Angry Feeling Among
the Whitman Farmers.
The REPUBLICANS WERE DUPED
Tho Ticket Nominated Was Fair
Enough. but the Dem
ocrats Won.

PULLMAN, Dec. 13.--There Is
big row In the Farmers Alliance
camp of Whitman county, and
peace Is not likely to DO restored
until tho republican members of
that organization can satisfy them
selves that they were not duped In
the recent election by certain demo-
cratic politicians The farmers are
still united In their efforts to muzzle
the railroads and other corporations;
hut in politics they are divided.
The republican farmers who voted
the alliance ticket have been investi-
eating the cause of the democratic
victory In Whitman county this
year, and have concluded that IL
was the result OF clever trick, Of
which they are the victims. That's
why they are mad.
When the democratic convention
met in ColfaX early last summer,
there seemed to be general under
standing that the nominees should
oil be alliance men. The democrats
pretended to occupy II back seat.
They were so interested in the well
fare of the grangers that they would
just turn their party over to the use
of the alliance, and acquiesce in
everything IL approved. AS q
diplomatic stroke that course was
pretty smooth. Several delegates
were former republicans who still
hated democracy for its notorious
record, but who thought they were
nominating Il distinct Farmers Al
lance ticket, and that the demo-
Gratis, in their kindness of heart,
had consented to help elect 1t. But,
the ticket completed, the scheme of
unprincipled politicians became
transparent. Every candidate was
II democrat to the core, and many
were men who had never done II
single days work on II farm. One,
even, was the agent for an English
money loaning agency, who, In
stead of having sympathy for the
farmers, was filling his pock-
cts with commissions exacted
on furm mortgages. The
Farmers Alliance as n body
repudiated the whole proceeding
and decided to wait until the re-
publican ticket had been placed in
the field, when selections should be
made by them from the democratic
and republican candidates.
There was nothing wrong in that,
but the democrats began to feel dis
appointed. They evidently thought
the farmers were not all fools, ut
any rate. But as the campaign
prog essed the alliance made no
effort to agree upon set of candi-
dates. That wouldn't do for the
| democrats, 80 II. C.. McCroskey,
| tor, took to himself the duty
order that they might indorse
stayed away from the meeting, ex-
cusing himself because he was
candidate "whose Endorsement
would probably be considered"
His candidacy was "considered,n -
and favorably. The candidacy of
all the republican and democratic
nominees was considered" and u
ticket finally chosen from the other
two. Some democrats were in
dorsed and some republicans, in
about equal numbers, though the
important places on the ticket We're
nearly all filled by democrats. The
English ey-loaningagent,h how
ever, was thrown overheard and the
republican treasurer and candidate
for reelection, a practical farmer,
indorsed. The democratic candi-
date for state senator in the Sixth
district was indorsed also; but the
two tatiVes were I, ken
from the republican list. The dis
triDution was fair enough and the
republican farmers who had partic-
ipated In making up the alliance
ticket were satisfied. They pledged
themselves to support the ticket at
the polls, rs the democratic mem-
bers likewise did.
But the election is over and the
democrats won almost IL sweeping
victory. The republican farmers
voted the alliance ticket, while
many of the democrats broke their
pledges and staid by the alliance
nominees only so far as they were
not republicans.
The alliance democrats were
elected, but the alliance republicans
were defeated. The alliance repub-
lican candidate for treasurer was
sacrificed for the English money
loaning democrat. The republicans
who were gulled into the alliance
convention are mad, rs they should
be, and there must be some pretty
good explaining done il they be
satisfied. They don't like to be the
victims of trickery. The Farmers
Alliance of Whitman county,
through democratic trickery and
hypocrisy, is plunged into u fac
tional quarrel which may wreck its
usefulness. ONEIDA.