Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-08-07
THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1890.
The Sensible "Way Out. u

Inc sensible way OuG'
We believe that the republican
members of the alliance Joined the
order in good faith; that few of them
adhere to the third party movement in
good faith; that they sincerely believe
that some good can be accomplished
by the selection of distinctively farm
er candidates for members of the leg.
islature and congress. But our Gre
dulity is put to very strong ties;
when We are asked to believe that any
one conscientiousiy thinks he is further
ing the interests of the farmer by en-
deavoring to elect to Office all the men
whose names appear on the peoples
party ticket of this county.
There is no legitimate connection be-
tween the issues involved in the cleo
ton of county and other ministerial
officers, with questions that can only be
solved by the legislative department OF
the government. 1t is strikingly alb,
surd to pretend 10 make canvass fol
probate judge upon the tariff issue; OF
for district clerk upon the free coinage
issue; or for county attorney upon the
ACCESSIBILITY of abOlishing the national
banks, yet this ridiculous attitude is
presented by these third party adher-
ents who claim that the purpose of the
peoples (?) movement is not to de-
feat the republican party, but simply
to elect men to the legislature and to
congress who will carry out the wishes
of the farmers. There is no demand
I'm the platform OF the alliance that can
be met by anybody outside of the legiS-
lature aud congress. The election of
county officials cannot have the remOt-
est bearing upon the granting or refus-
ing one single demand in that platform.
Yet we have before us the spectacle
of a body of men protesting to be
working solely in the interest of certain
legislation engaging in the hottest
kind of a scramble for all the petty pO-
litical offices from governor down to
constable.
If the purpose of the third party is
to secure certain legislation in the in
terest of the farmer, then the third
party is useless piece of untried pO'
litical machinery, which promises very
little other than humiliating defeat tC
its Originators. There is no future
event more certain than that either the
republican or democratic party viii
control this government for many years
to come. These two great political
organizations are the lineal descend
ants of the parties which have con,
trolled the nation from its foundation
to the present time, and the only pur-
pose which any third party ever has OF
is likely to subserve is to defeat one OF
the other of these parties and place its
opponent in the saddle.
If the sole purpose of the third party
movement is to obtain certain legisla.
tive relief, then why the necessity OF
trying to do much more by attempting
to grasp all the minor offices, the occu.
pants of which have no connection
whatever with legislatlonP The effort
to elect lot of union labor cranks to
county offices will only antagonize
every republican who believes that nc
greater calamity could befall the
country than the placing of the con-
troll of the government in the hands of
ignorant fanatics and corrupt demo-
cratic politicians. Laying aside the
gentlemen on the sO-called people s
ticket, who if elected would have voice
in granting the demands" of the ALI
ance, and we ask in the name of hui
mainly what good to the farmer OF
any other class of our citizens could
come from the election of the gentle
men named for the various county off,
ces? Are they representative farmers
or laboring men? Neither. Is it not true
that they embrace in their peculiar
personalities as great a number of
cranks as any other equal number of
men that could have been picked up on
the street corners? There is no variety,
no phase, no aspect of crankism that
they do not represent. The very names
of these gentlemen where they are
known, are a synonym of everything
that is picturesque, unique, angular,
crooked, tortuous and lurid in crank
ism. They meet the requirements OF
soreheads in every degree, they satisfy
The pessimists of every kind, they