Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-04-17
The Allisnce and the Parties.

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with party prejudices and party de
mands on all sides. Everybody on the
outside is offering advice. One frienC
they are all good friends of the ALI
ance, these advisers are-inSists on the
order" going into politics, but would
have it go right into his party; another
wants it to stay out of politics lest il
inJure Its prospects; another, more
bold than the rest, assures his alliance
friends that if they undertake any
| political movement his party is SC
strong that it will teach the alliance d
lesson 10y breaking it TO pieces. Demo.
Gratis assume that the alliance demand
for an equitable adjustment Of tariff
| duties 50 that farmers may enjoy fail
share of whatever benefits flow from
| protection, is movement along demo
cratic lines, and hence papers of that
party are patting the alliance on the
back encouragingly. The Kansas City
Times, Chicago Herald, New York
World, st. Louis Republic, Mont
gomery Advertiser, and other leading
| democrat papers manifest great inter-
est in the movement of the alliance,
wishing that party advantages may fol-
low.
On the other hand, republican pa
pers, the New York Tribune, Philadel-
phia Press, Chicago Inter-Ocean, St.
Louis GlObe-Democrat, and Topeka
Capital, speak less patrOniZingly, more
boldly, debating rather than eXhOrt-
ing, commanding rather than request
ing, and there is no disposition to con-
ciliate or compromise. The republican
party proposes to go right along indie
pendently of the alliance, continuing
as it has been going, asking no ques-
lions and answering none. AS to Kan
sas-and the remark is applicable in
other states, notice has been served
upon the alliance that no attack upon
the policy of the republican party will
be tolerated, and in the notice nothing
is said to indicate disposition TO even
listen to complaints upon the part of
the membership coming from the ALI
ance. We quote sentence or two
from an editorial article in the Topeka
Capital Of March %, ult., as follows:
1.-THE Capital proposes to deal frankly
and fairly with this organization, and
as its aims and objects have bearing
upon the politics of the state and its
material prosperity, to discuss in these
columns from time to time this new
organized force. Every thinking
citizen very well knows that large
majority of the farmers of Kansas are
republicans, and while they are ready
to join cooperative organizations for
hn nil
not consent to being led into opposition
to their party to please democratic
leaders or wild theorists who expect to
cure all the ills of financial depression
by defeating the republican party. If
it shall transpire that the leaders of
the alliance in Kansas intend making
the organization political machine to
fight republicanism, and that they pro-
pose to join democracy for that purpose,
the usefulness of the new order will be
of short duration. If on the other
hand the organization seeks the pros
perity of the producers of Kansas by
cooperation in controlling the products
of the farm and intelligent individual
political action, the organization will
have the hearty support and sympathy
of all good citizens. The Capital be-
lieveS in full and fair discussion of all
issues involved and offers its columns
to its readers for that purpose"
The Kansas Farmer is not author
lied to speak for the alliance officially,
but it knows very we'll what the al
lance wants and how it expects to
attain the objects sought.
The alliance is agreed upon few
fundamental propositions relating to
finance, transportation and land, and
they want legislation upon those sub
jects. They want more money in Cir
culation; they want the government to
issue all the money directly, and get
it to the people without the interven-
ton of interest charging agencies; they
want money made plenty and put out
at low rates of interest; they want the
government to take charge of the
money of the country so that its
benefits may be enjoyed by all the peo-
pie upon fair terms and on equal terms
the same rate of interest on the same
amount of money for the same length
of time; it wants transportation con-
trolled by the government in the pub
lie interest so it may be cheap, certain,
safe and equal in its burdens and ben
efits; it wants a readjustment of our
land system; that all the public lands
may be gathered in speedily and dis
posed of to settlers under the home
stead law; it wants alien ownership of
of lands abolished in some equitable
way; it wants to secure for the peo-
pie the largest possible measure of ben
efits from the unused lands of the cOun-
try; it wants legislation that will cause
vacant lands to bear their full share
acre for acre-of the public burdens
resulting from taxation; it wants
homesteads protected in the interest of
citizens and their families; it wants a
restoration of the redemption law so
that citizens, when misfortunes befall
them, may have opportunity to pay
their debts and save their homes; in
short, as to these three great matters
first and as to all related matters after
ward, the alliance wants such legisla-
ton as will eQualiZe burdens and bene-
fits of government, afOrding equal
projections to all the citizens, destroy
ing the influence of the money power,
suppressing combinations against free
dom of trade, aid placing the debtor on
terms equal with his creditor.
These things the alliance has set
out 10 achieve. They naturally ex-
pected to have the work done through
the machinery of existing parties, and