St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1890-12-20

dIc Coustditiy PiodoliAS bI1Al Vic
Farmers Alliance will break up the
Democratic party. The Republican
politicians North say the Alliance is
an attachment of the Democratic
party. One thing is certain, the
Democratic party proper, has no cause
to complain of the Alliance. In Kan
sas the Alliance defeated the Repub-
lican party, and made almost impos-
sible the reelection to the U. S.
Senate, of Mr.. ingalls,, one OF the
ablest and most bitter opponents OF
the Democratic party. Mr.. ingalls,
has taken stand in the Senate, against
the passage of the force bill; which
shows that he is in fear of the Alliance
element in the Kansas legislature. An
other thing has been done by the AL
lance, which the democratic party
never could do: the <eody shirt" or
sectionalism has been buried by it..
At the recent national convention OF
the Alliance, at Ocala, Florida, the
Union soldiers in that body cheered
the Confederates, and the latter gave
them rebel yell in reply. The
fraternization was complete and the
professional politicians of the Repub-
lican party can never again succeed on
sectional issues that grew out OF the
war. The national Alliance did not
inaugurate new party; and while it
showed plainly its dissatisfaction with
the past action of the Democratic
and Republican parties, it showed
more dissatisfaction with the latter.
The record of the Democratic party,
while not altogether so, is more ac-
ceptable to the Alliance. The wise
men of the Alliance well know the
difficulties of holding together all the
laboring classes OF this country, in one
compact party the diversity of inter
ests is too great. The laborers in the
manufacturing industries will continue
to be controlled politically by their
employers, and the interests OF the
farming class and of these employers
are antagonistic from a protective
tariff standpoint. This is single IL
Illustrative case, but there are many.
The mass of the farmers South, and
many at the North, belong to the
Democratic party. If the farmers can
have their grievances removed, and
secure benefits that they are justly
entitled to, through that part -one
organized and having great
will be no need Of q
third party. The circumstance in
Georgia, OF the Alliance electing Gen.
Gordon to the U. S. Senate, shows that
the Alliance in that State at least, is
willing to attempt to reach its ends
through the Democratic party, OF
which Gen. Gordon is national as
well as State leader. In this State
the Alliance helped to nominate and
the Democratic candidates
for Congress. The Alliance has there
fore plainly shown disposition to
trust the Democratic party. It can
not trust the Republican party, for
there sis too much antagonism in
fact, the oppressive legislation of that
party brought the Alliance into ex-
istence. The Democratic party when
partly in control of the national gov
eminent, failed to forestall the exis-
tence of the Alliance by advocating
measures distinctly beneficial to the
farming class but now that the farm
ers have united, irrespective OF parties,
and presented their grievances and
asked for measures of relief, the DEM
ocratic party will do wisely to help
them. OF course there are many
things on which they are agreed the
repeal of the Mckinley bill for one,
and opposition to the force bill. But
besides the removal of evils, the farm
ers want active help they have been
so long by the monopolists,
capitalists, trusts, ETC., that they need
legislative assistance. Some may not
think so, but they think 50, and a
in that direction would not
be so reprehensible as the mistakes, to
use no harsher term, by which the
farming class particularly has been
robbed of a great part of the public
domain, and by which the limited cur
rency of the country is insufficient for
business transactions. The Demo
cratic party is partly responsible for
these things. The sub-treasury scheme
of the farmers may be unconstitution-
al but is the principle wrong? The
farmers are not welded to the technic-
al form OF the proposed sub-treasury
bill what they want is relief. Surely
the legislative skill which has enabled
the railroad companies, land syndicates1
and foreign capitalists to absorb a
great part of the public domain. there
by depriving the farming class OF
future homesteads, might do some
thing in a constitutional way for the