The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1890-09-12
THE INDEPENDENT PLAT.
FORM.

FORM.
G;zette: The Gazette asked the RE-
PUBLICAN to show that prohibition aud
woman suffrage were ever adopted in
an Independent convention and it has
attempted to do so by publishing the
following: * *
Tie REPUBLICAN then goes ON to
say: Gins paragraph 1t will be OBJ
served, endorses the platform of the
State Alliance of South Dakota, which
declares for both prohibition and wo-
man suffrage"
This, then, is the REPUBLICANS
proof. WHAT does it prove? 1t proves
that the convention which adopted
that platform and declaration of prin-
ciples was not the convention of the
independent party but a convention
of the South Dakota Farmers Alli-
ance and Knights of Labor. This con-
vention was not convention of the
independent party, and the platform
and declaration of principles of this
convention has no connection with the
Independent party.
Let US see about this. We have be
fore US copy of The Dakota Ruralist
of June7, 1890. The Ruralist is print
ed at Huron and is the state organ of
Che alliance and of the independent
party as we'll. This issue is devoted
\ almost entirely to the proceedings of
4 the convention held in Huron about
& that date. On the sixth page in the
middle of the second column appears
the following:
j. r. Lowe OF Brule offered the fol-
loving:
Resolved, that the South Dakota
|, Farmers Alliance take initiatory steps
lsto form an independent party in South
& Dakota.
4 At about midnight the resolution was
1 adopted by the following vote:
Here follows the tabulated vote by
counties showing 413 for and 83
against the proposition, Dawson coun-
sFty casting 16 votes for.
The report goes on:
A committee of one from each coun-
sty was appointed on platform. The
& appointments were made by the dele
/ CATION from each county and SUBJ
\ committee of seven was ordered to be
selected by this committee on plat
form. Mr.. .lLoucks requested that he
/ be relieved from the appointment of
! this committee.
The committee chosen was as fol-
I lows:
b Here follows the names of the COM
mittee including that of j. X. Dawson
Il OF Dawson county,
h That committee drew up the plat
form with the disputed paragraph in
1t, after which the alliance as such ad-
journed. Then in the third column of
the same page under the sub-head
81 INDEPENDENT CONVENTION,
1 appears the following:
The friends of the eindependent move
. ment met at the opera house at Huron,
\ Friday, June 6, 1890, at a. m.
Hon. s. w. Cosand of Potter county
was elected temporary chairman.
f. F. Meyer and r. B. Bentley were
elerted as temporary secretaries.
Moved that the temporary organiza-
tion be made permanent. Carried.
Resolved. that this convention shall
now proceed to organize itself into a
political party.
A committee on resolutions was
then named, of which j. NJ. Pease of
Dawson was one, which reported SIX
resolutions, the first two of which
were as follows:
Resolved, that Justice demands that
no citizen be disenfranchlsed on &C.
count Of sex.
Resolved, that We favor the prohibi-
ton, of the liquor traf1ic-state and
national.
This report was unanimously adop-
ted. Then follows an address to
the people of the state, setting forth
the reasons for launching the new par
ty, and closes as follows:
Therefore we deemed ourselves by
necessity and duty compelled to form
the Independent party. which has ac-
cepted the motto: "In the Spirit of
Love and Justice the People Rule.''
We have adopted the following plat
form. s5 f4 Ae aa...4.
Here follows the platform as now
printed by the Gazette, word for word
with that first drawn up, but with the
opening paragraph omitted.
Right here Is where the Gazette
rests its case. 1t ignores the action
taken by the first convention, which
was so completely merged into the
second that there was no visible line
Of distinction, and because this com.
mlttes left out the suffrage and prohi.
bition planks, denies that these prin.
ciples form any part of the platform
Of the independent party.
But we consider the Ruralist better
authority even than the Gazette and
on the 9TH page of the same issue, in
the course of a two-column review OF
the work of the convention, we find
the Following with reference to the OBJ
ject of the partys
It is not only sought to secure
homes for the people but to protect
them in their homes. Therefore pro
hibition and woman suffrage resolu