The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-10-03

The Ocala Demand in Its first issue
+, clumsily attempts to pick flaw in our
article, "Cannot Bind Its Members" in
/ which we held that union men are just
as much wrong, in advocating the third
party ideas and seeking to bind the
brethren to them, as they would be in
advocating and urging them to support
either the Democratic or Republican
party. The editor of the Demand starts
out with the gratuitous and bald asser-
ton that the CHRONICLE endorses the
action Of the twenty-five kickers against
the Lafayette combine, when we said in
90 many words that they acted in bad
faith toward the majority and violated
the unwritten but well recognized obliga-
ton Of the minority to at least give pass
i've obedience when they are outnumbered
in q convention of their own choosing.
We simply emphasized the fact that the
union, if it is true to its principles, must
leave individual members free to act as
they see fit, without let, influence or
hindrance; and when Brother Traylor OF
any other man seeks to lead union men
to certain defeat by dancing after the
Peoples party, he is prostituting the
principles of the order and making it a
political engine.
Guice, Traylor, Brian & Co. pretend to
approve and abide by President Folks
plain and unequivocal ruling that union
men cannot be bound politically by any
action Of the State or parish unions, and
yet they urge and insist upon the mem
bership following them of into new
and nntried political heresy; and that,
too, when no two State Alliances in the
country are agreed upon the Issues to be
forced as their policy.
With all of his inconsistency and faulty
holdings, we are still glad to see that
Brother Traylor is honest enough to
admit the correctness OF our position
that .'the Alliance is non-political," and
that the members thereof cannot be
bound to the support of political ideas
antagonistic to their principles. II we
should accomplish no moro than to draw
ont this admission from our hitherto
illiberal and intolerant third party
friends, this alone is bound TO be of ben
eft to a large number OF honest but
puzzled yeomen. But this is not all, for
the conclusion is irresistible that, if the
union is not political, then it has no
business trying to form new party
composed of Alliance men and all other
individuals friendly to our reform
platform" No amount of sophistry and
slang whanging by place hunters can
conceal the ''cat in the meal tub" from
the intelligence of our farmer citizens,
and it only becomes matter of short
while when they viii repudiate the whole
thing, and denounco the men engaged in
tie nefarious plot of arraying the classes
and callings against each other.
The editor of the Demand is pleased to
designate our line of argument as ''rea-
soning in circle" Even 30, neighbor,
any man with halt a mind can see
that our scircle" is perfect, and not q
break or link is omitted to complete
our plain, logical deduction, which you
have So graciously If not gracefully
acknowledged to be exactly as we have
commended. We are in accord with Pres
ident's Folks ruling, and for that very
reason we are opposed to you and your
coadjutors who are so busy trying tt
form new political party. You Oppose
individual members Of the Alliance being
left free to act according to their own
Judgment" and are doing all in YOU
power to knock down and drag them intt
politics of your own making and liking
| Now, try your hand at twisting oul
language again, and let MS see If yoI
can't make neater job of it next week
/