Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-03-12
Office in the state and ultimately q
United States senator.

ONCE III the SCdt0 duO ullIudCciy d
United States senator.
That is what the alliance. the united
farmers of Kansas, did by brotherly
effort for the good of the brotherhood.
Was it the alliance republicans alone
who did this2 Hardly, my dear read
er.
When the decision was made that
third party movement. composed of the
alliance members, was to be made the
| members who were democrats argued
that, if there was ever an opportunity
to overthrow the select ring of republi
can vampires who had sucked the blood
of the laboring masses while they
blindfOlded them with the ensanguined
garment and tickled them with that
catching word protection" that oppor
tunity had come. By subscribing to the
st. Louis demands the democrats in the
alliance gave up nothing of their democ-
racy, while their republican brethren
gave up everything of republicanism.
But their brotherly spirit and fealty 70
the common cause was tested in
another way.
| Ore Of the most despicable practices
Of the republican party has been to
play upon the prejudices of men, and
through them to manipulate conven-
tions by making pledges-which the
party managers knew would be
broken-and by binding the public
eyes with protestations of reform meas
ures contemplated-but never carried
out. In this manner that party placed
upon our state the iron ball of prohibit
tiOn which for over ten years has been
clanking about the heels of our people.
dragging at our prosperity and making
Kansas, in her effort to keep pace with
her sister states, laughing stock for
the whole Union and dumping
ground for all the one-idead cranks in
Christendom. The republican party
managers PRETENDED that they were
in sympathy with the law, and year
after year resoluted for it at conven-
tiOns, yawped it out in public meetings,
smeared it all over their machine pa
pers-and drank just as much Missouri
beer and whiskey as they could beg.
borrow, steal OF sometimes buy. They
Dragged about the law being effective
and the masses of the people know
they lied about it. They spread figures
before the public to show that the state
was wonderfully benefited by prohibi-
tiOn-when the facts, as now known
and acknowledged, and as always as |
serted and demonstrated by the demo-
cratic party, are, that Kansas for the |
past ten years, has fallen behind all of |
her sister states in the matter of in
crease in population and financial ad.
vancement.
On this question of prohibition is
where the honesty and brotherly fealty
of the alliance democrats was tested. |
A resubmission of the prohibitory
amendment to a fair and impartial
vote of the people was asked by the
democratic party. The law had been
given ten years. test; and we. as dem
Ocrats, as men who believe in the SOW
ereignty of the popular wish as express
ed by ballot, asked that the people be !
given a chance to say whether or not
Kansas should longer be called the
refuge of cranks and the home of the
foolish. That question was made the
issue of the campaign.
What did the democratic alliance
men do? What did all the alliance
men who were in favor of resubmission
do when this question was brought
before them?
They said: My resubmission friends, |
we know the justness of your argument;
we understand the situation; we are as
much in favor of submitting the ques-
tion to the intelligent voters and abid-
ing by the result as you are; but We
have pledged ourselves to stand with
our brother alliance men for the pur-
pose of ridding the state of certain
other curses, and we propose to keep
our pledges And they did They |
smothered their desires for a hearing
on one of the most just demands ever !
brought before the public; and they did
it because they thought that in no other
way could they break the powerful
political ring that had SO long con-
trOlled the politics of the state.
Could the alliance republicans have
accomplished their purposes without
the aid of the alliance democrats? Not |
by several thousand votes.
Now as to later results. Only a few |
days ago resolution was presented in
the Kansas house of representatives |
asking for a resubmission of the pro-
hibitOry amendment to a vote of the |
people; and the peoples representa-
tives. the men who were elected for
the purpose of fairly and honestly and I
without prejudice acting for the good