The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1891-07-10

posed of delegates from the following oreani.
zations-namely:
The Independent party, the PEOPLES party.
the Union Labor party, the late Federal and
Confederate soldiers, the Farmers Alliance,
the Farmers Mutual Benefit Association, the
citizens Alliance, the Knights of Labor, the
Colored Farmers Alliance, and all other in
dustriai organizations that support the princi-
pies OF the St. Louis agreement of December.
1889. Each state organization to send one del
egate from each congressional district and two
from the state at large; and each district Or
ganization to send not less than three dele
gates, and each county organization not less
than one delegate to be chosen according to
the custom of each respective organization
during the month of January, 1891: also that
the editor of each newspaper is hereby invited
as a adelegate that has advocated the principles
of the st. Louis agreement and supported the
candidates nominated thereon in 1890.
The delegates to meet in the city of Cincin-
natl on Monday, the 231 day of February, 1891,
at 2 o'clock p. M, for the purpose of forming a
National Union party, based upon the funda-
mental ideas of finance, transportation, labor
and land and the transaction of other legiti-
mate business in furtherance of the work al
ready begun by those organizations prepara-
tory to united struggle for country and home
In the great political conflict now pending that
must decide who in this country is the sover-
eign-"the citizen or the dollar"
This call was freely signed by dele
gates at Ocala. All the delegates to the
Colored Alliance convention except those
from Georgia signed it. Nearly all the
Farmers Alliance delegates from the
west and northwest signed it. A few
from the southern states subscribed, but
not many. The signers represented
these states: Alabama, Arkansas, Cali
fornia, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Vir-
ginia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi,
North Dakota, North Carolina, Pennsyl-
vania, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Texas and Tennessee. The call was sent
out publicly from Topeka, Dec. Is. The
same day there was held conference at
Tallahassee of third party men, Alliance
leaders and Knights of Labor. Nearly
all shades of opinion were represented,
and the gathering was composed chiefly
of gentlemen who were at Ocala during
the Alliance convention, and who had
been enjoying a tour of Florida during
the succeeding week. After long de-
bate in which Mr.. Powderly, Congress
men John Davis and Jerry Simpson and
many OF the third party men took part,
it was finally decided that it would be a
little premature to call a great public
convention in February. They voted to
hold instead conference to which should
be invited five representatives of each of
the organizations interested. This confer
ence was held at Washington in Febru-
airy. 1t was the prevailing opinion that a
general third party conference should be
held in February, 1892 Meantime the
Cincinnati conference had been post
poned until May 49,
While the third party movement failed
to develop we'll defined policy, it
cannot be denied that it received a tre-
mendous impulse at Ocala. Before the
convention met it was not recognized as
of more than local and temporary signfi-
cance in two or three states The Ocala
convocation raised it into the proportions
of an impending political revolution. It
was there first demonstrated that the up
rising is spontaneous and not artificial
The influences brought to bear upon it
were repressive and not stimulating.
Yet in spite of them the movement gath
cred force with every hour.
1t must not be supposed that the new
party duNOCdIcS III Ills AlllduC0, Tile
Knights of Labor and kindred organiza-
tions were limited to those who urged
the immediate formation of a new party.
President Polk, for instance, was as ear
nest as anybody in opposing third party
action of the Alliance, but he must fairly
be ranked as third party man. Hesaid
to me on the day the convention ad-
journed:
sit is not true, in my opinion, that the
Democratic party controls or can control
the southern members of the Alliance.
On the contrary, know that the party
harness never hung so loosely upon the
people as now. If the Democrats in the
Fifty-second congress do not manifest a
willingness to grant our demands, third
party is inevitable, and the southern
Democratic Alliance men will be in it.
know what l am talking about when
make that statement. No man is closer
to the people in the southern Alliance
than am, and know represent them
correctly when say they are determined
to gain the ends they are striving for,
and that they will not hesitate to smash
the Democratic or any party which op-
poses them. At the same time the Al
lance is not going to indorse third
party, or any other party, now or in the
future"
fro BE ooNTISUED.l