Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1891-05-30
THE NEW PEOPLES PARTY"

By all the students OF political
movments and by all practical poll
ticians whose vision or action is not
limited by the ward or precinct in
which they live the outcome OF the
Cincinnati conference will be regar-
ed as an important event. To be
sure 'sthe Peoples party" which it
resolved to create, will not be par
ty that will carry single state for
it's Presidential candidate, for peo-
Piles parties are not created by the
resolutions Of any conference will
cut so much Of a figure in any State
as to hold the balance of power be-
tween the other two parties, and it
is quite possible that the day Of hold
ing the Presidential election Of 1892
the forces intended to be focused on
the resolutions of the Cincinnati
conference will be so widely dissipa-
ted as to prevent even the appear
anceof peoples candidate. But
for all that the convention, like
other similar gatherings lately, rep
represented an unrest that will grow
dangerous if ignored. The condi-
tions must be studied if the disease
indicated, is found. Strong words
and hard knocks will do no good
when the people honestly believe
they have grievances.
The members of the conference
were Of four kinds: The dema-
gogue, who never held an office but
always has wanted one, or who is an
old serving man out of place." but
anxious to get into one, the half in
sane dreamer Of social and political
dreams, who, in the vernacular, is
called a crank; the enthusiast, and
the man with a grievance which he
believes or fears that neither of the
old parties will redress. The last
two mentioned were by far the most
numerous, but the construction of
the platform shows that the one
first named was by far the most
powerful. Judged by the rule of
the so-called practical politician, the
platform is marvel Of skill. Absurd
as the propositions sustained by
some Of its planks are it was well to
give them a plank to stand on, for
the purpose Of the demagogues was
to frame a platform on which every
crank, every enthusiast, and every
man with a grievance may find
something to admire. To change
the metaphor, the engineer construc-
ted his cave Of Adullam with an en-
trance wide enough to admit "every
one in distress, every one in debt,
and every one disconnected" and he
warranted innumerable and certain
charms of relief Of each and all to
be found inside it. And yet, with
exceeding shrewdness, one class Of
men with a grievance were excluded.
The demagogues who made the
platform put no bauble to please
the eye Of the Prohibisionist
on any of its planks. He want
ed an Office, and he wanted the
vote Of the proletariat, and he knew.
what the influence of the saloon men
is upon the proletariat. The serv-
ing man out Of place was not fool
enough to provoke the saloon-keeper
to stand watch against his entrance
at the breach which he desired to
make in the official citadel.
Politicians Of this kind generally
overreach themselves. The dema-
gogue seldom achieves real power,
simply because he has too much
cunning and too little conscience.
The very cunningness of the plat
form will result in the discontinue
of its farmers. 1t is altogether too
promiscuous in its denunciations of
evil and in its promises Of blessings.
The only thing that demagcgue
never learns is that conscience is a
quality widely diffused, and that
conscience is a form of the higher
wisdom. His fatal and his eternal
blunder is belief that conscience is
another name for simpleness. Now
the majority, a three-fourths MAORI
ty, perhaps, of the people in atten-
dance at the conference were people
with consciences. Certainly three
fourths of the people for whom the
platform is intended are people with
consciences.
That the extent of these evils as
sumes exaggerated proportions in
the minds Of the people doubtless is
true; that some of the remedies pro-
posed by the conference would work
results far worse than the disease is
certain; that there is not in the res
olutions of the conference a single