The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1891-09-12
fSioux City Journal.

If there be any public officer who owes
his place to the Southern Farmers alli-
ance il is Gov. Tillman, of South Carolina,
and what he says therefore on the new
third party is of especial interest. He has
followed up his recent threat that the race
issue will be raised against the so-callcd
peoples party in the south precisely the
| same as it is against the republican party
with declaration Of his views on the
| third party movement in the western or
republican states.
The Charleston News and Courier prints
n verbatim report of Gov. Tillman's elab-
oratc speech at Red Springs the other day,
from which the following is an extract
which should be read by every Iowa land
South Dakota) farmer who has been in
duced to join the Southern alliance in its
effort To Gust the Iowa (and Dakota) alli-
| ance:
In Kansas and other northwestern states
bleeding Kansas" the blacklist of
| black republican statcs-which helped to
make us in South Carolina nt least sub
| scrvient TO the black horde that once
| dominated our state, the farmers with
poverty staring them in the face and the
| sheriff behind them with their mortgages
unpaid. have been driven To adopt demo
cratic principles in spite of themselves
| Applause. They haven't the manlinesS
TO come out and say we have been wrong
and you were right. Instead of joining
the democratic party outright, they want
to organize third party. They won t
come right square into the democratic
party. although | admit it is hard for II
fellow who has been voting one way for
twenty years to confess he was wrong;
but we don't care how they help us so
long as they do help us Laughter and
applause. 1t they want 10 vote for dem.
ocratic principles in the third party, in
God name let us send them joyful greet.
ing; for If we can divide those fellows up
there Wen have showing then, won I
we, boys? Applause.
The attitude of the Southern alliance
with reference to the third party. or the
attitude of the majority of the members
of the Southern alliance. has become II
vital fact When the Southern alliance
in kansaS-for it is the alliance which
mainly occupies that ficld-went into poll.
ties, number of the leaders from the
southern states fastened to join in the
campaign. They urged the Kansas
farmers to revolt from the republican par
ty by every appeal which ingenuity could
invent. They represented that the south.
crn farmers were ripe for political indie.
pendencc, and would duly Join their
northern brethren. And the one fact
which they held up before their Kansas
audience was the course Of the Southern
alliance in South Carolina in reference to
the candidacy of Tillman for governor.
| Well, thousands Of KANSAS farmers were
thus induced to 20 into the independent.
ism which the southern leaders urged SO
eloquently upon them. But time passed
and the leading Kansas independents Went
south into Georgia and Alabama To join
in the new third party which by this time
onght to be booming there. Ii was only q
few weeks ago that they went south and
Gen. Weaver went along-but only To find
that there was no third party there, and
that the democrats of the Southern ALI
ance would tolerate no third party.
And now, to cap the climax, and tC
make definite the purpose of the Southern
alliance, we have here the deliberate dee
aration of Gov Tillman himself THAI
declaration in effect is that the Southern
lailiancc in the southern states is Il sole
south democratic institution. and equally
so in the western states like Kansas, Iowa
Nebraska and the Dakotas.
Here is the keynote: If they Iwesterr
republican farmers want to vote for dem
ocratic principles in the third party, il
Gods name let us send them joyful greet
inge, for If we can divide those fellows
up there Wen have showing then. won
we. boys?"
But the Southern alliance will take dem
ocratic principles only in the democratic
party as a strict partisan. And by demo
cratic principles it means those principles
the subversion of popular government
minority rule, the suppression of free bal
lot, the robbery of 1000. 900 American
citizens OF the elective franchise, etc.
Gov. Iillman truly expresses the feeling
and purpose of those who control til,
Southern Farmers alliance.