Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-17
THIRD PARTY TACTICS.
Being Too Weak to Carry Elections Inde-
pendently, They Fight the Party in
Power-If Democrats Win They Must
Obey Orders or Lose Alliance Support.

being 100 weak TO carry Elections lnue-
pendently, They Fight the Party in
Power-f Democrats Win They Must
Obey Orders or Lose Alliance Support.
CFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 had long con-
versation to-day with one of the ablest of
the adherents of the new party commonly
known as the Farmers Alliance party, who
stopped here for day or two on his way
South; and he gave me what is possibly one
of the frankest of the statements of the pur-
poses of the leaders of the movement that
has yet appeared. 1 had asked him in re-
gard to the sincerity of the leaders and he
answered that while some were in for offices
and some for ''boodle,' he thought that the
great maj jority were sincere and earnest.
"E ch locality he said. Judges of its own
people pretty correctly, and it is hard for
wolf in sleeps clothing to creep into the
fold.
II think he continued. "that the purpose
of the real leaders of the movement, the men
of thought, is not generally understood. in
so far as the political end of the thing is con-
cerned. While we say that we are divorced
from both of the old parties, and nearly all
of us are, our present fight is against the Re-
publican party. 1t is impossible fof US to
win for ourselves. Our fight, therefore, is
against the party that is in power. We pro-
pose to teach the old parties, to which q
majority of the people will cling for years to
come by force of habit, If for no other req
son, that they must concede something to
the new economical thought of the day and
that government is not solely for the benefit
of the capitalist and nonopolist. We pro-
pose to win victory while we are away
down in what seems to be hopeless minor
ity. We do not think of waiting till we have
ifx- fnff f,r- M a
electors OF the country. That time might
never CONF
Will Resort to Finesse Tactics.
"Gfven the existence of two old and moth
eaten parties, ruled by professional politi-
clans, all of them either wanting office for
themselves or making money out of the run
ming OF the machine, the mass Of the people
blindly following one party or the other,
what show is there for new party with
real convictions and having in view nothing
but the benefit of the mass and their rescue
from the clutch Of the inscriptions pow
erful? 1t means either long wait, until the
dead, or it means to win with fnesse. We
shall play on the feelings of the leaders of
the old parties. We shall appeal to their
toriety, and show them that we have the
strength to pull down If we are not strong
enough to build up.
cSst local we state s1ste nasonsp separate
aim shall be to unseat the man or
the party in power unless that
man or that party will promise to support
ticket we shall expend our force in the at
tempt to carry enough States to throw
the election into the House of Repre-
sentatives, and that will result in
nominate our own men, we will vote direct
for Democratic electors in States where we
can most easily decide the contest. The
Democrats cannot win without our help In
direct contest the Republicans, with their
consummate leadership and the machinery
of the offices in their hands, will surely win
against the Democrats. We shall therefore
make our bargains with the Democratic
leaders that If we assist them to win they
must in return give us in the first years of
their rule, in so far as they can, much of
extent of the contamination of the SUBJ
Treasury scheme and the loaning of money
by the Government at per cent to persons
who can give real estate security, and who
occupy and utilize for the good of the public
that real estate.
A Threat for Their Powerful Allies.
"Of course we do not advocate any plan
that would give chance for mere specula-
tors to borrow money in that way. should
the Democrats, once i'll power, refuse to
carry out the word and letter of their con-
tract with US, we will make Our next bargain
with the Republicans, and, they failing, we
will uproot them, in turn and so on until we
teach the old paties that we are the masters
of the situation, and can do with them as we
please.
"Now, what do you think of thatg Pretty
scheme, isn't it? And the best OF it is that
it will work to q certainty.
"How are we going to do it? Well, I'll tell
you: Under the new apportionment on the
basis of the eleventh census, if the Repub-
licans carry all of the States carried in 1883,
with the new States, which they can reason
ably claim, they will have 265 electoral votes.
This is AZ more than the 223 that is necessary
to make the election Of their candidates GER
tain. We must, therefore, take from this
bet on New York or Indiana. Our move
ment amounts to really nothing in those
States and the Democracy are likely to lose
there on account of their advo-
cacy of free trade and free coinage. Indiana
offers the best Inducements for hard work,
but Indiana alone will count for nothing.
Even If we could carry both Indiana and
New York for the Democrats, there remains
the danger of the Republicans carrying both
Virginia and West Virginia, where manu-
increases amazingly, and the in
tiuence of the high tariff people is growing
apace.
'sIowa and Kansas? Well, they are our
only hope among the States east OF the
Rockies in which we have any appreciable
erful hold in both of these States But in
they are not enough. Together
they have but % electoral votes and we
should have to hunt around good while
among the new States, with their one and
two electors each, to find the other 81 votes.
They Are Afraid of Blaine.
"Wfth any other man than Blaine as the
candidate we might carry several of the new
States and the entire Pacific slope On the
silver question, provided the Democrats
nominate free coinage man; but with a
gold bug or u halfhearted silver man as the
candidate any Republican would carry the
even against free coinage man.
II tell you, the Democrats will have no
sure thing of it even with our assistance. |
Moreover, it is questionable If we can win |
In Iowa or Kansas at a Presidential election. |
but they seem to be less hopeless than New |
York and Indiana, which land the former |
most especially will be hard to capture on |
East against free coinage, and the pressure |
that will be brought to bear in favor of the |
by Eastern capitalists.
"But can't be too definite about our IN
tentiens in this matter. We are Watching
the course of events in our movement and
Iust where we shall strike hardest will de-
pend on the developments of our strength |
when the decisive moment comes. You can
figure for yourself the States in which our
greatest hope will be. But please don't |
imagine that we are Democrats because we |
are conniving at the defeat of the Republi- |
can party. If the Democrats get in and re- |
fuse to toe the mark, we will do the same |
thing for the Republicans four years hence" |