The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-04-30
THE NEW FORCES IN OUR POLITICS.

THE NEW FORCES IN OUR POLITICS
Those who are carefully watchinl
the signs of the times, and predicting
the future by the forces and influence:
that have controlled the past, are pre-
dieting wonderful changes in American
politics.
New forces are coming to the front
that amount to revolution in many Of
our great States of the West, and these
hitherto unknown forces are at work
everywhere, East, West and South.
In Ohio, politicians of both parties
appear dazed over the situation, and
there are no seers in either of the old
parties that are willing to estimate the
result in the pending election.
That the Farmers Alliance move
ment is already formidable in Ohio, is
generally conceded. It is also conceded
that the same ideas and influences that
organized the movement in Kansas
are at work in Ohio. AS we know
what the Farmers Alliance did for
Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska and other
Western States, we should be able to
estimate what it is liable to do for Ohio.
In Kansas, it wiped out $4,000 Repub-
lican majority. In Minnesota it de-
stroyed $4,000 Republican majority. In
Nebraska it cast into IA decrepit mi
nority 27,S75 Republican majority. In
the Southern States it has absorbed a
large number of Democratic farmers
and planters, and has eaten out the
Democratic majority in three great
States.
A movement of this magnitude is
somewhat startling in this country, in
time of profound peace.
1t is an economic movement, and
does not appeal to either passion, preju-
dice or sentiment.
To say that this movement is ephem-
eral and will soon die, is foolish.
When the causes that produced this
movement are thoroughly studied, it
will be seen that it is rock bottomed,
and that the men who are in it are not
of the class to run Jangents on ephem-
eral things, of the substance of dreams.
The Farmers Alliance movement
took its strongest incentive from the
passage of the Mckinley bill. 1t orig
mated with the men who had been tar
iff reformers and anti-monopolists in
the Republican party. They had been
held in that organization On other is.
sues, growing out of the war, and held
on to their old party Affiliations, year
after year, on the pretense that the Re-
publican party would revise and re-
duce the tariff, and equalize the bur
dens of taxation.
When the Mckinley bill passed these
men knew the Republican party had
violated its plighted faith to the far.
mers, and that it was bound to the
juggerpaut of greed.
Hence the best element in the party
Jumped into the Alliance movement
with both feet.
Kansas gave Harrison 1S2,904 votes
in 1888, on the National Republican
platform of that year. In 1890 Kansas
gave Humphrey, Republican candidate
for Governor, 1l5,025 votes, a loss OF
67,879 votes, from one election to the
next.
Now let us look at the aggregate vote
of Kansas in the two elections. Ii
| 1888, in the Presidential election, Kan
sas cast 3302l3 votes; in 1890 che cas-
| 294, ,588, showing a vote in 1890 within
| 35,625 of the Presidential year; while
| the Republican loss on that reduced
vote is $3.50, or almost double. i
will be seen that the vote of Kansa
was very large in 1890, when we consid
or that Kansas lost largely in popula.
tion, from the enormous emigration t
the two Dakotas and into the new ter
ritory Of Oklahoma.
In estimating the Farmers Allianc
vote in Ohio, and its effect upon tn
two old parties we must first conside
what IL has done elsewhere, and thel
measure its influence by the principle
and motives which have inspired tn
movement.
1t is, in fact, protest against exist
ing conditions. The existing condi
tions are the result of war tariffs, ag
gravated 10 per cent by the McKinle
bill.
With the author of the Mckinley bill
running for Governor of Ohio, it ough
not to be very difficult to estimate wha
the Alliance will do for Ohio this year
If this view of the situation is no
logical, will some one give us a NOR
faithful diagnosis OF the case.