Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-08-18
THURSDAY. ....AUGUsT IS. 1892.
practioalPolitics.

This year q President OF the United
States is 10 be elected. This year the
Farmers Alliance is not strong enough to
be justified in entertaining the slightest
hope that II can elect the President. The
same remark is true as TO the Third-party
men. and as to all the new organizations
which the unrest among the people has
caused to spring up in night like JoNAH's
gourd. To throw away votes upon these
new organizations or their nominees viii
not be 10 exhibit that remarkable sagacity
which HORACE GREELEY credited the peo-
pie Of Virginia with. but will be TO take
up unproductive issues and fight bat
ties which cannot for the present
be anything more than sham battles.
What sort Of practical politics" would
10 be to throw away votes upon General
WEAVER when the voters throwing them
away well know that the only possible re-
suit of thus acting would be the re-elec-
ton of BENJAMIN HARRIsoS We say >" the
only possible result" but we must qualify
those words; for to re-olect HARRISON and
with him to elect Republican House of
Representatives would be to give new life
20 the force bill, and bring upon the peo-
pie Of the southern States condition Of
things worse than prevailed in this sec
ton in reconstruction times. The malig-
nants declared in the Minneapolis platform
for la y 20 protect the negro IN his right
20 vote. and for Republican policy which
shall see that his vote is counted-thereby
insiuuating that the negroes votes are not
-. l.. III
the whites here with putting q bayonet
behind every ballot What sort Of "prac-
tical politics" would il be that would thus
vote upon an issue not before the people
and decline TO vote upon an issue which
was before themI-to vote for candidates
VINO We know will be defeated and thus
invite political disaster? Why not exer-
else our best Judgment in the matter?
The Alliance men and Third-party men
cannot this year enter the presidential
race, we repeat. with any hope of success.
More: They cannot enter that race with
out putting all their eggs into one basket
The Know-Nothing party went into the
presidential campaign OF 1856 and was
never afterwards heard of. The Green
hackers entered the campaign Of 1873 in
Virginia and have never since raised their
heads as an organization. So if the Al
lance men and Thlrd-party men enter the
presidential race Of this year and suffer
inglorious defeat-are distanced, rs they
will be-they will never be heard of again
under their present names. Is it "practi-
cal politics" thus 10 tempt fateY
Take the case of Governor BUCHANAN, of
Tennessee. He has risked all that he is
and has IN politics in coming out Us a
competing candidate for the governorship
against the nominee of the Democratic
party. He stands upon a popular plat
form. He advocates measures, some OF
which the people are inclined to consider
meritorious, but which they are still some
what afraid Of IL Governor BUCHANAN
and his party are defeated this year they
will sink below the surface of the sea of
politics and never again rise to view. So
of certain coalitions elsewhere.
We speak of practical politics TO practical
men. We have no interests different from
those of the farmers. We have no finan-
ciAl schemes of our own to promote. We
have no measures of our own TO commend
TO popular appreciation. If We know our
selves, we are ready and willing 70 sup
port all measures which would benefit the
public of the whole country, and neither
ready nor willing 10 support any measures
which would damage the farmers or any
other class in the community. Let us
Join hands once more this year and get rid
of the Republican party. Then we shall
have an opportunity to consider what the
next step must be. We must go slowly.
But victory will be ours in the end if We
stick to practical politics"