The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-29
HERE AND THERE.


HERE AND THERE.
The Peoples Party-A Discussion OF It's
Claims and Teachings.
Now that the Peoples party have placed in
the field national, state AMI county tickets
ana have framed national, state and county
platforms and resolutions. they surely cannot
compiainif the microscope OF public scrutiny is
ieveied at their candidates and q close analysis
IL made OF their platforms and resolutions. II,
as they claim to be, they are party composed
OF the American people, then they viii welcome
criticism upon their every move and thank the
critic Tor fairly and openly taking issue with
them. The American people always braveiy
invite an exchange OF opinion. For in that fair
spirit of exchange OF opinion, In that calm dis
cussion of great political questions. lies the
strength OF our republic.
By way of preface wish my Peoples party
friends 70 understand that am not one of those
who has nothing but sneers and slurs for them.
On the contrary. they have my heartiest sym.
pathy. While do not agree with the radical
Evolutionary legislation that they intend to in
fict upon the public in the event of their being
successful, yet submit that they have already
done great deal of good. They have already
forced the two national political parties to look
closer to their laurels, to place stronger men on
their respective tickets, and to use more unam-
biguous language in their platforms than was
ever used heretofore. / do not deny that the
leaders of that party. especially the majority of
their candidates, are political charIssans; men
who could not appease their terrible hunger for
Office in either one of the two great political
parties, and have for years plotted to, aud
nnally succeeded in, getting q party of their
own. These candidates and speakers are not
fools. They know that there ia not the remotest
chance for them to win Office but the campaign
for itself Is a source OF profit to them. Ad-
vertfsernent, for which the demsgogue Graves 90
much, is obtained to plentiful degree free of
charge. Money ia collected at every meeting
and in every camp. Every device known to the
mountebank with which to lure the dollar
from the pockets of the unsophis.icated masses,
is made available. II you, my good Peoples
party friend. question the truthfulness Of this
assertion, just please figure for yourself the
number OF dollars you have paid since yon have
Joined the new party, by way of literature,
badges, contribution, subscription, etc, etc,
ana then see where all this money goes to.
Look at your local satellite leaders and see
whether they are not all financially benefited in
some way or other by this reform movement
Again, the shrewd leaders know that while
they cannot win, 1t is to their material advan.
tage TO hold tho masses together and thus be in
position to make bargain with either one OF
ths two dominant parties at the most opportune
moment The plan, as far - the leaders are
concerned, Is an admirable one; but. for the life
OF me, l can't see where the people come in.
Yet it would be glaring injustice to the rank
and file OF the Peoples party to condemn, de-
spise or scorn them because they have inno-
Gently become the victims of few crafty manip-
ulatorA On the contrary, it is our duty to pity
the innocent who are in the clutches OF the
guilty. 1t IL our most solemn duty to teach and
guide them and thus enable them to free them
selves from the ENHANCEMENT of cleverly-laid
traps and nets. When we remember that the
average human being likes to be pitisd and
pstted; likes to BE- told that his poverty is not
due to his own thriftlessness, improvidence or
careless habits OF life, but that 1t il due to some
mysterious, tyrannical power over which he
has no control; likes to have his conscience ap-
peased by the belief that no blame rests ON his
own shoulders, but upon those of some one else
when we further remember that it 10 in the ma
ture of the human animal to like to live with
the least exertion possible, and that, therefore,
he Is apt to be grateful for being told and
taught that it 10 useless for him to look for
work; that even il he gets work capital will take
his earnings from him in some way or other,
and that the best he can do under the clrcum-
stances 10 to stay on the street corners and help
to devise q plan how to annihllate ca pital
then We can see that the welfare Of society as
well as the mental and physical welfare Of the
misguided. honest and credulous rank and file
OF the Peoples party commands Us to lift the
thick veil of nonsense from the eyes OF those of
our fellow-citizens whose only crime and guilt
spread before them by few tricKsters under the
most favorable circumstances
From actual knowledge aud close association
for years with many of those that make up the
Peoples party, am firmly convinced that they
are honest, well-meaning and self-sacrifcing;
and because know them to be such / take this
opportunity to reason and argue with them. It
Is my. desire to show them BY common, sensible
and practical arguments that they are on the
wrong road: that the measures they desire to
enact mean nothing less than the forging of q
link towards the completion of q strong chain
OF oppression and slavery from which they
never could free themselves.
That grievances exist do not deny. Nor can
1t, in the nature OF things, be otherwise. In q
country where we have In the last twenty years
unprecedsntly increased in population and
wealth there must have outgrown some iniqui-
ties. Nobody has ever yet devised perfect sys-
TEN OF government, no matter how slow and
deIberative its acts. And il would DO folly to
claim for our own governmsnt-where every act
has been done in the rush and haste of progress
sion and neutrality-suspicious.. That grew
ances, however, exist to any such extent as is
claimed by the leaders of the Peoples party I
most emphatically deny. That "men are selling
their honor, the women their virtue and the
children are becoming criminals and outcasts
for bread" as claimed by Congressman Jerry
simpson, Is an absolute and willful falsehood,
written deliberately by Mr.. Simpson for the pur.
pose OF fntimidating the masses. for the pur.
pose OF soaring them into line. Talk about po-
litcai party lash; no politician ever dared to
falsely accuse the people of such heinous crimes
as did the sockless hero. And why all this will.
full slanderf Are the people to derive any ben
eft or instruction from it? No. thousand
times no. 1t is all done because some OF the
Peoples party followers are already seeing
through the sham; some are beginning to use
their reason independently Of stock lies and ex-
aggerations uttered by their leaders Some be-
gin 70 see that what the leaders propose ia both
Impossible OF execution and, if possible, detri-
mental most to the masses. 1t is for this reason
that the most radical means are adopted the
vilest language used, the worst threats hurled
at the people in order to hold them together UNI
I'll election time, and thus enable the leaders to
do their trading and bartering.
am often told by ardent Peoples party fol-
lowers: Granted you are right, granted that
the leaders deceiving US, still that Is no rea.
son why We should not vote the Peoples party
ticket 1t cannot make times any worse than
they are now" Is there any sense in such
talk? Can times not be worse? In fact, are
they not worse in every country on the face of
the globe than they are heref In my life have
seen hard times in various European countries.
but cannot compare the conditions that have
seen in existence in Europe and those that exist
here There the very first symptoms OF hard
times 10 a lack of clothing. then a scarcity of
food and fuel. and consequent starvation, dis.
ease and misery. / thank heaven that I see
none OF these symptoms here. The fifty or
sixty men that see every day on Front or Sec.