People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-04-15
THE SOUTH TO LEAD OFF WITH SEVEN
STATES IN THE PEOPLES COLUMN,
AND THE NORTHWEST WILL, FUR.
NlSH SIX.
"A General DisintegratiOn and Rearrange'
ment Of Political Forces is lneVita BILE.
ut is Good to be ALve in These Days" "

The failure of the silver coinage bill
in the house of representatives has
given a tremendous boom to Peoples
party prospects. Anything, indeed,
more auSpiciouS for that party in No
yember could not have happened. The
demand for free silver coinage, while
strong in the west, is still stronger
throughout the south, and from the
beginning of the peoples party move
ment, the southern Farmers Alliances
have served explicitnotice on the dem
ocratic party that if the present demo-
cratic house failed to pass the silver
bill they would desert it in November
and vote in a body for the candidates
of the new party. The only argument
by which portion of the membership
of the southern Alliances has been
hitherto kept back from committing
itself outright to the Peoples party,
has been the promise that the demo-
cratic house would heed their demands.
We do not believe that there is an Al
lance man in the south today, who has
not, within the last week, definitely
made up his mind to vote for the can
didateS nominated at Omaha. Even if
the democratic national convention,
terrified by the situation, should take
the back track and insert a silver plank
in the national platform, it would be of
no avail. After the action of the house
no promises the convention might
make would command any confidence
and indeed would only make the situa-
ton of the democracy more desperate
by alternating its gold standard cOnstit-
uenCy in the north and east, which is
all that is now left it.
In fact, the probabilities are alto
gether that the Wall street wing, hav-
ing now won the battle, will strengthen
its grip and by the nomination of
Cleveland, bar the door against the pos
Sible return of the diSgrmtled south
ernerS.
What does this mean, practically ?
1t means that the Peoples party
in November will probably carry five
southern states, being the two Caro-
linaS, Georgia, Mississippi and Arkan-
SaS, and possibly seven, if the southern
Alliance congressman may be believed.
J In the north the new party have all
along been likely to carry Kansas and
Nebraska and the two DakOtas, but in
the silver states of Montana and Col
OradO, its prospects Of success are at
least fifty per cent better than before
the defeat of the silver bill. That is to
, say, there is now a reasonable proba.
bility that the peoples party in No
vember may carry from nine to thir-
teen states.
This means that no president is like
lytO be elected by the people, and that
) If the house of representatives elect
a democrat, he will be the worst case OF
a minority president that ever went
\ into office.
But will the house of representative;
J necessarily elect the democratic eandi
date? SuppOsing the solid south, the
stronghold of democracy, shall have
{ repudiated the democratic candidate
Y by strong popular majorities, will thu
y southern democratic congressman, WHIT
= want to be reelected, vote to max,
president the candidate condemned b!
their constituents? Will they be 81
/ Self-sacrifcing?
= DoyOu ask whom they will then vot
for? Well, the constitution restrict
v their choice to the three preSidentia
candidates who received the larges
electoral vote. They will thus have t
elect a republican, a democrat whom
their constituents have rejected, or tn
e Peoples party candidate whom thei
constituents have voted for. Figur
/, out for yourselves what they may pos
sibly conclude to do.
!, The fact is, the coming PRESIDENT;
contest, when the press and the peopl
begin to realize its realities and pOss
bilities, is going to be the most inte
esting one since 1860, as it will be IL
, most critical in its political cons
quences.
The republican party is already spl
I to the base, and is kept standing on
~ by the hitherto solid opposition