Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1892-05-25
NON-PARTISAN POLITICS.

Alliance Members VIII Cast Their Vote iu
Support of the Party Which Advocates
Alliance Principles.
1t might be clear to all who are un-
prejudiced and desire to know the truth,
that this cry of the partisan politician
that the Farmers Alliance and Indus
trial Union has in the remotest degree
attempted to control the freedom of its
members in regard to their religion or
or party affilia ton is but an attempt to
confuse and mislead with the evident
desire and object of bringing discord in
to the ranks of the order Each member
knows for himself that he is at perfect
liberty to belong to any party or profess
any religion that he may choose, and
that the alliance never inquiries, and in
fact it is not matter for their con-
sideration at all. That a great many
members of the alliance honestly be-
lieve that the reforms they seek can
not be accomplished within the eX-
listing political parties is unquestion-
ably true. And the very fact that the
order is non-partisan grants to these
brothers the perfect liberty to sever
their party connections and form others
without having their motives impugned
or themselves criticised by those who
| may differ with them 1t is peculiar
| that you never hear politicians belong
| ing to the democratic or republican
parties arraigning the alliance as a
secret third party organization so long
| as it's members continue to vote their
respective tickets. We then heard
| throughout the democratic states that
the alliance was intended, and that it
had been organized by the republicans
to break up the democratic party.
In the republican states the
same cry was heard, only it
was a democratic trick to destroy the
republican party; but now since
the people are taking off their party
harness and there is probability that
they will cast their ballot for neither of
them, they have hushed that doleful
cry, and are now charging that the
alliance proposes to lead its members
into the peoples party. This last asser-
ton has about as much truth in it as
the others had. The object of the alli-
anee has in no sense changed. 1t is to
educate the people in the science OF
economic government in a strictly nom
| poN OIodA oCuSC. -NOW IL WOulO
make as great effort to obtain the alli-
ance vote by working for the peoples
interest, as they are now putting
forth TO prevent the organization
of the peoples party, their sue
cess would be deserved and with
out question of doubt. There is an.
other very amusing and peculiar condi.
ton that has made itself manifest in
North Carolina, Georgia and South
Carolina within the last few months
Before that time the whole power of the
old party press had been used to CON
vince the farmers that their demands
made at Ocala, Fla, were in every sense
ridiculous. and would be exceedingly
injurious to the best interests of the
country Now these same papers are
defending the 0cala demands, turning
their whole attention to an effort te
J prejudice the minds of the farmers and
laborers against those demands agreed
upon by the confederation of labor al
St. Louis, February %, 1892. even go
, ing SO far as to make false state
!. ments as to what the demands were
If any one will lay aside prejudict
and passion and quietly examine ths
J efforts made by the politician since ths