Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-09-29
A "OALAMITY HOWL" OF 1890.

The Wichita Eagle, of November IA,
1890, after the returns were in. con-
tanned an editorial that is good read
ing at this time, especially along with
the labored editorials of the same
paper which are trying to prove that
what it said in 1890 was false -even
though the circumstances of the pres
ent political situation prove that the
Eagle was right in 1890. The editorial
we reproduce was called out by the
criticism, by some of the republican
papers of the state, of Murdock's re
beIlion:"
There is not man in the state who
read our editorials declaring that re-
belliOn was inevitable in the absence
of some sudden but seemingly impos-
sible reformation, that does not know
that we not only enumerated but di-
lated on the causes. We said that
there was rebellion and that it would
show itself in November, 1892. We
said the mortgage consumed the farm
ers of Kansas, who work as class
from sun up till sun down year in and
year out; live scantily; go poorly clad;
and yet, are sinking deeper into debt.
We said that there is too much legis-
lation for the classes, too little for the
masses; that everything was made to
favor the creditor and Oppress the
debtor; that the machinery Of the gov
ernment was too much for the capital
list ard against the laboring man. We
said that congress was refusing an ad-
equate supply of currency, by from one
to two hundred millions, through the
influence of Wall street. We said that
farmers and tradesmep. country and
town people, alike, were tired of the
old ring of political bossism in Kan
sas. which ring, through the legisla-
ture were erecting costly and unneces-
sary state institutions, erecting useless
offices and barassing the people with
multitudinous restrictive laws in the
name of Home, God and Morality,
while, all the while, it was but an in
sane species of hypocritical dema-
goguery INDUCED in at the expense of
the people. whereby the old crowd
might continue in Office. We followed
these articles with denunciations of
shameless boudling at Topeka, with
others on option dealing, column after
column, in which we declared, and
tried to show. that this dealing in
wind was at the expense Of the
farmer. In the same connection the
trusts ard combines were pointed out
AS disastrous to the producer and bis
market.
ut now appears that the editors Of
the papers referred to were not the
Eagle really did say; but that many of
these articles were afterwards, months
afterwards, read i'll many Of the sub
alliances throughout Kansas and
heartily endorsed we happen to know,
whatever the Hutchinson News may
say, or the Kansas City Gazette init
mate to the contrary.
LAS for other matters that proved
later factors Of the rebellion-which
rebellion was we'll nigh revolution,
those of resubmissiOn and the McKin-
ley bill-the Eagle was the first repub-
lican paper in the state to declare that
the people had right to be heard
again on the question of prohibition,
and that the republican party must
concede that right. That was last
September a year. And the Eagle
further, was the only republican paper
in the state of Kansas to denounce the
Mckinley bill, no other paper in the
state saying aught against it, except a
single feature, until after Senator
Plumb's open attack in the aenate.
And, finally, it makes little differ
ence to us what the papers may say of
the Murdoch rebellion. so called, one
way or the other, so long as the knowl-
edge is ours that fifteen or twenty
thousand daily readers of the Eagle !
know exactly what we did say and ex-
actly what We predicted, and knowing
these, know, also, that it All came to
pass"