People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1892-05-27
A CRITICAL ELECTION.
II Lssks - n the Political Situation Il
Tie Most Important Since 1850,

- eysas - - tho VhtAtoA ohtaet&0n -
TIE Most Important Since 1850.
The failure Of the silver coinage bill
in the house Of represet .atives has given
. tremendous boom to Peoples party
prospects. Anything, indeed, more
suspicious for the success of that party
In November could not have happened.
The demand for free silver coinage,
while strong in the west, is still stronger
throughout the south, and from the be-
ginning Of the Peoples party movement,
the southern Farmers Alliances have
served explicit notice on the Democratic
party that If the present Democratic
house failed to pass the silver bill they
wsuld desert 1t 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 south.
srn Alliances has been hitherto kept
back from committing itself outright to
the Peoples party has been the promise
that the Democratic house would heed
their demands.
We do not believe that there Is an AL
lance mag in the south today who has
not defnitively made up his mind to
vote for the candidates nominated at
Omaha. Even if the Democratic ma
tional convention, terrified by the situa-
ton, should take the back track and in
sert silver plank in the national plat
form, it would be Of no avail. After the
action Of the house no promises the con-
vention might make would command
any confidence, and indeed would only
make the situation of the Democracy
more desperate by alternating its gold
standard constituency in the north and
east, which is all that is now left of it.
In fact, the probabilities are altogether
that the Wall street wing, having now
won the battle, will strengthen its grip
and by the nomination Of Cleveland bar
the door against the possible return of
the disgruntled southerners.
What does this mean practically It
means that the Peoples party in Novem-
Der will probably carry FIVE southern
states, being the two Carolinas, Georgia,
Mississippi and Arkansas, and possibly
seven, II the southern Alliance congress
men may be believed. In the north the
new party has all along been likely to
carry Kansas and Nebraska and the two
Dskotas, but in the silver states of Mon
tsna and Colorado its prospects Of sue.
cess are at least so per cent. better than
before the defeat Of the silver bill That
is to say, there is now a reasonable prob.
ability that the Peoples party in No.
vember may carry from nine to thirteen
states.
This means that no president is likely
to be elected by the people, and that il
the house of representatives shall elect 9
Democrat he will be the worst case of q
minority president that ever went into
Office.
But will the house of representatives
necessarily elect the Democratic candi
date? Surprising the solid south-the
stronghold of Democracy-shall have re-
pudiated the Democratic candidate BY
strong popular majolities, will the south
ern Democratic congressman who want
to be reelected vote to make president
the candidate condemned by their con
stituents' Will they be so self sacrif
cingi
Do you ask whom they will then vote
for? Well, the constitution restricts theil
choice to the three presidential candi
dates who received the largest electoral
vote. They will thus have to elect either
Republican, Democrat whom theil
own constituents have rejected, or thu
Peoples party candidate, whom theil
constituents have voted for. Figure out
for yourselves what they may possibly
conclude to do.
The fact is, the coming presidential
contest, when the press and the peopl,
begin to realize its realities and POSSIBLE
ties, is going to be the most interesting
one since 1850, as it will the most crit
cal in its political consequences.
The Republican party is already spill
to the base, and is kept standing only By
the hitherto solid opposition Of the De
mocracy.
Now that the disruption of the Democ
racy has come a general disintegratior
and Encouragement Of political forces il
inevitable. In that Encouragement W,
shall find the capitalistic and antipopu
lar wings Of the two old parties uniting
to form a party of opposition, while tn,
popular and progressive wings of boil
will unite with the movement nov
known as the Peoples party to form tn,
party of progress which shall build tn,
new nation.
It is good to be alive in these days ant
to have partin these things.-New Ma
ton.