The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-12-06
FUSION MEANS DEATH.
! II We Arc Right, Why Compromise With
Wrong7-Fight 1t Straight

II We Arc Right, why Compromise With
wrong7-Fiei,t 1t Strxight
Whenever peoples party leaders Al
low their eagerness for Office to lead
them into combinations with either of
the old parties, the result has invari-
ably been disastrous The reason il
clear. By fusing with our opponents
we stultify our record, repudiate our
platform. surrender our purpose, and
buy temporary success at the expense
of the vital spirit of our movement
We allow a man who wants Office to
lead us into unholy alliance with the
very powers, parties, influences and
methods we started out to fight
Hence the moment such trade is
made by our party q large percent
age of our best men get disguised
and quit They naturally conclude
that if our sole purpose is to swap one
set of selfish politicians for another set
equally selfish, there is not enough
in our cause to make it worth striving
for. And they are right If we have
old party bosses; if our cry for reform
means simply to put one trickster in
an Office which another trickster now
holds; if our leaders mean to talk
purity and to practice impurity, then
the sooner we are exposed to the con-
tempt of the world the better. To
swap one humbug for another does not
advance the march of human improve
ment one inch.
If we are right, why compromise
with wrong?
We lose moral force every time we
do it.
Not only do some of our best men
quit us when we leave the middle of
the road" but all recruiting from the
old parties absolutely stops.
In those states where we have
fused" the peoples party is weaker
to-day than it ever was. The reason
lies on the surface; no recruits came in
after we combined with the enemy,
and quit
Kansas appears to be a striking illus
tration of the point we make.
On the other hand, there is Vir-
ginia.
1t was the cradle of democracy. 1t
was crusted all over with caste and
class and prejudice and family influ-
ence"
There was the great name of Lee to
work the war record" racket. There
was Cleveland, just across the Poto-
mac, to help with all the power of
patronage. There was unlimited
money. There was republican help.
And yet What? Our boys made a
straight fight, that was as square as it
was brave; and the results that w
have gained are not only substantial in
themselves, but they leave our party in
frst-class trim for the future.
In November, 1892, Cleveland got
1853, GIT votes in Virginia; Harrison got
1925; while Weaver got only l2,274
In other words the democrats car
ried the state by about 40, 900 majority
over both republicans and populists.
This year it requires a combination
of both republicans and democrats to
beat the populists by about the same
ma ority that Cleveland had over re-
publicans and populists.
At the time we write this paragraph
we have not seen any statement of our
vote, but a calculation based on such
facts as we do possess leads us to the
conclusion that we received between
o,oo0 and 100000. Compare this with
the $4,000 we had last November!
We elect about dozen members of
the legislature. and, for the first time
in the south, city takes it's place in
our ranks-the city of Winchester
Thomas E. Watson, in Peoples Party
Paper