The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1893-09-16
The omceseekers'< Fourth Party.

The ofhceseekers'4 Fourth Party.
A few would-be republican lead
ers in Colorado and Idaho are very
active in their attempts to organize
q new party. The rank and file Of
the party are not clamorous for
such an organization; it is the DEM
agogue politicians, who see their
lease of Office slowly and surely
slipping from their grasp. They
are politicians Of the lower order,
who fight merely for the spoils OF
Office and not from any principle
that may be at stake. On national
politics Colorado and Idaho elected
populist presidential electors, and
the legislature of both states were
against the republican party on
joint ballot. In Colorado the ma
jority for the entire populist ticket
was overwhelming, but in Idaho
the state ticket was lost, merely for
the want of proper organization,
and next year the republican lead
ers see sure defeat staring them in
the face, hence the new movement.
The egotism shown by these few
of6ce-seeking politicians who i'm
agine they can organize a national
party on one-idea platform is only
equaled by the apparent poor opin-
ion they seem to entertain of the
intelligence of the people. They
seem to think that by changing the
name of skunk the odor will also
be chonged.
The agitators of this new move
ment do not say whether they are
for or against the national banking
system, whether they are for high
or low tariff, whether they are for
or against the fostering of trusts
and grinding corporations; they
do not declare themselves on any
great principle of government.
Hence it is only reasonable to sup
pose that they will follow in the
footsteps of their old party, and en-
dorse national banks, high tariff,
trusts, and other aristocratic theo-
ries. With such platform is there
any chance for "silver party" to
carry southern state, q middle
state, a farming state, or any state
outside of a mining state? We ask
the free coinage advocates if they
believe for an instant that a free
coinage party not having a tariff
reform plank in their platform
could carry the Southern states,
without which free coinage can
never succeed? Again we ask if
they believe that without some con-
cessions to the Farmers Alliance,
Knights of Labor, and kindred or
CARNATIONS that such a party could
carry Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, the
Dakotas, Wyoming or Oregon, with
out which free coinage cannot ex-
pect to win. Now all this talk of
organizing silver party" without
they expect to make these conces-
sions, with any hope of making it
national is the merest fallacy. Ii
they make these concessions, then
they will be standing on the popu-
list platform, and become "ghost
dancers" like the rest of US.
The populist party has already
achieved some success it has
national organization, and strong
following in the South, and if it
had not been for the personal un-
popularity of General Weaver, who,
on numerous occasions, has gone
out of his way to abuse the people
of that section, a number of those
states would have been added to
the populist column.
All the populists ask of the free
coinage members of the old parties
is, when they conclude that their
parties will do nothing for silver.
is to think for themselves, and to
join no party which does not offer
them the elements of success. Do
not be led astray by the gilded ora
tory and illogical conclusions of
office-hunters who have been mis-
leading you for the past twenty
years.
OF course platform can not be
built that will suit all, but each
faction must concede some princi-
pie if we expect to win our hobby,
and free ourselves from the indus
trial bondage that the moneyed
aristocracy is gradually forcing US
into by having control of our law
power.