The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-11-28
1896!
What of the Future f!
What Is the True Policy
For RefOrmerS?

We have two years in which to de-
bate and decide the future of the
great movement which we call the
Peoples Party. Let all our best
minds address themselves to the dis
cussion of this matter. We must try
to find out where we blundered in the
past st;-what we did that we should not
have donc;-what We left undonc that
We should have done.
What are our objects?
/. The lifting up of mankind:-
making it easier for the worlds people
to obtain the blessings of life-abund-
ant food, clothing, shelter, fuel, edu-
cation, enjoyment, peace, order and
happiness.
,. To persuade the majority Of the
people to vote with US for the policies
which we think will secure those
ends.
Observe-that we must obtain a ma
jority-(or, strictly speaking, a plural
ity, where there are three parties. )-ot
the whole people, or we cannot take
achieve our ends. Now it may be that
some proposition may be submitted
which is, we will say, strictly right
as the single tax, or prohibition, or
woman's suffrage, for example,-bu
if the vast majority of the people are
intieXibly arrayed against such pro-
position, then there is no use of our
talking it up; for we have more i'm
portant matters to look after, and we
must have the maiority of the people
with us or we can do nothing. We
said at the Cincinnati convention, of
May 1891, at which the Peoples organ
ization was started, 1.-THE party that
shortens its platform lengthens it's
muster roll" and we are convinced
that many of our misfortuncs are due
to departing from that axiom. There
are any number of 'isms" and "fads, "
1--WE do not use the word disreS pect-
fully.) in this country, with few fol-
lowers each. but with not the slight
est hope under heaven Of ever reach
ing majority: and yet the moment a
OF every one of these rush forward,
and insist on hitching their little cart
to our locomotive. The result is the
public attention is withdrawn from
the noble engine and the work it pro-
poses to do, while showers of rotten
eggs and diseased cabbages and cat
calls and howls greet the string of
"fads' stretched out behind us; and
in the end we are stalled in the mud
together. The carts have not reached
any tangible destinations: they are Just
about where they began: but they
have stopped the locomotive from 60
ing forward
Now, do not mean to say that each
one of the carts may not have contain
ed good material, -admirable ma
terial,-excellent remedies for some of
humanity's evils,-but the great pub
lie hold them in overwhelming con-
tempt: and your campaign, instead of
being an aggressive fight against
recognized and conspicuous evils, be-
comes defensive battle in behalf of
side issues. already condemned, wisely
or unwisely, by the great multitude
who are to decide the battle.
1t is the most natural thing in the
world that the nurses who have had
their offspring, in their arms. and
have been sucking them for years,
while they steadily shrank in size un-
der their anxious and solicitous gaze,
should be eager to climb onto any con-
veyance that passed their way.
Hence they flock to our conventions.
vociferous and plausible: they work
their way. by little arts, onto the COM
mittees on resolutions; they promise
tremendous assistance of innumerab BILE
hosts at the ballot box, or in the way
Of campaign funds; and, at last, the
good -natured delegates, wearied and
worn out, yield: and the jaundiccd
bantlings are adopted with many mis-
givings, which are fully realized on
election day.
We must stop this sort of thing. We
must be inflexible. We must remem-
ber that talkative gentleman can
raise terrible uproar in convention
when he does not represent single
vote but his own in the wide world
We must have the nerve to say to
these individuals:
1--WE have great respect for you
But this is locomotive, not an omni.
bus. This is coming together of
those who believe that the Omaha
platform is right:-that it's great essen
tiat plaaks, Of land, transportation and
finance, are Of more importance to the
people of the United States than any,
thing else. If you agree with us Join
US. But if you think something else
prohibition, single-tax, woman-suf
frage, land-banks, socia alism, anarch.
ism. or anything else is of more i'm.
portance than those three great u.s.
sues, go off and form a party of your
own. Flock by yourselves. Let every
tub stand on its own bottom. We
wish you wel1. We will do you nc
harm. But for the Lords sake let us
make a fight for the principles which
we believe to be supremely important
to the human race. without having
every governmental device, conceived
by the minds of men, tied to our coat
tails"
Now. are we right in this9 If We
arc LOT C;lr frinp6c all ovor tEa ,op,,