People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1894-09-28
Just a Little Too Previous.

The old table ABOUT the good
housewife who counted her chickens
before they were Matched is forci-
bly, brought to ones mind by the
Ausgusta Chronicle in its article yes
terday on the "Decline of Populism.''
The dear Chronicle puts its eggs
into the incubator:
Popu1ism is now old enough to have
made a record The theories which it
advocates have been put into practice
and the fallacy of populist claims has
been proven.
And without waiting for the pro-
cess Of incubation to be completed
counts the chickens:
Populism is rapidly approaching the
period of it's dissolution.
VIII the Chronicle kindly point
out what theories advocated by the
populists have been put into prac-
tice? Surely it is not the govern
ment ownership of railroads. The
Railroad news in its own columns
will refute that claim. Rate wars,
strikes and rumors of strikes, arbi-
trary rates for corporations, gigantic
combinations boding ruin to lesser
roads and filing with apprehension
the business men and real estate
owners of various cities, are proof
that the railroad theories OF the pop
ulists have not been put into prac-
tice.
The shrinkage in values and de-
clining price of cotton is evidence
enough that the populist theory Of
free silver at Is to / has not been
made the law. That it should be
adopted by the Chronicle is credit
able to that paper, but unfortunately
does not make it the law of the land.
The popuIist land plank remains
only theory as yet, for if it had
been put into practice, 61,90o,000
acres of land would not now be held
by alien owners for speculative pur-
poses, while millions of native
Americans are tramping homeless
wanderers in the land which was
bought with the blood Of their
fathers.
The populist demand for the abol-
ishment of the national banking
system and the increase of money to
$50 per capita is not yet put into
practice, as the insufficient amount
of money will bear witness.
Economy and retrenchment in
government expenses is only a pleas
ant theory SO far, as the four-million-
dollar increase in appropriations
voted by democratic congress will
show.
In modified form the few popu-
lists in congress have been enabled
to engraft the populist income tax
feature on our laws. 1t meets the
appreciation OF the people and gives
general satisfaction except to the
goldbugs, as will all the other meas
ures advocated by the populists after
once they become the law.
In state matters fair elections may
pass beyond the stage of theory next
week if the democrats carry out in
good faith the promises recently
made by several of their leaders that
there shall be fair division of cleo
ton managers. In this connection it
may not be amiss TO state that the
editor-in- chief of the Chronicle, Hon.
Patrick Walsh, was among the first
to publicly declare in favor of it, and
deserves the praise and substantial
remembrance of the people for it.
The populist theory in regard to
convict labor is as yet but theory,
while convicts become the chattel
property of sordid lessees, and the
farm laborers are taken out of their
fields to work the roads at the caprice
OF road master.
The furnishing of text books for
primary schools is still an unadopted
theory, while the school book trusts
extort four times tie value of text
books from the poor, and the only
books furnished free by the state are
costly books for certain privileged
institutions.
Oh no, dear Chronicle, the theories
advocated by populists have not been
put into practice with the one ex-
eeption noted above), and conse-
quently have not been proven falla-
cies, and the tremendous gains which
the populist vote will show this fall
will demonstrate that the people
still hope that the ''plans of the pop