The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-07-12
WORDS OF WISDOM
FROM z. =. NUoENT Asro THE
@ PRnc=s COURSE.
$he Abandonment of the Principles OF
tho Omaha Platform Would BE Sui
eldal and Result Disastrously to the
Peoples Party.

18~AA RSAAS *
nous amour of faith and hope. Again
and again have the Independent voters
e~ndeavored to get together in the eff
fort to wrest our government from the
control of the privileged classes and
restore to the plain masses that partic-
1pation in the conduct of public affairs
to which they are justly entitled.
Earnest and patriotic men in every
section Of our country have, for twenty
years past, labored with unselfish devo-
tfcn TO unite the industrial classes of
both country and city in a declaration
of principles upon which they could
all stand, and thus to bring them to-.
gether in a common fight for the
emancipation of labor. But as often
as the work of practical organization
has been attempted, it has been multi
fed and defeated by an appeal to parti-
san prejudice and by the false conten-
ton that no important reform was ever
effected through a third party. There
can only be two great political parties"
said the self-seeking leaders. These
have well-defined issues upon which to
appeal to the country. They represent
political principles affecting the per-
manent administration of the govern
ment. Third parties are always parties
of one idea. Therefore, fight for reform
in the old parties"
Thus the people have been held with
in old party lines and thus has every
movement organized to fight the bat
ties of freedom been defeated. The
greenback party arose, and the demo-!
cratic nominee in the south was quick
to say, 81 I'm a ~greenbacker in the dem
ocratic party! Stay in the old party
and get what you want"
IN the north, republican nominees
made similar appeals and promises. In
both sections the greenback movement
dissolved, and the two old parties con-
tinued the same old alignment, peri
odically fighting the same old battles,
and both alike studiously avoiding any
committal to the policy of the green
hackers. The union labor party sprang
into existence, was met with the same
sophistry and false assumption, and
speedily found its grave. The farmers
got together upon practically the same
issues presented in the platform of
the greenbackers, but they soon found
how hopeless it was to fight for reform
successfully in the two old parties.
They saw after a brief trial the folly of
trying to reform political conditions
by means of non-political methods. In
city and country there were any num-
Der of independents, but when the
elections came on they were like sheep
in the midst of ravening wolves. The
house of labor was divided against it.
self. How then could it stand? But
the farmers had learned in the hard
school of experience. The Alliance,
thanks to a kind Providence, became
intensely political. Light began to
break through the political clouds.
The olive branch was extended from
c, untry to city, the white flag Of peace
foated over alliance and trades unions
and toilers began to pool their issues
and get together. Then came the st.
Louis conference of February, 1892
that wonderful conclave of labor's rep
resentatives. There, brother populists,
labor made known its demands-form-
ulated them in words that will live
forever.
Before that time each organization
of labor had its own creed, adhered to
it's own narrow policy, selfishly pur-
sued it's own ends, ignored the demands
of all other workers, and found as a.
result defeat and discontinue. Having
succeeded, however, in getting to-
gether and III formulating their de-,
mands, these representatives of labor
went vigorously into politics and
pledged a solid labor vote for the party
which should adopt those demands.
The peoples party at once organized
upon the lines thus laid down, and has
been fighting the battles of labor ever
since. In the first campaign it polled
over 100000 votes, to which it added
600, 900 within the two years following.
It is safe to say that it could to-day
poll more than 100000 votes. More
than this, it is growing with unexam-.
pied rapidity. All Of this has been.
accomplished on the Omaha platform.
and yet there are populists who would,
in the campaign Of 1896, eliminate from
that platform the land and ~transporta-
ton planks and leave the party stand
ing on a single financial issue. And
why is this? The silver question, the
answer is, will be the pivotal one-the
storm center Of the campaign. I do
not doubt the sincerity or patriotism