The representative., 1895-12-25
SOME SENSIBLE VIEWS.
AN OLD GRANGER PUTS IT STRONG
LY "JOIN OR DIE,

AN OLD GRANGER PUTS 1T STRONG
LY, JOIN OR DIE
l am glad to see so much favora BILE
comment, In many of our reform papers,
upon Mr.. Donnelly's plan for union of
all reform parties upon a single National
Ticket for 1896 Sen. Probstfields appeal
to Populists is timely and othe point.
Let the good work go on. Human nature
is Interchangeable. Let us profit by prece-
dent. We are all the time scolding the
voters of the old parties for their slavish
subserviency to party. Let us not evince
the same trait ourselves. Parties are
mere instrumentalities-- s--machines-which
should be worked but not served. Par
ties like fire make good servants but bad
masters. Reformers more than any other
class are apt to become intolerant This
Is quite natural. The reformer is in earn-
est. He believes something and he be-
lieves with energy. He wants something
and he wants it bad" He thinks he
knows what he wants and how it should
be. obtained. No man is more in danger
of becoming bigoted and iritolerant than
the man who is in dead earnest. The
abolitionists had no time for the new
republican party, because it did not prom
Use enough. They fought it and con-
demned it's leaders including the immortal
Lincoln IN vehement terms. The great
ness of that prince of orators and reform
ers Wendell Philips is marred by his vio-
lent denunciatiOns of Lincoln. Common
minds can now. see that Lincoln under
stood Philips, but Philips did not COM
prehend Lincoln. Had the new repub-
lican party declared for the entire de-
struction of slavery it would never have
risen to power. AS agitators-it is we'll
to advocate every important reform. That
is the educational part of the work, and
It's reward is abuse, cOntumely and OStra-
cism. The abolftionists so violently en-
countered the prejudices of the people
that it became forever impossible for
their party to achieve power When the
country was ready to consider that mo-
mentous question politically it organized
Itself into new party much less radical
But the great end was accomplished lust
the same.
We have much the same conditions
about us now. 1t is possible that popu-
ism has so ruff1ed the unreasoning pref
ud1ces OF the public that a new and less
radical movement would be wise Let us
not make the mistake of the abolitionists
and revile the new movement, or in any
way obstruct its progress. There was
just one wise and learned Jew in the days
of the Apostles who counseled the mob
to wait declaring that "if this counsel be
OF men it will come to naught but if it
be OF God We cannot overthrow it,"
1t is as certain now as ANYTHING can
be that the Silver issue must be fought
out. Both old parties have tried in vain
to suppress it. If it were possible TO
relegate it to the rear that would have
been done long ago. The supremacy Of
the Democratic party has already been
wrecked on that rock. The president. an
infiexible gold bug, has unwillingly and
perhaps unconsciohsly acknowledged the
ascendency of this question more than
once. He was elected on the tariff issue
an issue which he himself made national
But his first important act was to con
Vene the Congress to deal. not with the
tariff. but the silver question In his
last message he devotes dozen lines to
tariff and perhaps 200 lines to the money
question.
The Republican party will try to hold
itself together by an artful straddle. IN
ternatfonal Bimetallism' will be it's Sc
ouctlve but delusive watchword The
Peoples Party is in position to break
the Republicans right in two and destroy
1T. To do this it must make the rs to !
free silver question the leading. nara
mount issue; or join heartily with all
those who do make that the paramount
issue Mr.. Donnelly's sPolyglot-conventio
IDEA is good If we can do no better If
we get substantial unity we NAV. per-
haps do without uniformity. But If q
new movement should start which prom
ises the disintegration Of the old parties
or either of them, l am for hastenine r.
its assistance without standing unon tho
order of my going.
Brethren discard your prejudices and
come up to the help of the Lord against
the mighty
80 Join or die"
THOS. c.. HODGSON