The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-02-20
rAUBENECK Is OPTIMISTIC.
Discusses the Next Convention, Which He
Saws viii Unite With That of the BIZ


Discusses the Next Convention, Which He
Says viii Unite With That of the BIZ
metAlIic League.
ST., LOUIS, Feb. 20.-H. E. Taube-
neck. chairman of the national execu-
tive committee of the Peoples Party,
has come to St. Louis to remain until the
national conventions of the Populists and
the independent free silverites are held
in the city July %.
Mr.. Taubeneck expects the Populist
convention to attract an enormous crowd
to ST. Louis The convention will be
composed of 1890 delegates, with an
equal number of alternates, according to
the basis of representation liked by the
recent meeting of the national commit
tee in this city. The convention of the
Bimetalic league, which will be In ses-
sion at another hall at the same time, will
be composed of about 2, 500 delegates, so
that when these two bodies com bine In
one convention, as they are confidently
expected to do on the second day, the
biggest strictly political assemblage ever
gathered in this country will be the re-
suit.
i don't now see anything that is liable
to keep US apart" said Mr.. Taubeneck in
discussing this matter with reporter.
According to the present arrangement,
the Peoples Party convention will meet
in the new convention auditorium which
your enterprising citizens are going to
construct, while the Bimetalic League
convention will be assigned to Grand
Music hall. 1 suppose that after the
necessary prelim mary maneuvers have
been executed by both bodies, the Bimet-
aiic leaguers will march over to our hall
and then we will proceed to adopt
platform and nominate a ticket"
What sort OF instrument will your
platform be?" the reporter asked.
81 don't suppose there is a Populist
or bimetalist in the country that does not
understand perfectly what the main fea-
ture of our platform will be-" replied
Mr.. Taubeneck. "UnQuestionably the
money question will be made our chief
issue. as around that revolve all other
issues of vital concern to the American
people. We will declare for the free and
unlimited coinage of gold aud silver at
the ratio of Is to !, and rely confidently
on the growth of that sentiment under
the impetus impaired to it by the efforts
of the two old parties 10 strangle it, to
carry US through and give us complete
control of the federal government
at is useless to discuss the Democratic
party as dangerous to US in the forth
coming campaign, and We realize that
the Republican organization is the one
with which we will have to contest. The
lost all confidence in the Democratic
party and l don't believe that anything
it could do this year would save it. Not
even if it should declare at Chicago for
the restoration of silver to the position it
held in the national monetary system
prior to the wretched crime of 1873
aud it is not at all likely to do this
would it enhance its chances in the
least degree in this campaign. As l be-
fore said, the people have completely
lost confidence in its promises and have
repudiated it.
The solid south is broken beyond the
hope of repair, and the inroads that we
have made in that section are surprising
even to some of the leaders of the Poru-
lists. We will carry Texas. Alabama and
the two Carolinas beyond all question,
and the Democracy is in such hopeless
minority in nearly all the states west of
the Mississippi that it is no longer fac
tor worthy of consideration. The threat
of Senator Tillman to bolt at Chicago
unless the convention commits the party
to the 16 to l principle, is an index OF
the real feeling of the masses in the
south, and is a guarantee that we will
get the electoral vote of South Carolina
almost without a struggle.
sour main strength lies west of the
Mississippi and south of the Potomac
and Ohio rivers, and with the expected
solidifcation of those two sections on the
currency, l do not see how we can lose
the election"