The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-07-18

OF suDJreasuFIes TO lend money On farm
products and land at 2 per cent or less. the
increase of the national circulating medium
to $50 per capita, laws against trading in
Futures" in agricultural products, the
free and unlimited coinage of silver, laws
against the alien ownership of land, the
resumption by congress of all lands grant
ed to railroads except those used by the
roads, the reduction of the tariff, an in
come tax, the national control of railroads
and telegraPhs or government ownership
of them and the election Of United States
senators by direct vote of the people
The first fruit of these resolutions was
the introduction In congress of the famous
warehouse scheme. Vance of North Caro-
lima introduced it in the senate and Pick
Ter of South Dakota in the house. The
bill provided for the appropriation of $780,
600, 600 to build warehouses for the stor-
age of cotton, wheat corn, oats and tobac-
co and for the issue of treasury notes to 80
per cent of the value of such products,
bearing interest at per cent
Gaining Strength.
The late Senator Stanford also intro
duced bill for the issue of treasury certif-
Gates based on land 1t was considered re-
markable, coming from a man who had
been identified SO long with the interests
of capital 1t was thought by many to be
a bid for the support of the new party for
California senator one vote in the national
convention Of that party four years ago.
There was a landslide in some of the
agricultural states in the campaign Of
1890. To the amazement of the old parties
the Farmers Alliance elected 9 mem
bers of the United States senate and IA
members Of the house of representatives
These were Senator PETER of Kansas and
Senator Kyle of South Dakota and Repre-
sentatives Moses, Livingstone and Everett
of Georgia, Glover, Otis, Baker, Davis and
Simpson of Kansas, HalVorsen of Mime
sofa, Kyle and Beenan Of Mississippi, Nc
Keighan and KEN of Nebraska and Shell
of South Carolina.
This representation in the national leg
islature gave the Farmers Alliance more
strength and greater influence. 1t was
recognized from that time as q serious fac
tor in the political situation in Kansas and
Nebraska and throughout the south As
matter of fact, it has lost some of its fol
lowing in the west, but it has gained
strength in. the south, and it has obtained
a hold in every state in the Union.
A mere alliance of farmers, though,
promised nothing outside agricultural
communities. So a convention was called
at Cincinnati May 10, 1891, and there the
representatives of all the smaller organize
tions composed Of mechanics and laboFers
got together and united with the alliance
Endorsed the Ocala platform and appoint
ed a national committee with representa-
tives in each state to take up the work of
organizing and preparing for the campaign
for the presidency in 1892.
The first national convention of the Peo-
pies Party for the purpose Of nominating
a candidate for the presidency was held at
Omaha July 2, 1899. 1t had been called
to meet On that day, SO that the candidate
could be named on the 4th of July. There
was much more interest in the action of
the convention than there had been In the
work of any other third party convention
since the telegraph made communication
easy. There was grave fear that the Pop
ulists would name some candidate among
the disaffected members Of the other par
ties, and that the vote its candidate would
receive would throw the election of a pres
ident into the house of representatives.
In fact, Overtures were made to General
Walter @. Gresham, then classed a Repub-
Hcan afterward a member of President
Cleveland's cabinet until his death Gen
eral Gresham was known to feel very bit
ter about the denomination of President
Harrison, who was his personal enemy,
and he had expressed on many occasions
sympathy with some Of the principles of
the PopuIists But General Gresham re-
fused to become the Populist standard
bearer, and so an original Farmers ALI
prominence, General J. B. Weaver of
Iowa, was named. Mr. Weaver received
$50 votes in the convention on the first
ballet to 265 cast for Senator Kyle Of
South Dakota, 1 for Mann Paige of Vir-
ginia 1 for Senator Stanford of California
and l for a Mr.. Norton.
For the vice presidency James G. Field
of Virginia received 1913 votes and Benja-
min S. Terrell of Texas 554. So Weaver
and Field were put in the fight as the rep
Eesentatives of the new party.
In the election Mr. Cleveland received q
popular vote numbering 5,551, lab; Mr.
Harrison's vote was 5,179, 5S1; Mr.. Wea-
ver's was ], OPS, 1877; Mr.. Bidwen, the Pro
hibition candidate, received 271, $50 votes.
Weaver and Field had % votes in the cleo
toral college, not enough to throw the cleo
ton into the house.
In this election Colorado went Populist
by IS, 1926, the Democrats having fused
with the Populists. In Idaho and Kansas
the Democrats did not fuse with the Popu-
lists, but they voted for the Populist elect
ors, giving the Populist ticket 1, 355 ma
jority in Kansas and 1, 691 in Idaho. In
Nevada, against the candidates of both Re
publican and Democratic parties, the Pop
ulist ticket won by 3, $50 votes In Louisi-
ana there were i've Harrison and three
Weaver electors on the ticket, and the
Weaver men ran ahead of their associates,
but the Democrats won
The POpuIist Vote.
New York in this contest gave Weaver
only IS, 429 votes against 1884, 21S for
Harrison and Cleveland. In New Jersey
the Populist vote was only 900; in Yer
mont it was ~ and in Delaware Is. But
in no states in the Union were the Popu-
lists without support, and they had made
a showing which gave them encourage
ment to persist in their work of organiza-
ton and enrolment. The result Of this
work is seen in the result of the elections
in the states and territories given below
which, with the exception of the Iowa and
Virginia elections held in 1898, were held
an 1894.