The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1896-09-26
ARP on POLITICS.
BRYAN Must Be Elected or He VIII
Quit Talking.
s-.b Calls Him Uncle Yet = Wrighps
Platform Disseeted by the sage OF
Bartow-wouid Make Good
Governor himself.

How funny and fantastic is politics.
Only few years ago the alliance was IN
full blast and had its star chamber with
It's signs and grips and passwords ana
no lawyer or doctor or preacher heed
snplY. Il rolled into Office few lead
ers and sehemers and then went into a
state of innoeuous desuetude, as Mr..
Cleveland would say. But it didn't
stay dead. In its dying agonies ii gave
birth TO a child that had more sense
than It's daddy and they named IT pop
ulist or the peoples party and invited
Us all in. The star chamber was abei-
ished. The goat was dehorned and
turned out to grass The big warehouse
scheme was abandoned. The railroads
and telegraphs were allowed to run on
awhile longer on their own hook, but
they heldon to the free silver plank with
a stubbornness that was born OF des-
peration. By and by the southern
democrats and western democrats be-
gan TO cry out for free silver and they
cried 50 loud and SO strong that they
carried Chicago by storm and took the
fort like a cyclone had struck it. Then
came the populists at St. Louis and with
great good sense and liberality said
what is the difference between US; let
Us be brethren. You have stolen our
platform, but we can all stand on 1t.
You take the head and we will take the
tail. and together we will bury these
goldbugs so deep the hand of resurree-
tion will never reach them. But the
democrats had already attached tail of
their own and now the head has twotails
that are wagged by different parties and
it's very annoying. for there is no law
or constitution that allows but one.
And there is the republican party, and
before long there will be a goldbug
democratic party, and SO il this tail
question is not settled the populists will
put up an electoral ticket of their own
with Bryan and Watson electors, and it
will take four electoral tickets to settle
the great question of the next president
and the vice president. That means
Mckinley and Hobart, it seems to me.
for the republicans always stick to their
party. But | reckon the general man
ayers know more about that than do,
and will arrange about the tails hope
so, for if Bryan is not elected ] shall do
like Evan Howell said: II will take to
the woods" or | will do like Iago said:
81 will never speak word MORE" that is
to say political word. When the late
war began | heard a preacher say in the
pulpit that il the Lord suffered the
Yankees to defeat us he would never
again believe in a special Providence. |
don't say that, but | have supersti-
tious faith in Mr. Bryan's election, and
lieye he was raised up to purify and re-
form national politics.
But | was Eliminating about these
populists in our state affairs. 1t hasn't
been so long since Tom Watson sold his
law books and burnt the bridge behind
him because his party said that lawyers
were not fifteen to hold Office or go to
Heaven and were not fifteen to get fitten.
But now Tom has picked up Seab
Wright, a lawyer in full practice, and is
grooming him for the governors chair
Besides that, Seab has the misfortune of
being rich, which was another unpar-
donable sin. But now Seab didn't have
to sell his law books like an idiot, nor
take his wife's money out of national
bank. The fun of the whole business is
that the populists took democrat for
| president and now have conscriptcd
| democrat for. ,rovarpor Caoh lVc;,b4
never joined them until after he was
nominatedi in fact, I dop't know
whether he has joined them yet or not,
nor how long he will work in the
harness. For several years he hasn't
been considered a subdued working
democrat. lie wasn't well broke and
had TO be watched, for sometimes he
bucked like bronco. But this is in his
favor, for | never admired democrat
who would go it blind and never kick at
the pop of the party whip. Statehouse
rings and courthouse rings have some
times to be broken up, and it takes
man of nerve to do it. But it is funny to
see the populists hunting around in the
| bushes for a standard-bearer. And
they found good one. / like Seab-
everybody does. He was raised in my
| town and went to school with my bows
and wanted to marry into my family
| connection and call me uncle, and Seab
says everybody was willing but the
| girl, and she made a mistake and said
no when she meant yes, but he didn't
! know it at the time and he lost her.
But he called me Uncle Bill the other
day to show his affection. He doesn't
want this mentioned at all, for such
things sometimes interfere with domes-
tic felicity.
Seah is smart, bright, handsome.
eloquent, another boy orator who will
make the welcome ring" as a popu-
| list said in the convention. They
wanted him bad or they wouldent have
let him bring his plank in with him.
Seab carries that prohibition plank
under his arm and when he stops TO
rest he lays it down and stands on il.
1t is good plank, but parties are
afraid of it. An anti-prohibtion lead
er in our town says it's all right, for
they have dispensary in every town
where Teller can get purer whisky at
/ a lower price. There is another plank
! about the state providing free school
books. That is the best vote-catcher in
the platform, for, as Sam Jones saws.
| paternalism is run mad and nj
| most every poor man in the land