Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-11-12

Marine ana protectioniSt or the Mck1n-
| ley variety.
''These things must be kept from the
| people, l am told Why SO? Haven't
the voters right to know for whom they
are voting?
Both Kansas and Colorado are popu-
| list states, and yet the populist nominees
are not to receive a single electoral vote
| in either state. The democratic ticket,
| Bryan and Sewall, will receive them all.
| In Kansas the people have been soothed
| by the assurance that the Sewall electors
would vote for Watson, provided Watson
got more votes elsewhere than Sewall
got.
Thus the populists of Kansas and
| Colorado have been disfranchised. Worse
| than that-they have been delivered to a
| fusion where none of their votes count for
the populist ticket. They must vote for
Sewall and thus violate their principles.
I'm North Carolina, where fusion has
been arranged with the republicans on
the state and county tickets, and with
democrats on the national ticket Mr..
Sewall gets majority of the electors.
North Carolina is supposed to be q
populist state, upon that Idea she wa
allowed 95 votes in our national CONVEX q
ton. The fact that in North Carolina
have now conceded majority of the elJs,,
tors to Mr.. Sewall would indicate tcS
our vote in North Carolina has UNI ~ :
gone disastrous shrinkage since our M
tional convention adjourned or that the
national ticket has been used for mer-
| camille purposes.
Senator, reform party has no right
| to exist If it has no valid complaint to
| make. Populists cannot denounce the
| sins of the two old parties and yet go into
| political co-partnership with them The
| moment we make treaty the war must
cease.
| And when we cease our war upon the
| two old parties we have no longer any
| excuse for living. Whenever right COM
promises with wrong, 1t is the right which
suffers.
1.-The democratic managers seem to re-
sent, as strange piece of impertinence,
| the fact that the popuists dared to NOM
mate ticket differing at the rear end
| from theirs.
Coming to them with the 100000 they
| were begging for and piteously needing,
| l can say with perfect assurance of tell
| ing the unqualified truth that my arrival
| on the field of battle has not been well
coined as heartily as Blucher was received
| by Wellington at Waterloo. They want
my reinforcements, but they do not want
me to lead them. They need Blucher's
| troops, but they draw the line at Blu
cher.
/ "That is hardly fair either to Blucher
| or his troops, nor is it the best way to
| defeat Napoleon.
For this attitude upon the part of the
democratic managers, 1 believe that you,
senator, are largely responsible.
You made no effort to have me recog-
| nized. You publicly stated that 1 would
went into the fusion policy over my writ
ten protest, with all the zeal of man
who wanted elect the populist ticket.
Had you demanded Mr.. Sewalls with
drawal from the ticket he would have
been withdrawn. / have letter of yours
committee expected you to make the de-
mand, but you did not make it,
From the perversity of temper with
| which the democratic managers have
| ulists 1t would seem that they prefer Nc
| Kinleyism to anything which might seem
| to be partly populist triumph.
Their subtle purpose is to couple Bry-
| nn's election with the complete destruc-
| ton of the peoples party. They mean to
| elect both Bryan. and Sewall-both or
| neither. They cannot endure the thought
| that the victory shall be shared by popu-
| lism. They are willing to use the popu-
| list nominee as a lever to move populist
| votes-but not as an ally who had any
rights they are bound to respect.
1.-The st. Louis compromise ticket
| should have been insisted upon for two
reasons:
Il. Because Mr.. Bryan cannot be 9TH
erwise elected
"2. Because the triumph of silver can
not be otherwise assured.
"It is hardly necessary for me to say
that heartily indorse the platform upon
which / was nominated. In speech In
editorial, In pamphlets l have discussed
for several years every issue populism
raises and my position upon them all Is
so well known that / need go into no
discussion of populist principles here. i.
1.-The position taken In this letter will
be bitterly assailed. Would that the path
way of duty were always carpeted with
flowers. 1t rarely Is. By making my
self and the great party represent a
mere footmat for democratic politicians
to wipe their feet upon, l could win
much applause from that quarter:
But If l were now lacking In the 10y
atty which was expected of me when
| chosen would greve the men who have
| honored me, trusted me, defended me and
| loved me. =t-
"In this reform movement to which I
| have devoted eight of the best years of
| my life, l have lost much-but my own
| self-respect has not been lost, nor the
respect of these principles I represented
and whose battles have fought.
81 did not seek this nomination nor de-
| sire 1t. Had I asked the presidential
nomination of the peoples party and
gone to st. Louis to claim 1t, no power of
the democratic emissaries could have
kept 1t from me.
1T was out of a heartfelt desire to help
unite all the reform forces. and at the
same time to save my party and its prin-
ciples from utter wreck that l agreed to
accept second place on the compromise
ticket. $780, ...
II stood ready to join hands with Mr..
Bryan and to aid him in harmonizing
populists and silver democrats, and in
uniting south and west, to the end that
we might achieve victory against Nc
Kinley and McKinleyism. Fusion with
Bryan meant no sacrifice of principle;
fusion with Sewall does. i... $50.
mo one regrets more profoundly than
/ do that the democratic managers have
so shaped the campaign that the south
has again been told that she must grovel
in the dust and let an eastern plutocrat
put his foot upon her neck.
Nor does any one regret more than /
do that the democratic managers, in
shaping their fusion deals, have consid-
cred those populists only who were get
ting loaves and fishes They have, lost
sight of the great army of the privates,
whose honest hearts and sincere souls
form the strength of the reinforcements
Mr.. Bryan needs. These populists of the
rank and file have the spirit of crusaders,
and they would die for a principle more
quickly than they would sell 1t. Il, ...,,.
These men will not vote for Sewal1,
nor Sewall electors If Senator Jones
and Senator German really wish to defat