The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-05-05
MR.. sWINsON's REPLY.

' ~
DEAR SIR AND BROTHER:-Replying
to yours of the 22d inst, 1 am glad to
know that you will be with Us as of
old IN our fight for national reform,
since l am convinced there is nothing
being cut for Democracy, as you seem
to apprehend.
[ entirely agree with you in land
he who would not fight for them
straight is not a patriot" But, my
dear brother, can you or any sane man
consider for one moment that you
would be fighting straight for our ma
tloEel principles if you conceded to the
Republicans every office in the State to
get their vote for Populist electors?
You say "Populists ought to be
patri0 s; then why should we care for
office, principles are what we want. s"
Populis-s are patriots, have proven
themselves so in the cruciating test of
1892 and again in 1894, and the man
who claim S to be a PopuIist aud does
not prove himself a patriot again in
1896. falls below the requisite of P0pul
ism. The terms ''priLciple" and patriot
ism are synony NOUS, and go hand in
hand with every true Populist act; and
right here, dear brother, is where the
milk in the nut is found, that mere
talk does not constitute principle or
patriotism; these are only reached
through tc's, aud acts alone; here is
where l want u people to mark the
distinction required to constitute a
POpulist-a patriot. Now since prin
ciples and patriotism are dependent on
acts, it is clear to me. dear brother,
that the POpulist, nor any other party,
cannot secure principles or become
patriots except by action that lead to
these conditions as 5he contrary
brings reverse conditions.
Suppose, for instance, we take your
idoa-gjve the Republicans in North
Carolina every State cmcer, we voting
them into these Offices, for the privilege
of having them vote t. r our presiden
tial electors, and thereby elect eleven
electors who cast the vote of the State
for a POpulist president in 1896; admit
that it either elC C or fails of electing
our president, where would we be as a
party i'll 1892 We would stand before
the world stripped of every vestige of
principle and patriotism, that Of hav
ing sold out ourselves to one, and the
most prominent one, too, of the gold
bug combines, the Republican party,
our entire State governmental local
one, thereby repudiating every word
uttered with reference to principle and
patriotism, leaving US void of all that
we have to recommend US to our enc
mics as an organization and surrender
ing to the enemy the very magnet that
has drawn and held the party together
from it's infancy. We might stand
then protesting to be for principle, and
patriots, but I'll acts would belle
profession, and u representative
the Republican State Ulcers we elected
would, as representative executives of
the Populists of North Carolina-prac-
tice acts as of old, which we have de
ciared time and again were no better
than Democrats. Then we would be
proven by u OWL acts and the o
tinued acts Of our Republican (repre
sentativee) executives in the State
Offices, so long as they remained in
Office, as void of all patriotism and
robbed of every principle. Here is
where your query, as to 'why should
we care for Office, is answered. All par
ties to retain any point Of principle,
must have representatives who act and
work along the line proclaimed as their
principles. The first representative
act is vested in the electors in casting
their ballots for men who are openly
and c~onfessedly admitted practitioners
of those principles, land not against
them), as their party representatives,
if these men who are elected by ballots
of such electors, and az their represen
tatives in Office, till the next regular
election, act and work the reverse Of
the promulgated principles Of their
party, they put their party in the posi-
ton of classifying and repudiating every
veetige of principle, Just what Demo
Gratis and Republicans have done for
twenty years, yet you and others are
for laying this condition on the Popu-
list party in the beginning as a condi
ton of fusion on the electoral ticket.
Brother, let me beg of you and all others
within the grand old State of North
Carolina, please don'tH But be patriots,