The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1896-11-16
TOM WATSON'S LONG LOST LETTER.
Full Text of the Much Talked About Docu-
nent Which Was Suppressed Dur
ing the Campaign.
A Characteristic illumination, Full Of Venom and
Charges Of Trickery Against His Party
Associates.

err man run with the western mail
They likewise said that the best way to
unite nonulists ond den,,-,s.a.1 was to nom
mate n populist 10 RIM with the democrat.
These middle of the rond men said that IT
would be silly to allow our party to be
scpoped off the face of the earth by a mere
political trick. The party had been built
IN under many trials. difficulties and dis
couragemcnts 1t had worked its way on
ward through abuse, ridlcule, lnisrepresen-
tation ard electoral frauds In the South
the democrats had said we were in the pay
OF the republicans IN the West the ro-
publicans had said we we're hired by the
democrats. We had grown steadily In sptr
OF all SANDERS ard raacalitics. and now a.
length we we're masters Of the situation
# seemed a pity to let our enemies snare
up and destroy us. The middle of the rond
men said that ours was the only silver
party. and that all patriots who really
wanted silver coinage. could afford to join
us Four years of fidelity. under the most
trying circumstances had shown that we
could be trusted as charrpioas of silver.
Not nan in our rarity was against it,
on the other hand the middle Of the road
mon said they could not urcouaiti0nally
trust the democrats They had too recently
slaughtered silver They were too fresh
from the lsbauch OF broken pledges. They
We're still reeling from their rqd carousal
Of class legislation Thcy could not be ae-
copied as our political masters. when 80
powerful Il minority. opposed TO silver, sim
remained in their r,uAs "a minority which
remains with Bryan because 1t can better
assasalnate silver from the Inside OF the
democratic party than from without
II was popullst pressure whlch hal
forced democracy 10 quit straddllng ana
get down on the silver side OF the FENCE
To remove the pressure ~ dlspandlns the
peoples party was TO invite the democrats
80 renew their straddins.
These middle OF the-road men said that
they We're willing TO help the democrats
open the mtnis TO SILVER, put the 'nlcago
platform was. after all. nothing nut an
other democratic pledge and that demo
cratic pledges were at dismal discount
In the market
They insisted that the peoples party
ought not to dlghaud untll their principles
had been cnacted into law. Getting them
incorporated into the democratic plat
form WINS not quite equivalent to The force
and blessing of remedial legislation
Between the brond minded populists VINO
were clamorng for unconditional surren-
der to democracy and the middlo OF the
readers who wanted populism TO be true
to It's mission. quite wrangle ensued at
ST. Louis.
You were present at st. Louis. senator,
and you therefore know that after Sen
ator Allen made his public statement that
the Western populists were going to sup
port the democratic ticket, whether 1t
was Endorsed by the populiets or not tho
middle Of the road faction met in caucus
and determined to put forth a straight
pOpulist ticket Twenty ono States were
represented In this caucus It selected
lion s. t. Norton Of Illinois and Hon
Frank Burkitt OF Mississippi as the mid
die OF the road nominees Tor president ana
vice president respectfully Had these
gentlemen bcen nominated by the middle