The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-03-17
THE QUESTION AT ST. LOUIS

SGaJ6 OF JQ0 E0Opi0 parry
Satui day merits a few words relative
to the ''irrepressible" conflict and the
impending crises.
The Cincinnati conference of 1891,
was the greatest political uprisi' & Of
the common people in this country.
All shades of reform were ther5. 1t
adopted what was substantially the
Ocala platform, and as every refOrmer
knows what that is, it is not necessary
to outline it. A National comm t5ee,
representing this Cincinnati conference
was INSTRUCTED to attend the National
Labor Conference, which had previ-
Oualy been called to meet at ST. Louis
February %, 1892, and if the st, Louis
conference did not call a National
nominating convention the Cincinnati
committee was to do so. At ST. Louis
the Farmers Alliance, which, by its
representation according to its roll Of
membership, vas a practical majority
IN that conference, demanded the sub
treasury and the $50 per capita and
government control of railroads, which
was the Cincinnati O Gala plank. The
Knights OF Labor and others demanded
government ownership and more radi
cal land plank, but did not favor the
sub treasury. The cOmprOmise-and
the history Of all great movements is a
temporary compromise until the end
desired eau be aJtained-was that each
accepted the extrtmas of the other, and
that made the st. Louis platform,
which was adopted at Omaha without
change, because it was the political de
manGs of the Farmers Alliance and
others in the conference. This is the
history of the Omaha platform, and
has a bearing at this time because the
Farmers Alliance, which "a and is a
controlling factor in the Peoples party
organization in a number of strong
States, has, at it's February 1885, Ma
GiOnal session dropped the eub-treasury
plank, the $50 per capita, and placed
itself upon the Cincinnati Ocala planks
of government control Of railroads and
against alien ownership of land. 1t ls
significant, because the greatforce that
made the platform for Omaha, as rep
resenting its political demands, now
changes and rewrites them. Wills the
Peoples party continue to voice the
political demands of this great organ
ization2 We have come to the point
where, instead of looking backward to
the Omaha platform, we must look
forward to st. Louis in July. 1t is a
waste of space to discuss what Mr..
Taubneck is saying, or is accused of
say ing, or to set up the man of straw
that the silver men are to swallow the
Peoples party, or to be swallowed by
It, or to be at cross purposes over that
lDd4fnite syllable ''lsms" which no
body has defined. The real issue Of the
hour presents itself in this recent &C
ton of this great National BODY of the
Farmers Alliance, and a be con
centrated in this question: Will the
Peoples party accept what is substan.
italy the 0 Gala Cincinnati platform as
a common ground of union of all forces
for 1896? No principle is sacrificed.
Death TO monopoly is our war cry, and
govern ment ownership can be attained
more speedily with government con-
troll IN the platform, because IL ensures
the victory to the friends of that meas
ure.
The man Of the hour" with his
pitcbfork at Washington, has both
feet on the Ocala platform, and he
represents many in the old parties, and
it MADE the very substantial ground
from which he pitchforked the Wall
street tools that control both the old
parties, and the Democratic n
gades, the Judas from Kentucky"
and the bfS>tted tyrant" who evolves
his so called American policy in the
DIZZY mRz9 of a duck shoot or in a
bankers yacht floating in a cham
payne breeze to Buzzards Bay. The
writer has attended every conference
and convention, and all the meetings
of the National committee down to and
including the recent Washington con-
ference. Although but an editor of the
paper in the dismal swamp of
Massachusetts, we appeal to brother
in the common cause to so
shape the discussions as to take them
out of personalities regarding men or
movements, No one at Sc. Louis in
July would be heard in a request for a
platform with but a single plank.
will be blanks on finance. trans