The San Francisco call., 1896-08-12
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
POLITICAL HYBRIDs.

If BRYAN FAILS TO GET THE PoPULIsT VOTE IT
WILL BE DUE TO OUR "LEADERs,"
To the Editor of the San Francisco Cdlt-SIR: !:
The straight Populists of California still stand
ready to enter into an open and honorable
union with free-silver DEM Gratis and all other
silver men to secure the election Of Bryan and
Watson, but they will not work and vote for
the election of Sewall. OF this l am assured
by letters from all parts of the State as well as
by our local Populists who are not candidates
for Office, and by even some of those who are
candidates. The class designate as "straight"
Populists are the men of conviction and con-
science who have made the Populist party pos
sible. They left the old parties from convic-
ton and sense of duty. They have denied
themselves willingly and worked hard to es-
tablish the party, and with no expectation of
Office or other reward than to share the COM
mon and general welfare which will follow the
adoption of the principles they espouse. Few
of them expected to win a National victory in
1896. None OF them anticipated that they
would be called upon to vote tor a Democratic
candidate on a Democratic platform as their
candidate for the Presidency. If the election
were to take place tomorrow these men would
not go to the polls, and think they consti-
tute more than half OF the Peoples party vote.
If this be true, or anywhere near true, it pre-
sages the certain defeat of Mr.. Bryan unless
these men can be brought into liue and be-
come ardent supporters of the ticket nom-
of the Peoples party. Knowing this to be true
beyond q peradventure, and being long a
strenuous advocate of the union of all reform
forces, / have stood and sti II stand for such
conditions as will make such union possible,
as will satisfy straight Populists and lead
them to accept the situation and work with all
their might for the election of Bryan and Wat
son. 1t is for this purpose that write this
letter and use plain speech.
No one is better aware than I am that all
Bryanized Populists, as named them at st.
7 fl., An l. IL
the Populist voters are isstraight' Populists
and credit them with sincerity. But are
they safe counselers? How should they know?
To be Bile to answer these ques tions one must
have fam iliar acquaintance with straight"
Populists. Not since the days of Cromwell and
his invincible 'roudheads" have men put SO
straight" Populists. They follow "leaders'
only when these leaders "keep in the middle
OF the road" Where is Cannon once the idol
OF the party in California? l might add,
Where is Weaver?
If Bryan fails to get the Populist vote 1t will
be due to our "leaders" who want office, and
want it SO much that they are willing to vote
for Sewall as well as Bryan and wipe the
Peoples party out of existence if they can only
''get there" If 1t were not for the oyercon-
tidence of these leaders" in attendance at the
Chicago Democratic convention and their
grand rally at st. Louis to dominate and stam-
pede the Populist convention into the Bryan
and Sewall party, thus misleading Bryan,
Jones and other Democratic leaders as to the
real feeling in the Populist ranks the attitude
of Mr.. Bryan and MIR. Jones and Senator
Stewart and his little Silver convention toward
the Populists would not have been so offensive
TO all seli-respectlng Populists, and they might
even have permitted Senator Stewart to ad-
dress them in behalf of Bryan, but not of
Sewall, for l think that a majority of the
straight Populists were prepared and entirely
willing to accept Mr.. Bryan as their candidate
on their own platform, knowing that he in
turn would accept their platform as the ex-
preston of his personal views
1t was our political hybrids of the Weaver
type, cross between Populists and Silver
Democrats, that played the mischief in the
National Convention of the Peoples party at
St. Louis. These hybrids are the cause of the
present confusion and uncertainty as to the
final and complete union of all the silver
forces on Bryan and Watson for these n.y.
brids-our political mules-encourage silver
Democrats and Republicans in the belief that
the rank and file OF the Populists will vote for
Bryan regardless OF what is said or done by
Chairman Jones and others as to Watson, the
nominee OF the Populist convention. These
blind hybrids are no longer in touch with the
rank and file of the Peoples party. They hear
only from their own kind, the lesser hybrids.
They forget the three-fourths vote for Watsont
with all the concentrated influence OF the
hybrids in favor of Sewsll.
Once more / earnestly counsel ali over
confident and somewhat arrogant silver Demo-
Gratis and Republicans not to rely too much
upon the assurances of the hybrids that there
are only few OF these straight Populists, and
hence 1T is safe to go ahead with the hybrid
programme and ignore their protests and
warnings. AS l have said before, II straight