The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-04-22
THE VOTERS.
How They. Can Best Unite.

IHE VOTERS.
How They Can Best Unite.
Editor Representative:
The voter gets nothing out Of politics
unless he gets favorable legislation; the
politician gets the office. And unless his
vote gives him this favorable legislation he
had as well not vote at all; indeed he had
as well not have vote. A great many vo-
tiers are so discouraged by their failure to
get any legislation that improves the con-
ditfon of their affairs, that very often you
hear Democrats in the South, and guess
Republicans in the West. say. there is no
use voting. it does no good.
But that won't do at all. If you give 1t
up that you can't do anything by voting
either you must submit to the confiscation
of your property and labor and to slavery,
or you must finally fight with arms for
your rights and your freedom. And it
won't do for you to conclude that fighting
for your rights and freedom would be any
easy job. In fight between impoverished
labor and concentrated wealth or capital,
capital has control of the machinery Of
government, the regular army and state
militia to start with, and could quickly
have 100000 volunteers who are now un-
employed or wanting cash job. Arm
these with the modern death-dealing i'm
PIGMENTS OF war, and what could the peO-
pie do with the muskets, and with no am
munltion, no money and with very little
sense as letting themselves get into such
a FIX, shows? All they could do would be
to carry on guerrilla warfare, and in that
case no property and no life and no virtue
would be safe.
No, no; we must vote out, and we can
easily do it in this year of our Lord 1896, IL
we nave the intelligence and the will. And
we will quickly have the intelligence and
the will if we lay aside our insane partisan
ship long enough to study politics in the
light OF our own interests. All we have to
do is to vote in our own interests and that
of our families instead of for parties and
politicians who have lied to US for 80 years.
We should make this change to stop their
lying and thus save their souls from fur
ther damnation, if for no other reason.
Our vote is the most valuable thing we
have in the world just at this time. It is
the only thing that will save us from the
impending ruin that will come to us un-
der present conditions, and that would
come to us under armed revolution. We
can do more for ourselves, our families
anG our posterity with our votes in Novem-
Der than we could in lifetime of other
work under present conditions and if it
were necessary it would pay us well to
put in the whole summer in getting ready
to vote in the interests of the people in the
rail-. work as hard as we may, and econ
omize as close as we may, under present
conditions, we can make no money, accu-
debts and save the property we have. And
the longer these conditions continue the
more difficult 1t will be for us to do any
thing with our vote.
The trouble is not with the government
as framed by our ancestors. They gave us
a good government, also the vote to con-
troll it. Where they fell short was in not
giving us sense enough to know how to
vote In our own interests. We have let
the party. the politician, the editor and the
parson run away with what little political
sense we did have. And unless we can re-
gain and exercise modicum this fall we
had as we'll give up the ghost. and leave
word to our posterity that we did not have
sense enough to do anything for them.
On our tombs 1t will be marked Died from
not having sense enough to drive q very
sorry team of politicians so as to avoid
the precipice.
In '76 we elected Tilden but he was coun-.
ted out. Since that time we have been
swapping horses regularly every four.
years; and we have made nothing. The
politicians got the Offices; the people got
nothing. Our condition has steadily grown
worse all these years. If the voters mem
DRY is SO short that he does not remember
that, the fact that We have continued to
swap horses is all the proof he needs If
either old party had given us favorable
legislation, which would have shown it.
self In an Improvement in our affairs we
WOULD have continued that party in power.
The old parties have done us no good,
and much harm, as the condition of our at
fairs show. 1t has not made any difference
which party was in power, legislative con-
ditions have remained the same, and we
have gone on down hill all the same This
fact is easily explained The essence and
effectiveness of party is its convention in
nominations, and the caucus in legisla
lions at Washington. The gold bugs and
other monopolists and the northeast, have
hnf he Y~fx tnoe ovr1
caucuses. You Couldn't expect any differ
ence in the old parties, and you can't ex-
pect the old parties to be different next
year from what they have been for 30
years if the same classes and sections con-
trolls their convention and caucus.
1t won't do for you to say, I'll vote here
after for the man and not the party. That
is the way the old party politicians have
been fooling you for rs years. You can't
vote for man without voting for his par
ty, if he abides by hi: parry convention and
caucus. The party is precisely the thing
you Go vote for; for man is simply peg
which is named by the party.
A candidate for congress gets up before
you and makes.a Magnificent silver speech
indeed he is a regular honey-lilly, just to
your taste as a man; but as a congress-
man dominated by gold bug caucus you
will find he is rank "pizen." He may be all
right as man, but as party man he is
all wrong And you are not any better off
man are hell Of a lot Of silver men, If you
vote for gold men in the national election,
and for gold in congress, because your par
ty convention and caucus so direct. The
Lord deliver us from all such silver men.
You and your man may be all right as men,
but as a voter and legislator you stand in
the way Of other men who would be some
thing for the people. If you elect a gold
bug President you make 1t necessary for
two-third vote in congress to do any,
thing for silver, and your august man is
in the opposition, if dominated by the
gold bug caucus, no matter how strong q
silver man he may be.
1t ought to be plain to a blind man that
the voters only chance to do anything for
silver and the people is to vote independent
of his party convention If it dominates g.
gold bug, and to vote only for such con-
gressmen as declare themselves indepen-
dent of the caucus, if that caucus declares
for gold and monopoly. The politician
knows all about the convention and eau
Gus, and he knows that he can do nothing
for silver if he acts in good faith in a gold
bug party. II he secures his election by
making the voter believe he will do some
thing for silver when he has many reas-
ons to believe he will not, the politician is
dishonest and the voter is not wise.
Twenty-Five years experience ought to
convince the voter that the old parties are
gold bug parties and that they will do
nothing for the people.
Silver Democrats and Republicans
honestly favor silver. but they can