The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-08-11
WATSON, SEWALL AND HAIR
MONY.

been q FCpullBG organ 1OE U"O yO0A0s
is not at all pleased with the outlook.
1t begins to see as how Mr.. Sewall will
never be Vice President of the United
States. The News says:
Developments from day to day go
strongly to prove that the Populist
| delegates in ST. Louis who held that it
was better to nominate a straight mid
die of-the. road Populist national ticket
| than to indorse Bryan and nominate a
! Populist Vice Presidential candidate as
his running mate, were right. The
ready withdrawal Of one or the other
Wee, Presidents which optimistic Pop
ulists saw in the near future for the
sake of harmony hasn't come to pass,
and it is now very clear that it never
will.
In Thursdays dispatches came a
signed editorial by Tom Watson, prin-
ted in his own paper, declaring in a
manner To- free from acrimony that
nothing could induce him to withdraw,
and practically insisting that Mr..
Sewall must withdraw or the POpulists
may not support Mr.. Bryan. This
was met in yesterdays Dispatches by
Mr.. SeWall, who, in an interview, also
tinged with acrimony, says that any
body who entertains the idea that he
should withdraw lis not worthy Of an
answer, " and Senator Jones, Chairman
Of the National Democratic Committee,
follows this up with a dispatch to the
Atlanta Constitution in which he says:
Il cannot consider any proposition for
the Withdrawal of Sewall." IL may be
accepted as an accomplished fact that
neither Sc wall nor Watson will with
withdraw, and the campaign must be
fought and the election held with
these two gentlemen candidates for
Vice President, each on a ticket with
Mr.. Bryan.
Tine one ray Of sunshine coming
from any of the national managers is
the statement of Senator jones, coup
led with his refusal to consider any
proposition for Sewall's withdrawal
that 4 will entertain as far as l have
power, and promote to the best of my
ability, any just and fair proposition
for fusion on electoral tickets If
Senator Jones should be met in the
same spirit by the Populist managers
it is barely possible that there will be
an harmonious ard satisfactory out
come; but Senator Jones may be Op
posed by Mr.. Sewall, and, Judging
from the tone Of the Watson editorial,
the Populist managers will not act
along Senator Jones lines with the ap
probation Of Mr.. Watson.
with both candidates in the field,
there seem but two methods of com
promise that will work out good results.
| One of them is to compromise on State
tickets-DemOcrats allowing to POpu
lists the lions share of State nomina-
tions and POpulists accepting straight
Democratic Bryan and S3wall electors.
To this Mr.. Watson and the Populist
Executive Committee are not at ali
likely to agree, for it leaves Watson
altogether out in the cold. He could
receive no benefit from such an ar
rangement.
The other is, and it may be the one
that is in Senator Jones mind, to di
vide electoral tickets between Demo
Gratis and Popuilsts, either upon arbi
trary lines or in proportion to Populist
and Democratic strength in the several
States. This looks fair enough upon its
face, but a little reflection will raise
serious doubts as to its feasibility.
Sewall would probably object to it, for
it would, in the very nature of things,
result other in the defeat of Bryan
and Sewall, both, or in the election of
Bryan to the presidency and Watson
to the vice presidency.
THE following considerations will
show that, logically, one Or the other
of these results must low from fusion
tickets. II, say, fifty Bryan, and Wat
son electors are elected, and it will re-
quire say thirty fvJ or forty Of them
with the Bryan and Sewall electors to
give Mr.. Bryan g maj )rity in the cleo
toral college, which he must have to
be president, the thing that the Wat
son electors ara quite likely to do is to
make certain of Watson's election, for,
their vote being necessary to Bryan's
election, they can force terms with the
Bryan ard Sewall men for Mr.. Wat
son or, if refused, they can defeat Mr..
Bryan.
u.