The San Francisco call., 1896-07-24
DEMOCRATIC BULLD0ZING.

The letter from Joseph Asbury john
son published in THE CALL yesterday
gives forcibIe statement of the position
in which sincere and earnest PopuIists
find themselves at st. Louis. Mr.. John
son, in addition TO being correspondent
of THE CALL is one of the delegates 10 the
Populist convention from this State, and
is one of the foremost leaders of the party
on this coast. A sincere believer in the
principles of his party and a stalwart sup
porter of its organization, he went to ST.
Louis earnestly desirous of bringing about
some form of union of all the silver forces
during the campaign. How he and his
friends have been received there can be
best stated in the following quotations
from his letter:
The only way in which have heard or seen
Populists alluded to in this city is in terms of
absolute contempt and the lowest form of
criminal slander by Organized Populists of
the Senator allen type and silver bulldozers of
every type. 1t is great strain on the
magnanimity of self-respecting Populists to
hold on patiently under contumely and
brazen effrontery grossly thrust upon them
in the newspapers and in all public places.
1 stood for an hour to hear Senator
Allen lay down the law TO Populists and name
the penalties for failure to obey it If we de-
cline to rush at his bidding into the Bryan
camp it is proof that we have seen Mark Han
mas agents or are waiting TO see them. / can
recall no occasion in my life when my soul
was assaulted, my manhood assailed, my con-
victions outraged and my Indignation SO
wrathfully aroused as while listening to
these unmanly, dishonorable and unprovoked
charges fall from the lips of man whom
Populists have felt so proud to honor and who
was put few days since their first choice for
the Presidency. This is not the way that leads
to union.
1t will be seen from this statement that
the tactics of the Democratic tools at ST.
Louis are identical with those pursued by
the bosses toward the gold men at Chi
cago. Tillman and Altgeld are not present
at st. Louis, but the spirit of their domi-
nation rules their followers who are there.
Not single offer OF conciIiation is made.
Every one who differs from the plan of the
bosses is denounced as q bribe-taker, a
boodler, tool of corruption. AS Russell,
Whitney and Hill were howied down by
the mob at Chicago SO it now seems are
the earnest leaders among the Populists
to be bulldozed at st. Louis.
This second display of the enraged spirit
that now controls the Democratic party is
full of instruction for the American peo-
pie. Men who cannot conciliate their
fellow men, or reason calmly upon differ
ences of opinion, or recognize the honesty
of those who hold diverse views, are un-
fitted to be intrusted with the manage
ment OF any government, Finding them
selves in power at Chicago they split their
own party and insulted the ablest leaders
with the coarseness of ignoble natures,
and now in st. Louis, though they must be
aware of the necessity of the Popuiist alli-
ance in order to carry any Western State,
they proceed with an equal insolence and
coarseness TO insult, mock, sIander and
humiliats the ysyy msa Eh0se friendship