The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-06-30
Oh, yes, the workers of this country are
freemen.-Rights of Man.

Direct Legislation and the Peoples
Party Organization.
Newark, N. j., June "a, 1897.
To The Southern Mercury,
Dallas, Texas:
Dear Sir:-I am one of the national
committee men of New Jersey in the
Peoples party national committee.
was a delegate at the ST. Louis CONVEX
| tiOn and was a middle-of-the-road man,
voted for Mr.. Burkitt for vice president
| and for Col Norton for president and for
Mr. Campion, of Maine, for the permanent
chairman l make these statements so
| that you can see the standpoint from
which l write.
l was also chairman of the sub-com-
| mittee which drafted the rules and regu-
latiOns under which the national COM
| mittee, the executive committee and the
officers of the Peoples party were chosen
and are working and l wish to call your
attention to two things about those rules.
list. Each member of the national
committee is chosen by the delegates to
the national convention to hold office till
his successor is chosen which any reg
ular Peoples party state convention can
do at any time. If my constituents do
not like the way l fulfill the trust they
have put in me, they can call a conven-
tion and get rid of me at once. But the
people in Texas or in any other state can
not get me off the national committee
nor can any other power get me off the
national committee save only the Popu-
lists in New Jersey.
I'd. The national chairman, secretary,
treasurer and executive committee are
elected to hold office till their successors
are chosen which the national commit
| tee can do at any time. And any three
| members of the national committee can
| send request to the national chairman
! for any action of the national committee
| and he sends it out and the members
| of that committee vote on it and If
! quorum vote, it is the action of the ma
! tiOnal committee. Thus if l want John
Smith as national chairman in place of
| Senator Butler, get two other members
| of the committee to sign request for the
election of John Smith in place of SEN
ator Butler and Senator Butler as nation
al chairman has got to send that out and
( if a quorum vote and a majority vote in
| favor of John Smith, then Mr.. Butler is
no longer chairman but John Smith is
| This can be done at any time. It can be
done about any other matter.
These two things make the machinery
| of the Peoples party the most democrat
| ic-this word is used in the sense Jeffer-
| son used it and does not have the party
meaning possible. l am proud of hav-
| ing had share in getting them passed
and l inclose the Sept. D. L. Record with
these rules in full. Moreover if l UNDER
stand anything of the southern states
| right doctrine, these rules embody that in
the fullest manner possible.
I have read your paper and several
| others and l am sick and tired of this
yapping at the national officers. If you
| do not like your Texas members of the
National Committee, supersede them. If
| you have not got an easy method of call
| ing a state convention and your officers
| won't call such convention for the cleo
ton of new National Committeeman,
| that is your fault. Change and make
more democratic your own state methods
| If you do not like the National officers
or the Executive Committee, get three
| members of the National Committee to
| sign a nomination for others to replace
| them. You can do this and can COM
| pletely reconstitute the National officers
| and Executive Committee. Reserving
oppose the nomination If l see fit, l
will sign any nominations you wish to
make. I would do this that we might test
| the matter in regular and purely demo-
plain and easy method of making a
change. do not go around bowling be-
cause some one else will not do as you
wish. If you are unwilling to submit to
/
(: get out Of it and do not call yourself a
member of 1t.
| Further the Nashville Conference can
not replace the present National Commit
tee OF the p. p nor It's officers. Should
it attempt to, I would say such an at
tempt was un-Democratic-and the P. P.
is now more democratic than the So
called Democratic party-out of accord
with the principles of the P. P. and it
would make me distrust the men who did
it. 1t would be most revolutionary and
unjust proceeding. trust the conference
may be of good in harmonizing differ
ences and inspiring to further work.
write this because l recognize the value
of your services to Direct Legislation and
all other reforms and wish you success
| in such work.
! Very truly yours
ELTWEED POMEROY.