Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-07
Bar. d pm Pre-. Cw'th'r
Stations.
PASSING OF THE FARMERS ALL
ANCE

The announcement that the, Farmers
Alliance OF Kansas and Nebraska will wind
up their affairs and go out of business at
their annual meeting next month moves
the Springfield (Mass.) Republican. 10 re-
count the history of this somewhat re-
n:arkable organization and to make several
important errors in doing so.
"The Farmers Alliance" says the Re-
publican. was the forerunner of the Pop
uIlst party and the Populist party cap
tured the Democratic party, and the Demo-
cratic party under its leadership nearly
captured the presidency and, for all the
wisest know. this party may have a future
OF great Importance to the republic. How
die Il begin? Within two years after the
Republicans. in 1855. had carried Kansas
for Harrison by over $4,000 plurality a
cre- political society, which refused MEM
bershIp TO lawyers bankers and profess
SIGNAL men, spread like wildfre over the
Western plains. 1t was the Farmers Ali
ance and within nine months it surpassed
in political strength all parties in Kansas.
elected several congressman and sent Pef-
fer 10 the United States senate; while in
Nebraska the Alliance state ticket ran sec
ond in the race, defeated the Republican
since the admission of the state into the
Enion, and virtually secured the election
of Boyd, Democrat, at the head of the
government"
The Republican assumes here that the
Alliance was operating in Kansas and Ne
Lraska, when these legislatures and con-
gressmen were elected. in it's original ca
pacity as a farmers society, and that the
ing. This is a gross error, as everybody
fariliar with the movement knows. The
PCpulist or Peoples, party had been
formed and was doing business in both
states under its proper name when the
calamity" victories referred to were won.
But our Springfield contemporary contin-
ues:
1T was a wonderful political phenome,
ron. and. strange TO say, few wise editors
in the East believed for a moment that the
movement with its radical ideas would
have any permanent effect upon national
politics. Yet what came of il? The new
Populst party, which through fusions in
1872. arranged by William C. Whitney,
helred to elect Mr.. Cleveland president;
which chose several United States sena-
tcrs. carried several state governments
and. finally. at Chicago, in June, 1896 made
itself so powerfully felt that the conven-
tior of the oldest party IN the country
virtually adopted its platform. And the
result of that was the extraordinary cam
paign of 1896, when the old party lines
were twisted awry and when over 5000. 900
American voters cast their ballots for
principles which, only six years before.
Werr substantially in the exclusive pos
session of the men and women of the
prairies who marched along Kansas and
Nebraska roads flying the banners and
chanting the songs Of the new born Farm
ers' Alliance
The assumption that the vote cast for
Bryan in November was an exclusively
Populist vote and the outgrowth of the AL
Ianco is wide of the truth. The Farmers
Alliance never declared for free coinage of
silver at the ratio of l6 TO ]. or 1T any
ratio whatever. The Populist party was
never known as free silver party; it was
an antl-national bank party and fiat
paper money party. but not silver party
ans more than IL was a gold party. In
1886 when If discovered that there was a
large and aggressive free silver sentiment
in the Republican and Democratic ranks
il h.dersed free coinage as a matter of
party cxpediency and as step in the di-
re- ton OF absolute nat. II the campaign
had been fought on any other issue than
the financial issue the Populists would
have polled less than half the vote cast
for Iryan.and the Chicago platform. There
are several millions of men in the coun-
try to-day who voted for Bryan that are
not now and never were Popullsts, and
probably never will be.
The Farmers Alliance was quite an or
raniaation in its day. but it was in nc
way related 10 the free silver movemen;
o. responsible for the 100000 votes which
were cast for the regular nominees of the
Democratic party two months ago.