The advocate., 1897-09-15
DRAWING THE LINES.

department relating to the creed Of Pop
ulism. It was prepared by Hon. A. G.
Shinn, Of ottawa, a capable and honest
man. The letter is we'll worthy Of care
full reading and study by all Populists,
for it draws the line between what its
author regards as the true and false
doctrines Of their party. We not only
ask careful perusal of the letter, but we
commend its manly tone to those per-
sons who are unable to discuss these
important matters in good temper. Pop
ulists, Of all men, ought to be broad
and liberal in their views and charitable
in their conclusions.
Mr. Shinn writes Like a political sur
veyOr, and the Advocate disputes the
correctness Of his survey. We do not
concur in his judgment as to the loca-
tion of the line.
He starts out by saying "Populism and
Organism are synonymous terms, grow
ing out of the same cause and aiming at
the same object"
Without affirming or denying the
proposition, assuming it to be correct,
we submit that it does not give Bryan
ism" any preference over Populism, for
Mr.. Shinn, himself, in the article we are
reviewing, proceeds to show that the
Populists formulated their creed six
years before Organism" was born. Why,
then, should not Organism" fall in with
the POpulists, seeing that we had been
long in the field when Organism" ap-
peared in a party that, up to that hour,
took sea-sickness at the sight Of a POpu-
list with his wild isms and impracti-
cable vagaries"
Again: After Mr. Shinn has traced
the rise of Popullsm to the seven dec
laratlons of the Farmers Alliance at st.
Louis December, 1889, he says:
"All the essential ideas Of the original
seven ST. Louis resolutions around which
the hosts of reform have gathered being
engrafted in the Chicago Democratic
platform, it is natural for the parties of
reform to form close alliance with that
great organization"
There is the turning point in this con-
troversy. Mr.. Shinn shows that the re-
form ideas for which POpulists contend
were crystallized by the farmers in 1889,
adopted by POpulists in 1892 and still
form their creed; but because and only
because the Democrat party in 1896
adopted "the essential ideas" that Popu-
lists had been fighting for during all
the preceding six years, finding no more
bitter opponents than these same Dem
ocrats-only because they have en-
braced what Mr.. Shinn deslgnates the
essential ideas" Of our creed, we ought
naturally to unite with them rather than
that they should unite with us; and this,
too, without waiting for them to show
works meet for repentance.
But where Mr.. Shinn draws the line
is in next to the last paragraph of his
letter, where he refers to Mr.. PETERS
Des Moines speech We quote:
you see from the above that l regard
that you have wandered far from the
fold, as shown by your Des MOines, Iowa,
speech as set forth in the Advocate of
August rs. The difference in theory of
POpulism as represented by you and of
my conception Of Populism is fundamen-
tai. Your idea Of Populism seems to be
to nationalize all the essentials of exist
ence--land, labor, transportation and
money, while my idea of POpulism is that
we demand a return to just laws or
equal rights to all and special privi-
leges to none SO that as in the early
days of the republic the individual man
may so ON enjoying his, in the language
OF the immortal Declaration Of Independ-