The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1897-05-27
The Official Paper of San Juan County.
THURSDAY, MAY 9th, 1897.
THE POPULIST PARTY'S FUTURE,

Governor HOlcOmD, OF NeDraSha'
and other prominent Populist leaders,
appear to believe that their party will
continue to be an active and potent
political force and that it will have a
wholesome and permanent influence
upon national and state legislation.
This hopeful view of their party's
future is quite natural under the cir
cumstances, assuming that its chief
foundation is the success achieved and
apparent strength developed in the
national campaign of 1896, and posi-
bly,, too, the Populist leaders are fur
Their encouraged by the generally adj
mitted fact that the prejudice of con-
sentative people against the party has
been quite materially diminished by
the absence of any extremely radical
or vicious legislation last winter in the
PopulIst states On the other hand it
is not improbable that the existence OF
theses very conditions, considered so
hopeful, constitutes one of the most
serious dangers which the party has
to confront. In the first place it is
not unlikely to lull the leaders
into a false sense Of security, and
so, in the second place, render it
easy for the leaders of other parties to
appropriate as their own those portions
of the Populist livery most likely to
appeal to the poular imagination, after
the manner of the Democratic party
in the late campaign. The similarity
between the Democracy, as a national
organization, and a leopard does not
extend to the latter's inability to
change its spots. 1t has, in fact, DEM
onstrated such a remarkable aptitude
in that direction that the Populists
have become pretty thoroughly con-
WINGED that the Democrats who pro-
fess to be their greatest friends are
really their greatest enemies. What
ever may be the party's future as
national organization it will doubtless
accomplish some good for the people
through its persistent advocacy Of GER
tain radical measures of "refOrm" (which
is likely to lead in time to some salu-
tary enactments by the dominant par
ties. If political opinion in the United
States were in anything like settled
condition now, predictions as to the
future of the Populist party might be
something more than an agreeable
diversion, but unfortunately such is
not the case. AS matter of fact it is
doubtful if difference of political belief.
especially with respect to questions of
revenue, taxation and finance, have
ever been more pronounced or wide
spread than they are today. The Kan
sas City Star, one of the brightest
papers of the middle west, in a sensi-
BILE discussion of this same question,
says:
cit is generally recognized that de-
velopments may occur in the next few
years which may further strengthen
the Populist party, and that certain
other developments, no less improb-
able, may result in putting the Popu-
list party back into its former ineon-
spicuOus and unimportant position as
an association of impractical reformers,
advocating impossible schemes for the
enrichment of the unfortunate and
shiftless. 1t can be predicted with rea-
sonable safety that an era of active
trade, of rapid industrial growth, of
widespread prosperity, will wipe the
Populist party out of existence as an
important political factor, because It's
fundamental principles rest on the idea
that prosperity is impossible under the
existing financial system. On the
other hand it is by no means certain
that prolongation of complete re-
covery from recent business depression
will appreciably add to the Populist
following, because the most intelligent,
the best educated and the most expert
enced people believe that Populist
regime would make much worse con-
dition of general trade and industry
than anything which has yet been ex-
perienced. Hence, predictions as 10
the future of the Populist party may be
agreeable pastime, but that is about all
they are WORTH