The record-union., 1897-11-11

should have been; 1T would have pean II
its leaders had not been traitors. Ii
the Peoples party had stood by It's col
ors it would not have made sucn a poor
showing in this Iowa election. But the
Peoples party could not stand alone. II
went over TO the Democrats at st. Lou
is and nominated Bryan for President
and then named a candidate for Vice.
| President of its own This was non
sense, mere childs play 1t killed the
party But some Of its principles still
| live and may some time be put IN fornl
| of law. Such things as are good ana
| true will not dfe; the organization may
| go to pieces: the voters may drlIt INTO
other parties, but whatever was true
and just and for the interest or the peo-
pie and for the advancement ana siosy
| of this nation will live. These thlnSs'
| these. ideas can be found by the tes;
| of time and by that only No harsh
words can kill the Populist party; no
| kind or even generous words can make
! it live Political parties do not get NE
! or death from such sources. Practical
ideas are the life blood of a party.
When the ideas are gone the party is
dead it deserves to be dead. SO, also,
| if a political party transfers its ideas
/ over to another party the result VIII
be death Of the party so transferring
| its ideas. it's life bloom. PROBABLY
therefore. the Populist party has out
| itself to blame if it is now thing OF
! the dead past.
| GROWING MORE SERIOUS.
| Los Angeles Herald: The contents
| of a very remarkable and important
letter written by Hannis Taylor, form
| erly United States Minister to Spain,
| concerning the Cuban rebellion and the
relations of the United States to Spain,
are given in the Associated Pdess dis
patches this morning. Mr.. Taylor de-
clares positively that Spain is deceivlng
the United States in its professions re-
gardiEg autonomy for Cuba, and that
/ in any event the ruling classes in Spain
/ will never permit the Government TO
! carry out a policy that would mean
| triumph for the revolutioniSts He says
/ that Canoyas trifled with the American
| Government as if it had been composed
! of children: and that General Blanco
| has no authority to give the CubanS
autonomy Otherwise he would have
proclaimed it upon his arrival at the
| island. 1t is certain that the Cubans
| will never accept even autonomy. They
are in the struggle to secure independ-
| ence or death, and Spain is not in
| position to suppress the rebellion With
| in any definite period. The situation
grows more and more serious. 1t be-
| gins to look as if the intervention of
| the United States must come; and that,
| we are assured, means war
DRIFTING THE WRONG WAY.
/ Los Angeles Express: About month
| ago five men We're lynched in Ripley
/ County, Ind No arrests have been
made, nor it is probable that any de-
cisive action will be taken, although 1t
/ is understood that some of the men
who took part in the lynching are
known The local Grand Jury adjourn
ed without proceeding against the
| lynchers, and public sentiment has
stood in the way of every attempt on
the part of the State to secure evidence
| and hold to account the participants
| in mob law.
/ The five men who were lynched We're
rural bandits They committed burg
! larry, drove away stock, and, it was al
legged, sometimes tortured their victims
| when the latter would not reveal the
hiding places of their valuables. They
| HdQ llOt COIflIliitted IUuI liOl TIC
crime against women Yet, because
| the law did not punish these men, be-
cause il did not protect the community,
| the people took the mater into their
| own hands.
/ All this proves that it is not the
| crime itself that causes lynching, but
rather the failure of the law to punish
crime. The community demands pro-
law is not enforced. If burglary is to
be punished by lynching, why not petit
larceny? Why have any law at all?
A law that is not enforced is often
| worse than no law at all. The ten
dency is toward disrespect for the law
on The rart of those who violate it, and
| disregard for the low on the part of
those who fail to receive protection
from it. Carried to its logical extreme,
the result is anarchy. We are drifting
| the wrong way.
JOINS THE POPULIST REBELLION.
/ Mountain Democrat 1t is reported
that the Populists of this State have
rebelled against that last manifesto
ton of non-partisan purity-the new
primary election law. They are severe
ly censured by some of the press, most
ly Republican, for employing Thomas
V. Gator to challenge its validity in the
courts. Were it's policy and hardshipS
for men who have something besides
politics to look after, subject to judi
cial animadversion, we should have no
doubt of the result. But unfortunately
the costly legislative craze for compli
Gated tangles of red tape and routine
is deemed conclusive upon all questions
other than that of its constitutionality.
Yet a Legislature that could suppress
and supersede, free, open and watchful
partisan methods, with the clap-trap
and smothering rot Of uniform prima-
ries at the same polling places and at
the same time, is not presumed to know
anything about the Constitution.
The parties that laid the foundations
of the State and framed its first cleo
ton law could not have been handcuffed
together like lot of felons. They
would have made common cause
against any attempt to deprive them of
the self governing safeguards of sep
arate primaries called and conducted
each by and for itself 1t has remained
for these piping times and lot of sham
reformers and latter-day saints to make
a Kangaroo ballot badge of cowardce
and to convert primary elections into a
slavish exercise of machine politics. to
be conducted by engineers with wheels
| in their heads. Against this insulting
dstrust of the people and of their ca
pacity for self government, we join the
Populists and wish them success
Against elaborate devices that make
politics trade and purity false pre-