The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1897-05-26
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AOOs
to confusion. In such environment It IL not
strange that men like Mr.. Owen sometimes
become impatient and unwisely give en-.
cousagement 20 the specious plans of dis
Major Hotchkiss h no doubt a friend
Of dr. Owen. -hut we are glad to observe
that even A4s.frienuship does not blind
hinaN pesceptti sot the villainoua
folly Of advising the Peoples Party to
break, up and dissolve.
Here are Mr. OWENS exact words, in
his letter to Major Hotchkiss. dated
April Is, 1857: - -
Il wahtsto ses thsse principles triumph.
I want to seaspaNefe slow man advantaged
through their beneflcent ministrations, and
1 want to see these things so badly that
I am willing to surrender a party name.
to strangle partisan prejudice. to do any
and everything that is honorable to secure
them"
How can the party surrender it's name
without ceasing to exist? How can there
be Major Hotchkfss without the name
of Major Hotchkiss? And when Mr..
Owen talks about "strangling party pre-
JUDGE" what does he mean? What Is
that party prejudice?" Clearly it means
that frame of mind which leads Popu-
lists to prefer the Peoples Party to the
Democratic or Republican party.
Mr.. Owen INDUCES in great deal OF
pretty talk" but the nub of it all is
this, -+thatt he thinks the Peoples Party
shouidqab0ntf0n it's name, that is it's or
gaadzatdbn, and its prejudice" that is,
we suppose. it's principles. And for
what2s To go forth in an idiotic attempt
to throw itself into the arms of some
other party; while the fact is that NO
other party. manifests the slightest dis
position to meet it half way in a con-
jugal embrace. The Free Silver Repub-
licans are soon to hold a national con-
vention; and they have declared, in the
call for it, that they are not allied with
any other party, and propose not to be-
And the other great political organiza-
tion-the Democratic party,-is solidly
and exclusively arrayed against the
whole world, as it has been for nearly
one hundred years. At St. Louis last
year, after they had nominated Mr.
Bryan, although they we'll knew they
could not elect him without the help of
the Populists, they refused to leave open
the nomination for the comparatively
unimportant Office of vice president Tor
the Peoples Party to fill; but nominated
a national banker and railroad presi-
dent for the same.
And now Mr.. Owen wants us to go
tagging after these unsympathetic bos-
oms. offering our virgin charms for sale,
either in lawful marriage or disgrace
full concubinage; while the SWANS we
are pursuing shy rocks at us.
It is absurd. 1t is laughable 1t is
criminal. It. is reasonable It means,
despite all the pretty talk,-death to
the Peoples Party and the grand array
Of essential principles embraced in the
Omaha platform.
1t is all due to peculiar sloppiness
and inaccuracy Of intellect, of which
Mr.. Owen has given many evidences in
the past. He runs to platitudes, with
out geographical metes and bounds. He
takes no account Of human nature.
He is like the people described by
Dean Swift, who, to prevent discord,
sawed off the tops of the heads of their
statesmen, and then proceeded to mix
the brains of one with another, until
they were all equalized, and thus peace
reigned in the kingdom. So Mr. Owen,
finding that there are three parties that
cooperated with each other, last fall,
and that may cooperate with each other
in 1900; and that these parties differ
in many essential particulars, proposes
to cut off the top of Democratic head
and the top of a Populist head and the
top of a Free Silver Republican head,
and spoon their brains all into one har-
monious hole,-when they shall cease
to be Populist, Democratic or Free Sill
yer Republican:-"fis flesh or red her
ing"
But the trouble is the patients may
die under the operation. They may ex-
pire on the bosom of a platitude They
may pass away, to slow music, gently
murmuring:- political power Of
corporate monopoly must be sup
pressed"