The San Francisco call., 1897-09-05
Lack Of a Quorum Rouses
Committeeman to
Anger.
Sohism and soheming Agitating
the Middle f-the-Road
Members.
Thunderbolts Hurled at an Official
and a Possible Policy
Foreshadowed.

For the first time in over two years the
Peoples party county committee iailed
last night to muster a quorum. The 1ult
committee is com posed of 100, and fifteen
ere quorum but only twelve-one
woman and eleven men-reported for duty.
Consequently, no official work was done,
but there was go deal OF gossiping and
cons .derable i'll feeling.
1t appears that he middle of-the-road
members are suspicious that sch me Is
being hatched to use the party machinery
TO advance The political interests OF Jew
aspiring Pcpulists, who, 1t is suspected,
have entered into negotiations with the
BRYAN Democrats herea bouts for personal
advantage. Whether there is any tounda-
ton for this suspicion matters little, only
that had quorum re ported for duty there
would have been music all down the iine
One middle-of-t he-road com mmltteeman
was more outspoken than the others in
condemning the scheme" TO prevent
quorum, but they undoubtedly were In ac-
cord with him. When asked what he
meant by scheme to prevent quorum
the me m Der said:
I'VE are very much divided as to policy.
No doubt a round majority of the com nit
| tee mean to be consistent mlddie-of-the-
road Populi5ts, but We havea lew SILVER
men among us-proiessionai politicians,
might call them-who are schemlng 10
fuse with the Bryanites. In other words,
| they desire to trade the Popuilst vote 10
the Democrats for given share OF the
nominations, and had a quorum been
here tonight the sCneme would.have been
pretty thoroughly ventilated, but their
staying away only postpones H."
How does it happen that at this par"
ticuiar meeting there is no quorumf You
say it has not happened before IN over two
years"
"The plain fact is. our secretary is in
full sympathy with the fusion idea, and
he omitted 10 send out proper notices
of the meeting-except enough 10 make
The mum Der few short of quorum
received no notice, Notwithstanding am
one of the original Populists III San FRAN
CISCO
ssWhat is the need of sending out notices
for stated meetings."
Because the mem bers are forgetful or
Negligent. They have TO be reminded
that meeting will be held, and usually
the secretary intima:es that important
matters will be under discussion. The
meeting Tonight should have been a
larger one, and wontd have been had the
| secretary done his duty, but he nor his
| following wanted a quorum tonight.
why did they not?
| ssWe midGle-of- the-road members pro-
| tested vigorously against appointing a
|
recsnt visit to San Francisco. Bryan Is
not Populis'. We voted for him last
November, to be sure, but We did so under
| an inn lied protest and when we had
voted for MIN we washed our hands OF
i him. The Populist party could as coz
| sistently turn out and shout for Mckinley
| as for Bryan, and the secretary knew that
| il quorum was present some OF Us would
say things which his fnslonists would
| ra her not hear"
What will be the upshot of this
wrangIe?'
Either we will bring the organization
| back 10 it's old lines and stand for its
principles as proclaimed by the Omaha
platform, we will break up the organ
| ization We will not submit 10 De made
| voting machines of to strengthen the
| Democratic party.
1T would be very fine indeed for carta in
| Demo Pops, so called, TO have MS mann
tain our organization until election day.
| and then march up to the polls and vote
us like cattle for their dark-lantern made
ticket, hut before they are much older they
| will find that the middle-of-the. road
| Populists mean business; that We are
not for trade or sale. and that we Will
maintain our princlIles as party or
know the reason WHY. But the Popullst
| party is all right only that we must get
rid of the Brvanites and all other ties
| who are not in full sympathy with the
prin ciples we advocate.
Evil there be IA quorum at the next
stated meeting, think you?"
Il do not know, but whenever there Is a
auorum>a strong effort will be made to
separate the sheen from the goats, and
when say goats | mean the secretary's
following. They are not Populists. They
act as though they were Bryan Democrats
in disguise "
It's curious fact that the delicacy as