The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-02-11
REPLIES TO MR.. EDGERTPN.
A LETTER BY POPULIST CHAIR
MAN WASHBURN OF MASSA-
CHUSETTS.
POSITION ON The MONEY QUESTION
He Favors Making Greenbacks the Main
Issue and Silver Subordinate Issue.
Wants to Branch Off From the
Democrats

chairman of the executive committee of
the peoples party of Massachusetts,, who
recently issued manifesto calling for the
peoples party to separate the peoples
party from the democrats and suggest
ing a national convention, which anneal
was responded to by Hon. j. A. Edger-
ton, secretary of the national committee
of the peoples party, has made the fol
lowing reply to Mr.. Edgerton's recent
letter:
Boston, Feb. 7.--Hon ]. A. Edger-
ton, Secretary Peoples Party National
Committee, Lincoln, Neb.: My Dear
Sir-I congratulate you upon your very
able letter. 1t is plausible and would do
credit to an adroit lawyer with weak
| case, but you have not made plain why
two parties should force an issue, nor
have you reasoned away the actual dan
gers that threaten the life of our party
and the reform press. l do not favor the
| aba bandonment Of silver or any change in
the platform, and MY appeal must not be
construed to mean that you do not dis
crimina;e between planks. We made
subordinate plank the issue. trusting to
win by aid of alliance. In the order of
the platform scientific money comes first.
We forced the democrats to champion sill
YER, but we stand ready 10 defend it
when necessary.
Il have received hundreds of letters,
coming from nearly every state in the
| Union, representing every faction of the
| party and including nearly every leader,
and the unanimous assent sustains my
appeal. ,@ 49,. !,
being the only one opposed, with. the
| Rocky Mountain News, the only news
paper, so far as reviewed. While L dothot
| ascribe to you the intent. nevertheless
your plea of having an identical Issue
with the democrats would result IN "a
union of the popnlist lamb and the Tam
many tiger but with the former inside
| the latter. While it was possible to
unite during a fighting campaign. is: it
wise to continue The union during an
education campaign?. Your plan would
force us to follow the democrats under
their banner, while we should lead them
under ours. Your plan would humiliate
our brave people, while mine would in
! spire and invigorate them. You favor re-
tanning a subordinate plank as an issue; |
favor the one that is the real issue. You
favor plan that would factionize the
party and divide the west and south; /
favor plan that would unite all factions
and lead to victory. You favor a plan
| that would suppress our main planks:
| favor n plan that would open them to
| discussion when the neople want to talk
about them. You favor a plank that
would add thousands of adherents to an
| other party: | favor one that would add
thousands of adherents to our own. Flu
sion for campaign may be policy. but
permanent fusion on identical issues
| means absorption and disintegration for
our party. Disintegration from the same
| cause killed the ,reenback party. Why
should we invite Il similar fate?
You favor an issue that may be aban-
doned by the democrats through some
form of compromise; favor Il plan that
would not be affected by these changes.
You favor a plan that would enable the
democrats to absorb the peoples party
and pave the way for union of the two
| wings Of democracy, leaving the future Of
reform a forlorn hope / favor advancing
our position rather than to recede from
| it, You favor a Elan that would wreck
and ruin all the reform papers of the
land; favor a plan that would preserve
| and prosper tham. If your questions alb
| sorb the attention Of the people or should
any international agreement be made by
the republicans it would leave the silver
| forces stranded without an issue and give
them an excuse for back>liding. The is
sue | favor would occupy the attention
| of the people for the next four years.
| What is the use of keeping to one issue
when people will discuss others? Our
defense of the yrecnback will add thous-
ands of voters TO our ranks. The radi-
Gals of today are the conservatives of to-
| morrow.
IF we educate the people between cleo
| tions on scientific money, metallic money
will become the conservative measure of
the future and the invisible dollar shall
finally take its turn and be the money of
all nations. The next break may be
towards scientific money. There will be
q conference in Memphis, Tenn, on Feb
ruary D. 1t will be attended by leaders
of the party from every section of the
country. ! believe !ne resolutions adopt
ed at that time will be emphatically in
| favor of such Independent action as to
lead to the endorsement by the national
convention. By this calling. of a separate
conference you have unwisely aided in
the confusion. Yours fraternally.
GEORGE F. WASHBURN."