Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-08-18
SOME POLITICAL SUGGESTIONS.
lBy G. c. Clemens, in Topeka Advocate

purpOSe tueI we mlRuI our BWOl-
Ter. -Bigelow Papers.
La these days, when some of the of.
fetal leaders of our party seem dispos-
ed to regard as hereto or traitor any
old POpulist who dares to act as if his
party still existed and claimed his alle-
glance, it may be exceedingly lndiscreet
for Populist in office to publicly plead
for the life of the organization institut-
ed with such enthusiasm and so much
hope only five short years ago. But l
have done several or more indiscreet
things in my time which have seemed
in retrospect highly prudent and politi-
cally wise; and, it may be, that what
am now to do may look that way, with
in year, to even our eminently ''prac-
teal" politicians. AT any rate, things
are altogether too quiet to suit me, and
L am going TO tread on the tail of some
gentleman's coat and liven things up a
little. l know it IS rank heresy to say
so, but there is absolutely no authority
for this constant assumption that there
is at present any such army in the field
as the much talked OF ALLIED Silver
Forces" That is the first proposition
concerning which l wish to invite dis
turbance.
Last year, when the Populist conven-
ton met at ST. LOUIS, peculiar and
embarrassing state OF affairs existed.
Our scheming national committee car
ried out the program l combatted in
January, and called our convention for
a late day, in order to let the democrats
refuse to indovSe free silver and so send
us large and interesting crowd of boil
tiers with whom to hold Il delightful
lOYe feast. The democratic convention
fell down on its end Of the program and
not only endorsed free silver, but nomi-
mated Bryan, and cut up whole lot of
enthusiastic didos which tended to
spoil our love feast and to substitute
for it something very like funeral. A
majority decided there was nothing left
for us to do but become section of the
''allied fOrces,n and, with much mis-
giving, even by those who voted to
to do under the circumstances was
done. But no man in that convention
| dared to suggest that the union was to
be permanent. On the contrary, we
carefully preserved the integrity of our
own party organization and reaffirmed
our platform; and we distinctly pro-
claimed TO the world, and especially to
our own membership, that the reason
for our action was that, in the then ap-
preaching campaign, free silver would
be the dominant issue. The conven-
ton authorized no such assumption as
that, after that campaign was over, the
union of "allied forces would contin-
ue and become permanent. SO who
shall deny me the right today To be a
| Popullst, simply Populist, just as l
used to be before the st. Louis conven-
! ton? At least until another national
convention of my party shall have de-
| clared in favor of continuance of the
| union of the ''allied forces" | am as
free as | ever was to treat all political
| parties but my own as organizations of
| political foes-I am not bound to treat
| them as allies. How. then, shall any
body require me, as P0pulist, to throw
up my hat and yell for democrat as
! the prospective nominee of my party in
1900? Who is Mr.. Bryan? Is he Pop
ullst' Yet we hear of no candidate of
the Popullst party-please heaven-but
I this democrat; and whose in our party
refuses to do homage to this prospective
democratic candidate is looked upon
las heather man and a sinner" Did
anybody ever hear or read of just such
state of things anywhere OH earth be-
fore? y fully organized political party
| puts in its spare time booming as its
| proposed nominee for its highest place
member of another political party!
| History tells no story SO strange as this
| | can prove that | have made several
kinds of firstclass fool of myself in
times past, and doubt not my ability
to be fool often yet; but the climate
| of Alaska will become tropical, and
! gentlemen i'll search of the moth pole
will be able to sail on summer seas, be-
fore the official leaders of my party
shall induce me to make such an eyre
| giously stupid fool of myself as to de.
liberately urge, without any such stress
of circumstances as compelled it last
year, that member of rival political
party shall be my party's nominee fol
president. 1t is A Methodist church
calling Unitarian pastor. If the mex,
national convention should unite with
another party in making a nomination
| shall then think the matter over; but
until then, | refuse to be an ''allieG
forces" | am going to be just plair
Populist, for the present at least. Can
any sane man deny that | am right
Let us talk of Populists as our nomi
nees. What business haye we to talk OF
any but PoDulists? We may see rea
sons for repeating 1895 in 1900; but onl,
a national convention of Populists helt
in 1900 will have any right to say W,
shall do so. 1t is high time this foil,
were stopped. 1t will be stopped be
fore many months, and so thorough,
stopped that some political riders O
our party may go over the horses head
Even if we are always to be "allied' a
election times, our bosses ought a