Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-11-03
LOUCKS' LETTER.
Why Conscientious, indie.
pendent Voters Cannot
Support Fusion
Ticket.

South Dakota Republican State Con
vention, Mitchell. Gentlemen: l re-
greet that | cannot meet with you and
speak face to face. A peculiar and I'M
usual political situation confronts us In
this state this year. For the past eight
or ten years a large number of free and
independent thinkers have been build
ing up a political party on advanced and
progressive grounds. They have been
Thoroughly earnest and sincere in their
convictions and work. They believed
that il was essential that this work
should be done by a new political party,
free from any entangling alliances with
either the Republican or Democratic
parties. The party had a phenomenal
growth, until July, 1896, when a semi
fusion with the Democratic party was
forced ON us at our national convention.
A great many hoped that that compaign
would either convert the Democratic
party to our principles and policy, or
failing i'm that, would result in a com
plete severance of the unholy alliance.
There was, however, an element in
our party who earnestly and persistently
pointed out that fusion mean confusion,
diffusion and absorption by the Demo
cratic party. That their pretentions of
reform were the merest sham, intended
for us 10 get in on and not 10 be used
afterward. That we were right in this
assumption has been amply proven since
their alleged refo.--ation, for there has
been no reform or attempt at reform in
those states where they have absolute
control through a unique, but perfect
nnlitiaaI cpupsipr machine b- whtch
any desired majority may be registered,
and a campaign is merely INDUCED in as
a matter of custom and TO p~erpetuate
themselves in power.
There has been no attempt TO enact
their professions into law where they
have the votes and power to do so.
This year, in this state, fusion with the
Democratic party has been fully con-
summated. The Peoples party has
been sacrificed to the Democratic Jug
gernaut- Deny it, or disguise it as they
may, time will prove that this statement
is correct. The Peoples party has be-
come the victim of place hunters aud
designing politicians, hungry for the
spoils of office. This leaves the true,
unselfish reformers of the party in a
dilemma. What they wanted was
remedial Legislation. They feel that it
is useless To look TO the Democratic party
for any real reform. Even though they
promised in their platforms, there is
their long unbroken record of failure 10
perform. Given a chance on a free
trade platform they enacted a higher
protective tariff than the famous
Mckinley bill.
Given another chance on a bi-metallic
or free coinage of silver platform, they
gave us the existing gold standard. As
a political party they seem incapable of
progress, or formulating a policy. They
have an unfortunate propensity of trail
ing a decade or two after their oppon-
ents, or borrowing a promising issue
from an aggressive reform party.
However, their only hope and sure
reliance for success has been, and is, in
a rape of the ballot in the south. and the
seduction of unsophisticated reformers
in the north. No true reformer who
realizes truths can affiliate with such a
party. What then are we { do? Many
of the old workers were too much dis
couraged TO make a fight In the
conventions. They saw with amaze
ment that in the election of 1896 that
every n of the farmers and old alliance
men on the state ticket had been de-
feated, knitted by our allies.
They saw with sorrow that the party
had passed under the control of the most
perfect mrchine ever perfected in the
northwest, operated by men who have
never even professed To be Populists.
Talk about the machine which is sup
posed 10 control your convention. The