The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-03-09

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able terms, and we will leave it so they
can say that they were in favor of terms
most advantageous to US, not only with
reference to Offices but with reference
to principles; and If we declare in ad-
vance that we will not cooperate with
them under any conditions they will GER
tainly take this position whether they
are honest in it or not. If they do this,
our party will be at a disadvantage from
the beginning Of the fight. We will not
gain a recruit; certainly not from the
Democratic party, for we will have done
the thing that will give the Democratic
leaders who are not sincere a chance
to hide their insincerity and an oppor-
tunity to convince the rank and file of
who are sincere. Besides, we will not
gain recruit from the Republican party
because every man who will leave the
Republican party will do it because he is
determined to see that that party and
its policies are defeated at the next cleo
ton. Every such man believes that the
way to do it is by fair and honorable CO.
operation of all who are against the rule
of the gold syndicate and the allied
trusts and monopolies. Therefore if we
declare that we will not cooperate with
anybody on any terms we serve notice
on the silver Republicans that we do
not want them, or rather they will so
construe 1t, and hence it will force all
Of these people who are each day in
creasing in numbers, to line up with the
Bryan Democrats, thus making the
Democratic party stronger and leaving
us at a standstill If not weakening us,
for under these conditions we might lose
some Populist voters.
You say in your letter that the silver
Republicans will soon be betrayed by
the Bryan Democrats. If you think
the Bryan Democrats in your state are
a number who claim to be Bryan Demo-
Gratis who l believe are not sincere) then
by all means test their sincerity before
the next campaign opens In short
make them fair proposition for an hon
Orable cooperation, not based on office
alone, but covering the great underlying
principles in this fight. Do this, and il
they decline your proposition you will
then expose the insincerity of these lead
ers not only to the silver Republicans but
to the rank and file of their own party
You will put them on the defensive
from the beginning of the fight and
put yourself in a position where you
will not only align the silver Republi-
cans with you but each day draw recruits
from the rank and fie Of the Demo-
cratic party. If the Democratic party is
not honestly with the people in this
fight, if it will not prove it's sincerity
by repudiating it's traitors and straddlers
and marching boldly up and helping us
to fight the allied and combined enemies
of humanity, then it ought to die, and the
quicker it dies the better. But the only
way that the party can be killed. that is:
the only way that the dishonest and in
sincere men in it can be thrust into the
Republican party where they belong, the
honest and sincere men taken into the
Peoples party where we hope to see
file of that party that their leaders are
not sincere. and that the party will
again betray them as it did under Cleve-
land. We are now in a position to put
this test to the party and to accomplish
this and SO much to be desired, and it
would be criminal in us both from a
party standpoint and from a standpoint
of patriotic duty to fail to put their sin
cer1ty to this test at this juncture.
l believe that the rank and file of the
Democratic party and some of their
leaders are as honest and sincere as any
of us. The same l believe is true to
certain extent Of the rank and file of the
Republican party. If this were not true
then there would be no hope to redeem
the government. Then let us so act that
these elements can be brought together
either under our party banner of Jeffer-
sonian Democracy and Lincoln Republi-
canism, or if that cannot be accomplished
at present, by an honorable cooperation
If we have not the sense and patriotism
to take such course then somebody else
must or the fight is lost and the institu-
tions of the republic will go down under
an oligarchy of sordid wealth. There
were more than three million Democrats
in this country who were on the eve of
leaving the Democratic party when the
Democratic National convention con-
vened in 1896. They would have left if
Cleveland had been nominated or any
straddlebug had been nominated. These
millions of voters are the rank and file
They have today no more confidence in
the Democratic leaders who supported
Cleveland and who up to 1896 ridiculed
silver and every other reform the Peo-
pies party was advocating, then they
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