The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-03-30
POPULISTS ARE READERS,

AnE HEADEhS.
On page one of this issue will be found
an article entitled collective Owner
ship" which is we'll worth to each Of
our readers the price of three months
subscription. Read it and while reading
1t think of it. Such articles have edu-
Gated the Peoples party along all the
various lines of true reform. Any
Democrat or silver Republican who will
read and carefully consider this article
cannot, If he is honest, remain in the
old party. Both the old parties stand
opposed to the whole doctrine of the
collective or public ownership of public
utilities They stand opposed to the
conclusions Of this article and hence to
the entire system of reasoning leading
to such conclusions, and yet silver Demo-
Gratis and Republicans and fusion Popu-
lists will tell you the reform forces all
stand for substantially the same re-
forms They will tell you that men and
parties seeking a common end should CO.
operate and when you discuss this par
ticllar reform with them they will say:
ooh, let us talk about silver, the great
all in all, the overshadowing and para
mount issue, public ownership may be
all right but the public is not yet edu-
Gated up to it."
The facts are that thousands Of Demo-
Gratis and Republicans in 1896 had from
various causes been led to Investigate
the money question, had discovered the
evils Of an approaching gold standard
and had stopped right there in the line
Of reform
They had discovered this one econo-
mic evil and refused to further investi-
gate
Such men could not remair in the old
parties because they were deemed
hereties and were read out of the party.
They were driven from home, they were
for admission to the Peoples party by
political tramps, they could not qualify
By subscribing to the Omaha platform.
They had never studied the questions of
government ownership or direct legisla-
ton. They persistent1y refused to read
books or papers on these questions and
called down all Populis: speakers who
attempted to discuss the1a
All over this nation reformed Demo-
Gratis and silver Republicans are today
refusing to give these questions even a
hearing. They tell abolt silver being
the paramount issue when they have
absolutely no knowledge Of these other
questions.
The Populist has studied these ques-
lions carefully and fully understands
their relative importance to the silver
question. Think of the egotism of a
reform Democrat, silver Republican or
a fusion hybrid, think of their shame
lessness, their brazen effrontery, their
gall in telling we'll informed Populist
that silver is the main, the paramount
issue. Think Of school children telling
an astronomer that the sum- moon and
stars revolve around the earth, think of
an ignoramus telling Columbus that the
earth was flat. In the future as in the
past let Populists continue to be the
nations educators, the nations economic
teachers and when Bryan and other
Democratic and Republican leaders call
us the pioneers let us remember that
in this connection pioneer is but another
name for educator, teacher, political
economist, reader, student and the proud
possessor Of economic intelligence OF
course it would be humiliating for these
kindergartens to admit this but when
fusion succeeds it will be a fusion Of
political intelligence, craftsmanship and
patriotism rather than fusion of half
truths, and economic ignorance. Fusion
must take place on the higher plane Of
political intelligence represented by the
Omaha platform rather than on the
lower plane of political expediency and
party policy. E. A. T.