The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-09-13
IHESuRPRISED P0PULlST

,vb,sab,ertbstI ior Bead ana Eas PT".d
N M. Country, whordpppn hts VIE
Teaches him ..e'aon.
1--WE get them" said my Populist
friend as he came bllthely UP the gray
., wax that leads to tbdefrort porch
~ his coy country home.
His wife did not look qp4,
81 tell you" he continued, 1T does me
rs much good. this time, to subscribe
nv mite to the government loan az 1t
did to go to the front myself. thirty
odd years ago" .EN
sim no response from the little woman
rocking on the porch. -
what a glorious war this has BEEN"
and he grew enthusiastic. What ma
ION Ne are. Think OF II l say he fair
=. .hr,eked to the unruffied lady in the
rbair, when Spain was trying to Dor
INV a few millions to patch up her dt-
Undated old navy unblesSam showed
bJS hands down in his pocket, pulled
Hmt Hfiy ml.ions in cold cash, handed
" aver to Mckinley. and said get
rsady.' Mckinney got. Gun factories
rG,ug powder factories going, men and
6oys going here and there, camping,
driIllng, going to the front. Dewey at
NaDf,l, whizz. One-thlrd OF the Span
ish navy at the bottom Of the sea;
samson and Schley At Santiago,
',EnGni The pride OF the Spanish navy
mIt Of holes and burning on the
beach; the boys in Cuba, 5000 Spanish
6rhters surrender to them. Porto Rico
captured without a struggle. It's great.
II makes me feel ike celebrating. More
money wanted; did we have TO go TO
He paused for a reply, which did not
come and then he proceeded
NO, we didn't, not a bit OF IL; We
didn't have to 30 anywhere. The people
lust said: Here II Is, six times over,
II YOU want It. We get our share OF the
bonds; Il makes me feel good" and he
strutted back and forth, seeming TO I'M
tate the walk oCthe proud peacock NOT
lar on, but the woman said nothing.
"BlI; that isn't all. Think OF US COM
rrercIally. What do you think Of max,
ing Europe and other lands fork over
$3.50 100000 In clean cash for the diner
ente due us in the deals of the past
wear? Aren't we somebody, though?"
Then her lips moved. She spoke, her
voice as deep and as solemn as she
could make III her exclusives not lifted;
her features eXpression!ess. BE listen
ed 10 the words: ~,
brought to the verge Of moral, political
and material ruin"
to him.
stunned; then he was angry. HIS arms
few in the air, his jaw moved, and his
whIskers beat the wind, but so enraged
was he that he could not utter WORD.
Finally in despair, he sat down upon
the porch steps and buried his race IN
his hands. 81, -.
little woman, in her softest, meekest
voice. but that - one OF the first
phrases In the national platform OF
YOUR great Popuiist party. That was
The cornerstone on whichdt buifded; It
Was the belief in those conditions that
brought your party into existence:
Think OF Il, what q libel on a great ana
rood people. What are. you going 10
DO with that declaration rof ruin, any
how? Why not frame It,. and send 1t 10
Spaln? / don't know OK any one else
who could get any satisfaction out OF
IL; but in the light OF historic events, u
would be a difficult task TO get even her
TO believe It" -, "
p!aintIvely pleaded my Popuist friend:
"But YOU are still following the tran
onto which that famous declaration LED
you; and that Is what hurts me- sne
3TSwered iurpatIently. "SFhink Of 1t
yourself; think OF 1t. Can a great and
growing nation make Ia complete
change in morals in six years? When
was there more evidence that Divine
Providence was guiding this nation
than at this time? Think OF our war
NJ TlpgvRVAl and Ma
mia. think of Santiagoi think OF
SpaiHs navy practically ruined, ana
but one man OF ours killed In doing IL
Would the hand OF Divine Providence
so protect q nation that was on the
Verge OF moral ruin? Would a wicked
and deprnved people wage such war
for humanity as ours has ,Yaged?
Financial ruin, too. Think OF that.
All those millions OF dollars are. peln6
loaned to the government by the peo-
pie. plain, Woodworking people. sueh a.
you. And you say in your great ha ttd.,iio
al platform that we are on the NetSS
OF ruin. How dare you look truth IN the
face. and follow the footsteps OF the
PARTY which uttered that libel??
material rulnv Yes, the difference
IN our trade VII. nations OF the worid
was more than 5000, 900, OO0lin our favor,
hut. great as II Is, thatitells only
small part Of the story. lt ID no com
parlson with our Internal growth. Eng
lands most reliable statlstician now as US.
serts that we have become the rlcnesI
nation ON the face Of the globe. and ne
furnishes figures to prove, 1t. Yet you
follow bIindiy in the lead OF men VINO 5t,
declared that we.are on the brink, reaoy
TO topple over into all sorts OF ruin.
But that was six years ago; say,
and what makes you always bring that
up?" said my POpulist friend sonle"L l.,t
were new party Their" -,
The mlschIeyous smile began to play
abor:t The lips Of the good wife. as she
said: Very well. your later acts, thet.
out in the barn loft is a banner when
you rugged about In one OF your re- =.
form parades about two years ago. -
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