The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-08-12
ORGANIZATION BY CLUBS.
Plan For Conducting the Party Proposed
by Missouri Middle of the Readers.

Plan For Conducting the Party Proposed
by Missouri Middle of the Readers.
The Middle of the Road Populists
now have a scheme whereby divisions
in conventions can be entirely obviated
in the near future and repetitions of the
stirring scenes of several weeks AGO
will be prevented. In other words, they
are about to decide that conventions are
a useless adjunct to the government of
political parties and can be omitted from
the programme altogether.
In the future, if a plan submitted by
a committee appointed for that purpose
is adopted, candidates for political pre-
ferment will be nominated and plat
forms for the guidance of their party
will be adopted by means of the init
ative and referendum. At the last meet
ing of the Middle of the Readers state
committee Sheridan Webster was ap-
pointed chairman of this committee and
given power to select his confreres. The
duty of the committee, as outlined, was
to form a plan for the future govern
ment Of the Populist party in Missouri.
Webster has now finished writing his
report and recently submitted it to G.
j. Anderson, an official Of the state
committee. AS is usual with Webster,
he makes some radical suggestions and
wants the initiative, referendum and
imperative mandate universally adopt
ed. His idea is to form Peoples Party
clubs in every congressional district,
county and township in the state. In
signing his application every member
must agree to be governed by the rules
adopted for the future government of
the party.
Suggestions for the good of the party
can be made by any member in good
standing on the first day Of each month,
and they will be voted on 80 days later,
a majority vote to determine the result,
a return of which shall be made to the
state committee. A proposed change in
rules requires an application to the state
committee Of 10 per cent of the club
members, when it will then be sent to
the congressional district committee.
Ten per cent of the members of the
club can also make an application to re-
move a committeeman O a candidate
from the state ticket. Webster's idea
is to first form a state club. If ten
members from this club reside in one
congressional district, it shall be their
duty to withdraw and form a district
club. The same numerical rule applies
to counties within the district and then
to townships within the county. In
townships, however, only five members
are needed to form the nucleus of a
club. Thus it can be seen that the idea
is to govern the party by means Of
township clubs.
Each club can devise it's own ways
and means for raising funds, but the
members thereof must pay a per capita
tax to the county, congressional, state
and national committees. One cent a
month each is the tax for county, con-
gressional and national committees,
while 2 cents must be paid to the state
committee. In all cases where the aid
of a referendum vote is invoked only
those who have paid their per capita
tax will be permitted to exercise their
franchise.
The idea of the plan, as explained by
Mr.. Anderson, is to do away with all
wire pulling in state conventions, where
INSCRIPTIONS politicians can defy the
will of the people who have elected
them as delegates to the convention
with an implicit confidence in their in
tegrity.-St. Louis Republic.