The representative., 1898-05-11
THE COMING STATE CONVENTION.

All eyes are nXed upon the three con-
ventions which are to meet in Mime
apolis on the 18th of June next, and
many hearts are anxious as to the out
come.
The Peoples Party is not responsible
for the fact that all three state conven-
tions are to be held on the same day, and
in the same city. 1t tried to avoid such
a result. 1t felt that it should be left
alone to decide for itself what its cause
should be, instead of being over
whelmed by great crowd of Democrats
ing against those gentlemen personally;
but every tub should stand on it's own
bottom, and these forced marriages are
little better than ravishments.
But the thing is done now and cannot
be undone. If we even changed the date
of our state convention the others would
follow suit
The singular thing is that men who
are possessed of such an everlasting and
passionate love for the Peoples Party
will not join it!
The convention is called for the city
of Minneapolis-the very hot Led of
fusion. We shall be surrounded by a
bowling mob. vigorously crying out that
we all think alike and should cooperate
If we did all think alike then there
would be NO necessity for maintaining
three different parties and three different
conventions, in three different halls.
The name Peoples Party would be
just as good title for the conglomerate
mass as any other. But the Democrats
will never consent to this. They will
not take the medicine unless it has the
old party label blown in the bottle
They know that their party, being the
older and larger, any combination is
likely to result to their advantage. In
nature the attraction of gravitation is
in proportion to the mass. The sun
draws the planets and the planets draw
the meteors
They will not melt into one body with
us because they remember they are part
of great, national party, which will
have a presidential ticket in the field in
1900, which they must support. 1t is all
very pretty to talk about men who
think alike voting together; but they
know very we'll we do not think alike
We are the radical advance guard the
pioneers of thought and progress. We
had to drag them forward in 1896 even
they kicked like steers and skinned our
knuckles, while they hung on to every
stick and stone and root of conservatism
on the way Even yet, nearly one-half
of them cling to the earth with their
Wis tergo, and refuse to go forward
even to the halfway house of free sill
yer. They are like that railroad train
which moved so slowly that they put the
cow-catcher on the rear end of it TO
keep the COWS from running over the
cars.
The Peoples Party was organized in
1891 and 1892 as protest against such
men and methods. Their mission was
to reform the world, and lead mankind
to better things. Speak to the children
of Israel that they go forward" So
spake God to Moses. He did not say to
him: Turn aside from the endless mis-
sion l have given you, and return to
Egypt for some of the f1esh-pots. If
ho6 h =
onions and leeks and garlic Christ would
never have been born of the race. They
preferred mama and liberty to full bel
lies and slavery.
The Democrats want our votes to get
some of the spoils. Plutocracy wants us
to merge because a party is no stronger
than its weakest part. When the flesh
pots comes up the soul goes down.
Hence when the radical element cap
tured our state central committee, the
other day, the daily papers of st. Paul
and Minneapolis all claimed that fusion
had triumphed. Why? Because they
saw that the distinction Of the Peoples
Party was more to be desired than a
dozen fusion victories were to be feared.
Why? Because the Peoples Party
represented grand sentiment, tre-
mendous world-embracing purpose. 1t
had soul in it. But a struggle for a
few places amounted to nothing.
Plutocracy fears Democracy no more
than it fears Republicanism Both are
punky and porous. 1t can stick it's
thumb into them anywhere.
When Populism began to march in
1892 its voice was like the trumpet Of
God; at it's first stride million men
rose up and ratified their swords against
their shields.
But then came the tricksters, the Of
fice-seekers, the skalawags, the Digger
Indians, the rm-eaters, the devourers
of grub. and they turned the temple of
liberty into a junk shop.
And now, after they have practically
ruined our great organization all over
the North, they have called all three
conventions in this state on the same
day, and if they can have their way we
shall also lie tumbled into the abyss.
The party which was started tn re-
deem the world will become a party of a
Joint-stOck corporation, to steal the neo-