Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1898-02-10
A Plea for Union,
The Movement Of Today on New
Basis,
Coming From the People and Responsible
to No Bosses.

EDITOR JOURNAL To compare the
present movement in favor of Unior
with such fusion as we haye had in
the past is unfair; and it is extremely
illogical to argue that because fusion
in the past has not made for, good
government, that Union now would
necessarily make for bad government,
The fusions we have had heretofore
we're mostly brought about by So
called leaders of the different organi
cations latter the conventions met
and nominated their tickets) without
definite instructions from the people.
In all such fusions the people had no
say: they were not consulted IN the
matter and neither side cared to ar
que upon few candidates and at the
same time tight bitterly oyer ques-
tions of party faith. But the Union
movement of today is founded on en-
tirely different promises. The "lead-
ers" may or may not favor the Union,
but they are powerless to stay or ac-
celerate it. The movement is in the
hands of the people, from whom the
desire for Union is coming. They
know there is and can be nothing
more reasonable and just than
that those who held ideas in common
should work together harmoniously
for the advancement of what they con-
Give 10 be mutual interests and, di-
vested of all exteroneous matter, the
idea of united action is advanced by
every man, who attempts to educate
men into his way of thinking. Dur
ing the years that have passed the
Peoples party has not only educated
the people so far that it has become
within itself powerful political fac
tor, it's educational work has per-
meated theRepublican andDemocratic
party to such an extent that both
are divided upon the main questions
that form the superstructure uf Pop
ulism. These factions from the old
parties agree with the Populists on
the money question, the land ques'
tion, direct legislation aud points of
minor interest. We agree upon the
essential points that embody the sum
total of contemporaneous politics,
as all Populists know. We disagree
upon one non-essenJial, aud that Is
the Dame. According to some, man
is unfit to hold any position Of trust
until he changes his party name,
even though he has been baptized In
the Popullst faith!
1t is urged that the Democrat party
is controlled by a machine. PROB
ably this is true, but we are not pro-
posing to unite with the machine.
We are willing only to unite the
Populist tax payer with the Demo-
crat tax payer and leave the Populist
tax-eater and the Democrat tax eater
at home. AS said before, this is a
movement of the people and the lead
ers have only an individual say IN
the matter. The terms are to be
made by the people and the people are
to write the platform and do the
voting. What more do the people
desire?
When the convention meet the
Peoples party delegates, who have
received instructions from the rank
and file, can say upon what kind OF a
platform and upon what terms a
Union is possible. If those terms are
rejected we will then know that we
have so little in common that har-
monious action is impossible. Ii they
are accepted we can proceed to select
a ticket to be composed of men from
each party, and every man nominated
by either party shall pass muster be-
fore each convention; so that II man
with an unfavorable record is Of
fered by one convention the other
two can reject him. OF what avail,
then, would be the machine? nothing
Undoubtedly the Populists would re-
ject machine mat, even though he
passed the other conventions. And
the out come of this would be a com
mon platform, adopted by each con: