The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-03-08
A GREAT ARTICLE

We find in the missouri World" OF
recent date the following editorial, which
deserves to be carefully read by every
Populist in the United States:
Senator Stewart has sold the Silver
Knight to a syndicate of democrats So
he announced few weeks ago. the pos
session to be transferred later on and the
name OF the paper to be changed This
fact was announced at the time but men
ton it again in order to call attention Of
populists to what this sale means. Sena-
tor Stewart is really the head and brains
of the movement which was started four
years ago to turn the peoples party over
to democracy. When he speaks, we be-
lieve he speaks not only Tor himself but
for most all of those who were assembled
with him in the Washington conference
OF certain populists held in January, 1906,
in which it was decided to trim the pop
ulist PLATFORM. and bring the peoples
party by easy steps from the Omaha plat
form to the money question alone from
the money question to the silver question
and from silver to the democratic party
Bear in mind that the head OF this con-
Spiracy has sold his paper to a syndicate
OF democrats, that he speaks a good
word for the future of the paper and an
nounces that while he will no longer
edit it he will contribute to its columns
The question naturally arises. shall the
populists who are opposed to the demo-
cratic as well as to the republican party
lose any more valuable time in waiting
on the old national committee, maj ority
of which seems to be in line with Stew
art? Shall we sleep to wake up when
Stewart and his associates have again
used the old machinery of the party to
endorse the democratic ticket? Suppose
Stewart and others do propose to fight
the democratic nominee if he is not
silver man, will they not put the reform
movement in most ridiculous situation
if they first nominate Bryan and then go
knocking at the democratic convention
door for an endorsement and there be
greeted with boots and cat-cals and de-
claratiOns OF delegates that the PROPOSE
ton Makes them puke?' Suppose the
Stewartites and Allenites hold what they
term a populist national convention be-
fore the Democratic national convention
as they decided they would do in the So
called agreement adopted by the national
committee at Omaha last July, and at that
convention they nominate Bryan with the
intention OF running him independently if
the democrats do not endorse him. won't
the reform movement IN the space be-
tween the conventions lose half its
strength by this waiting for the action OF
one OF the old monopoly parties Bryan
all the while insisting that he is demo-
crat and probably not even recognizing
the fact that he had been nominated by
the populists? The greenbackers had
little experience of this kind when they
nominated Ben Butler. Butler afterwards
going to the democratic convention to Sc
cure its mountaineering as delegate
we believe, and being received with about
all the dis-respect it was possible for the
convention to offer. The shrewdness OF
the professional politicians, their schemes,
manipulations and flank movements may
do for an old established party whose
members will go with the party wherever
it goes, no matter where, but in re-
form move, everything must be open and
above board, an appeal must be made
direct to the heart OF the voter, and the
victory can come only by straight fight
on merit. We have believed it right to
wait until time should prove to our hon
est fusion friends that success of our prin-
especially can it not come through an
endorsement of an old party candidate
for president, which is not even fusion
but on the contrary is practically declar-
alton that that old party is good enough
and that there is no longer any excuse
for the existence OF the peoples party
We ask the question of every populist
has not the time arrived for the peoples
party to demand of all committeeman in
the party, all who offer to take part in the
party's actions. they declare their allie
glance to the peoples party and their op-
position to both old parties?
We would call the attention OF our
friends to the statement made herein,
which we have heard from other sources,
and which we believe to be true-that in
January, 1906, a few months after the
Populist Party had rolled up nearly
1000, 900 votes, a conference of Demo-
cratic leaders was held in Washington, at
which it was determined to sweep the
Peoples Party into the Democratic