The San Francisco call., 1899-01-02
MR.. T. v. GATORS
RETROGRESSION

To the Editor of The Call: AS one
of T. Y. Gators most faithful support
ers, and as his ready defender for seven
years past. whenever he has been as
sailed by political opponents, though
ever openly and, frankly opposing his
political methods whenever occasion
demanded it, propriety will certainly
permit me to make brief reference to
the letter which appeared over his sig
nature in The Call Of last Thursday.
1 note first this opening sentence:
80 many ** have asked me
whether l intended to take steps to re-
organize the Peoples party" etc. His
signature to the letter, with that SEN
tence in it, was quite superfiuous so far
as the Populists of this State are con-
cerned. 1t may seem ungraciOus to in
innate that Mr.. Gator was not The
whole thing" and yet it is probable
that the Populists themselves will in
due time take steps" to advance their
cause, and that, too, in spite of Mr..
Gators able effort to justify his un-
qualified repudiation of the principles
he formerly held and which they still
cherish as fondly as they did while he
advocated them. Mr.. Gator has appar-
emily forgotten that he took no steps
to organize the Peoples party at Los
Angeles in October, 1891, and also that
he took no part in the first State con-
vention, held in Stockton in June. 1892
The reform forces will again be or
ganized, doubt not, and without his
assistance.
With painful surprise many thou
sands Will read this unwarrantable
statement made by Mr.. Gator: 1T is
apparent that the main support of the
Peoples party came from those who
thought free coinage Of silver at the
ratio of sixteen to one a desirable pol
ICY" No one knows better than Mr..
Gator that during the time while the
Peoples party made its great growth
and commanded the confidence Of the
country the subject of free coinage of
silver was never discussed by the
speakers or the press or the party, and
in his own pamphlet on the money is
sue, one of his best efforts. he himself
ignored the silver question. One of Mr..
Gators worst political blunders. which
hurt him seriously in his own party.
was in setting aside his prior convic-
tiOns on the money question and taking
up silver in joint debate with Colonel
John P Irish. I am 10th to think of
Mr.. Gator as capable of making the
above quoted statement that free silver
was the main support of the Peoples
party. 1t is in no sense true. In the
growing days of the Peoples party,
when men came into it by tens of thou
sands with joy in their hearts. national
ownership of the railroad and telegraph
lines, the abolition Of the so-called ma
tional banking system, Government is
sue of full legal tender paper money
and the land question constituted the
State and national platforms. and the
whole literature of the new party. Sill
ionOrp6 pUpr a Mr. Gator
himself ignored it.
I will not comment rurther on the
astounding incongruities which go to
make up Mr.. Gators attempted iusti-
f1cation for making public a total re-
versal of all his political views. That
he now indorses the national banking
system and the gold standard. finds it
easy to say a good word for the trusts.
and can amuse himself over his recent
fad of free silver-that he can say the
other things in this strange letter to
the public-shows a capacity for change
and a lack of devotion to principle
which l think will not much commend
him to the confidence of the party to
which he has now transferred his al
legiance and may cause him to wait
some time before they give him any
thing he wants" I think Mr.. Gator has
made another political blunder. Policy
has once more got the better Of his
Judgment He has deserted the reform
movement when 1t is such a growing
moral force in our country and
throughout Europe as 1t never was be-
fore in the history of the race
JOSEPH ASBURY JOHNSON.
December 90, 1S9S