The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-06-22

Of further recognition as an office holder
have vanished he returns to the feshpots
OF the Hannaites.
There is today a deeper seated demand
for the original principles upon which Pop
ulism Is founded than at any former time.
The funeral epitaphs inscribed to the move
ment are every one written by men Of the
Penerian stripe whose adaptation OF Pop
ulism has been so perfectly exemplified in
his course.
II the Populist party will put up candi
dates for Office whose faculty for honest
Interpretation of duty to the party as well
as to public constituency appeals to the
masses in excess of their personal selfish
ness, the chances for greater use than
ever are no less than in the past.
II the Peoples Party goes into politics
it must play politics, and the least it can
do is to profit by the tactics adopted by the
more successful organizations in the same
field, and use their patronage not to help
the enemy but at every possible Oppor-
tunity to fortify our own works to insure
successes"
1t is fact that less than 10 months be-
fore Populists elected Mr.. PETER to the
senate he was in his paper-the Kansas
Farmerreviling Populists and calling it's
leaders anarchists" and other terms SO
familiar to the partizan leaders of Kansas
Republicans. He never shed the scales
from his eyes till the sudden shrinking of
his subscription list touched his pocket
nerve and reused him to a realizing sense
of the strength of the Farmers Alliance
in Kansas. He quickly dropped his former
tactics and sprang to the front as heaven
sent messenger to lead in the work of
political reform. The people were so
grateful for assistance from any source that
in their ecstasy of joy over the accession
of this agricultural editor, they forgot
the men who had borne the burden OF the
fight and on whom their Republican enc
mics had poured out their seven Walls of
wrath, and they made the too common mis-
take of elevating the conservative who was
less Objectionable.
There is a great deal of truth and
force in these comments. AS rule,
bold men build up parties, and small,
putty creatures run away with the
spoils. We had case of that kind in
this state, where man who really OPP
posed our reforms at every step, was al
ways on hand to get the nominations.
Fortunately, he did not get the Of
fees; if he had, he would have proved
worse despot than either of the old par
ties has produced. AS soon as he per-
ceived that the Peoples party could not
bring him at once place of profit, he
labored to merge it into the Democracy,
expecting that they would accept him as
their GOd-given leader But when they
got little success, they turned their
backs on him, and he fell into the mud
with a sickening thud
PETER is another of the same breed
of animals-a piece of driftwOOd cast
up on the shores of oblivion by the
waves of political agitation.
We can apply to our present struggle
the words of Julia Ward Howe:
God has sounded forth the trumpet that
shall never call retreat;
He is sitting out the hearts of men be-
fore His judgment seat;
Be swift, my soul, to answer him! Be
jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on"
This is undoubtedly greater contest
than that which accompanied the slav-
cry contest, for here the liberty of all
men, Of all races, is at stake.
The conflict will outlive all of us, and
will be marked at every stage of its ca
reer by the corpses Of those who were
not able to meet the responsibilities
thrust upon them.
The question simply is, Have we
enough honesty and firmness of purpose
to save liberty and civilization from the
selfshness and greed of a part of the
human family?' The answer to this
question will constitute the history of a
great epoch. I. D.