Lewiston evening teller. (Lewiston, Idaho) 1900-1900, 1900-09-21
popuIism vs.. Democracy.


,;vered by L. A. Osborne OF Georgia, las
.;nnt at mass meeting of the middle-o
,he.road populists. Mr.. Osborne is con
.;d.red by many to be the ablest populis
o,o,or on the coast. He stumped Idah'
s;x wears ago for the popuiist ticket ant
Is now campaigning on the coast for thu
Barker. Donnelly ticket:
po,ulsm stands for collectiveism anC
and co. operation. Democracy stands fol
;rd;vdualism and competition. The
democracy has not, as claimed by som,
,opulists, adopted the principles of the
nopulist party. On the railroads question
The democracy advocates in the Chicago
platform the enlargement of the paths o.
interstate commerce commission as 6
means of control of the railroads. Nc
populist entertains such an idea for &
moment. Populism stands for govern.
ment ownership by the people of the
railroads. as the only salvation to tina,
question: On the money question popu
lsm stands for government currency
issued and controlled by thu general gov.
eminent and based on all the property OF
all of the people. Democracy stands for
special privileges to the gold and silver
miner and for a government currency
based on and redeemable in coin. The
southern democracy stands for the repeal
Of the ten per cent tax on state bank is
sues, wishing to return to the old REGIME
of state banks. The national democracy
included this demand in their platform
of 1892 at Chicago. On the trust ques
ton the populists declare the controversy
between the two old parties as a sham
battle, and that the solution of this
mighty problem can be attained only by
the adoption of the principle of public
ownership of public utilities. Mr.. Bryan
has recently advocated license system
for corporations. That would mean for
the people to charge them small sum
for the right they would legally have of
robbing the people of a very large sum.
No populist can possibly believe in any
such remedy for the trust question. The
truth is the democratic party is simply a
party of negation. They are opposed to
everything and advocate nothing. DEM
ocracy in the west is simply protest
against republicanism. In the east it is
an organized appetite for Office, in the
south it is bourbon democracy-the bur
bonism that never learns or never for
gets, and when the populists of the south
left the democratic party, they left it as
former immigrant left Kansas, after two
years of drcuth and one year of grass
hoppers. He did not tell anyone of his
intended departure, put what he had left
in prairie schooner, started back to In
diaua and tackled this inscription over
the door:
F" Fare thee we'll, o Kansas,
| bid thee long adieu;
| might go to hell some day,
But will never return to you"
On the question of imperialism, the
populists believe the democratic attitude
Oh that question is simply an effort to
evade the discussion Of the great eco
homie problems at home by attracting
the peoples attention to international
questions, because, knowing the demo
cratic party as we do, we say it is impos-
Sole for them to be sincere in their ex-
pressed desire for self-government for the
fiiiplnos. In the Southern States the
democratic party has had undisturbed
possession for thirty years, and in Geor-
ga by tax qualification they have dis
iranchlsed 10000 citizens; in South Car.
oiina by a tax qualification they have
uisranchised two-thirds of the citizens of
mat state; in North Carolina the same
Alhd OF law has just been passed. In
mississippi, by the adoption of new con-
s''ution in 1891, they made an educa-
.onal qualification requiring citizen to
De able to read or interpret any section
vi the constitution to the satisfaction of
the Clerk of the court. All clerks of the
.ouf' al that time were democrats. The
'o'e IN 1894 in the whole state of Missis-
''pp' was only 366, and still they elected
'e'eh congressman. In Louisiana, two
,eafs ago, by constitutional convention,
'Aey adopted property and educational
4ualihcatlon that DISTINGUISHED more than
aah Vi the citizens in that state. In Ala
II" lama lhey have tax qualification as in
georgia In Kentucky, what they failed
., - accomplish by constitutional qualifica-
y. ,O''S they have accomplished through
INC most Infamous election law ever
enactal