The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1900-08-31

err. This was reserved for republican
states alone.
Gen. Weaver and Mrs Lease went
south to campaign together. They
were mobbed. Mrs. Lease was treat
ed with such outrageous indignity as
the most abandoned hoodlum of Il
northern city could scarce be COM
PEELED by threats to inflict upon
woman. BY whom? BY southern
democrats, who constitute the "chival-
ny" of the south. She was eXcusably
indignant, and filed the newspapers
with invectives against the southern
democrats. Now observe. Although
the Kansas democrats had no ticket
in the field, they opened headquarters
in the Office block in Topeka and car
ried on regular campaign, billing
out speakers, etc. For what? For
the Weaver ticket and the state ticket
put up by the peoples party There
was "close fusion" between Jones, the
democratic state chairman, and Bried-
enthal, the populist state chairman. On
the quiet, when the populists were not
looking, they worked together. This
is capable of proof if it is wanted, but
we shall see if it is denied. Well,
Weaver and Mrs. Lease, in their re-
turning tour from the south, were due
to visit Topeka. Jones, the democratic
chairman, protested that Mrs. Lease
must not be allowed to speak, because
she would be offensive to the demo-
Gratis and would drive away votes.
Drive votes away from what? From
the peoples party which had, in its
platform, bitterly arraigned the dem
ocratic party with Cleveland at its
head. Jones won. Briedenthal was
determined that Mrs. Lease should not
speak. Her name was left off the
bills to please the democrats de-
nounced by the Omaha platform. Only
the republican party was to be de-
nounced by the populist speakers, UNI
der pain of being slenced, toplease the
democrats. Thousands gathered at
the meeting at the fair grounds. Gen.
Weaver finished his speech. Brieden-
thai and others had been laboring
with Mrs. Lease, but they succeeded
only in making her furious. When
Weaver had finished the chairman was
about to end the meeting, but immedi-
ately there were loud cries for Mrs.
Lease and the cries swelled into a
mighty and irresistible demand which
the chairman did not dare ignore.
Mrs. Lease came forward, an enraged
lioness. a mighty cheer went up and
lasted for some minutes. When she
could be heard she peeled every inch
of cuticle off Briedenthal and Jones
and then gave the democratic party
such a drubbng as it had never had
in Kansas. From that day it was all
over with Mrs. Lease as a regular pop
ulist speaker in Kansas campaigns,
and Briedenthal did all i'll his power
to keep her still. At one time atfida-
Wits were collected to prove that Gen.
Weaver and Mrs. Lease had not been
good; but of course these were not
for publication, but only for private
exhibition to populsts who still in
sisted upon believing in Mrs. Lease.
The populist state chairman carried
his official ostracism to such an extent
that, in 1894, Ed Snow, then state
printer, opened his headquarters and
billed out Mrs. Lease under his own
direction. And he had all the dates
she could fill. The demonstration of
the Crawford and Cherokee county
miners when she spoke at Pittsburg in
1894 was spontaneous and immense.
But Briedenthal would have none of
her. Gov. Waite, of Colorado, spoke
at the city park in Topeka in 1894 and
Mrs. Lease threatened TO be present.
Briedenthal did all in his power to
keep her from speaking, but when IT,
600 people yelled for her, what could
he do? She was finally disposed of by
the insinuation that she had sold out
to the republicans" and even the
amount received was stated--in pri-
vate, of course; libel suits are incon-
venient things sometimes.
When ''the first peoples party gov
eminent on earth" began business in
January, 1898, it soon became apparent
that the democrats had been promised
good places to the exclusion of the
tried and true. And from that time
to this the peoples party has had no
existence. 1t has been
used by its leaders as a mere feeder
for the democratic party. The voters
in its ranks have been deluded by one
cry or another, but the politicians
have schemed and schemed. This year
they have grown bold and have dis
closed the plan they have worked on
from the day the Omaha convention
We have already witnessed
the spectacle of a single convention
held by the populists and the demo-
Gratis, and Mr.. Briednethal schemed to
have the two conventions unite at
Fort Scott. The Sioux Falls conven-
ton was a mere debating society. 1t
passed some resolutions which it |
,alled platform, and then nominated
no populist to carry out what it had
The convention was nothing
more or less than n formal general as
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