The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-05-11
SEATTLE. FRIDAY, MAY II.
Wind and Words.

with the adjournment of the two
Populist conventions. one wonders why
they should ever have taken the trou-
BILE to assemble: so cheerfuliy did they
carry out the cut and dried pro-
grammes that were arranged for them
months in advance OF their meeting. OF
the two, the Cincinnati gathering of
mid-roaders deserves the more credit
for what It actually accomplished as
well as for It's character and motives.
There was at least the atmosphere OF
earnestness about It, The planks In its
platform are few, simple and direct.
They represent, 1t Is true, chimerlcal
ideas In government and a complete de-
flance OF all the chapters OF political
economy that human experience has
written. But at any rate they stand
for beliefs and not hypocrisy. on this
PLATFORM the delegates nominated
Wharton Barker. the mild mono
maniac. and Ignatius Donnelly, than
whom there IL no more incorrigible or
constituencies demagogue in the coun-
try. But 1t Is into the hands of such
men that well-meaning but ignorant
people inevitably fall when they at
tempt to defy all the teachings Of his
tory ana all the laws that govern In
dustry. trade and finance
Despite this wretched outcome. we
repeat that the Cincinnati convention
and It's works are more respectable
than the assembly Of vulgar horse trad
ers at Sioux Falls. For these people,
while processing the same views, laugh
~ their sleeves at their poor jupes and
run the so-called Peoples parry as
their personal interests direct. Their
convention was neither a deliheratlve
nor representative body. The men
who went there did so with a definite
work cut out for them. Under the
direction of the leaders who set up the
deal. they were to nominate Bryan In
tttufi Abt ~ tttidin dkitfN~uHoH sndit
in the proceeds IL he should chance 20
be elected. They were the mere book
keepers OF the fusion movement. and
their sole interest was In the allot-
ment OF their several interests 10 the
different members OF the political firm
The speeches that were made and the
platform that was adopted declare this
loudly II was very carnival Of wind
and words. II is wonder that IL pro-
occdings did not generate a South pa
kota cyclone. SO pufred with gas, 50
stuffed with verbiage are they, so mad
impulse Of passion torn to tatters Read
all these addresses through. IL one has
heart for such task. and the striking
feature ~ the total absence Of single
note OF sincerity. These men talked
against time; they assumed an ardor
that they did not feel; they substituted
violence for earnestness and used end
less repetition with a notion that it
could create force The whole imprcs.
Zion Is one Of enfeetation. forced en-
thusiasm. the playing OF part
The same thing appears In fuller evil
deuce in their platform. Those who
greatly believe and sincerely care do
not switch a drasnet through the uni
verse to catch the tenets Of their faith.
The Sioux Fails platform is simply In
terminahle. Instead Of the few plthy.
powerful, intense declarations of poll
Icy that devotion 10 a cause finds Its
only medium OF at expression. there
are reams Of weary bombast. Nothing
escaped these people that might posi-
bly, attract vote. They sympathlze
equally with the struggling Boer and
with the murderer and dynamiter Of
the Occur d'Alenes, forgetting the eff
feet Of the juxtaposition. The plat
form was simply the general soup ket-
tie. and any man who thought he had
y good thing could cast it in. Maybe