The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-05-03
P0PULISM IN KANSAS.
Committee to Decide on the Policy
of Fusion

| TOPEKA, Kan, May Am unusual po-
| iltical meeting is to be held here May s.
! being called by the leaders of the Populist
| party in this State to determine the future
| OF the party. The result of the recent cleo
| tlon showed so great a falling off that
| even with the vote of the Democracy add
| ed the party was yet in the minority and
| TINS tact has so encouraged the Democrats
| mat they have been particularly aggres-
| sive They have boldly claimed that as
| the PEOPLES Party is evidently dead as a
| national organization, and that as it's
| state Influence is weakened to a degree
that II cannot hope to acquire again it's
old-tirne prestige, the only logical thing
Tor the members to do is to join the Dem
ocratic party, which, they assert. is prac-
tlcally advocating everything that the
| Populists want.
To ascertain the feeling in their own
| ranks, the Populists have recently ad-
dressed thousands of letters to individuals
scattered over the State. hundred or
two have been published in the party pa
pers, and the State Committee, in calling
this convention to pass on the future
of the party, issues this statement as to
the whole:
Ninety-three per cent of the letters re-
ceived in the committees office in answer
TO the queries propounded by the State
Central Committee are in favor of putting
straight Peoples Party ticket in the
held next year. The other per cent are
in favor of all Kansas Populists going
| into the Democratic primaries and taking
possession OF the machinery of that party.
About one-half of the writers say they
would favor the formation of a new party
in the State, provided all the reform eIe-
ments could be united under its banner;
otherwise not
'All of the writer's, with two exceptions,
are in favor of direct legislation, and So
per cent of them favor making it the
paramount issue in the next State cam
paign, by emphasizing it as the only way
to get public ownership of public utilities,
to stop the corruption of legislative bod
les, and to secure genuine rule by the peo-
pie. Ten per cent think it should be an
issue, but not the paramount one. Eighty
per cent think 1t should be an issue, and
possibly the paramount one, but are at
present unsettled in their minds as to the
latter point
The proportion of those advocating a
straight ticket is not surprising to those
who know the Kansas Populist at home.
In the first place, it is chiefly the middle
trouble to write their views. A large
number of them are former Republicans
and have double reason for opposition to
the name Democrat
In all the elections of the past decade
they have been able to Salve their con-
science at times when fusion was in the
saddle by voting a ballot with the title
Peoples Party" even though alongside
it and with identically the same names
throughout was another ticket headed
Democratic" One of the first acts of the
present Republican administration on
coming into power last January was to
adopt a law making it unlawful for any
once, thus efectually stopping the fusion
plan of double ticket made up of men
from both parties and printed twice under
two headings Hence, it becomes neces-
sary for the Populists to decide what they
will do.
The meeting is practically one to decide
the party's fate, for If 1t is decided to go
into the next campaign under the name
Of Democracy, there will be an end to
Populism in name, as there is already in
there will be three parties In the next
campaign, for the Democrats with their
national organization cannot afford TO
vote the Populist ticket and stay off the
ballot. With three tickets. the Republi-
cans would have a clear field and there
would be no hope for victory for the oppo-
sition. Without national organization
and with their own ranks divided on the
question Of party unity, the situation of
the POpulists is embarrassing. The com
mittee intimates that IL will make a prop
osition TO the Democrats to come into a
Populist mass convention next summer.
and it expects to prescribe that they come
in converted or stay away. IT is crisis
point for both parties so far as the flu
ture IN State politics is concerned.