The Topeka state journal., 1901-03-29
KEEP IT ALIVE.
Populist Leaders Would Keep
Their Party Intact.
State Committee Is Making Can
vass of the Sentiment.
w. Id. STREETS VIEWS.
Ex-Speaker Is Against Fusion
and For Omaha Platform.
j. G. RuppenthaI Wants to Cap
ture Democratic Party.
W. ID. STREETS VIEWS.

ganlzatlOn, and for going II alone IN the
future. This is the tone and spirit dis
played, in way, in the effort that is
being made BY the Populist central
committee on getting the sentiment as
to what shall be done in view of the
anti-fusion law.
The poll is being carried on by the
Farmers Advocate, and Secretary j. H
Curran reports the answers to the re-
quest for opinions piiing in
Il expect there will be several thou
sand letters il they keep on coming AZ
the present rate" said he. There's
more snap and vinegar in the old Pop
party today than there ever was
Last week these questions were pro
pounded to the rank and file:
No. 1. Are you in favor of a straight
Peoples party ticket from this time on
No. 2. Are you in favor of fusion?
No. 3. Are you in favor Of the organi-
zation of new party.s
No. l. Are you in favor or going into
the Democratic party?
No. 5. What do you suggest as an aid
to the perpetuation of Peoples party
principles?
No. s. What is your opinion of the
propriety of making direct legislation
the paramount issue in the next state
campaign
The replies published this week give
the beginning Of an interesting discus
sion These earliest writer's have ce-
cided majority in favor of straight
Peoples party ticket from this time on
ganizing a new party, and the advocacy
of going into the Democratic party is de-
cidedly weak. Those who want to 1oin
the Democrats are the fiTe-eating kind,
and they propose to wade in and cap
ture the Democracy and make it come
around to their beliefs and principles
Every one of the correspondents is in
favor of making direct legislation the
issue of the next campaign
w D. Street, of Oherlin, who was
speaker Of the house in the session Of
1897, leads off the discussion He is for
the straight ticket, against fusion, a
. new party or entering the Democratic
party.
7 am willing to follow the Omaha
platform, and the princi pies therein as
serted, when it leads, as a true soldier
follows the flag in the heat of battle
says Mr. Street. mo compromise or
half loaf business will again satisfy
me.
Put the principles Of the party first;
relegate personal ambition.
But the discouraging feature at this
time is the fact that a large majority OF
the present state senate is favorable to
the trusts and corporations and against
the best interests of the people. Ihey
hold over during the next session OF the
Iegisla ture. in 1893 Even should the
cause OF the people sweep the state two
years hence, pIutocracy in the shape OF
the senate will block the wheels OF
progress and reform, and it will be four
years before the people get any rellef IN
Kansas. During that time the people
will realize that they get what they vote
for to the full extent of what that means
in staying the advancement of their in
terests while greedy corporations will
rest secure fer the time from molesta-
ton
]. c. Ruppenthal. of Russell, an ex-
representative is one of those who pro-
poses to take the Democrats under their
wing. He says:
~ believe the proper step for US of the
Peoples party to take now, Is to dissolve
that organization in Kansas. and go in
mass into the Democratic organization,
capture that party and control it abso-
luteIy. If the Bryan-George Fred Will
lians-A1tgeld kind Of Democrats contIn-
ue to control their party, we should
hello them, and no kind of outside hep
can be so effective as work from the In
side. We as members of the Democrat
ic party can insist upon high principles
anu consistent practice but as members
of another party, we can not reasonably
hopa to control the Democratic party or
sui1e its course Alright. There is now
great danger that the old moss back,
bourbon, aristoeratic, plutocratic, non
progressive, anti-everyt thing. conserva-
tive element may again gain the ascen-
den,y in Democratic councils If they
do, here is nothing for humanity in that
party. SO controlled
Experience has demonstrated that il
takes a long time to form new party
that viii amount to anything except To-
caliy. Local parties are of small conse-
quence nationally. If the Peoples party
had everywhere the organization, coher-
ence and strength that it has in Kansas
and Nebraska, I would favor its contin-
ued existence letting the regeneratcd
Democrats come to US.
yes I favor going into the Demo-
ere &c party N Kansas, and doing our
best to keep that party as radical as
its Chicago and Kansas City platforms,
and to press it forward continually in
the way of direct legislation, and public
oxvn~rshiD-lOcal, state and national If
our efforts in this line failed, and The
party went to its noss-back voInit, ther
we would again have to move on at the
beaest OF the policeman, progress Fcy
Joining and controlling the Democratic
party, we would have a great natioAal
organization, and would carry many
aIoag by force Of habit and name VINO
have not studied the great new issues az
the Populists have and while these
would be an injury were progress very
rapidly and very suddenly made, yet our
sad experience is that people do rnt
nnoH very rapidly in public affairs, and
by the time we were able to enact ad-
varred laws even these slow -pOlNes'
wou'd have caught the spirit Of prog
ress
b. T.. Powers, speaking Of direct Iegis-
latiCn says he was given the impress
sion that only the Republicans are enc
mics to this reform Yet the Democrat
fc legislature of Missouri this year de
feated a like amendment, notwithStand-
ing the Democratic national platform Of
1900 declared for the initiative and refer
endum, wherever practicable Will MI
David Overmyer. who claims this re-
form to be the very essence Of Den: :oc-
racy and that it is practicable every
where in the United States, explain why
it isn't practicable in Missouri? And if It
is practicable there, and if the great
Democratic party, as he claims. is corn
mitied to il, why was the Democratic
g-slature Of Missouri afraid to even
give the people a chance to say whether