The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-11-01
THE PASSING OF THE FUSION MOVEMENT.

f " Nv sticnGS III governments,
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THE PASSING OF THE FUSION MOVEMENT
1t was announced i'll our news col
umns :he other day that United States
Senator John T.. JONES. of Nevada,
had declared that the evolution Of 20
:itieai issues had placed him again
N alignment witt, tho Republican
party Several years ago Senator
Jones, with a number of other Republic
cans. quit their party and joined with
Pepniists and Democrats in the "a
nous free-slver fusion movement.
They believed in the general principles
and policies CT the Republican party.
but they believed more for the time
being in free silver. and SO they were
willing to forsake the utilization of a
lifetime and enter into an alliance with
Democrats and populists for the sake
OF doing something for silver Com
promises We're made on all sides and
Mr. William j Bryan. who headed the
movement. conceived the idea OF or
ganiziny all these various factions into
one party upon {; single issue The
Republicans put aside their political
beliefs and the Popu!ists put aside
their beliefs and the Democrats put
aside .heirs and came together as
sort OF political horde.
Free silver was then SO popular that
these various factions got along very
well for a while and so long as free
silver was a live issue. But is soon as
free silver became a dead issue this
political trust began TO GisinteSrate
into its component parts. The Silver
Republicans have for the most part
gone back TO the Republican party and
the Populists have either gone over
bag and baggage to the Democratic
party or retired to themselves. Demo-
Gratis are for the most part where they
were before the fusion movement was
inaugllra1ed, and there is now every
prospect that the next national politi-
cal Battle will be fought between the
old-time Republican party and the
old-timc Democratic party. AT any
rate the fusion movement has run its
course.
Some may say that this result is due
to the fact that the fusion party failed
of success But this Gisintegrati0n
must have come in any event. 1T IS
simply impossible for political factions
whose cardinal principles are radically
different Should live together in ha,-
mony in the same organization for auy
considerable length Of time. II tue
fusion party Of 1886 had succeeded,
there would necessarily have been a
reckoning between the several factions
after Mr.. Bryan was inaugurated, OH
more questions than one. Granting
that the representatives of the factions
would have been in agreement OH the
silver question and on the best means
of putting their theory into practice,
which we doubt, there would still have
been many other political problems to
solve The Free-Silver Republicans
would have demanded that MI. Bryan
pursue 4 Republican policy; the Popu-
lists would have demanded that he
put their principles into practice; the
Democrats would have demanded that
he adhere to the principles and policies
Of Democracy. And so there would
have been three-cornered fight. the
result of which is easy to see.
TIE great lesson TO be learned from
this is that the Democratic party can
not afford to form alliances with other
parties whose principles are not Dem
ocratic. Democracy is as far removed
from Populism on the one hand rs it
is removed from Republicanism on the
other. and it is as impossible success
fully to mix Democrats and Populists
and Republicans III one harmonious
party as IT is to mix Oil and water.
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