Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1901-02-13
WEDNESDAY. FEB. 10, 190-
PAST. PRESENT AND FUTURE.
VICTOR q. LAWSON. EDITOR
j. EMIL NELSON, BUS. MGR.

ist, a truly Independent peoples paper,
of Omaha, has to say of past, present
and future political action. Editor
Vincent is forceful and and logical
writer and his paper represents large
constituency 10 Nebraska and through
out the Nation as we'll. In speaking
of fusion" the Nonconformist says:
A good brother at Youngstown, O,
in renewing his subscription ronndly
denounces fusion and says that since
this paper is largely responsible for
the fusion policy, he cannot put him
self to much trouble to assist in it's
circulation, My brother, you do US
too much credit. No one paper adopt
ed that policy or secured its adoption
The party in it's national convention
did it, both at ST. Louis and Sioux
Falls, and the papers that defied the
conventions and sought to run a "mid-
dle-of-the-road movement, are all
dead or living on republican money
or else they are local papers few in.
number, with a local constituency SUI
ficient to sustain them OF mid road
papers of national circulation, there
are none left. And, more's the pity,
there are mighty few populist papers
of any sort left. We told the party
managers, where this fusion business
would lead to, but they would not
listen. When they refused our advice
we stayed with the crowd. Some of
our friends would have had us stand
out for "principle' and oppose fusion
at any cost. Some papers did and the
''cost' to them was ruin or disgrace.
One "roader" paper was started in
Nebraska last winter. It had no sup
port among the people, but republican
money kept it running till after cleo
ton for the express purpose of Great
ing disturbance in our ranks. On a
cold raw winters day did you ever
see one COW kick, and another returned
the kick, and then another, till ''kick-
ing bee" was in progress? That was
the result of the publ alton of the
paper referred to. After election, no
more republican money could be had,
and the man in whose name it was
run for it always was a republican
sheet, run under false pretenses) gave
away the few names of suckers who
had paid for something the second
time, and the mail list of Is, 900 names
is now destroyed to the melting
pot. Hanna's slush fund paid for
sending them out to "start the stock
to kicking and keep them kicking, u
so as to have them as mad as possible
by election day, when they would stay
at home or out of revenge a most ex
allied ~ motive) vote the republican
ticket. 1t did it's work, and when it
died, neighbor asked the editor what
would become Of the name or fran
chise. He answered.: sit has served
it's purpose and . don't care what be-
comes of it now.' It has served it's
purpose! 1t cost US Nebraska and
turned the state oyer to the thieving
gang from whom we rescued it four
years ago. 1t has worked a dismem-
berment among the reform forces of
this state and the chief "mid-roader''
in Nebraska will hereafter take his
place in the republican party-if they
will permit his poluting presence-or
get little birthstone and start a par
ty of his own. Brother, the plain
truth is the people were willing to
take what they thought was half
loaf. ':You" were not willing, but a
large majority WERE willing and
that being true, the policy adopted was
forced on those OF US who were unwil-
ling.
In speaking of the future Editor
Vincent says: ''For the last four years
there has been but little, if any differ
ence, between the populist and demo-
Gratis of the West in reference to the
main questions of party politics, so
that it really made no difference to
which division Of the great allied ar
my voter belonged, but the time is
coming when it will make vast diff
ference. Tom Patterson as demo-
crat will be just as good a man as
Tom Patterson the populist, but it
must not be forgotten that Dave Hill
is also a democrat, and Tom Patter-
son and Dave Hill are as wide apart
as the poles. Populists may still be
willing to support Patterson, but they
had as soon support the devil as
David Hill. >..s rs .:s =
There can be no union ofreform
forces under the name of democrat for
that name covers up too great q multi
tude Of both sins and sinners. It is
true that q rose by any Il other name
would smell AS sweet, but the name
demo Y hiisa
tory Of perA md o o,1i %
bad thst lthe III
IS "a ,Ine III, III y;