Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-01-15
State Convention.


To the Peoples Party of the State Of
Kansas.
Your committee realizes that ques-
tions have arisen involving the rights
and liberties of the people composing
our party. their power to make their
viii effective through the ordinary
methods and forms of law and that
the election machinery, whose object
should be to aid the people in the ex-,
preston OF q free choice among men
and measures, has been perverted SO
as To Uhwart such expression.
Believing that in all times of doubt
and danger, as well as when questions
involving the rights and interests Of
the people are pending, and having in
view the fundamental principals OF
populism h.demand that they, the
entire party membership, shall have a
voice in deciding party policies and
party expressions, we have decided to
call delegate conference in which
the whole party in the state may be
represented and council together as q
future course.
tremendously united in our devo-
tion, to the principles for which our
party has stood through all its history
as we'll as our attachment to the or
ganization in which we have stood
shoulder to shoulder for d decade;
with no thought of abandoning our
warfare on economic evil nor of low
ering in the slightest degree the stan
dardS of civic righteOuSn eSS we have
set up. yet we cannot ignore the fact
that conditions confront US which rem
der new political methods indispenSa-
bic to success.
Possessing the power to haraSS and
Cypress opposing parties, our republi-
can opponents in the last legislature
used it to enact ballot law which
depriyes those parties and the people
who compose them OF the right to
nominate and vote for such candidates
as commend themselves to their judg
ment and to their cOnScienceS; and at
the same time render the ballot a Jug
Cling puzzle to every voter who is not
a party slave. BY such legislative op-
preston and infamy they evidently
proposed to insure for the republican
party perpetual lease of power, and
they have succeeded in practically dis
franchising nearly one-fourth of the
voters who participated in the last
election since the enactment of that
partisan, unjust and unfair ballot law.
To take measures and decide upon
line Of policy to circumvent these
plots and Vaccinations Of our republi-
can opponents, we have deemed a con-
ference representing the entire mem
berShip OF our party both prudent and
necessary. We must decide whether
we will go into a triangular contest,
thus allowing the common enemy to
devide and conquer us in detail and
rendering success impossible next
year or for years to come, or whether
we will plan to. continue cooperation
with those who have been our allies
during the last two national contests,
in working for the overthrow Of the
republican denomination and the res
toration and preservation OF those
rights and privileges of which that
party has plotted to deprive US.
Various plans have been suggested
by which we can circumVent our ad-
versarieS and the delegate conference
which we have agreed to call will uu-
dUubtedly be able to decide whether
any of them are advisable, and in thai
way we can make our influence mosl
effective for the promotion of those
principles of government to which W,
are devoted. 1t is earnestly requested
and desired that in each county the
conventions to select delegates to the
coming conference be as largely at
tended as possible and that the fulles,
and freest expression as to our future
course be encouraged, to the end thai
the conference may be able to crystal
ize the thought and wishes of our ELI
tire membership.
E. r. RIDGELY, Chairman.
IT CTTI1R n Spcr2tarV