The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-05
THE ALLIED PEOPLES PARTY

a press dispatch declares that a new
political organization called the Allied
Peoples Party was formed at Louisville,
Ky. on Thursday. The statement is only
partly true. The name is an amendment,
but the ideas are the same that have
found expression In platforms ever since
the war for the union. This is particularly
the case with the money plank. Fiat money
has been the heresy of more than one cent
ury. France tried it in earnest more than
a century ago. In this country there has
been a fat money party under some name
since 1872. It has been called the Labor
Reform party, the Greenback party, the
Union Labor party and the National Peo-
pies party. Between presidential elections
the names Farmers Alliance and Populist
have been used. To-day the political ele-
ments which assembled in Louisville this
week are better known as Populists-a
name which is sure to stick to them be-
cause, better than any other word, 'popu-
list" represents an aggregation of political
heresies which have been or are now advo-
Gated.
The effort 10 fuse into one organization
all of the bits of political organization out
side the two leading parties is most com
mendable. In the past we have had no less
than four or FIVE political organizations
which have insisted on having the names of
their candidates printed on the ballots. At
the last presidential election in Indiana the
electors of five little parties were put upon
the ballot, the aggregate vote of which was
about 1880. If all these little parties could
be induced to unite in the Allied Peoples
party the State ballot would be less than
half the present size, costing only half as
much TO print, and curtailing the time ex-
pended in counting and tabulating votes
more than one-half. Indeed. it is within
bounds to say that $4,000 would be saved
to the State in printing. the time of election
officers and other expenses incident to the
printing and returning of votes. With but
three tickets on the ballot it would not be
a blanket causing the voter who has a
purpose in voting much inconvenience
Nine-tenths of the voters will favor the
fusing Of all the odds and ends of ~crankism
SAh " hoS ~
large a majority would favor should be
acceded to by so inconsiderable a minority.
One argument which should appeal TO each
party of a few hundreds is that after cleo
ton each could claim the larger part of the
vote as representing their vote, so that the
1900 or 10000 votes which all of them cast
could be claimed as the vote Of each
/ Facff@1 TIKI. ~-o,Ia - --oo.;.o srr..-s-o
ton of fatism in parties.
AS for the platform OF the Allied Peoples
party it is very little changed. The practi.
cal world has marched on beyond fiat
money. having learned from experience
that a paper currency which is not to be
finally redeemable in gold is not the money
by which values can be measured. Those
who talk OF scientific money are bewild-
ering1y expert in sentence-making, and
they believe what they assert, but they
cannot learn from experience. The only
new feature of the platform is the denunci.
alton of the assistant postmaster genera
who classified the publications for the
newspaper postal rates. Bundles of papers
no matter what the quality of reform they
advocate, must pay other than newspaper
rates when sent TO others than bona fdt
subscribers. In the past the treasury has
been swindled out of $l2,OOO.OOO to $15,OOO.OO
a year by frauds perpetrated under the
newspaper rate. therefore it's ending should
be applauded as a signal victory for re.
form and should be Endorsed by all genuine
reformers.