The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1903-02-05
THE APPEAL TO REASON
"populi.t Edition" of Half a Million Copies
Attacks The Independent in Page
Article

Article
The ''populist edition" Of the Al
peal to Reason has reached this ONCE.
1t has also reached the homes OF
probably fifty thousand Nebraskans
and the homes of 100000 outside the
state.
Primarily the object of this edition
was to secure new subscribers to Inc
Appeal, 1t was prepared especially TO
appeal" to populists and entice then
into the kangaroo" camp. This term
is not intended in an offensive way,
but simply to call attention to the iacC
that there are two socialist partles'
The S. L. P's, or "skunks, as Inc
Appeal by inference calls them; and
the social democrats or socianstS,
dubbed "kangaroos" by the S. l.. T. s.
The leading articles were specially
prepared in order to not frighten thf
populists into whose hands the edl-
tion was placed. Wayland himself
did a stunt telling What Socialism
Is" being series of short para
graphs telling what would happen
, 'undoc SOcldllSul "a W. 1tiNA
sued "A Call to Arms" an open let
ter to the ''old populists who startle3
capitalism in 1892" And the Whole
Office force joined in preparing a fuli
mage advertisement, for The lndepen-
dent under the reassuring title, so
cialists Not Purchasing Gold Bricks.
Tn view of the socialist idea OF in
trinsic value and that gold is TIC
universal equivalent" few bricks
of that material might help them to
destroy "capitalist production"
Below" says this page ad., we
publish an extract from an editorial
comment on our pOpullst edition Dy
the Nebraska Independent a pop
ulist paper published at Lincoln, Neb.
The independent is the only paper
Of GENERAL CIRCULATION in
the United States that still
pretends to teach populism. The 9TH
ers have all died. 1t is difficult to ac-
count for the continued existence OF
this paper on any other ground, than
that it has been necessary to the
democracy, and has been sustained by
them. It's makeup and general ap-
pearance is almost identical with that
of Mr.. Bryan's Commoner. The III
deDandent through the last SIX yeat
of it's existence has exhausted its vi
talitv in attacks on midrOad pop
ulists and socialists. Both OF these
organizations have interfered With
the successful issue Of the disgraceful
surrender of populist leaders in the
fusion of 1896. The Independent has
never exhibited any affection for IL"
straight populist or the socialist UT
til the past few weeks, when there has
been studied effort to please botn.
Jo Parkers mid-road manifesto has
been published in its columns, ana
now we have a bouquet thrown in OUR
direction as follows:
Here's success to your p0pull8t
edition. Mr.. Wayland. May it do
a world of good. If you can unite
the warning factions in your par
tv-and we fail to do so soon
YOU will get a big share of the
nopulist vote. But if we quit
fighting among OurselyeS-and 1t
begins to look as if we may-the
scattered forces of populism'
will be reformed in line Of battle
under our own er.-Nebras-
ka Independent,
I'VE acknowledge the good will i'm
piled in the above article, but the
closing lines cannot be permitted to
pass without comment. Now the edl-
tor knows full we'll that the peoples
party can never again become fac
tor in the politics of this nation, as d
distinct party organization. The rea-
son is obvious: its leaders sold ont
the movement to the democrats in SO
and none of these men would be trust
ed again There is no use to argu3
that the logic of the situation made
it necessary for the DOpulists to nom
mate Bryan at st. Louis in 1896, for
you know that Mr.. Bryan and the
Dopuist leaders arranged months be
fore, so that the peoples party would
be placed in this humiliating pCGi-
ton. Mr.. Bryan so stated to the
writer in 1897. We cannot but be dis
trustfu of the good intentions Of The
Independent for we know that there
is another deal on foot to arrange an
other logic of events" And following
this is q harangue about w. r. Hearst