The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-03-30
Tom Watson's Magazine.

than the first. 1t has more Of Wat
sons writing in it and it is of that
fascinating kind of literature which,
when one starts to read. he can't stop
until he gets to the emo.
There is very valuable article en-
titled ''The Constitution" by Frederick
Upham Adams, which is of the very es-
sence of populism. IL attacks the old
idea OF precedent and that we must
never do anything unless we can find
a precedent of it. Poprlists, while
they believe that the founders of this
government, stated some principles
that are eternally true, that are just
as applicable now as they were then
and will be just as applicable a hun
dred years from now, nevertheless be-
lieve in progress. New conditions
arise, new difficulties must be met, and
the populist is ready to meet and set
tie them whether there is any prece-
dent or not.
Mr.. Adams in this article shows how
the government was so formed under
the influence of Hamilton that the peo-
pie have very little direct to say about
how things shall be done. They elect
by direct vote the house of represen-
tatives and that is all. The house COM
ing direct from the people may pass a
bill as it did in the last session, to stop
rebates on the roads and regulate the
rates, but the senate which they did
not elect, can put it's veto on it. If
the senate passes it the president,
which under the Hamiltonian system
was not to be voted for at all by the
people, could veto it, aud after the
president the supreme court, which is
not elected at all, has another veto.
The populists have been demanding
for a long time that senators should be
elected by the people. 1t is along that
line that Mr.. Adams writes.
There is another very interesting
article by Ex-Governor Garvin of Rhode
Island, entitled Corrupt Practices in
Elections" Governor Garvin shows
how corrupt practices carries cleo
tons, especially how Aldrich carries
them in Rhode Island. Official bal
lots are stolen, voters are bought with
cold cash, returning boards falsify the
returns, illegal marks are made on bal
lots by officers of the election boards |
SO that the ballots must be thrown out, !
ballots of illiterate voters are marked
in different way from what the voter
wishes, and all the other things with |
which we have been acquainted here
in the west. The cure for these evils |
Governor Garvin states as follows:
'The means of stopping most surely |
and speedily corrupt practices by the
party in power, lies in open and above
board fusion of all opponents upon a
few issues, together with united sup
port of one set of candidates for all +
hinder the adoption Of the measures
agreed upon. This, I believe. offers
the best chance of accomplishing the
very difficult task of establishing in
a state good and pure government"
Governor Garyin has been known as
ailiberal democrat. He must know that
the democratic party has always abso-
lutely refused to fuse nationally with
anything except straight, regular
democrats. 1t refused to fuse with the
populists and put Tom Watson on the I
ticket in 1896. In 1900 it again re-
fused and rejected Towne. In 1904 it
repealed all advances from every
source and put up a platform and can
didate that none but dyed-in-the-wool,
rock-ribbed democrats could vote for.
If Governor Garvin is ever going to
get that sort of fusion he will have to
get it outside of the democratic party.