The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-06-12
No PopuIist State Convention
Will Be Held.
Meeting to Organize NoRparti-
san Political League.
HELD ON JULY FOURTH
will Take Place of Nominating
Convention.
Call for the Meeting Is Issued
Today.

Announcement is made that the Pop
ulist state central committee has relin-
quished the right to the Topeka Audi
torium for the evening of July 4, and
that a nonpartisan political league will
| be organized that evening which seems
/ to be designed to act in the capacity
of sole legatee of the good viii and
sacred honor of the Populist party.
/ This movement for q nOnpartisan
/ league, while it does not seem to bear
the official endorsement of the Populist
party is being engineered by George
Hanna, Judge E. S. Waterbury, Judge
S H. Allen and other stalwart Popu-
lists who have refused to give up the
ship, even after il was almost entirely
submerged. It seems to be the con-
sensus Of Populistic opinion that the
party, as a party. has now reached the
end OF its rope. and that it can best
serve the public by acting as censor
on the actions of the two old parties.
It is expected that the nonpartisan
league TO be organized on the evening
of July viii Investigate the general
standing Of the candidates already nom
! mated by the Democrats and RepubH-
cans and out of those two tickets, pick
out a ticket of its own.
The following is the call which has
been issued for the mass meeting:
A CALL
THE undersigned citizens of Kansas
agree to unite in a call for a state
convention with the object of promot-
ing the formation Of permanent, nom
partisan political leagues or organized
associations, by townships and cities
throughout the state, of voters who re-
alize that the highest duties of citizen
ship cannot be discharged by indiscrim-
mate loyalty to political parties, and
that a more effective, free and inde-
pendent form of organization has be-
come essential to the public welfare.
We think that such convention need
not contemplate the elimination Of
party loyalty, nor the creation of any
new political party. Political parties
earlier and better form by which the
people We're organized. The original
free, Independent and sovereign town
and township governments incorpora-
ted themselves into states and a union
in which the only sovereignty was that
of the people, and the people by their
local organizations continued to be
master to be obeyed to the utmost limit
OF possibility.
But those local governments were
not prepared to assimilate the new
powers of steam and electricity to the
government functions of inter-commun-
ication and transportation, or to meet
the resulting sudden enlargement of
economic, financial and social relations.
Hence the modern perpetual party has
come into being as a political power
which needs to be itself amended and
controlled through the sovereign power
of the people in a more independent,
patriotic and effective form of organi-
cation.
with this end in view, we hereby
call a convention at the city Auditorium
In Topeka, commencing at o'clock in
the evening on next 4th of July, 1906
at which time and place we invite rep
resentatives of the different localities
favorable to the objects sought by this
considering and recommending a uni
form system for the organization Of
such leagues, and their union into a
state organization and to adopt meth
DDS to promote the work of their or
GEO. W. HANNA, Clay Center.
GEO. ". HANNA, Clay Center.
PERRY B. MAXON, Morris County.
Jos. 4. WRIGHT, Smith Center.
-STEPHEN B. ALLEN, Topeka.
e. S. WATERBURY,, Emporia.
The following explanatory statement is
also given out as supplemental explana-
ton of the purposes OF the meeting:
This movement does not interfere with
the loyalty of any citizen to his political
party There will be in it no more CO.
operation or collision with Populism
than with any other political party. The
men who are promoting it have secured
the use Of the Auditorium through the
OHicials of the Commercial club at To-
peka, the state committee which had II
for the PoDulist state convention re-
inQuished it for the night of the Fourth
of July, and the railroads have conceded
round trip rate from all parts of the
state of one Iare plus fiftv cents.
1.-THE plan will be nearly the same as
that which was proposed to be put into
operation by the Wichita rate convention
of last January. All candidates will be
thoroughly interrogated and their written
pledges taken by appropriate state and
local committees; and the names of all
who pledge themselves will be certified to
the members pledged to each other to
support only those candidates who are
satisfactorily pledged to the purposes of
dates, both Republican and Democratic
who cannot and will not take those
pledges because they have been or will be
nominated to do the other thing and such
candidates will get no league votes As 10
all other candidates league members will
be leIt free to vote their party ticket.
THE pledges viii contain just what the
Wichita pledges proposed and in addition
will require the initiative and referendum
and the repeal of the law which forbids
the printing of candidates name more
than once on the ballot. the object being
to enable the league, after this election
TO have a ticket OF its own on the ballot
taken from candidates already nominal ed
by the regular parties 1t is expected that
a majority OF those who Will be elected to
the legislature this fall will be men who
have pledged themselves to the purposes
of the league. All those voters who have
already signed the Wichita pledges will
have those pledges made effective bv this
movement, which expects the same sun
port which should have been given to The
Wichita movement if it mad been carried
out.
1T also corresponds nationally with the
Independence League which performed
such an imDOrtant part in the last cleo
ton in New York city and elsewhere. The
formation OF local societies in cities and
townships is to unite the people more
closely in home organizations, which will
ENABLE them to watch and know what 4lse
Is being made OF their pledges. and ia
take any organic action which NAV he
come necessary to protect their political
interests
TiIlInan Bill in House.
Washington, June 1.-THE Tillnan
bill prohibiting corporations from
making campaign contributions under
Iaen IL Of 6na r.-lns.,l, IT, 80. =