The Irish standard., 1908-03-21

groups, the Greenbackers nominating
Peter Cooper. Neither party had any
influence on the result. Tho appear
ance OF the Greenbackers, however
had significance in being the ad-
vance courier Of the Populist party. In
three presidential canvasses the Green
packers had tickets. They put up Mr.
Weaver IN 1880, and gave him 100000
votes, but he carried no state. Several
men belonging to that party, however
were c1 ,scn to Congress, and they rad
some influence in the voting on finan-
cial and industrial measures. In 1884
the Greenbackers had Benjamin r. But
ler, me 2X-Democrat and ex-Repuhli-
can for Il candidate, but his vote was
less tran half as large as that of Mr.
Weaver. Then the Greenbackers drop
ped cut as a distinct organization. and
the minor party OF 1888, aside from the
Prohibitlonists, was tho Union Labor
party. IIany old Greenbacllers were
in that organization, and it had
StreeteI of Illinois as a candidate
Streeter's vote was only 14S,O0O. BY
their vote for ST. John, their presiden-
tial nominee, however, in 1884, in New
York. tile Trohbitionlsts defeated Mr..
Blaine.
In 1892 appeared the third party
whicl: Dolled the largest vote ever
rolled up by Il minor organization in
the United States. This was the Fop-
ulist party. The Populists had many
p!alks from the old Greenback pat
form, ard they invented some of their
own. They grew out of the Farmers
Alliance, which had Il convention in
Oca.a, Fla, in 1891, formed a. national
organization there, and from that
gathering resulted the Omaha conven-
ton OF 1892 which put up Weaver and
frarEt'l q platform. There was a flu
sion between the Populists and tho
Democrats in some of the Western
States where the Democrats were far
behina the Republicans. AS most Of
the We!:ern section of the Populists
wera drawn from the Republicans their
advent hit the Republican party hard.
Through this Populist diversion the
RepEt llcans lost many states which
they otherwise would have carried. 1t
is probable. however, that Harrison
wou.1 nave been defeated and Clevs-
land elected in 1892 even If the Pcpu-
list party had been absent. The tide
was se,n to be adverse to the Republi-
cans from the beginning of the cam
palGI. The Homestead strike in tho
carnegie works took away many votes
from The Republican party. Weaver
pole! over l,O00,O0O votes. He carried
Colorado, Idaho. Kansas and Nevada,
and received one vote each in North
Dakota and in Oregon, his aggregate
elec!Gra! poll being 22. Though lie had
ular vote, Bcll. in 1860. was ahead of
him in the electoral vote, which was
thirty-slne. .sssa
In the general convulson in the rar-
tics in 1895 each Of the big organiza-
tons and some of tho smaller ones
split, but that canvass contributed the
Sociaiist party, which is with us still,
and which promises in 1905 to leave
Its biggest record far behind. The So.
cial'sts attracted no attention in 1896
or 19So. but the Social Democrats POLL
cd a vote Of over 100000 for Debs in
1904. e,d the other section, the Social
Labor party, g;tvc $1,000 votes to Cor
rigan, their presidential nominee. At
tempts arc making to put all tho So
clailsts in one party camp this year
and II 1T succeeds that party may at.
tain strength which will compel thu
Republicans and the Democrats to give
some attention to it. In any case 1908
Is likely 10 see a more variegatcd po-
Utica! field than any previous canvass
saw. 70 far as regards the parties
which viii appeal to large numbers of
the people There is not likely TO be
such wide distribution among tho
electoral vote as took place in 1860
put roiitlcS will be diversified enough
to furGiSh CreedS and cap61ato. r,.
men Of al sorts of political faiths