Evening star., 1920-01-01
RADICAL POLITICAL
DOCTRINES Of 1873
MILD T00LD DAYS
No Real Cause for Apprehen-
sion Over Outlook for De-
veIopments of 1920.
COUNTRY HAS SURVIVED
MANY WEIRD CAMPAIGNS
Nothing New Under Sun" Ap-
plies to Nations Politics-Party
Platforms Recalled.
BY n. o. MESSENGER,


BY n. o. MESSENGER.
Timid souls who apprehepd dire re-
suits in 1920 from the 1919 outbreak
of radicalism should take heart of
grace from recollection of the failure
of similar occurrences in the past
There is nothing new under the sun"
in politics as well as otherwise. and the
prophets words still hold good In
point of fact, some of the radical doc
trineS announced now are conserva-
tive compared with the platforms of
parties of the past. which went to the
voters in presidential elections, to be
rejected with scorn.
Even sovietism and the Plumb plan
have been recommended heretofore
and for years the abolition of the SEN
ate and the electoral college have
been suggested, while the control of
all industries by the workers therein
has been party platform.
Cause to BE Hopeful.
Any one who in the closing hours
OF 1913 had time for retrospection
and observing the fizzling out and
failure of radical propaganda might
well start 1920 with considerable hope
that the nation Will. somehow or 9TH
er- struggle through this presidential
campaign without being captured by
Weird and eerie were some of the
doctrines advocated and seriously pro-
posed to the American electorate even
within the time of some of US young
fellows. Going back no farther than
1892, just look at the platform of the
national peoples convention at
Omaha which nominated James B.
Weaver of Iowa for President and
James G. Field of Virginia for Vice
President. The men. who met in that
convention
cred with gloom. They were the orig
inal viewers with alarm"
Listen to their groans: I'VE meet in
the midst of nation brought to the
| verge OF moral, political and material
ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot
box, the legislatures, the Congress- and
touches even the ermine of the bench
The people are demoralized; most of
the states have been compelled to iso-
late the voters at the polling places
to prevent universal intimidation or
bribery. The newspapers are largely
subsidized or silerced, business pros
trated. our homes covered with merit
cages, labor impoverished and the
lands concentrating in the hands of
the capitalists imported pau-
perized labor beats down wages of
urban workmen, hireling standing
Army unrecogniZed by our laws is es-
tablished to shoot them down."
And That Was I'm 1902.
" hc" tIdl WAS Only lSS2, How
did We ever live through it? The
party which adopted this preamble
to its platform went on to demand
that the amount of circulating medi-
um be speedily increased to not less
than $50 per capita: that the money
of the country should be kept in the
hands of the people; that the govern.
ment should own railways. telegraphs
and telephones, and lot of other
things.
In the same year the socialist labor
convention advocated many of the
policies of the peoples convention
and went further. They demanded
the abolition of the presidency, vice
presidency and Senate of the United
States. An executive board, whose
members were to be elected and at
any time removed by the House of
Representatives. should control. The
states and municipalities to adopt
corresponding changes in form OF
government.
Government Still Lived.
Well. when the people went to the
polls sJames B. Weaver. who COM
bined the national peoples platform
with the farmers alliance platform,
received only 1041021 votes out of
the twelve million cast, while the
socialist labor candidate polled 21.-
164 votes. Grover Cleveland was
elected and the government at WASH
ington still lived.
The first appearance of sovletism
as a political party policy occurred
in the platform of the sociallst-laDor
party of 1896, which declared "that
the true theory of economies is that
the machinery of production must
likewise belong to the people in COM
mon" The platform demanded that
the United States should possess all
means of public transportation and
communication, the employees to OPP
Aixr q
control of the federal government and
to elect their own superior officers.
The municipalities were to follow the
same course with all industries re-
quiring municipal franchises. The
United States Senate and all upper
legislative chambers should be abol-
ished and the veto power of the eN-
ecutive. national, state or municipal.
also destroyed. The candidates who
ran on this platform received 33.54'
votes out of total OF nearly
$4,000. 900.
Coordination OF Elements.
The greatest coordination of radi-
cal liberal. reform and anti-conserya-
tive elements which ever occurred III
this country was witnessed IN the
campaign of 1896. Under the leader
ship of William ]. Bryan of Nebraska
the greater number of these liberal
and radical votes were attached 10
one ticket.
There were the votes of the regular
democratic party, of the peoples party
convention and of the silver party
convention. Mr.. Bryan received a to-
tai vote of 6,533,0SO, and Mr.. Mckin-
ley was given 7.107,304. The country.
after the election. entered upon an
era of prosperity, which continued Tor
years and gave the lie to all the
gloomy predictions of 1892.
OF course, if one desired to go fuf-
ther back into history. tracing ths
trail of the radical element. ii could
be found in 1876. At that time radi-
calism was directed to the money
question largely when the greenback
party demanded the repeal of the spe-
Gle resumption act and the issuance
by the government of United states
note exchangeable for all Cnlteu
States notes at par and made a iuii
legal tender. The next demand 1or
monetary revolution was the silver
movement, which began with Bland OF
Missouri and was taken over by WIZ
liam J. Bryan.
Become Law Of Land.
Many of the planks in the platforms
of those days, which at the time were
widely fiouted, have since become the
law of the land. Extension of inter-
state commerce control. the graduated
income tax election of senators pE
popular vote and, to the surprise or
many, rohibition, long time consid-
cred a. joke as a national proposition:
The eight-hour law and protection OF
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