The Washington times., 1924-06-14
FARMER LABOR
/. COMET. AGAIN
FLAMES
Has Flashed Across Political
Sky Often II Century,
Hard DiscIoses
communal from First PAge.l

Johnston OF the International AsaO-
citation OF Machinists, OF Sidney
Hillman Of tho AnAalgalnated Cloth.
ing Workers.
Shiverg!
People always shiver when the
comet comes back. They seem
never to get used to 1t.
Therefore, IN order to understand
the. news Of the moment they
should give q moment to the same
nOws-the very same newe-out Of
bygone years. It will settle their
nerves.
American political history con.
sists almost continuously Of two
steady planets, called great parties
and one intermittenet comet which
is never different comet, but al
ways the same comet.
A Century.Old Comet.
This coEnet's first appearance was
in New England In the year Of 1890
almost q century ago. It's name
then was 40 follows:
1.-THE New England Association Of
Farmers, Mechanics and Working
men,"
Now we call 1t ''Farmer-Labor" in
our politics Of today and think II
something new. It is very old.
The New England Association of
Farmers, Mechanics ana Working,
men was quite success politically
for while. It's origin was In Wood.
stock, VT.
Calvin Coolidge's home folks had
quite q tantrunn Of radicalism at
that time. They then were a hot.
bed Of radicalisn. They were to
the politics OF that day what SenA-
tor Shipstead's Farmer.Labor party
Of Minnesota is to the politics OF
this day.
They spread their doctrine into
virtually all Of the New England
States. They won victories at the
polls. They nominated farmers and
wage-earners into a multitude Of 10,
cal offices in Vermont, in Maine, in
Massachusetts,, in Rhode Island, in
Connecticut.
They declared a union between
the worker on the country side and
the worker In the city. They de.
claFed 1t. Then 1t vanished.
Gone In Five Years.
In five years or so there was no
more New England Association of
Farmers. Mechanics and Working.
men. The comet had dashed across
the skies and then had dashed away
INTO outer space where it got lost
and forgotten.
1t nevertheless left results. The
regular politicians. frightened by
the irregularity Of that early farmer
labor movement, became reformers.
They abolished imprisonment for
debt. They established free public
schools. They did a lot of things
then thought radical.
Whereupon the comet went away.
That IL the habit Of this comet.
It comes and scares people to
death. Then people make a death.
bed repentance and offer sacrifices
to the comet. Then the comet goes
away.
That is the whole nub Of the
whole history Of American politics.
The two planets, the great parties, .
purchase their survival by gather
ing a little star-dust from the
comet.
Then the comet says Fair
enough" and disappears into
Skipping now a lot Of informed.
late appearances Of the comet, let
US cast q thoughtful astronomical
eye upon its last great recorded
appearance.
Burst In Iowa.
Surely 1t IL q remarkable oddly
OF the human mind that we 60 soon
have forgotten James B. Weaver,
of Iowa.
He was as portentous as La Fol-
candidate for the Presidency in
1899, only thirty-two years ago.
It can be safely and without
exaggeration said that he ran. He
Did some running.
He accumulated more than a mil.
Hon votes. He carried Kansas. He
carried Nevada. He carried Colo
RADIO. He carried Idaho. He broke
into North Dakota and Oregon. He
altogether accumulated and acquired
twenty-five presidential electoral
votes In the presidential electoral
He thereupon made the following
speech:
THE Republican Party is as dead
90 the Wing Party was after the
Scott campaign Of 1852. From this
time forward the Republican Party
VIII domirieh In every State Of the
Union. It cannot make another
Tell It now TO Calvin Coolidge!
General Viewers supporters were
called "Populists' quaint old word
But they were Farmer.Laborites
They had the same inea as the
New England Association OF Farm.
9rS, Mechanics and Workingmen,
Ihey HAD the same idea as Senator
nrookhart from his farm In Iowa
ana Warren s. Stone from his
locomotive engine cab now.
In the convention which norni.
mated General Weaver at Omaha
IN 1882 the Populists, who were
principally farmers, declared:
The interests Of rural labor and
city labor are the same. Their en-.
eHnies are IDENTICAL
They also declared:
The union Of the labor forces
OF the United States this day con.
animated shall be permanent and
perpetual"
Fifteen thousand persons attend
Ing the convention then cheered
uninterruptedly for forty minutes
Left Heavy Impress.
-Four years later the Populist
comet threw some meteorites into
the Democratic planet under VIII
liam Jennings Bryan and Their
V.moosed into tho stellar wilder
ness and became Invisible, and lost
and forgotten.
Yet 1t left results. The Popuristt
invented the direct popular election
OF United States Senators. They
ihvented the graduated income tax
! We have no Popullsts today but
our shEunken pocketbooks are tn,