The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 27, 1898 Page: 1 of 16
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VOL. XVII., NO. 4.
DALLAS, TEXAS, THURSDAY, JAN. Ü7, 181)8.
$i PER ANNUM.
A WORD TO EOPl'LISTS.
For eighteen months tlia People's
party has drifted with no firm hand
upon the helm, drifted in the wake of
the Democratic party though that par-
ty has made no advance since it took
one of the Populist tenets for its own
at Chicago in July, 1896, though it has
given no indication of evolving as an
advocate of the other great tenets of
Populism.
The Republican party, ceasing to be
a party of human rights, and becom-
ing a party defending a moneyed oli-
garchy built up by trampling on lib-
erty, and the Democratic party failing
to live up to its proud motto, be-
queathed to it by its founders: "equal-
ity of opportunity for all, special priv-
ileges to none," a People's party must
live or liberty will be crushed, the
Republic die. and moneyed oligarchy
reign supreme.
That all men have a right to an
equality of oportunity, is recognized by
neither of the old parties, and even
some in the leadership of the People's
party have decreed that it shall drift
in the wake of these old parties—that
it shall die. This decree, the rank and
file of the People's party will not obey.
They have revolted, have asserted that
the People's party shall not be swal-
lowed up by a party that does not
represent the tenets of Populism, that
shows itself unready to defend the
right of all men to an equality of op-
portunity, unready to deny to the
moneyed cliques the enjoyment of
special privileges.
For eighteen months, we have said,
there has been no hand upon the helm
of the People's party. The Chairman
of the National Committee of the Peo-
ple's party has guided the party as an
adjunct of the Democratic party, has
regarded it as a dead party; hence as
a party, a party of life and aggression,
the People's party has drifted without
a guiding hand.
"We say this in no spirit of carping
criticism. We recognize that all men
make mistakes, that men put in posi-
tions of responsibility are subject to
errors of judgment that may do in-
calculable injury to those they repre-
sent. To impugn the motives of
every man who commits such er-
ors, riich mistakes, would De a wrong.
We do not assume, we have no right
to assume, that every man who mis-
manges the interests of others so as
ty, has used the power and authority
given by his official position in a
way greatly to the detriment of his
party, we are convinced; that there
are many things in his course that are
inexplicable on any other supposition
than that he was ready to sacrifice
party in the interest of self; that he
has not treated the members of his
party with frankness; that he has not
even dealt squarely by the candidates
of his party; that he has sought at
their expense to promote the interests
of the candidates of another party than
his own, is, however, only too true.
And thus is Mr. Butler put in an un-
enviable light.
But it is not our purpose to impugn
Mr. Butler or any other man. This
is no time for personal crimination
and recrimination.
Believing that the advocacy of free
silver coinage, of one tenet of Popu-
lism, presaged the advocacy of the
other grand an great tenets of Popu-
lism by the Democratic party, many
Populists supported Mr. Bryan, took
the Democratic standard bearer as
their own, put, as they felt, patriotism
above party, their love of country
above love of party. They believed,
we hoped, that the Democratic party
having made one step away from the
control of the moneyed oligarchy,
would follow it up with others, and so
become a true peoples party; that
through the success of the Democratic
party was to be found the quickest
and surest way to the success of the
tenets of Populism to their recogni-
tion on our statute books and In the
administration of our government.
But such hopes have been shattered.
We must acknowledge that our hopes
led us astray, for the Democratic party
has not followed up its initial step
away from the moneyed oligarchy, it
has not evolved, it has stood still. It
even shows unmistakable evidence of
slipping back toward the moneyed oli-
garchy rather than away from it.
If the Democratic party had become
the exponent of the principles of Popu-
lism, if it could be relied on to cham-
pion those tenets, to stand forth ev-
erywhere as the defender of the in-
alienable right of man, the right of
man to an equality of opportunity in
the production of wealth and the en-
joyment of the fruits of his labor; if,
in fine, the Democratic party had ab-
sorbed the substance of Populism with-
means of effecting such a conversion,
its mission, as a party, would have
been fulfilled. But the Democratic
party has not become such an expo-
nent. It has shown that it will not,
that it will not be in truth what it
professes to be—a party ready to in-
sure an equality of opportunity to all
men. If that grand doctrine of De-
mocracy is to triumph over the doc-
trines of monarchy, the People's party
must lead" on to victory. Until it does,
until no man questions the truth that
all men are created free and equal and
entitled to an equality of opportunity,
the mission of the People's party will
be unfulfilled, and those who are fight-
ing for freedom from the moneyed
cliques, fighting for a fair and equal
chance in the race for this world's re-
wards for industry and enterprise,
fighting for a chance to enter this race
unhandicapped, have no right to let
the People's party die.
It is this resolve, this resolve that
the People's party shall live, that
prompted the action taken by the Na-
tional Organization Committee of the
People's party in their recent confer-
ence in St. Louis.
Where men, with a common purpose
to defend themselves against, the ag-
gression of the moneyed oligarchy,
have no knowledge of what their fel-
lows in a common cause are doing.
to invite defeat; to hold the conven-
tion next July is to pave the way to
victory. To win in the campaign of
1900, union must be achieved in 1898.
The People's party is a minority party
though it stands for principles dear to
the majority, the great majority, of the
American people. That it stands for
equality, stands as the defender of true
democracy and stands alone, must be
brought home to a majority of our
people before victory can be won. Be-
ing a minority party the People's party
can only succeed by growing, by accre-
tion from the old parties, and no party
can gather accretions save by aggres-
sive action. Keep a snow ball rolling
and it will gather size and strength
and weight until it will roll onward
with the irresistible force of an ava-
lanche; let It rest and it will melt
away. So It is with any popular move-
ment. Success breeds success; failure,
failure.
If the People's party is to win in
1900 it must get undgr way. It can-
not win by keeping its strength, it can
only win by gathering strength; and
this strength it can only gather from
the old parties. By aggressive action
it can gather this strength. Aggres-
sive action is impossible until Popu-
lists find common direction, until they
can banish chaos and discord; until
recognizing a common plan of cam-
no common authority to which to look paign. regain confidence in one anoth-
for direction, no general leadership to
direct the resistance to the assaults of
moneyed oligarchy, there must be a
working at cross purposes, a wasting
of strength and energy that can but
brings crimination and recrimination,
heartburnings and jealousies, that are
ever the forerunners of defeat. There-
fore the need of an early meeting of
the People's party in national conven-
tion. To the first question submitted
to the members of the People's party
by the National Organization Commit-
btee, a question as to the advisability
of holding a national convention pend-
ing the campaign of 1898, there can be
but one answer.
Nor have we doubt as to how Popu-
lists will respond to the question of
the date for the holding of a national
convention to nominate Presidential
and Vice-Presidential candidates,
whether that convention shall be held
July 4th next, the anniversary of the
nation's birth; May 26, 1899, the birth-
day of the People's party; or Febru-
er, and bend their energies, to show-
ing that Republican and Democratic
parties alike are submissive to the
moneyed oligarchy.
The Chairman of the National Com-
mittee of the People's party asks us to
wait, wait—wait and see if the Demo-
cratic party will not evolve, will not
clear its skirts of contamination with
the moneyed oligarchy. To wait
means defeat. To wait is to give the
minions of the moneyed oligarchy the
opportunity to penetrate the lines of
the People's party, to disintegrate the
forces opposed to them, and make it
impossible to rally those forces with
avail.
The question is simply this: shall
we wait until it is too late to reform
our shattered ranks before moving in-
to action, or shall we not? Shall we
enter the campaign of 1900 with brok-
en ranks, with despair, without hope
of success, or shall we reform our dis-
integrated forces in 1898? Let us go
forward, hold our national convention
lead to loss does so intentionally, out the name, if its success meant the ary 22, 190, the birthday of the nation's July 4. 1898, and by aggressive action
Neither have we a right to assume
that a man who misdirects a party, so
as to lead it to the verge of disruption,
does so with set purpose. That Sena-
tor Butler, as chairman of the Na-
tional Committee of the People's par-
triumph of Populist principles, then farther . Thoanswer must, we feel sure
it would be mete that the People's will be, July 4th, next.
party should be absorbed into the The question is simply shall we wait
Democratic party, that the People's until our flanks are turned before
party should, as an organization, die. moving into action or shall we not?-To
If the People's party had been the postpone the convention until 1900 is
gather the accretions of strength that
cannot be gathered by waiting. Let
Populists unite in a common and ener
getic campaign. Let them bend their
energies to unfolding the truth
showing that the People's
in
par-
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Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 27, 1898, newspaper, January 27, 1898; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185741/m1/1/: accessed May 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .