Jasper Republican, Volume 1, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 October 1874 — The “Independent” Movement. [ARTICLE]

The “Independent” Movement.

It has been well said that the so called independent movement, in Jasper county, was “Conceived in iniquity and brought forth in sin.” Many honest men were at first so far deluded as to think good might come of it. But such men were ignorant of its first conception, and have very generally upon becoming enlightened in the matter turned from “the unclean thing.” Good and true men, who saw from the beginning the insincerity of the “movement,” were very slow to take a position that might be construed into opposition to the farming community who had combined and organized upon promulgated principles which no good person—no wed-wisher to humanity, could for a moment oppose. And on the principle that give the devil rope enough and he will hang himself, the manipulators of the movement have been suffered for a long season to show their character by their works. It is said a workman is judged by his chips—what then can be the judgement upon these workmen? The first of their works was for a few office seekers to combine in a general grab for the offices. They saw no hope from the Republican par'y, for those of the seekers who were not open and avowed D< mocrats and opposed to the gove nment in the greatest struggle it has been called to passthrough, were men of whom the Republican paity had been made to feel ashamed for their unprincipled greed for office and intolerable egotistic derail e to figure as leaders and controllers of party action. They saw no hope from the Democrats, for they had been a hopeless m niorty for Lo! these many years. There was, then, but one course to pursue,— The dominant party must be destroyed or their ambi’ion could not be satisfied. How could this be accomplished ? They thought there was a chance for its accomplishment by getting the “Grange” power pitted against it. The power that had come into existence in part for the over-throw of monopolies, must be saddled and riden and made to believe ttat the Republican party was a “monopoly” and responsible for all the corners in wheat in Chicago, and gold on Wall street, together with all the selfish and corrupt combinations that are formed by men of all parties and no principle except the one principle of extortion combinations for the purpose of bribing legislators and every other dishonest thing by which they can possess themselves of the hard earned wealth of the “Sobs of toil.” So they, these office seekers, joined the Patrons of Husbandry. Then commenced a Beries of abusesof both the old parties—the Republicans as a matter of course, and the Democrats for the appearance of consistency. They “inteviewed” prominent Republicans and especially those who were in office and whose reputation was so unsullied that it was perhaps impossible to displace them, and sought to attach them to the movement.— This was to give tbe movement weight and influence. Failing to get the co-operation of the officers who had been elected by the Republicans,uponßpublican prineip'es, and in the light of a glorious ten years Republican record, they turned their batteries of calumny and misrepresentation upon the Republican party in general and by innuendoes and covert thrusts, at those officers in particular Laying their plans with care and calculating their chances for success with nicety, they first announced in the Central Association of Patrons of Husbandry, that at their next meeting they were to consider the propriety of putting a separate ticket in the field. In the mean-time resolutions and platitudes were prepared by the originators of the “movement” the arangements “cut and dried” for the occasion and the time came around for the meeting. A respectable number met and a guard being placed at the door, measures for “the people” to support were discussed and the result was a failure to inaugurate a people’s movement; but after the opponents of the movement had retired from the| house in considerable numbers, the action of the association was reconsidered, and it was determined to put an independent ticket in the field. Fifteen persons took sufficient interest in the subject to speak upon it, and eight of these became •‘independent” or “people’s” candidates for office. But how should they get the people to support them ? Only one road lay open to them. There was no Republican paper in the county to expose any representations they might make through their “organ” and hence they made it the smut-machine to do the dirty work of vilifying and misrepresenting the present incumbents of the county offices, denouncing as a “Ring” “Clique,” “Court House Ring,” “Court House Clique” and “Ring-master” etc., etc,, men who, in public or private life, politically, religiously, socially, morally or in business capability and hon- sty have no superiors in tho county. They depended upon deluding and mis-leading the people by fraudulent statements and deceitful innuendoes ; by charges that were trumped up for the occasion and which they themselves had no faith in, to support them in putting down “corruption.” They relied upon the same sort of strategy to ma«e this appear to be what they christened the bastard, a “people’s” movement At the next meeting of the Central Association these Moses-es tried to get the nominations of candidates on this mongrel ticket effected while their guard was at the door to keep out the “people” who were to ratify these nominations at their primary election.—This was so palpably thin that those possessed of com-

nw i-sanse, whom “th god’ ” had not yet •‘made mad,” oppa-ei and ridiculed it till the idea was abandoned. The primary election came off and u, dear ! some body else got the-ni <minations. It was a bitter pill but those naughty Republicans must be punished for not being oorrupt, and nauseous us was this dose it most be gulped, and so these originators of the “people’s movement” that was to lift them into the offices they so coveted, must support and help on, in this same loir, Scheming, vilifying. scandalizing w«y, the “movement” to put men whom the “people” prefer rdh to trust, into said offices. If the pople of Jasper county can be captivated by so palpably corrupt, insincere and unprincipled a fiasco as this se called "people’s movement,” then has the “schoolmaster been abroad” in vain, and may look for a repetition in our own midst, of the history of the reform movements that resulted in the stupendous frauds and speculations that curs, d the city of New York and other places and disgraced the 16th century. As when thieves makes a haul it is an old practice with them to get terribly excited and earnest in the pursuit of some supposed thief and yelling “stop thief’ at the tops of their voices excite the multitude to pursue a phantom while they escape with their booty. So these “movement” originators endeavored by humbuggery and immitigated deception to steal from the people the offices which they well knew they could get in no other way. It whs the desperate remedy for a desperate caso. They have staked their all in Hie contest— we shall see who is deluded— the “people,” or the office, . hunters.