People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 March 1897 — Factional Populism. [ARTICLE]

Factional Populism.

North Dakota legislature has passed a bill requiring litigants lor divorce to reside in the state a.year instead of three months as heretofore.

The bank of Illinois, recently forced to the wall by a combination under lead of Lyman J. Gage will pay a second dividend March 10. This time 10 per cent will be paid, or -SI, 100.000.

The Salvation Army of Chicago has leased a 240 acre tract of city lands which will be utilized for assisting the worthy victims of up to date civilization to raise small crops of vegetables for family use. After a spirited debate last Friday the House passed the Senate International Monetary Conference bill by vote of 279 to 8. But that does not mean that bimetallism is any nearer a reality than it was before. The bum politicians of Chicago are setting up a crusade against department stores. The real cry comes from tne landlords who cannot rent their ■ store property at profitable figures. Let the merry war go on.

An old maxim says. -‘He who causes two blades of grass to grow where before grew but one, is a public benefactor.” Yes, but how about the man who makes two Populist parties spring up where before was but one.—Joliet News.

Congress has passed the bill permitting national banks to issue circulation to the face val ue of their bonds on deposit, but has no time to permit Uncle Sam circulate a greater volume of his own notes, on which the public would not have to pay interest before getting it into circulation

President McKinley’s personal escort in parade to-day is the surviving membership of his old company the 23d Ohio volun teers. As the number of this late date is about seventy, a list of those killed or wounded in active fighting would be of interest right now. And its a safe bet that every one of the seventy is drawing a total dis ability pension.

And now Japan has fallen into the net set for her by the gold nations whose trade and manufactures she was rapidly acquiring. She will not compete much longer now that her silver is to be withdrawn, like our greenbacks and silver, to elevate the gold standard. Now listen for famine reports from Japan in a few years to equal those from India of the present year. As a closing remark of respect to the retiring president the sen ate by unanimous vote recindect the recent proclamations reserving; acres of public lands as forest reserves. Leaving out all contention as to the merits of the proclamations, the sqnate but responded to a universal feeling which has pervaded

the popular mind lo these many months. No president of the U. S. has ever retired from public duties carrying with him the well earned loathings of an ignored and sold out constituency as marks the changes taking place to-day at Washington.

Without taking pronounced stand as between the two recent Press Associations at Memphis and Kansas City, it may not be out of place to observe a pointer or two touching events of the past year. One faction supports the fusion policy of the National Convention and the National Comrnittee. The other terms itself the Middie-of-the-roaders, and bitterly assails the National committee. Those composing the Kansas City, or Union Reform Press, hailed mostly from the victorious states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Idaho, Colorado and Missouri, which, with one exception are logically Re publican states when each of the three parties run separate tickets. By combining forces, the Hanna crowds were routed horse, foot and dragoons.

Of the middle-of-the-roaders hailing from southern states, ample justification for their grievances are conceded. Their common enemy there is the Democratic party. But the incidents which place this element from the north in questionable attitude need only to be recalled. For instance, the wholesale use of money right here in Indiana, under which the Nonconformist was held in the middle-of-the-road for stipulated weekly payments iu cash, and the abundant cash resources of its former editor in making his fight to retain possession up to election. Retiring president VanDervoort unfortuuately was mixed up in the Indiana contest against fusion, and so far as his own state he has nearly earned the reputation for being a political Ishmaelite within the ranks. In Alabama, leadeWS&obb confessed before election to receiving SSOO from Hanna for purpose of maintaining middle-of-the-road policy with the populists. In West Virginia the Republican committee appropriated thousands of dollars to establish a populist organ at Parkersburg, and by use of this money purchased another populist plant at Clarksburg, and financially assisted the "few other papers in the state, after subsidizing the officials of the state committee to maintain a middle-of-the-road tight. And if those papers are running yet it is well known that practically every dollar of their sustenance comes from the Re publican treasury. All this was promptly exposed by editor Henry Vincent before election, ana up to this time has not been disputed by any presentation of evidence more than venting of personal disappointment at not being able to use a well known writer to consummate their boodling projects. It was likewise Hanna’s money that flooded the country and especially the populist strongholds, just before election with ex-editor Dunning’s urgent mid-dle-of-the-road circular letters.

Populists aggressively fighting for the principles uppermost in our platform have a right to take cognizance of these transactions, not in the interest of being diverted from the middled the-road. but for reviewing their party situation from standpoint of intelligent knowledge of all the premises. The union of forces urged by the entire National committee was one of principle and in face of an empty treasury on each side. The middle-of-the-road fights have been notoriously proven as paid for in cold dollars as a commercial transaction from the same fund that colonized the •euiial northern states in support of McKinley. Not in every

case to be sure, but too frequent for comfort of those identified. The Republican legislatures in lowa, Illinois and Indiana are proving themselves wonderfully concerned for the preservation of middle-of-the-road populism, but we fail to find any of our party principles engrafted in their party platforms or advocated by their leaders in halls of legislation. Yet this does not deter them from furnishing financial support in unlimited sums to middle of-the-road factions.

When populists have fused it appears at all times to have been a union of forces contending for the same common end. It came about as a logical sequence in the break up of parties under geographical conditions for which censure of leaderships at this time is clearly ill advised, and only in line with the faultless policy" of the Republican machine to divide and conquer. Owing to the receut enactment by our own state legislature which prohibits the name of any candidate to appear more than once upon the official ballot, an element of discord has been introduced by the dominant party which is .expected to rend the populist ranks and remove all doubt from future contests. It is too early to advance what is best policy for populists to assume, as we have a year and more to re-form our ranks and adopt a program.