XI - CAMPAIGN OF 1891, XII - LEGISLATION OF 1891, XIII - FORMING THE NATIONAL PARTY

The activities of the People's Party, both state and national, in 1891 were more educational than otherwise. An effort was made, not so much to elect candidates, there being only local elections, as to sow the seed of National revolution. Mrs. Lease, Mrs. Diggs, Jerry Simpson, Judge Peffer, John Willits and other leaders spent very little time in this State. They were going North, South, East and West preparing for the campaign of 1892, when they hoped to elect a President. They might have done it had they succeeded in breaking the solidarity of the South. That was the rock on which all the reform movements have been wrecked nationally.

The People's Party of Kansas established a lecture bureau and kept thirty to forty speakers busy the entire summer and fall. One of the best of these was Rev. James Buchanan, of Indianapolis, Indiana. In a speech at Frankfort, in Marshall County, he said that 7% interest accumulates wealth four times as fast as labor can produce it. It is not hard to reason from this the validity of the opening premise of this article that it was interest that was at the bottom of the trouble. The Kansas interest of 10% was accumulating in a hundred years more than three times as much as 7% would.

The leading feature of the campaign was the speeches made by Senator Plumb for the Republicans. Plumb belonged in the reform ranks, but was elected by the Republicans and so stayed with his party. He is quoted as saying in a speech on the money question on the floor of the Senate on January 7, 1891:

This explains why he did not embrace reform in the Populist Party, and he was right as subsequent events proved, although he might have speeded the day by going in with the losing cause. Plumb was a wonderful speaker and thinker and he made all kinds of horse play of Otis, Peffer, Davis and other Populists in their absence, and they had torn him to pieces for believing a thing and working against it. It is said that the efforts of this campaign contributed to Plumb's untimely death, which occurred in December of that year.

The Populists also lost a valuable man in 1891, when Col. S. N. Wood, of Stevens County, was murdered at Hugoton, June 23, 1891. One of the last political speeches he made was at Herington, April 29, 1891. It was a tremendous effort, covering the complete history of the Legislature which had just adjourned and an explanation of and argument in favor of every Populist principle. In regard to the government loaning money to the farmers to assist them he said:

The Republicans followed the road of the Populists in 1891 to the extent of organizing secret societies to advance the interests of the party. These two orders were the Republican League and the Knights of Reciprocity. The latter deceived the reform element for a long time, did spy duty and secured much valuable information at the reform assemblies from private conversations. The reform ticket did not score heavy in the fall election, and all accounts of the county tickets are omitted in the reform papers.

Shortly after the election of 1890 an effort was made to form a National People's Party, but the project was postponed until after the Legislature of 1891 should finish its work, as every leader wished to give full attention to assisting the Populist House to redeem as many of the party pledges as possible. For the first time in the history of the State, one branch of the Legislature was in control of an element opposed to the Republicans. And while the Third Party had only two members in the Senate, the overwhelming majority in the House gave them the choice of who should succeed Ingalls in the United States Senate. The mantle fell upon Judge W. A. Peffer, editor of The Kansas Farmer, one of the leading figures of the Reform Press Association, and a Populist writer and speaker. E. H. Snow was elected State Printer.

In the matter of legislation, the House was greatly handicapped. The State officers and the daily press were bitterly opposed to them, and the Senate had its plans laid to defeat all reform measures. There were hired Hessians to divide and disrupt the Populists by every imaginable scheme. The most the House accomplished was to put itself on record.

At the close of the session a manifesto was issued, signed by the Hon. P. P. Elder, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and by the chairmen of the following committees: Wm. Rodger, Ways and Means; J. S. Doolittle, Judiciary; David Shull, Legislative Apportionment; A. M. Campbell, Railroads; A. A. Newman, Municipal Corporations; C. R. Cleveland, Engrossed Bills; M. A. Cobun, Federal Relations; W. Doty, Banks and Banking; Levi Dumbauld, Elections; A. H. Lupfer, Education; John Bryden, Livestock. In this article the following bills are mentioned as having originated in the House and been passed by the Senate:

1. Act to abolish supervisorship in joint tenancy.
2. An appropriation of $3,500 to Prof. Snow of the University of Kansas to carry on experiments in the destruction of chinch bugs.
3. Apportioning the State of Kansas into Senatorial and Representative districts.
4. Requiring money coming into the hands of County Treasurers in some counties to be deposited in banks.
5. For the continuance and maintenance of forestry stations.
6. Constituting eight hours a day's work for all workingmen employed by the State, County, City or Township.
7. To regulate warehouses, the inspection, grading, weighing, and handling of grain.
8. Relating to the sale of real estate for delinquent taxes in such counties as shall adopt the provisions of this act.
9. Prohibiting alien ownership of land in Kansas.
10. Joint resolution recommending the calling of a convention to revise, amend or change the constitution of the State of Kansas.
11. Prohibiting combinations to prevent competition among persons engaged in buying or selling livestock.
12. A measure to prevent "wild cat" banking in Kansas.

But by far the most important of the Populist measures were not even considered by the Senate. Among these was the railroad freight schedule bill. Among other things it prohibited charging more money for a short haul than for a long haul, and would have reduced freight charges in Kansas 30 per cent. A bill was also passed in the House reducing passenger rates to two and one-half cents per mile, and prohibiting free passes. The lobby in the House against the railroad measures included every railroad attorney in the State, as well as the heads of railroads. They were allowed to come before the committee and explain their side of the case.

Another bill provided for a penalty of forfeiture of both interest and principal if a money loaner was found charging above the legal rate of ten per cent. The Senate said this would drive capital out of the State and vetoed it. A measure was instituted to relieve the farmers by allowing them two years to redeem their homes after foreclosure and to prohibit the mortgagor from obtaining a personal judgment in addition to the property. The Senate amended it to death and passed it. The House on receiving it back, struck out the amendments and returned it to the Senate, where they refused to receive it. A bill setting aside a sale on account of an inadequate price suffered a similar fate, as did a bill compelling the original mortgage to be brought into court, instead of a copy of the instrument, in case of foreclosure. A bill to make silver dollars and half dollars legal tender for all debts in the State and make the gold contracts null and void was not even considered in the Senate, as it would "drive capital out of the State."

Other legislation advanced by the House and defeated by the Senate was as follows:

An assessment bill providing for the unearthing of property hidden from the assessor, by means of search warrants.
Australian ballot bill.
The World's Fair appropriation bill. The defeat of this bill was blamed upon the Populists, but as a matter of fact they passed it, but the Senate wanted more than their share of the five Commissioners, and the measure was finally defeated.
Prescribing penalties for accepting bribes, and an act to abolish the corrupt use of money and corrupt acts at elections.
Prohibiting railroad companies from using armed detectives in strikes.
Reducing interest on unpaid taxes from 24% to 10%, and providing for an easier redemption by the owner.
To protect Counties, Cities and Townships from illegal or fraudulent acts of their officers.
To prohibit subscription of stock or voting bonds for railroads.
Providing for the weekly payment of wages in lawful money of the United States.
An act relating to insurance to compel the payment of policies or the rebuilding of destroyed property.
Changing the fees and salaries of County officers. Also a bill to make the office of State Printer an elective one on a salary of $3,000.
Hog inspector, and prohibiting the sale of dead hogs.
Limiting the power of Counties, Townships and Cities to create indebtedness.
Prohibiting private banks from doing business in any other than the individual names of the proprietors.
To prohibit Counties, Townships and Cities from voting aid except for buildings, bridges and school houses.
Conferring upon women the right to vote and hold office.
To prevent lotteries.
To amend the code of civil procedure, and reduce the work of the Supreme Court.
A bill allowing $60,000 for the relief of the destitute farmers of Western Kansas.
To punish drunkenness in public office by forfeiture of office.
Regulating the discharge of corporation employees and to prevent blacklisting of railroad men.
Uniform system of school books throughout the State by State publication if possible.

The total savings in appropriations was over a million dollars, as compared with previous legislatures, and could have been much more had the Populists been in control of both houses. Impeachment proceedings were instituted against Judge Theodosius Botkin of the thirtysecond judicial district, on charge of drunkenness and fraud. He was saved by the Senate, and later S. N. Wood, who was clerk of the Populist Judiciary committee, was killed at his court house by a hired assassin who was immediately set at liberty and never punished for the crime. Other investigations included the State-house appropriations which bad totaled $2,500,000, without the State-house being finished. The Coffeyville dynamite incident mentioned in connection with the Videttes was also investigated and the blame for the bomb located upon prominent Republicans. It was said that the Populist House of 1891 was the first to eliminate the large force of unnecessary employees. The Senate with 40 members had 118 employees, and the House with 125 members had only 82.

While the Populists made every legitimate effort to cut down expenditures, and attempted without success to eliminate some of the appointive offices which had been created as sinecures, no money was saved at the expense of the State institutions, as they made liberal appropriations for education,. and favored the proper care of all insane or otherwise helpless persons at the expense of the State, many of whom were at that time either uncared for or given inadequate attention by private means or by the counties. Taking it all together, the Populists had a record in the Journal of the House of Representatives on which to base their next campaign.

The initial steps in forming the National People's Party were taken in Winfield, Kansas, the home of the Alliance and the birthplace of the party, soon after the election of 1890. The Vincent Brothers, editors of The NonConformist, aided by C. A. Powers, of Indiana, and General J. H. Rice, of Kansas, drew up a call for a meeting of all industrial organizations of the country to form a National Party of the People. Among the organizations especially invited were: The Independent Party, the People's Party, the Union Labor Party, Federal and Confederate soldiers organizations. Farmers' Alliance, Citizens' Alliance, Knights of Labor, Colored Farmers' Alliance. The text of the call was as follows:

The call was taken to the meeting of the National Alliance at Ocala, Florida, December 2, 1890. Most of the Kansas leaders were there, Jerry Simpson among the rest, on his way to Congress. The Kansas delegation made an effort to have the call adopted by the Alliance, but although the national president, R. L. Polk, made a speech strongly favoring political action, the Southerners would have none of it. The Kansas people contented themselves with securing individual signers, and about fifty of the most prominent names in the reform movement of the country were on the scroll when the meeting closed. Upon returning to Kansas the promoters of the National Party put their meeting off until the 19th of May.

The editors of the reform press had been invited as delegates, and it was learned when the Reform Press Association met in Topeka in February that there were 150 newspapers in Kansas supporting the People's Party and entitled to representation in the national meeting. This, together with the fact that Kansas had all the reform organizations mentioned and some others, each one of them entitled to send delegates, made the Cincinnati Convention a Kansas affair. Five hundred people from this state met in Kansas City and went on a special train.

An enterprising reporter made an attempt to catalogue the names of the reform organizations represented at this meeting. He mentioned the following and then gave it up: The Farmers' Alliance, the National Workers' Alliance, the Citizens' Alliance, Independent Alliance, Industrial Union, Knights of Labor, Knights of Reciprocity, Knights of Union, Knights of Reform, Knights of Fairplay, Knights of Industry, Knights of Universal Equality, Municipal Congress, Municipal Reformers, Wage Earners Solidarity, Laborers' Union, Industrial Benevolent Association, National Finance Club, Indian Rights Association, Dollar of the Dads Advocates, Woman's Suffrage Association, Universal Order of Free Men and Free Women, and the Followers of Henry George. The states represented were: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Maine, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia. There were 1,400 delegates in all.

Kansas was looked upon for leadership and took immediate charge of the proceedings. The meeting was called to order by Judge W. F. Rightmire, a prominent Alliance and People's Party man of Kansas. The opening speech was made by Judge Peffer, United States Senator from Kansas. As this speech caused Populism to be referred to in other states as Pefferism a summary of the speech is here given:

The platform adopted at the Cincinnati Convention was based upon the Alliance declaration of principles in the three National Conventions: St. Louis in 1889, Ocala in 1890, and Omaha in 1891. The preamble was as follows:

There was nothing new to be advanced. The Sub-treasury plank led in the platform, followed by free silver, alien ownership of land, equality in taxation, economy in government, graduated income tax, government control or government ownership of means of transportation and communication, election of United States Senators, President and Vice-President by direct vote of the people, universal suffrage by states, payment of soldiers in the same coin the bankers were paid, eight hour law.

The following men were elected to the National Central Committee: Chairman, H. E. Taubeneck, Marshall, Ill.; Treasurer, M. C. Rankin, Terre Haute, Ind.; Secretary, Robert Schilling, Milwaukee, Wis. The members from Kansas on the committee were P. P. Elder, Levi Dumbauld and R. S. Osborn. The committee met almost immediately in St. Louis and planned for the presidential campaign of the next year. The nominating convention was set for June 14, 1892. It was later postponed and held at Omaha, July 2, 1892.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME 1 & 2
BIOGRAPHIES — VOLUMES 3, 4, & 5
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

---

Background and KSGenWeb logo were designed and are copyrighted by Tom & Carolyn Ward for the limited use of the KSGenWeb Project. Permission is granted for use only on an official KSGenWeb page.

---

©1997-2014 by Tom & Carolyn Ward