Santa Fe Daily New Mexican

Cleveland and the Populists.
Republicans assert with manifestations
of glee that President Cleveland has re-
fused to carry out the ante-election bar-
gains with Populist leaders made by some
of his campaign managers. Those agree-
ments, it is asserted, were to the effect
that the Populists should share in the
spoils in the event of Mr. Cleveland's suc-
cess, and it is claimed that by virtue of
those agreements Mr. Cleveland acquired
much strength, and, in fact, was elected.
Supposing all this to be true-which
supposition requires a considerable
stretch of imagination-little sympathy
can be felt for disappointed Populists.
The People's party was called into exist-
ence and developed strength largely upon
the conviction that the old parties were
corrupt, controlled by capitalists and
office-seekers and animated by the spoils
idea. The great body of the Populists
were and are sincere in this belief. They
do not want offices and have no hope of
getting offices. They knew nothing of
any deal for office, but voted for the
Populist doctrine as expressed by their
tickets without regard to whether Repub-
licans or Democrats might be ultimately
benefited by their action.
It is logical, therefore, to suppose that
if, as suggested, the president fails to
carry out the agreements of the campaign
managers with Populist leaders, the Pop-
ulist who acts from principle will not
care. The presumption is fair that he
will rather rejoice at the discomfiture of
any treacherous leaders of his party.
As a rule the Populist is a theorist and
in some things he is a dreamer. He is
bitten with isms. Mr. Cleveland may win
him with tariff reform, or Mr. Carlisle
may captivate him with a state-bank
policy. But the Populist in the aggregate
can not be captured by bribing his lead-
ers with offices,-Chicago News.