CHAPTER IX 



THE PEOPLE'S PARTY LAUNCHED 



ALLIANCES, wheels, leagues all the agrarian or- 

 ganizations which multiplied during the eighties 

 gave tangible form to the underlying unrest created 

 by the economic conditions of that superficially 

 prosperous decade. Only slowly, however, did 

 there develop a feeling that a new political par- 

 ty was necessary in order to apply the remedies 

 which, it was believed, would cure some if not 

 all the ills of the agricultural class. Old party 

 ties were still strong. Only with reluctance could 

 the Republican or Democrat of long standing 

 bring himself to depart from the familiar fold. 

 Then, too, the recent ignominious failures of the 

 Greenback party might well cool the ardor of all 

 but the most sanguine advocates of a third par- 

 ty movement. Among the leaders of the agra- 

 rian organizations were many, moreover, who fore- 

 saw that to become involved in partisan politics 



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