184 THE AGRARIAN CRUSADE 



Populist party and to safeguard its future. An 

 active minority, moreover, was opposed to any 

 sort of fusion or cooperation. This " middle-of-the- 

 road" group included some Western leaders of 

 prominence, such as Peffer and Donnelly, but its 

 main support came from the Southern delegates. 

 To them an alliance with the Democratic party 

 meant a surrender to the enemy, to an enemy with 

 whom they had been struggling for four years for 

 the control of their state and local governments. 

 Passionately they pleaded with the convention to 

 save them from such a calamity. Well they knew 

 that small consideration would be given to those 

 who had dared stand up and oppose the ruling 

 aristocracy of the South, who had even shaken the 

 Democratic grip upon the governments of some of 

 the States. Further, a negro delegate from Georgia 

 portrayed the disaster which would overwhelm the 

 political aspirations of his people if the Populist 

 party, which alone had given them full fellowship, 

 should surrender to the Democrats. 



The advocates of fusion won their first victory in 

 the election of Senator Allen as permanent chair- 

 man, by a vote of 758 to 564. As the nomina- 

 tion of Bryan for President was practically a fore- 

 gone conclusion, the " middle-of-the-road " element 



