190 THE AGRARIAN CRUSADE 



newspapers were opposed to Bryan, but his tours 

 and meetings and speeches had so much news value 

 that they received the widest publicity. As the 

 campaign drew to a close, it tended more and more 

 to become a class contest. That it was so con- 

 ceived by the Populist executive committee is 

 apparent from one of its manifestoes: 



There are but two sides in the conflict that is being 

 waged in this country today. On the one side are the 

 allied hosts of monopolies, the money power, great 

 trusts and railroad corporations, who seek the enact- 

 ment of taws to benefit them and impoverish the people. 

 On the other side are the farmers, laborers, merchants, 

 and all others who produce wealth and bear the bur- 

 dens of taxation. The one represents the wealthy and 

 powerful classes who want the control of the Govern- 

 ment to plunder the people. The other represents the 

 people, contending for equality before the law, and the 

 rights of man. Between these two there is no middle 

 ground. 



When the smoke of battle cleared away the elec- 

 tion returns of 1896 showed that McKinley had 

 received 600,000 more popular votes than Bryan 

 and would have 271 electoral votes to 176 for the 

 Democrat-Populist candidate. West of the Mis- 

 sissippi River the cohorts of Bryan captured the 

 electoral vote in every State except California. 



