THE LEAVEN OF RADICALISM 195 



who deserted the Democracy at this time went over 

 to Roosevelt, the Republican candidate. In 1908 

 the Populist vote fell to 29,000; in 1912 the party 

 gave up the ghost in a thinly-attended convention 

 which neither made nominations of its own nor 

 endorsed any other candidate. In Congress the 

 forces of Populism dwindled rapidly, from the 27 

 members of 1897 to but 10 in 1899, and none at all 

 in 1903. 



The men who had been leaders in the heyday of 

 Populism retired from national prominence to mere 

 local celebrity. Donnelly died in 1901, leaving a 

 picturesque legacy of friendships and animosities, of 

 literary controversy and radical political theory. 

 Weaver remained with the fusion Populists through 

 the campaign of 1900; but by 1904 he had gone over 

 to the Democratic party. The erstwhile candidate 

 for the presidency was content to serve as mayor 

 of the small town of Colfax, Iowa, where he made 

 his home until his death in 1912, respected by his 

 neighbors and forgotten by the world. Peffer, at 

 the expiration of his term in the Senate, ran an 

 unsuccessful tilt for the governorship of Kansas on 

 the Prohibition ticket. In 1900 he returned to 

 the comfort of the Republican fold, to become an 

 ardent supporter of McKinley and Roosevelt. 



