Show FARMERS CHAMPION 0 OP r ALL the leaders of third party movements probably no one has caused the two major parties more concern than did gen james B weaver of iowa for he was the nominee of two new parties which at two different periods in our history capitalized on the unrest of the farm vote and in one case he definitely contributed to the overthrow of the tha party in power weaver was first the standard bearer for the Green backers a party which came into existence in in 1868 because of the dissatisfaction of the farmers with the financial policies of grants administration they were who demanded that a large amount of paper money be issued without regard to specie payment they received their name from the fact that legal tender notes were printed in green and called greenbacks green backs in the campaign of 1876 they nominated peter cooper the new york philanthropist but he polled only popular votes and did not receive a single electoral vote in the congressional elections of 1878 the Green backers cast a million votes and the republicans in power looked apprehensively to the presidential campaign of 1880 especially when the Green backers nominated a man from the agricultural west but their fears were groundless for the green backers could muster only a little more than votes and although garfield won over hancock by less than popular votes he got electoral votes to hi his opponents twelve years later the republicans had much marc to worry over when weaver bobbed up again this time as the nominee of the populist or peoples party which declared for free silver public ownership of monopolies postal savings banks and an income tax in the state and congressional elections of 1890 they carried the legislatures isla tures of kansas and nebraska elected nine members of congress and forced 34 others democrats and republicans to pledge themselves to carry out populist ideas in the presidential campaign of 1892 weaver polled more than votes in the west and south and corralled 22 electoral votes the populists lists also carried several state legislatures and sent five senators to washington SMITH FOR PRESIDENT S SINCE INCE the united states has more people bearing the name of smith than any other family name it is only natural perhaps that there should have been more presidential candidates by that name than any other the first was joseph E smith founder of the church of latter day saints and prophet of the mormon religion who in 1844 condemned the policies of both the whig and the democratic parties and announced nis ids candidacy for the presidency however his martyrdom at the hands of an illinois mob in june of that year cut short his political career four years later another smith was in in the field as a candidate gerrit smith the new york philanthropist who was one of the founders of the liberty party in 1840 and its candidate for president in 1848 in that year he was also in for the presidency by the industrial congress congles Con gres at its convention in philadelphia again in 1852 smith was the candidate of the liberty party and again he was indorsed endorsed indor sed by another group this time by the land reformers in neither case did smith or his party figure very prominently in the election in 1876 there was another one of the name in the presidential race lie he was green clay smith a native of kentucky a veteran of the mexican and civil wars rising to the rank of brigadier general in t the he union army before resigning to take his seat in congress to which he had been elected while in the field reelected re elected to congress he resigned to become the second territorial rit orial governor of montana after three years of service in the west he resigned to enter the ministry of the baptist church in washington soon afterwards he was chosen as the first presidential nomi nominee nee of the modern prohibition party just as this dry smith failed to win in 1876 so did a 11 we wet t smith fail to win half a century later for alfred E smith the democratic candidate in 1928 suffered the fate of all his predecessors defeat 0 western newspaper Newn Newa paper aalon |