By the mid- 1880 s the older entrepreneurs had begun to fade and younger
men had assumed the reigns of financial leadership in Colorado. Political
power remained in Republican hands and even the Populist victory in 1892
melted like spring snow in Colorado sunshine. European and eastern capi-
tal continued to play critical roles in the state's economic development. The
"outsiders" who had established themselves within the informal hierarchy
of Denver's inner power circle tied the city's economic health more closely
to the East. ¹ Some Colorado leaders opposed the financial leverage that
resulted from close ties with eastern financiers. Tom Patterson associated
the Republican party with eastern investors and sought ways to neutralize
their powerful influence in Colorado. Myron Reed entered the state as an
outsider, but he brought no capital to invest. Instead, he hoped to partici-
pate in building a community that would provide a greater degree of justice
and equal opportunity in the West. To accomplish this objective, he be-
lieved that the West would need the right kind of political representation.

Any political change in Colorado that threatened state and federal eco-
nomic policies or patronage would he difficult, however. The Republican
party could draw on its organizational and financial strength, nourished
since the territorial days, to maintain the status quo, and Democratic candi-
dates rarely won congressional seats or gubernatorial races. The elections
of 1886 and 1888 illustrated the strength of the Republican party. In both
elections, the Democrats selected what many observers thought were for-
midable candidates. But in 1886 Reed lost the First District congressional
seat, in a disputed election, to Republican Judge George G. Symes; and in
1888 Republican Job A. Cooper won over Tom Patterson, the most recog-

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