Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

OPENING THE CAMPAIGN. the plots of the money power UNFOLDED. Address of the People’s Party Execu tive Committee to the People of the State of Missouri. The American people may well be amazed at the developments of the last forty days. (1). The old party platforms bear unmistakable evidence of collusion, as the agents of com bined capital. To render and con tinue the North and South “alien to each other” the Republican party declares in favor of the “force bill,” a measure it had no hope of ever enacting into law. This to put a club into the hands of its ally, the “Democracy” of the South, to enable it to drive the voters of that section into line so political incendiaries of the North may point to “the solid South” and from this declaim for and demand a “solid North.” All this, in the meantime, in the future, as in the past, to inure to the benefit of the European money power in its organized assault upon the industrial and political liberties of the people. On the question of the coinage of silver the position of the old parties is the same. Each takes advantage of the present depreciation of silver as a money caused by hostile legisla tion, to demand that thirty cents more silver shall be put into the silver dollar permitted to be coined. The enforcement of this demand would result in the immediate reduc tion of the present silver coin and certificates in the sum of $120,000,- 000, or 30 per cent, of the entire Volume. Both call for an interna tional conference and assert their purpose to await the agreement and action of the European powers be fore they attempt any relief to the people on this subject. And that in the face of the notorious facts that the demonetization of silver in 1873 was promoted and procured by the joiut acts of foreign emissaries back ed by European gold and domestic betrayers of the public welfare, who thus perpetrated one of the darkest crimes in the annah of history. And the notorious fact that by means of it the European powers have been enabled to lay tribute upon our pro ductive industries, and the present statu* inures only to the benefit of alien and domestic usurers, specula tors and extortioners. The subject of the free coinage of silver is onlyi important as it is marginal on the question of currency and its volume. The old parties declare by their posi tion on this question not only that they forbid any increase of the present volume, that even now strangles enterprise, stagnates trade, blights prosperity, impoverishes la bor, bankrupts dealers and traders and threatens the peace of the coun try, but actually demand a further contraction to reach a gold standard. According to their platforms we have no relief or surcease from these conditions without the consent of the European powers, whose emis saries and gold brought us to this deplorable state. And that, too, in the face of the fact that twenty-four states have now declared in favor of free coinage of silver. A few days since, the Republican Senate parsed the Stewart bill providing for the free coinage of silver; the bill was called up iu the House, Democratic by a two-thirds majority, and 118 Democrats, 10 People’s Party (every Mian) and 8 Republicans, 13G, voted for it. Rut 94 Democrats a»nd 60 Republicans, 154, voted against it and defeated it. (2) On the subject of tariff one declares for “tariff for revenue only” to suppoitthe federal government whose expenses are iteadily increas ing an 4 are next year to be five hundred million dollars. The other declares for tariff for “protection and revenue” for the same purpose. A reduction of the revenue derived from that source by either or both of them, in obedience to the declaration in their platforms, would leave the federal expenditures unprovided for. Neither or both of them have reduc ed the tariff tax in twenty-five years and neither of them intend to do it. Their respective positions on that subject are assumed, at the direction of flhe 31,000 men estimated to own one half of the wealth of the nation, who are practically exempted from taxation, to support the federal gov ernment by the indirect tax levied ow what the citizens consumes instead of what he owns. Neither of them even promise any substantial reduc tion of the tariff tasves and our expe rience ought to teach us that they always do less than they promise in relief to the people. Reform of this abuse can be effected only by raising the revenue to support the federal government, by a system of direct and income taxes, thus separating the interests and cause of the manufac turing monopolies from those of the other monopolies of the country. (3.) The railroad corporations is sue passes almost indiscriminately to delegates and others who attend the old party conventions, as means of whosale undue influence and corrup- tion. This has gone to such length that leading men of the Democratic party in this State have been driven to complain and expose the meanness of the system of wholesale bribery to control and in many instances, con trolling the actions of the party. (4.) Two months since, the man agers of the great steel works at Homestead, Pa., commenced to en c.ose their works like a fortification, with three miles of a high fence, loop ed-holed for musketry, on the top of which was stretched a barb wire to be charged with electrcity. A no tice of the reduction of the wages of the men was given to take effect at the time of the completion of these warlike measure*; the men burned the effigy of the agent of the steel works who superiatended these pre parations. In retaliation they were locked out two days sooner than the notice required. A fiotillation of iron encased barges, filled with three hundred armed mercenaries from other States, were brought by the steel agents to drive their employes into obedience. Like the English troops under Major Pitcairn, at the village green of Lexington, they com manded the men to “disperse” and seconded the command by a deadly volley from Winchesters ; they ig nominously failed. All this is shock ing enough ; the people are stupefied; they do not half comprehend the awful import of these developments. The time for this assault on organi ized labor was premeditatedly and deliberately chosen for one of the darkest purposes. We must remem ber that since 1888 foreign capital has made a stampede to our shores ; it came by hundreds of millions, and commenced to invest in the brewer ies as one of the greatest financial and political powers, and is going on to buy and control m a great measure every other interprise in our country, in which great sums of capital are used. In the last months of Mt. Cleve land’s administration the United States laws were so amended as to authorize the adjutant-general of the United States army to distribute one hundred and fifty stands of cadet rifles, fifty rounds per year of ball and cartridge ammunition per rifle for “target practice” and two three inch guns with one hundred rounds of blank ammunition per year per gun and a graduate of West Point to teach military discipline, while paid out of the United States treas ury, to each sectarian, religious or other school that would claim that “it had accommodations for one hun dred and fifty male students.” Un der this law, arms and ammunition have been distributed to what extent is not known. It is now admitted that the force of Pinkerton is now about twenty-five shousand—nearly equal to the regular army of the United States at this time. After all this preparation, the assault of capital is made at the moment after the national nominations in the hush and preparation for the great ap proaching campaign. Every in formed person knows that the time was not accidental, it was chosen de liberately ; not by either old party—- it is wormwood and gall to them now. By whom was it timed? The evidence is clear—it was d'one by timid, scared alien capital and do mestic plutocracy. One of its insti gators was safely ensconced in a Eu ropean castle, feting on alien pauper nobility, on means wrung from American labor, and telegraphing his and their congratulations to the nomine® of their choice. By the assault at that time on organized labor the plutocracy says to the par ties : “It is not sufficient assurance to us now that you have made Lom bard and Wall street platforms, that you have each nominated our choice for candidates. We propose to take time by the forelock now and deal at certainties. We furnish the money for the campaign; you shall not escape by us any half service. You shall now come boldly to our side of the struggle against organized capital in the use of the State and National military. “We know you tremble at the re sponsibility, and that is juit the rea son we put you to the teat now.” And to-day a Democratic governor in Pennsylvania and the Republican administratioM in Idaho are walking the capitalistic plank in the use of the State and National military at the behest and on the side of aliea capital and against organized Ameri can labor. It is an awful, a aupreme moment in the great approaching revolution. If the State and National arms are now to be carried on the side of alien capital in its eff< ta destroy organized American .abor, when and where shall ba the end ? The line is clearly drawn at Home stead and in the West. Proud, in solent, despotic alien capital behind a line of American bayonets shows its teeth to, ignores, resents, insults and orders organized labor to dis perse, and on failure fires. Union men, as the representatives of or ganized labor, are rejected unless they disown organizations and “come as individuals.” Why? Be cause they stand for the man and womanhood, the intelligence, the in- dependence and the patriotism of American labor. Non-union men, unorganized labor, in its short-sight ed, besotted ignorance, its dire neces sity, its isolation, weakness and degradation, is the natural ally of despotic alien and domestic capital. Its methods are to disorganize, di vide, isolate, weaken and then sub jugate labor in dtail. If one can now meet single-handed with labor at Homestead and the West in the use of the State and National mili tary on its side the Rubicon is passed. It can and will use these contests as precedents and prestige to overthrow labor on one after an other field. The military is only the arm of the executive department of the State or National government, the same as the sheriff or constabu lary. It cannot decide the right or wrong of any contention—it should not champion either side of any. Its sole and only duty is to restrain, vio lence or trespass, to preserve the public peace and order, and the statue quo and the status of each situation on which it acts, as far as the ultimate rights of the parties are concerned. The times that try men’s souls are here, the situation impels to action. If there be a silver lining to the cloud that overhangs us, it must be in the prompt and decisive actio a of the thoughtful and patriotic voters of the nation at the polls in the coming election. The old parties are in collusion in their service of the money powers their platforms are prevarications and appeals to sectional strife to hide their duplicity in the service of domestic and alien combined capital. The country can have no hope in either or both of them. Liberty-loving citizens of Missouri, we desire to call your especial atten tion to the odious gag law the so called “Australian ballot system” enacted by the General Assembly of this State, a law expressly intended to perpetuate the two old political parties by preventing the organiza tion of a new party. No law more subversive of the liberties and rights of the people was ever enacted in this country. It is in direct conflict with the National and State consti tutions which guarantee to every citizen the right to a free and unre stricted ballot. It compels all citi zens who will not vote the Demo cratic or Republican tickets to pay for the privilege of voting. It was designated to stifle independent po litical action by making its provisions so intricate and difficult of compre hension and so expensive that the people would become discouraged in attempting to comply with all of the requirements. The Democratic par ty of Missouri is responsible for this un-American and unconstitutional “fo/ee bill.” In their State conven tion at St. Joseph in 1890 they solemnly themselves^to re- Its stea’x off their pronj se the next session of the (Jneral Assembly they proceeded t< . ren der it more galling and Oi compliance, so that the independent voters of this State are compelled to pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege of voting their sentiments, a sacred privilege guaranteed to every law-abiding citizen by our State constitution. Are you willing to aid in continuing in power a party so false to its pledges, so destitute of respect for the constitution and re gard for the rights of the people? If not, we entreat you to cast your ballot with the People’s Party, ths only party in this State pledged to the repeal of the tyrannical and un constitutional seotiqns of this law. The People’s Party comes to yo» w th the olive branch of peace and reconciliation in the name of the su premacy of the few and eternal jus tice. It is attempting to call the country back to a sober second thought, to avert bloodshed and bring an era of “peace on earth and good will to men.” Will you, can you join us in this ncble purpose? If you can, in the name of fraternity awd patriotism, of equal rights to-all and special privileges to none, we welcome you. M. V. Carroll, Ch’m’n, C. E. Gardner, Sec’y, Pierce Hackett, Treas., Geo. H. Hiffner, B. H. Cowgill, Executive Committee People’s Party of Missouri. Notice! By authority vested in me by the executive committee of the People’s Party of the Seventh Congressional district, I hereby announce that the nominational convention will convene in Cartersville on Thursday, Sept. 1, at noon, for the purpose of nominat ing a candidate for Congress. 11. D. Hutcheson, Chairman Ex. Com. Ninth Congressional District. The Executive Committee of the People’s Party of the Ninth Con gressional District will meet at the court house in Gainesville at 11 o’clock on the 16th day of August, 1892. Congress and Santa Cruz Rnm. Mrs. P»lton ia Southern F*r« far lujurt, ISW The country felt a thrill of disgust and contempt to-day, when the newspapers made publio the miser able conduct of eight recreant Demo crats in the National Congress. The head lines ran thus: “Eight Democrats sell out for a drink— Santa Cruz Ruas the King.” Among the particulars given, I find the following: “Men who would not have sold out for a mint of money let their votes go for a Santa Cruz rum punch, embellished with a slice of pine apple and a piece of orange. Eight Democrats sat in the Congressional Hotel bar, sipping this summer drink, and were so well pleased with it that they were not present to vote on the Lehlback amendment to the force bill. * * Judge the surprise of the Democrats when Reed announced the vote 132 to 138, the amendment lost by six majority. The Demo cratic leaders were dazed, but when a few moments later the eight Demo cratic members from the Congress ional bar sauntered in leisurely, whistling in chorus ‘Little Annie Rooney,’ the Democratic leaders were indignant, and they should have been, will be the verdict of every Democrat in America.” The amendment thus defeated by Santa Cruz rum, was most impor tant to the South. The force bill would have been inoperative in a large degree if the North had been campelled to take a dose of its own medicine. The amendment pro posed to apply the force bill to every county of every State in the whole Union ; and its defeat is made more intolerable by the fact that Santa Cruz rum in weak men’s brains made the defeat. There is nothing to hope for with such legislators—and they seem to be fastened upon the conn try forevermore. The erop never fails. A legislator’s position is a very grave and responsible one. He holds the relation of guardian to all minors and dependent classes. The position of guardian is one which men hold in highest respect, but a guardian who betrays his truat is of all men the most heavily censured; and the verdict i« a just one. In Washington City a Congress man is paid nearly sl4 per day. Rain or shine, cold or hot, work or no work his pay is certain. In addi tion to thi« he gets mileage and sl2 of stationery. His advantages in the way of attentions, favors and railroad passes are unnumbered. The Congressional Hotel is clgse by, and a stream of men was con tinually pouring out and pouring in ten years ago to get drinks at its bar. It seems that the bar is still in full blast. How many men date their ruin to that hotel eternity alone can tell 1 Surely, surely tliara is a fasci nation about wiae in the cup that is ■xtaiiic—and an allure.^ uomulo3 l ble only to the. charm " 1 * o ver bird* ’, . , j llo a- think of wha , „ t., Ts congressmen to reach their present positions 1 I have pften watched the House of Representatives when the saata were full, and wondered if there was a place on earth in which was concentrated so much of eager anxiety—never-ceasing desire and uneasy restlessness. It is a place where the “outs” are ever fighting to gat in and where the “ins” are always in dread of being pushed out. How strange that men who h ive risked so much—endured so much and spent so much—should sink it all in a carouse over a bottle of Santa Cruz rum! Besotted and maudlin they must have beG~.me when they forgot decency and pro priety and “sauntered in, whistling in chorus the sejng of Little Annie Rooney.” We have heard so much of Nero’s fiddling while Rome was burning— but the old heathen was a patriot compared to those recreant Congress men who added insult to injury to the long- suffering South. But they will retire to private life after this term closes. The country cannot endure them longer than the expiration of this Congress. The “outs” now have “nuts” to crack, and they will crack those addle-pated members with a vim, Who will sing another tune than “Little Annie Rooney” before the next election. The general disguit that prevails will certainly be fatal to these Santa Cruz rum drunkards—and there is nothing left to them except to turn lobbyists or hang about Washington to pick up crumbe. But, Oh ! the pity of it 1 In view of the dangers to legisla tioM would it not be wise to forbid any drunken man from voting on public questions? We are afraid of drunken doctors —drunken engineers snd drunken carriage drivers. Certainly such drunkards as these Santa Cruz rum sots, are equally unsafe in leading the country. I confess I am afraid of drunken men, because they are tem porarily insane, and therefore unsafe in leadership anywhere. Many years ago, there was a young democratic congressman elected from i a Weetern State. His seat was con- tested, and he was sorely needing money to carry on the contest. His faithful wife seld her plantation to raise the needed amount and he car ried it ob, and waited the result. In the meantime the congressional hotel bar caught him as the spider catches a fly. He gained his place, and settled down as a feted, flattered congress man. In a year or two his young wife and little child went on to share his hotel life and enjoy his company. But the bar at the congressional hotel proved too much for his safety or their happiness. One night, when all was quiet, I chanced to go out in the corridor, and found the young wife sobbing like her heart would break. Her lord and master had been brought in drunk and violent. She attempted to put him to bed—when he kicked and cursed her. She was too wretched to refuse the sympathy of friendship and often and often did she pour out a flood of regrets that her hopes and happiness had all vanished at the bar of this Congressional hotel, near the capitol building. As time wore on—Santa Cruz rum and all other drinks got in ther work on the poor, misguided man—until disease assailed him and put him on a bed of suffering. The “outs” n ised a racket, and defeated him. As a result he became despondent, and very ill—and also very abusive to his long-suffering wife. When Congress expired, he had barely enough money to buy their railroad tickets to the West, and a few weeks close his earthly career— bankrupt and penniless. The political shore is strewn with such wrecks —the land is filled with widowhood and orphanage the courts are filled with criminals—the jails are filled with prisoners—made by liquor selling and liqor drinking —yet the law makers are blind—or they refuse to see—they are deaf—or they refuse to heed. Alas! Alas! How long, Oh ! Lord, how long ! I Railroad and Land. BY J. H. PECK. There is more in the railroad and Land plank in the St. Louis platform, than a great many are aware. These are monopolies of the worst type. Theyare the carriers of commerce,and therefore have the power to kill any business. They can by excessive freight rates drive any class of pro ducers -to the wall. This excessive charge affects the producer more than any one. It does not affect the speculator in the least. Let me illus trate this. We will take cotton for instance. We will suppose the cot ton manufacturer at Lowell, Mass., will give ten cents per pound. Now under present circumstances no one can sell direct to the manufacturer, and if we could it would not change one iota. If we had , ' . cuiitjoq we get ten he more it costs us we realize for *oad charges ' five cents p CA 3TTI we ■ make to get it to the manufacturer, ‘ and if we sell to our local buyers, as : must of us do, and he must have a 1 profit of one cent per pound he could only give us four cents ; but if freight was one cent a pound he could give us eight cents. Now any one can see that this affects the farmer and no one else. For the be; e3t of those who may think there is nothing in this will I quote a part of the report of the Pacific Rail Road says: “They have discriminated between betwee® individuals, between locali ties and between articles ; they have destroyed possible competitors and thus build up particular localities to the injury of other localities until matters have reached such a pass that no man dares engage in any bus iness without first consulting the rail road. They have departed from 1 their legitimate sphere. ***** They have participated in elections.” They always charge all the tariff will bear. Five railroad men meet and agree to vaiee the freight on 1 wheat five cents per bushel, and thereby make over and above their already large profits, seventy-five ' million dollars. The railroads clear annually about • four hundred and fifty million dollars. 1 To show their profits I will quote • from the fourth annual convention of 1 Rail Road Commissioners held April 1 1882, this shows that railways in 14 years prior to 1880 saved ia excess of six psr cent, annually on capital in vested $1,592,280,277. All of this cornea out of the producers. ' The question naturally arises, is 1 there no way to remedy the evils. As to the remedy of these evils 5 opinions differ. One class claims 1 that this discrimination can be stop i ped by governerment ownership. 1 We have tried control, National and " State and it has been a momentous E failure, and always will be, because ■ no law can be framed but that it can J be evaded, and as long as railroads . object to commissions so long will > they fail to control them. Beside i: the courts have decided that a ■ f board cannot fix rates absolute, but that the may by injunction set it aside until a hearing is obtained in the courts and if courts deside the rates too low they say it is taking private property without just compen sation, and therefore inconstitutional. The rule upon which courts pro ceed ia such eases is this: That the rate must pay first the interest on the railroad debts ; second, all its operating expenses; third, a fair div idend on its capital stock as or fixed investment ; fourth, the general out lay as shown by the books of the company, and no cne is allowed to question the books of the company. With this discussion it is useless to longer think of Government control. New let us look at Government ownership of railroads. Their cost according to the best authority ex clusive of matured stock is about four billion of dollars, and their an nual net profit is $450,000,000. Thus there would be saved to the govern ment attorney’s fees, advertising and a number of other items which would greatly increase the net profits of the roads, hence they would soon pay for themselves. There is just so much reason that the government should owb the roads, as the postal system. The same individual rights are violated in case that there is no ownership. The objection that it is interfereiag with private rights is met by the fact that by their discrim ination they interfere with private rights and private pursuits. It is also objected that if the Government owned the roads and freight was lost we could not recover damages be cause we could not sue the govern ment. That is of little weight to the farmer, as they seldom have any thing shipped. As to officers, under government ownership, influencing elections it could not possibly be worse than the way railroads control elections, and lobby Congress and Legislatures, but if under ownership the officers would be appointed for life or during good behavior and re move the temptation for party suc cess. If the government owned the roads we would have a uniform and cheaper rates. There is not a single objection to ownership, that cannot be ugued against ownership of the postal system. The roads already belong to the people, for they have paid for them in extortionate freight. European Nations own the railroads of their country and give better accommodations, and cheaper fare, and put money in the treasury. Let the people understand all these things and all will be well. Will They Answer! Among the questions that will be asked the aspirants to congressional honors may be enumerated the fol lowing : How many tramps are therein the United States? What made so many tramps ? How ‘many homes are ..there mortgaged in the United States? Who owns the” mortgages ? How milch is the aver ner cent, per annum on them? OMS'oWx. •er"* - y ' xioui pay pen annum and owners of their homes? H a have agriculturists annum during the last forty year?. What does the accumulation consist of ? Who controls the volume of money in the United States? How did the power come to be located there ? Do those who control the money dictate the laws? Why are wages low ? What will increase wages ? Why do the Democratic and Republican parties place the head or tail of their tickets in New York? Will New York and New England ewer consent to legislation that will take their usurious grip off the people of the south and west? ■ What’s the remedy ? What are you going to ds about these things if elected ? Can we ever get relief while New England is in the saddle? What constitutional or other objec tions do you have to the sub-treas ury plan ? Have we enough money in circulation ? What’s your plan of putting sufficient money into the hands of the people ? Seme Ceid Facts. National Watchman. Mr, Frick, of Homestead noto riety, is and has been for years, the inveterate foe of organized labor. His main object in life, as avowed by himself, is to destroy all labor organizations. Unless the best of indications are wrong, he has pre cipitated strikes among his own workmen in order to profit by their misery. He was the cause of the Connellville strike of one year ago, when so many lives were sacrificed and so much property destroyed. He was the originator of the scheme for importing these half-civilized, half starved Hungarians to take the places of American workmen. He is a hard-hearted, unconscionable, money-grasping plutocrat, Who has made ,his fortune by serving those above him. There is not a single drop of the milk of human kindness in his entire being. He considers a laboring man as a mere machine, without feeling, self-respect, or per sonal rights. Such is Mr. Frick, dead or alive.