The People's party paper. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, August 12, 1892, Image 4

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER. PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE PEOPLE’S PAPER PUBUSING COMPANY. 117 1-2 Whitehall St. THOS. E. WATSON, - - President. C. C. POST, - - - Vice-President. D. N. SANDERS, - - Sec. & Treas. R. F. GRAY, - Business Manager. Subscription, One Dollar Per Year, Six Months 50 cts., Three Months 25. In Advance. Advertising Rates made known on appli cation at the business office. Money may be sent by bank draft, Post Office Money Order, Postal Note or Registered Letter. Orders should be made payable to PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER. FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1892. Modestly let it be said that never in the history of Georgia has such a reception been tendered any Con gressman returning to his home as was received by Mr. Watson at Thomson, Tuesday. This is worthy of mention, for it has been repeated from end to end of the State that Mr. Watson would be defeated for re election. Os this feather are all the boasts of the daily papers of the State in relation to the People’s Party. The people of the country look to Alabama and wonder. Perhaps the boodle depended on to beat Watson in the tenth is not all Georgia boodle. Plutocracy, from Lombard to Wall streets, is in it. The Republican State nominating convention metThurday and decided not to make nominations. This leaves the fight between Peek and Northen, and simplifies the situation wonderfully. A prominent Republican is indig nant that the Constitution should have reported that the State Central Committee of that party voted to put out a State ticket. The resolution adopted by a majority of sixty to five was to put out no state ticket. The People’s Party Paper is often ordered by friends to the ad dresses of persons who themselves know nothing of this fact. No names are entered on credit, and therefore no one need hesitate to take the copy addressed to him from his post-office. Hon. S. M. Taliaferro, whose countenance ornaments the eighth -page, is an able and fearless advocate of the people’s cause. He has friends in all parts of the district, l . nil o >ast. He will make a canvass ui tlie district, and will make it hot. The Atlanta Journal had a short dispatch from Thomson, Tuesday, estimating the assemblage to meet Mr. Watson at 4000 Wednesday it wiped out 3100 of its previous figures. The contrast with the State rally of “organized Democracy” was too great for a tender party stomach. The truth is, that more than 6000 friends met Mr. Watson. The Atlanta Constitution evidently thinks the farmers can still be fooled with the statement that the Demo cratic measure proposing to admit raw 'wool free of duty while re taining the tariff on yarns and clothes is for the benefit of the farmer. This measure was proposed at the suggestion of the manu facturers, and is devised by them to better enable them to form a trust controlling the price of both wool and its manufactures. When Mr. Cleveland accepted the nomination at the great surprise party in New York, among other things he said: “We see the fanner listening to a de lusive story that fills his mind with visions of advantage, while his pocket is robbed by the stealthy band of high pro tection ” To the average farmer, who has been examining into Mr. Cleveland’s record on the measures that tend to relieve agriculture, this is more re pulsive than simple bosh ; it is an insult to ordinary intelligence. The Democrats and Republicans differ only in degree, and a very slight de gree at that, in their triff theories. The People’s Party alone proposes to remove the tai iff by substituting for that anomaly a fair tax on the wealth of the country instead of on its labor. FOLLOWING THE NEW YORK TRI BUNE. The Constitution makes haste to quote approvingly a statement of that ultra-plutocratic sheet the New Xork Tribune to the effect that there are only 4,047 millionaires in the United States instead of 35,000 as has been asserted by the reformers for several years past without dis pute. “The Tribune’s list,” says the Constitution, “is nearer the mark than the third party estimates and assuming the position taken by Whitelaw Reid’s paper, the Atlanta paper continues : “The country is big enough to stand 4,047 million aires. A few more would be a real benefit. * * * A plutocrat is a curse to the people, but the average millionaire is not a bad fellow.” Then does the Constitution mean to assert that the possessor of one million does not belong to the class which is denominated plutocratic? It is not many months since the Constitution was full of warning talk about the dangers which threaten the republic because of the concen tration of the wealth of the country into a few hands, and it repeatedly urged an income tax as a means of impeding the growth of great fortunes and cutting them down. We would remind the Constitu tion, and more especially the alliance men and reformers in general, that Whitelaw Reid is the Republican candidate for vice president; that he is the chief owner and editor in chief of the New York Tribune, which is at this time more than ever, a strickly partisan republican paper and we would ask, what is it that moves the Constitution at this juncture to turn to the leadin repub'ican journal of the union for council and support against the farmers and working-men of Georgia. Alas, and alas, plutocracy is not confined to the Norlh and East, nor are all the plutocratic newspapers published in that section. The recent sneering and sarcastic tone of the Constitution is not being over looked, nor will the people fail to re member its efforts to blacken and crush, the people’s party leader of the tenth district. Returning to the statistics of con centrated wealth, we have to say that the statement that there are 35,- 000 millionaires, and that 250,000 families own more than half of the wealth of the country, U from the pen of Thomas G. w ~ n New York <-. r ~ 41 xVlr. Shearman, is recogrized by the coun try at large as a non-partisan in vestigator — a disinterested reformer having at heart not the success of any party, but the welfare of the masses and their posterity. If it suits the Constitution to prefer the statement of Whitelaw Raid’s organ in the midst of a campaign, where he and his party are vitally interested, it is welcome to its choice. We con tent ourselves with calling the at tention of the people to its position. PLEDGED TO ECONOMIZE I The Democrats of the House were loud in their protestations early in the session that they considered the political land-slide, by which they became possessed of a two-thirds majority, a rebuke to the extrava gance of the billion dollar Congress. To emphasize their claim to confi dence, a resolution was passed pledging the majority to rigid econ omy, and promising that there should be no more billion dollar Congresses, under the new order of things, which they felt assured had come to stay. And the people real ly intended that the new order should stay, did the Democratic party keep its pledges and deserve the power placed in its hands. But how has that majority kept its pledges? A short comparison of the expenditures authorized during the first sessions each of the Fifty first and Fifty-second Congresses will most effectively answer the question. The total of regular appropria tions by the first session of the Bil lion Dollar Congress was $361,770,- 057. The total of regular appropria tions by the Pledged-to-Economize Congress was $385,837,500. Thus the regular appropriations have been increased $24,067,443 over the first year of the Billion Dollar Congress. The grand total of appropria tions by the first session of the Bil lion Dollar Congress was $463,398,- 510. The grand total of appropriations by the first session of the Pledged to-Economize Congress was $507,- 701,380 The total expenditures author ized by the House over which Statesman Crisp presided, exceeded those authorized by the House over which Czar Reed presided by $44, 322,870. This excess, at 6 cents per pound, the full average price when the ap propriations were made, would cov er 1,440,717 bales of cotton, or one sixth of a full normal crop. What will the second session do? THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. That the Democratic convention should have renominated the entire list of State officers was expected by everybody familiar with the tac tics of political rings. It is almost impossible to free a party from a coterie of officeholders monopolizing the patronage of a State or great city, when no division mars the symmetry of the slate they fix up. It is a case in which co-operation is usually perfect, and an outsider seeking to supplant one of the coterie in a nominating convention finds his individual efforts combated by each and all the ins. Therefore the renomination of the full State is by no means indicative that the present officials are the most popular or the most capable members of their party, but rather that they combined together to bring about the result. For the People’s Party, the con vention of last Wednesday is an object lesson. The body lacked the enthusiasm and earnestness of that which nominated Peek and other People’s candidates, and was com posed of a different element of citi zens of the commonwealth. Where as we had an assembled body of producers of wealth, the Democra cy was represented almost exclusive ly hy professional men and traders of the towns, principally by law yers. It was reasonable to expect that the proceedings would be more regular and the speeches more im pressive than at the People’s con vention. Such expectation, how ever, w- . iot realized. / The plain pie were able to exercise jrc in ousiness than the Democrats, qiid the speeches by the farmers were incomparably more earnest and convincing than were those of the bar-bred advocates of Wall street. Ushering in the convention on Tuesday night, the grand ratification meeting was a disappointment. Though the speakers who delivered addresses were of State reputation, not a notable idea was developed or a word uttered that would carry conviction to the inquiring mind. Music and cheers left a far greater impression on the listener than any thing said. If the singular and reprehensible appeal made by Sena tor Gordon to sectional animosity be excepted, there was scarcely an utterance by any speaker that would impress itself upon even the ardent convictions of the young men who compose the Atlanta Democratic club. General Gordon seems impressed w’ith the idea that if the people of Georgia vote a ticket upon which occur the names of a brevet briga dier of the Federal volunteer army and a maimed veteran of the Con federacy, dishonor will be done to the memory of the fallen braves of the South. He sees no inconsisten cy, however, in voting for a ticket the head of which died by proxy in a hospital of the Federal army, while the second place is filled by an avow ed enemy whose courage or interest was not sufficient to spur him to battle for his side in the sanguinary contest of thirty years ago. The most absurd claim is set forth that the South can retain her honor and self-respect while accepting political affiliaticn with the East, rich with the spoils of the war and the misrule it made | ossible, but would be dis graced wa-e she to join with the West in an effort to so change con- ditions as to make it possible to en joy a prosperity unvexed by peon age to the capitalists of the East. For the most part, the speeches were devoted to instruction how to win back to the Democracy the long deceived and outraged people who have declared themselves indepen dent, and may be defined as advice as to the best manner of applying salt to a workingman’s tail. There were perhaps 2,000 people out to hear the big guns of Democra cy Tuesday night, the larger part residents of other towns who had taken advantage of the cheap rail road fares. The every-day business men and workers of Atlanta were in it to a very small degree. The People now know who is on the opposition ticket, and they know that it has the support of the little political and official rings in the coun ties. They know enough to make duty plain. That is all they want to know. The Republicans of Georgia are to be congratulated on their good sense. “White supremacy” is not a possible issue in the State. The Atlanta Constitution tells its readers that “the confidence and the campaign fund of the Democrats in the tenth has shaken Mr. Watson’s belief in his own strength in his dis trict.” This virtual admission gives force to the report that a large cor ruption fund has been raised in the tenth. It is notice that boodle is to be the main argument opposed to Mr. Watson. It is notice to the voters of the district that a new ele ment is to be introduced, which if successful, will secure elections hereafter without consulting the preferences of the people. It is also notice that the voters of the tenth are considered as salable, and that the majority have their price. It is a dark hint, and its sinister intent should be comprehended fully by every man who believes in fair play and honest elections. People need not think, because a brass band will not fill a hall, that the people of Georgia will not come out to hear an account rendered by a faithful servant. Peek is making things howl—that is, Democratic things. In the last few weeks there is a disposition on the part of the Wall street element to use a qualifying - That adjective is “organized.” Jones’ election in Alabama is u. vibtory for “organized Democracy,” and in various connections the peo ple are reminded that they are not in it, so far as the party is concerned, unless they join the clubs and take pledges to sacrifice their independent manhood upon the altar of Plutoc racy. Well did Peek say, “When a law oppresses a white Georgia farmer, the colored Georgia farmer just be hind him suffers also.” B. M. Gross Has Something to Say. Editor People’s Paper: In the Gibson Enterprise of July 15 K. J. Hawkins, its editor, takes occasion to denounce me in a column of abuse boiled down to its essence. This article of the little “Flopper” seems to complain: 1. That I am spoiling for the judgeship of the Augusta circuit. 2. That I said in a speech in Willis county that the little “Flopper” was a rampant People’s party man till his ride down the narrow gauge railroad with Northen, Gordon et al. and that he came back a red hot democrat, and paid a nine months past-due board bill. 3. That when he, [the little “Flopper”] met me in Atlanta I took it all back. As to his first charge I have never been a candi date for the office, and am not now such a candidate. I was requested to make the race for the office by Alliancemen, before the Alliance legislature in 1890, but declined so to do. The little “Flopper” cannot produce a single witness to say that I ever asked any man’s support for the office of judge of the superior court of the Augusta circuit. On this count in his indictment he has lied out of whole cloth. As to the second count in his in dictmen I submit the following affi davit which is sworn to by Geo. C. Kelly, as good a man for veracity as there is in Glasscock county: COPY OF AFFIDAVIT. GEORGIA, Glasscock County— Personally comes Geo. C. Kelly who under oath says that two or three days after Kindrick Hawkins, editor of the Gibson Enterprise, took his trip down the narrow gauge road with Northen, Gordon et al., he, [Hawkins,] came into the postofiice at Mitchell, pulled out a roll of money and paid defendent a board bill that had been due for twelve months. Defendent was sur prised to receive this bill as he had tried to collect it on several occasions before from said Hawkins. Defend ent further says that since his “Flop’’ Editor Hawkins dresses much better than before, and seems to be unusu ally flush. Sworn to and subscribed before Geo. C. Kelly. me July 271892. C. H. Kitchens, Ex. Off. J. P. I leave this count in the indict ment to the people of Glasscock to say who is right, Mr. Kelly, the man who swears to the above facts, or the little “Flopper,” who complains that somebody has lied when they charge that his board bill had run only nine months when, in fact, it had run twelve months. 3. I will now introduce the testi mony of Mr. G. W. Usry, who was present in Atlanta when the noted denial took place, and was the only witness to the same except the parties: I, G. W. Usry, certify that I was present when K. J. Hawkins met B. M. Gross in Atlanta, recently when they had a conversation in refrence to a speech Glass had made in Willis county, in which it was said “That Hawkins was a People’s party man till his ride down the narrow gauge road with Northen, Gordon et al., that he came back a Democrat, and paid a past due board bill, that Gross did not vouch for the truth of the report, but gave it as founded on reports from Glasscock county.” Gross did not back down from any thing he had said, I was in ten feet of the parties, and heard nothing indi cating a back down. Both parties parted apparently satisfied. G. AV. Usry. This July 27, 1892. I have other testimonies on the little “Flopper,” showinghis poverty before his “Hop” and his flush con dition after, but this is enough for the present. I have shown by the above testimony that the little “Flopper” has deliberately, and maliciously lied in all three of his complaints. I pity him, but self respect compels me to hand him over to the contempt of the public, that he so justly deserves. B. M. Gross. August 1,1892. Third Congressional District. The People’s Party Congressional Convention was held in the opera house at Americus, August the 2d. All the counties of the Third dis trict were well represented. At 10 o’clock the convention was called to order by W. T. Chris topher, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Third Congress ional district. The convention proceeded by electing G. 11. Seig, of Sumpter, Chairman and C. A. Thompson, Secretary . After a short? talk by the Chairman he pronounced the pronounced the convention ready for business. The following is the committee on credentials chosen: J. T. Collins, of Schley ; James Hollis, of Taylor ; B. F. Mathews, of Sumpter. The committee on platform chosen consisted of one delegate from each county. While waiting for the committees to report, Messrs. F. D. Wimberly and W. T. Christopher made very forcible addresses to the convention. Chairman Isaiah Williams, of the platform committee, made his report. The platform was remarkably brief. It reads as follows: We, the following committee on platform, endorse the National plat form adopted at Omaha, July 4, 1892; also the State platform recent ly adopted in Atlanta. We endorse and will support Gen. James B. Weaver for President and James G. Fields for Vice-President of the United States ; also Hon. W. L. Peek for Governor of Georgia, and also the candidates for State house offices as nominated by the People’s Party. We heartily en dorse the course of Georgia’s noble son, the Hon. Thomas E. Watson, in the present Congress. We re spectfully invite all good citizens who want to restore the government back to the people to aid us in this fight. Nomination was next in order, and Mr. James Hollis, of Taylor, in a brief talk put in nomination the name of lion. F. D. Wimberly, of Pulaski, for Congressman from the Third district. The motion was seconded amid applause. J. W. Souter, of Macon, put in nomination W. T. Christopher, of Macon county. A resolution was passed to nomi nate by ballot. Wimberly received twenty-five and three-fourths and Christopher four and one-fourth votes. W. T. Christopher arose and moved that the convention make the vote unanimous for Wim berly by a rising vote. All stood up. The nominee mounted the stand amid great applause and thanked the convention in very appropriate lan guage. G. 11. Seig, Ch’mn., C. A. Thompson, Sec. A Lie Nailed. Harlem, Ga., Aug. Bth, ’92. Editors Augusta Chronicle : Allow u« space in your columns to correct a gory and very much exaggerated article that appeared in your issue of the 7th inst. We third partyites have become quite accustomed to misrepresentation and abuse, but we cannot afford to suffer an article to unjust, so slanderous and so entirely false from beginning to end to pass unnoticed. We do not blame your youthful and inex perienced reporter so much as we do the prominent Democrat who im posed on his credulity. Here are the facts in the case : Several weeks since, the colored people in and about Harlem made up a barbecue amongst themselves for last Satur day. It was strictly a colored affair at its first get up. Nothing was said about contributions from either white third partyites or Democrats. The originators of the “cue” are nearly all third party men. As made up originally there was no politics in it. The prominent negro, Tom Gadson, so recently a convert to Democracy, whose antecedents are so well known to the people of this county and of whom your re porter has so much to say, saw fit, without consulting any of the oiigi nators of the “cue,” to solicit aid from and invite to the “cue” vari ous white Democrats. He invited a number of Democratic speakers, both white and black. He also took into his confidence that other promi nent negro, Griff Conoly, who re sides in a different section of the county. This “cue,” originally a very small affair, at which the col ored people of the neighborhood hoped to enjoy a quiet, pleasant and unmolested Saturday, had, by the political turn given it by Gadson and his advisors, assumed propor tions not at first contemplated, and from which they hoped to reap politically great things. Now, in all fairness, do you think this a proper way to get up a Demo cratic rally ? The colored people interested in the affair did not think so, for when they learned of Gadson’s racket, no less than fifteen who had promised to contribute to the “cue” refused to do so. Others who did contribute asked of their white third party friends their advice in selecting speakers, that their side might be equally represented. We simply met at Harlem and as requested ad vised a division of time. Could we have done less and retained their confidence and respect? We quote Messrs. Wm. E. Hatch er, A. L. Hatcher, Newnan Hicks, J. F. Langston, J. M. Whitaker, and A. N. Kenille, members of the demo cratic party as saying that they saw no cause for feelling at all indignant or of suspecting any desire on the part of the third party people to in terfere in any improper manner whatsoever with the meeting. We also quote the editor of the Colum bia Senteniel, (Mr. I. V. Ballard,) as saying that the reports as published in Sundays issue, of the Chronicle, was a revelation to him. Tom Gad son also said to-day in the presence of Messrs. A. N. Kenille and Wm. Lansdell and others, that he heard no threats made, nor did he feel any uneasiness as to bodily in jury should he have attempted to address their meeting in the interest of the demo cratic party. . Let us add in conclusion that your reporter or the prominent democrat whom he quotes in stating that the peoples party attempted to bulldose intimidate or acted in such a manner as to cause any citizen of Harlem to feel indignent or that we threatened either the life or the person of any colored person stated a base and in famous lie. J. L. Bynum, W. W. Ramsey, Wm. Lansdell, J. A. Ulm, J. L. Smith, J. I. Philips, W. L. Benton, R. A. Lansdell, A. S. Philips, E. S. Lansdell, P. B. Muncley, G. W. Clay, and others. Floyd County. Democracy is no more. It depart ed this life july 4, 1892. It lived to the age of sixty-four years, and in its later days a very fruitless and in consistent life. It may be said of it, as was said of a certain king, it never said a foolish thing and never did a wise one,” and its mourners are few in these parts. The demo crats have just held their primaries in this county, and after a good deal of riding and some cursing they succeeded in finding two democrats in the district that would attend the election. They looked so lonesome out there by themselves that some of our boys went out to keep them company. Our bojs are just natur ally good hearted fellows anyhow. The business of the day consisted in the older one, who seemed to be the boss, telling the other to meet him in Rome on Tuesday following. After that the meeting adjourned, sine die and this too, in a county that the papers claimed only a short while back was solid for democracy. Zeke Kebbs.