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Pfopt fs Party Paper
VOLUME 1.
DEBATE AT SANDERSVILLE
THE THIRD MEETING BETWEEN
WATSON AND BLACK.
An Orderly Discussion of the Issues
Between the People an<l the
Organized Democracy.
In the absence of a stenographic
report, the following is presented as
the best obtainable account of the
Sandersville meeting, September 9.
The assemblage was largely Major
Black's friends, coming in by the
train load from beyond the limits of
the county, and even of the district,
as at all these meetings, in organized
bodies. The People largely outnum
bered these bodies of claquers, and
Mr. Watson scored a signal triumph,
as may be seen by comparing the
speeches. In opening, Mr. Watson
said:
The Augusta brass band is on
hand as usual—followed by the or
ganized crowd who accompany Mr.
Black to do the cheering. They
carry with them the banner on which
they have painted side by side the
pictures of Mr. Stephens and Mr.
Black. They do this to chow what
a modest man Black is. (Laughter
and cheers.)
Augusta politicians should be very
careful how they parade Stephens’
picture. He denounced them as
“thimble riggers and tricksters” to
whom he bade defiance. (Cheers.)
It is but another illustration of Dem
ocratic stupidity to parade Mr.
Stephens’ picture against me, when
it is well known how he stood for
principle against party and always
stood ready to appeal from the poli
ticians and newspapers to the peo
ple. (Cheers.)
The Democrats had tried to preju
iice the negroes against him because
a 1 voted in favor of Daniel Proctor.
Democrat, agains t Anthony Wilson,
Republican, as sixty-one others had
done in the Georgia legislature, in
cluding some of the best lawyers in
the body.
Wilson ca,me into the district and
ru.ffie speeches for me. Previous to
that time the Democrats called him
a worthy and intelligent colored
gentleman who had been unjustly
treated. After that time they sud
denly discovered that he was an
“ignorant, thickheaded, old nigger
and as black as the ace of spades.”
(Great laughter.)
Gov. Northen and whine-thro’-his
aose-Moses made speeches here the
other day. Northen denounced
Watson for defeating the claim of
Brad well in Congress. Northen said
all the members from Georgia want
ed the claims paid. If so they were
in favor of robbing the tax payers
—for the claim had already been
paid in full. (Great cheering.)
Mr. Watson then alluded the act
of Congress approved by the Presi
dent September, 1888, providing for
the payment in full of the Brad well
claim. This created quite a sensa
tion.
Then Mr. Watson proceeded to
explain that he was calling for the
regular order to force the sub-treas
ury bill to the front—a bill which
would relieve the distress of millions
of people. Northen and Livingston
had framed the sub-treasury at St.
Louis in 1889, and had promised its
passage to the people, and had got
high ofiice by doing so. .Now they
were denouncing him because he
would not allow a private bill to
come up out of its order as a matter
of special privilege—-said private bill
being in favor of a claim which had
beep paid off in full.
He (Watson) was calling for the
regular order—the miller’s rule of
“first come, first served”—in order
that a general bill benefiting both
white and black might have a chance.
(Great applause.)
Oa calling fur the regular order
he had given offense to many indi
vidual claimants, but he could not
help that. He had felt it his duty to
insist on the business being done in
the regular way without special fa
vors to individual claimants. (Ap
plause.) This had made him un
popular with many members of Con
gress, especially to the New York
delegation, because he had objected
to their looting the treasury to the
extent of $2,500,000 for a new post
office at Buffalo. They had already
got $600,000 for that purpose. They
wanted $2,500,000 more. Remem
bering that our beautiful State capi
tol only cost $1,000,000, I thought
it outrageous to give $3,100,000 for
a post-office in Buffalo, and I knocked
the bill out. (Applause.) It was a
Democratic steal and the New York
Democrats got very mad about it.
Look at the record and you will see
that the New York members spe
cially tried to wreak their vengeance
on me during the tangle I had with
Joe Wheeler on the question of
drunkenness in Congress. He would
Bubmit to the audience, both white
and black, whether he had not done
“JECq-tx&l to A. 11 ——Special Privileges to None.”
right in watching these jobs and
being careful how their money wafcz
spent. (Cheers.) T
In this connection let me read you
a proposition of Mr. Stevenson, the
Vice Presidential nominee of the
Democratic party. He hated the
South so badly he wished his malig
nity to appear in the fundamental
law of the land. He proposed the
following Constitutional Amendment
in 1879:
That Congress shall have no power to
appropriate money for the payment of
any claims for using, taking cr injuring
the property of any person or corpora
tion by the armies or officers of the
United States while engaged in suppress
ing the late rebellion against the same.
Had this amendment been adopted
Bradwell would never have got a
cent on his claim. Yet they want
the people to elect Stevenson to the
Vice-Presidency. Had his views
prevailed, no money would ever have
been paid us for churches, convents,
schools, colleges or private property
taken or destroyed in violation of
the rules of war. Yet the Demo
crats denounce Weaver as an “old
wretch” and seek to exalt Stevenson,
who wanted his inveterate hatred of
the stricken South imbedded in the
organic law of the land! (Great
cheering.)
Mr. Moses said here a few days
ago that my Thomson speech was a
tissue of falsehoods. If so Black
was able show it. I am here now
(cheers), and you are here. (Cheers ;
yes, we are.) Mr. Black and I are
standing foot to foot and face to
face, (Cheers.) I deliberately re
affirm every statement in my
Thomson speech, and I respectfully
defy Mr. Black to controvert them.
(Cheers.)
Two years ago you elected me on
your St. Louis platform, which is
substantially identical with that
adopted at Omaha. Last year I came
among you to take your instructions.
At Deepstep and at Moss Spring the
people of Washington county held
up their right hands and voted that I
should adhere to your platform, no
matter where it carried me. (Cheers
and cries of “Yes, we did!”) Is it
possible that you’ll now go back on
me after I did just as you told me ?
(“No! No! No!”)
The same gang tha> was after me
then is after mo now. -'They hateL
your pisiform then and they hate it
now. (Cheers.) If you want to
sacrifice me to your enemies
(Cries of “Never! Never! Never!”)
I kept my pledge to you. Single
handed I have met your enemies at
every point and fought for your de
mands with all the strength of my
nature. (Cheers.) Now, be fair
with me, men ! (Cries of “We’ll do
it! Harrah for Watson!”) Deep
down in your hearts you know they
are bent on my destruction because I
stood true to the people and would
not bend the knee to the politicians.
(Great cheering.)
Moses and Livingston could not
stay in their seats in Congress.
Every time a bush shook they cut
out for Georgia to save the dear
Democracy. (Laughter ) They both
had money of the tax-payers in their
pockets, which they had not earned,
and which they took in open viola
tion of the plain letter of the law.
(Applause.) Yet these pure patriots
who owe i heir brief notoriety to the
Alliance principles are openly advo
cating the election of Mr. Black, who
denounces those principles just as he,
in his Austin letter, denounced the
Alliance and its methods. (Cheers
and cries of “Livingston’s dead!”)
Nearly every politician in Georgia
has been down here to tell you how
you should vote. (Laughter and
cheers.) When November comes
we’ll endeavor to show them that we
know how to attend to our own
business, and we’ll be be ready to
answer their wild and distressed in
quiry, “Where was I at?” (Great
laughter and cheering.)
Mr, Black at Crawfordsville said
the Indianapolis resolution was not
binding because I was instrumental
in passing it. This is queer logic.
But the facts are against him. As
usual, they don’t know what they are
talking about. They know no more
about the record on those questions
than a speckled hen knows about as
tronomy. (Great laughter.)
The record shows that the same
resolutions, to the effect that the de
mands then formulated should be
hold superior to caucus dictation, was
passed at St. Louis in 1889. (Ap
plause.) The record further shows
that at Ocala the same resolution was
expressly reaffirmed, and that L. F.
Livingston, that sweet-shrub of or
ganized Democracy (great laughter),
was the author of the resolution.
(Great cheering.)
Two years ago Major Barnes en
dorsed about all of your platform ex
cept the sub-treasury. You defeat
ed him. Major Black now asks you
to elect him, when he denounces
about all of your platform, as well as
your organization and its methods.
Will you do it? (Cries of no, and
great cheering.) They are trying to
drive the reform movement back,
break it up and disband it. In the
name of God and justice, let no Ocala
man help them. (Cheers.) If the
Quanta, ga., Friday, September 23, 1892.
tala men can’t help me, in the name
__2__bmmon fairness don’t let them
> 'e bear. (Cheers.)
: ? Jeffersonian, and am trying
to bring back the principles of Jeffer
son to bless the people with a reign
of “equal and exact justice to all
men.” (Cheers.)
Jefferson favored the free and un
limited coinage of silver. The Dem
ocrats of to-day do not. We of the
People’s party do.
Jefferson favored direct issue of
treasury notes in volume sufficient to
do the business of the country. The
Democrats of to-day oppose this,
while we favor it.
Jefferson said our private banks
should only be for discounts and de
posits, not for the issuance of paper
money. He denounced State bank
ers as sharpers and swindlers. The
Democrats of to-day favor the State
banks Jefferson denounced, and de
nounce the direct of United
States notes which he favored. The
People’s party agree with Jefferson
on both propositions.
At Crawfordsville Black said the
distress of the people was exaggerat
ed. I have no time to go into statis
tics on that to-day, but here where
lam addressing people who bend
over the cotton rows to pick out 6
cent cotton which cost them 8 cents,
there is no need to dwell in the
topic. They know that agricultual
distress is not exaggerated. (Cheers.)
He (Black) said the tariff was the
chief source of their trouble. I de
nounce the tariff as bitterly as they,
but is a smaller source of trouble
than our infamous financial system.
(Cheers.)
The Democrats have not formu
lated any tariff reduction bill.
What do they mean by tariff re
duction? What guarantee do we
have that they could agree on a
general bill?
They might violate their pledge
just as they did on free silver.
(Cheers.)
They might violate this promise,
just as they did on their promise to
economize at the least lesson of Con
gress. I repeat my former assertion
that instead of keeping that pledge
they spent more money thaii iEe
biit;or dollar Congress.- (Cheers*
Aid I challenge Mr. Black to dis
puse it,. (Cneeris.)
But suppose they can agree on a
bill reducing the tariff by a few cents
on the schedules, will it not remain
a monster iniquity which gives four
dollars to the manufacturer while it
gives one to the Government?
(Cries of. Yes! Yes! Yes! and
cheers.)
In other words, the Democrats
propose to perpetuate a system
which they denounce as infamous
robbery. They say that a robbery
of 56 per cent under the McKinley
bill is a national curse, but that a
robbery of 48 per cent under the
Mills bill would be a national bless
ing. (Great laughter and cheers.)
I say they never did intend to
pass their free trade bills of which
they have talked so much. Why?
Because, according to their own
showing their bills could have re
duced the revenues $158,000,000.
The Government is now spending all
its revenues. A shortage of $158,-
000,000 w ould cause national bank
ruptcy. Its place would have to be
supplied. The Democrats provided no
substitute to supply its place. Hence
I say these free trade bills were never
intended to become laws, but were
simply a part of the system of de
ception and fraud which the Demo
cratic politicians were practicing on
the country. [Cheers.]
We of the People’s party fight the
tariff in the true way. We propose
another way of raising the necessary
revenue —the income tax. [Cheers.]
The tariff will never die till some
other method of raising the revenue
is adopted, and we are the only party
which proposes that substitute. Once
adopt the income tax and tariff is
doomed. [Cheers.]
Mr. Black’s remedy for financial
distress was State banks. In one
breath he accuses us of the intention
of flooding the country with paper
money; in the next breath he says
he wants to do the same thing.
[Laughter and cheers.]
Under our plan the strength of
the republic would be at the back of
every dollar. Under your plan the
strength of one State alone. Under
ours the national Congress of all the
States would decide how much
should be issued. Under yours each
State would say just what the bank
ers of that State desired. Under
our plan the money would be uni
form all over the United States, and
would be legal tender, and would
live as long as the nation lived.
Under yours each State would have
its different plan, the paper issued
would not be legal tender and
wouldn’t have strength enough Io
cross the State line. [Cheers.]
In his letter to John W. Epps,
June 24, 1813, Mr. Jefferson dis
cussed national finances at length.
Here is what he said:
‘And so the nation may continue to
ISSUE ITS BILLS AS EAR AS ITS WANTS
REQUIRE AND THE LIMITS OF CIRCULATION
ADMIT.”
This is exactly what we demand.
[Cheers.]
“Those limits are understood to extend
with us at present to $200,000,000 —a
greater sum than would be necessary for
any war. But this, the only resource
WHICH THE GOVERNMENT COULD COM
MAND With certainty, the States have
unfortunately fooled away, nay com
pletely alienated to swindlers and
shavers under the cover of private
fxnks.”
a subsequent letter to the same
g in tieman on the same subject Mr.
jßr<?raon says that the object of
State banks was to “ enrich swin
dlers AT THE EXPENSE OF THE
HONEST AND INDUSTRIOUS PART OF
THE NATION.”
Yet you dare to talk to us of leav
ing the principles of democracy!
Judged by your platform and your
methods, the Democratic party of
to-day knows less of Jefferson’s doc
trines than a Japanese hog knows
about the Chinese religion. (Great
laughter and cheering.)
In his Bd zeiia speech Mr. Black
denied that lhe Government let na
tional have money at 1 per
cent. I noy hand him the law ; I
challenge him to repeat his state
ment ; if he does so, I will attend to
him in my conclusion. (Cheers.)
Mr. Black, denied that Democrats
were responsible for national banks.
I propose to brove that they are. It
is true the. Republicans passed the
bills to charter them. But the Dem
ocratic party has made no organized
attack on thennational bank system
for thirty Why ?
It means tlther that Democrats
liked the sy or that they did
not have th r courage of their con
victions. Esther explanation damns
them.
Again. tHtry have voted to extend
the charter privileges and the circu
lation the Democrats who
did Brown, Crisp
and Candle-■4
Agai ’* Ireland’s administration
wish 4Ve the $316,000,000
gr,i phu put national bank
no • stead.
' 6 /Ireland’s administration
pu 00 of your money into
thes 4ffiike, free of charge, to
lenert k ?>n theii*own terms.
Agbu 1 w* r are high
in aiM*P' es democratic party.
them,
is in the . Piratic platform.
Now, «his proves that the
Democri* hates national
banks, L on earth would you
prove tb Hol-edthem? (Cheers.)
The Book says, “The Lord
loveth/ Reversed—Democrats
hate thbs J jhM hom in legislation
they extend the Choicest gifts.
They prove their opposition by
the concessions they make.
Their resistance by surrenders.
Have you defendedpur citadel?
Yes. See the white flag over its
towers! See the enemy rejoicing
within! (Cheers.)
Why don’t the Democrats make
war on the millionaires and We na
tional banks, taxing the one on. their
incomes and destroying the money
monopoly of the other?
According to official report, during
Cleveland’s administration the na
tional banks had paid $67,000,000 as
the aggregate of the 1 per cent tax
on the circulation based on the bonds
since 1863 up to 1888. What amount
of circulation must they have had to
produce $67,000,000 at 1 per cent?
Why, $6,700,000,000. That’s the
sum they got the use of by paying 1
per cent. Now, say they loaned it
out at 8 per cent; how much did it
yield them? $536,000,000. Deduct
what it cost them ($67,000,000) from
what it brought them ($536,000,000),
and you have $469,000,000 as the
net profit they made from this most
infamous national rascality. [Great
cheering.]
Remember that their bonds were
drawing interest in gold all the time;
that this interest was paid in advance
to the extent of $13,000,000 during a
portion of the time; that the bonds
paid no tax; that Cleveland gave
them as high as $60,000,000 free of
charge from the tax money of the
people; that under Cleveland they
reaped in the golden harvest some
$60,000,000 as premium on these
bonds, and yeu have a picture of class
favoritism such as modern timeshave
rarely seen. [Cheers.]
Yet the Democratic party not only
proposes no war on this system,
which Jefferson hated and Jackson
destroyed, but wish to elect Cleve
land, whose administration is on re
cord as favoring the burning up $346,-
000,000 of greenbacks, which cost
the people nothing, and putting in
their place an equal sum of national
bank notes, which cost them, at 8 per
cent, the neat sum of $27,680,000 per
annim.
Ir the light of your present knowl
edge of our financial system, are you
willing to vote for suc|i a policy?
[Cries of no, and cheers.]
The millionaires, sustained by
shanceful class legislation, had march
,ed to wealth and power over the
thousand desolate farms, abandoned
homes and broken-hearted men and
women. In the name of God, it was
time to call a halt and restore the
rule of just laws. [Great cheering.]
/V . (
MR. BLACK’S REPLY.
Mr. Black was then introduced.
He was greeted with enthusiasm.
Major Black began by congratu
lating tne assemblage on the good
order during Mr. Watson’s speech,
and asked that the same be accord
him. He thought from his greeting
that he had some friends outside of
the Augusta politicians. [Long ap
plause.]
He did not care to notice what
his friend said further than to
say that he misapprehended him if
he thought he only represented city
politicians.
He represented thousands of hon
est farmers all over the country.
(Cheers.)
Watson said he was sent to rep
resent the Ocala demands. He
conceded it, for he would do him no
injustice. The fact is he was in
structed to stand by them within the
Democratic party. Watson said he
could not support Crisp, not because
of silver or the subtreasury, but be
cause'he belonged to the Gorman-
Randall wing of the Democratic
party and was not square on the
tariff.
[Here the disturbance became so
great from the third partyites that
Mr. Watson asked them to give
Major Black a respectful hearing.]
Watson had said if the Democrats
wanted his resignation they could
get it, thereby acknowledging his
allegiance to the Democratic party.
Voice. What about bar rooms in
Augusta?
Major Black. Well, I did vote
the wet ticket, and what has that got
to do with this?
You cannot make me ashamed of
of any vote I ever cast unless you
can make me believe that 1 had done
wrong. , *
If you did that I would not be
ashamed to stand here in this pres
ence and aknowledge it. (Cheers.)
If you did not do that I would not
be ashamed to stand here and avow
it.
When you come to this, although
I do not care to speak of myself, and
do not want to, but when you come
to any moral question, I do not shirk
companon with any man.
Continuing he said he had never
denied that there was vifiious legisla
tion that should be repealed, and
that the agricultural interest should
have some relief, and when these
were affected all interests were af
fected.
He said he had as much sympathy
for them as any man. But they
were after measures which could not
be put through. You would never
get this Government to loan you
money at 2 per cent. (Cheers.) And
the man who promised what was
impracticable.
Watson said Jefferson was in
favor of issuing treasury notes. He
conceded it, but he stood there to
defend Thomas Jefferson by saying
that he never remotely committed
himself to anything like the sub
treasury.
Watson said, holding up the re
cord, “Boys, we’er got the record.”
Yes, boys, we have got the record,
it was in a period of war and for
t£e purpose of tiding over that he
advocated treasury notes, but he
said \ they were to be sustained
by t&xing them He also warned
against flooding the country with
paper money. He would not bind
himself to all Jefferson said under
those conditions. He said that
neither Jefferson, Jackson nor Mon
roe nor any statesman of modern
times ever advocated the lending of
money on lands and agricultural
products.
The question was what remedy
would furnish genuine relief.
Suppose the Government stamps
one hundred millions, how are you
going to get it out of the treasury ?
Voice. Sub-treasury.
That’s the right answer. Now,
do you know what the sub-treasury
is ? It is necessary to have $500,-
000 of products in the county to get
a sub-treasury; and if there was a
county in the district that could do
it—and he doubted it—how would
the poor man, who has no corn or
cotton unmortgaged, get it out ?
You don’t want but SSO per capita;
but if money was loaned on one-half
of the land it would make it sll6
per capita.
Voice. The farmer won’t get it
unless he wants it.
No; and you won’t get it that
way if you do want it. I thought
you wanted it. Such a law would
only plunge the country into deeper
and darker ruin. It would put in
the power of men who could get it
at 1 per cent, to put it out at 7 per
cent., 8 per cent, or 10 per cent.;
whatever they choose.
You claim that the Democrats are
divided. The third party is divided
even on the sub-treasury scheme, and
Mr. McKeighan, one of your own
members, denounces it as having no
warrant in law. (Cheers.)
Where was there a fair minded
man who would say that he expected
to get possestion of both houses of
Congress and the Presidency ? They
would never do it. There was more
NUMBER 52
hope in the Democratic party. There
were more Democrats in Congress
who favored free silver and an in
come tax than there were third
party representatives.
Now, in the name of reason and
intelligence if you are for the highest
weal, what is the sense of going out
of this party and into a new party
which does not promise you any
hope of relief on these political
lines ?
My friend says I did not say any
thing about an income tax. I didn’t
think it was necessary for me to an
nounce that I stood upon the plat
form of my own party. That is a
plank in the platform of my own
party. That is a plank in the Demo
cratic party platform of the State of
Georgia. There is where I stood
and expect to stand. I say I would
go as far as he would in this direc
tion. And I say to all you honest
people looking me in the face that
there is a great deal better chance
for you to get an income tax law in
the Democratic party. The tariff
stands in the minds and hearts of
the people as one of the greatest
of issues, yet Mr. Watson is a free
trader and does not stand upon the
platform of his party, which is com
mitted to perpetuating the protective
tariff.
Major Black said that the people
needed relief but that the distress of
the people was exagerated. He in
stanced the recent visit of a United
States officer to Augusta and Geor
gia, who made the remarkably en
couraging disclosu”e that there were
fewer mortgages upon our farms
than in any other part of the coun
try. He believed in admitting evils,
but it was not wise to exaggerate
them. He was a poor doctor who
came into the room of his patient)
and excited the mind of the patient
by telling him he would surely die.
He advised the cultivation or less
cotton. When it was raised at a
cost of 8 cents and sold for 6 cents
it did not need a farmer or a states
man to see and say that it was an
unpaying business and that there
should be less of it planted and
something else planted in its place.
You say you want a remedy?
Voices. Yes.
Maj. BlacL. Then you waut u
practical remedy. You do not want
a chimerical one. You w«nt one
that will bring you relief. Well, the
people are impressed that the only
plank in the People’s party platform
is the sub-treasury plank.
But there are others. You have
got to take the whole platform and
all its candidates. When you con
sider it over think about advocating
it. He took up the railroad plank
in the third party platform. Let me
show you, honest men, where this
will carry you. From Poore's rail
road manual, which, I believe, is
standard authority on railroads, I
find the followings The liabilities
of the railroads of the country Is
$10,000,000,000. Their actual cost
has been $9,000,000,000. Listen,
you men who this morning were
asked to give your reason ana judg
ment to these questions. The Gov
ernment is asked not only to control
but to own the railroads. What will
the purchase of the railroads make
the per capita ? Think of it! I ask
Mr. Watson if he introduced a bill
in die last Congress to buy the rail
roads ? I ask him if he is willing to
buy the railroads ? I ask him if he
is willing to buy the railroads of the
country at a cost of $9,000,000,000 ?
Voice. Yes.
Major Black. You are ?
Voice. Yes j but not for eash.
[Laughter all around.]
Major Black. I reckon yon are I
But suppose you bought them on
credit you would fill the country
with money until it would reach
SIBB per capita. What would your
cotton bring then ?
Voice. Oh, it would bring a dob
lar a pound.
Major Black. Yes, In Confederate
money.
Here Major Black took up Con
federate money and showed the
worthlessness of it at the time on
account of its quantity. “Let me
tell you that there is more in this
platform than the sub-treasury,
which is bad enough. And let me
tell you that ?hat party is the friend
of the people which tries to protect
them from this condition of things.
But not only does this plank cover
railroads, but the telegraph, which
means more money, the telephone,
the express. It was absurd. He
did not know what the cost of all
these would be to the government,
but the purchase of the railroads
would be $9,000,000,000, and in
crease the per capita to the astound
ing figure of $l3B.
He took up Air. Watson’s book.
I want to show you where all these
impracticable schemes would carry
you. Here is a communication in
Mr. Watson’s book. He read the
communication and said that the
third party platform might buy it
now but instead of buying relief it
would bring disaster and ruin. He
said he would strip the shackles
from you. I say that I would strike