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2 as hard blows to do this as he would. I would save you from yourselves if I could. I would save you from the schemes originated by the enemies of this people, the authors of the Third Party, men who have nothing m com mon with you and who havn’t your interest at heart. I warn my countrymen, whatever my fate may be in this campaign, I warn you that if you do get into power, [if you had every representative in Congress, the Sen ate and the president of the United States if you enacted these ideas in to law, every man of you would thank first from your bleeding hearts after the passage of such law the man who had the courage to stand up and warn you against them. The article in Mr. Watson’s book showed the cost of running the rail road system of the countrry and the saving if the government should own and run it. But the article advised coal miners to vote for the third party and this plank, as it would then be but a step to own the mines. “I tell you, you had better look to the end of a road before you get into it 1 . You want to devise means of relief. Think before you act whether the scheme will bring relief or over whelming disaster.” A voice asked about the railroads. Maj. Black explained the power of existing law which stood over the railroads in the interest of the peo ' pie. Maj. Black read from the People’s party platform the part which claims that the land of the country is the heritage of the peo ple and should belong to them. “My friend [Mr. Watson] says that Jefferson took this position.” Maj. Black took liberty to dissent from Mr. Watson’s stand. Maj. Black read the letter from Jefferson. He did not read it all, but a suffi cient portion to show the drift, which he declared was not what Mr. Watson represented it to be. “The earth belongs to the living and not to the dead,” Jefferson said. Is that your land plank ? (to Mr. Watson.) I say that the land belongs to the living, but to him who has bought the land with the usufruct of his la bor. But that is not the way it is in the third party platform. They say that all men have a right to some of the land of the country. I say every man has the right, but I say not unless he has gotten it by gift, or inheritance or purchase. He contin ued to read from Jefferson. I say that there is nothing there that says the land is the common inheritance of the people, as this platform of the third party says it is. What does your great leader say—your Presi dential candidate, Weaver, whom some of you seem so anxious to fol low? Major Black read from an article by General Weaver in a re cent number of the Arena about land monopoly. Where is monopoly ixJwi?” 1 thought the trouble was you could not sell your land in Georgia when you wanted to, Major Black said. Weaver said that all men had a right to the use of the soil. He says that the child that was being born into the world as he (Weaver) penned those lines, had as much right to land qp breath and air. I denounce - these tenets. A voice interrupted. Major Black clinched the land question here by asking a question of this gentleman, a third partyite, who was a landlord and jealous of his holding. Major Black. How is your brother going to get land if he has not got any? Are you going to give it to him ? Voice. Let him emigrate. Major Black. Ah! you say; lam mighty sorry for you, but you must go further! I say let him go further, too, and get it as you got it! You who say you believe in this land plank and the distribution of land will not part with a foot that you have got, but you say: “Oh, yes, you ought to have land, but go further.” Major Black read further from General Weaver’s articles in The Arena, statyig that every man had the right to till the soil in his own right. I say no man has the right to till the land unless he owns the land. Do you believe that? Voice. Yes. Maj. Black. Then you don’t be lieve in bolding the very land you own. Yes I do; I'don’t believs in mon opoly. Mr. Watson here arose and asked the man in the audience to be quiet and to ask no more questions, which caused merriment, as the questions and the answers, it had appeared, were discomforting to Mr. Watson. The third party demanded that the pubic domain be reclaimed for the ownership of the people. Every democratic platform declares for this. Maj*. Black asked a question and a lady nodded her head. Maj. Black said he was thankful for this, and though defeat might stare him in the face, the smile of that good woman would compensate him for his loss. He again paid a beautiful tribute to Kentucky, his native state, but said he loved no less the red hills of Georgia, where his fate was now cast; where he intended to live until death should come, and among whose hills his bones, when he was dead, would crumble into dust. This was an exceedingly eloquent passage in Major Black’s speech, and won great applause, in which third party people joined pretty generally. “God only, in his wisdom,” Major Black said, “knows the dangers that iivision may bring upon us.” He •ecalled the fact that Mr. Watson had PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER, ATLANTA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1892. once said, after election, that if the democratic party demanded his re signation, he would yield it, thereby acknowledging his allegiance to the party. An interruption brought him to Mr. Watson’s record. The speaker called attention to the fact that the honor which was about to be thrust upon himself in his election to con gress was unsought. “If I have been put forward by a ring, it is one that goes all over the congressional dis trict, among all classes. Letters came from every part of this district to me, from every part of this state, urging me to make the fight, from farmers, mechanics, etc., lawyers, ministers of the gospel and men and women, and it was not until after the e irnegt solicitation had come to me that I allowed my name to be used. And I think I will get there, and with the distinction of not being at the head of a column of Augusta politicians, or any other politicians; but a column composed of the rank and file of farmers all over this dis trict, and merchants and laborers, and preachers, and.white and colored, all trades and professions, and shades of color in this tenth congressional dis trict of Georgia, carrying that proud old banner of democracy. mr. watson’s rejoinder. Mr. Black says people ail over the the State favor his election. Yes. Outsiders have had a wonderful in terest in the Tenth this year. (Laugh ter.) There was not a national banker or monopolist anywhere who was not willing to contribute to a boodle fund to accomplish my defeat [Cheers.] Why? Because I am making a straight-out fight on-mono poly, and boss rule. [Cheers.] Mr. Black denounces our land plank. It is founded on Jefferson’s doc trine that there should be no land monopoly, and that all the sons of men should have a fair chance to own a home. [Cheers.] We make no war on the private ownership of land. But we say land monopoly is as bad as money monopoly or trade monopoly. Our laws as a people have always been against monopoly. Jefferson waged war on the en tailed estates of*Virginia,broke down the monopoly and threw the lands on the markets so that each idividual should have a fair chance to buy a home. Isn’t that right? [Great cheering.] Hear what Jefferson says. In a letter from Paris in 1789—written to Mr. Madison. He writes: The earth belongs in usufruct to the living. Analyze this sentence, and you will see it means precisely what we say in our platform. “The land is the heritage of all the people.” [Cheers.] Further, he says in the same let ter: The earth belongs always to the living generation. They may manage it, and what proceeds from it, as they please during their usufruct. Further in the same letter he says:. The principle that the earth belongs to the living and not to the dead, is of very extensive application and consequences in every country. He proceeds to show that it is by the application of this principle that the old Feudal system was |destroy ed as well as the monopoly of lands in France, held by the State, and by the aristocratic families. The trouble with the Democrats is they do not want Jeffersonian Democracy. [Cheers.] Mr. Black said Jefferson’s endorse ment of Government issue of paper money extended only to times of war. If the principle be sound, why can’t the Government use this power to relieve distress, whether in peace or war? [Cheers.] He says there is no land monopoly in this country, yet in the very next breath «ays that the Democrats recoverec fIOO,- 009,000 acres from the railroads. [Cheers.] Why not go forward and reclaim the balance ? [Cheers.] He says you’ll never get money at 2 per cent. Why not? The na tional banks get it at 1 per cent., and the whiskey men get it at 5 per cent. Why should he boldly toll the far mers their Government should al ways discriminate against them. [Cheers.] He says “ Raise less cotton!” [Laughter.] What we want is a currency system which will give us a fair price for what we do raise. [Cheers.] He says trust to Providence and the rains. [Laughter.]. We say we want to destroy this infernal system which robs us of all we make by the aid of Providence and the rains. [Great cheering.] He said halt a dozen times you had his sympathy. [Laughter.] My God ! Are we never to get anything but sympathy ? [Cheers.] We wan’t no man’s sympathy. We want justice and equal rights under the law. [Great cheering.] Mr. Black says there are more Democrats in Congress who favor free silver than the People’s party has there. Then why don’t they get out of a party where their voice is stifled and join us where they can be heard ? Why should they continue to follow that wing of the party which was led by Thomas B. Reed to the defeat of free silver, fGreat cheering.] He has waved the bloody shirt here to-day and preached the doc trine of sectional hatred. Let me read what that “old wretch” J. B. Weaver said in 1880 : The war is over and the sweet voice of peace long neglected calls us to worship at her altar. Let us crowd her temples with willing votaries. Let us have a fair count and equal rights for all: the laboring men in Northern factoFMj mines and wo;kshops, and for the etrCfgl gling poor, both white and black, or the cotton fields of the South. No sentiment worthier of the day and its issues can be uttered. Our enemies preach hatred. We reconciliation. They wave the bloody-shirt /and call upon you to hate your brethren of the North and West. We wave the pure white balnner of the People’s party ; we call |ipon you to forget the animosities of a bitter past and in the name or the Prince of Peace to move forward to a future bright with promise and dedicated te the triumphs of peace. AT AUGUSTA. A Howling Mob Determined that the People’s Candidate Should not be Heard. [Reported Expressly for the People’s Party Paper by J. L. Driscol, Law and General Reporter.] In presenting this, the the series of joint discussions (hWng missed the third, at Sandersville, September 9), I reiterate all that I said in the to the first and second, without quoting in refer ence to the obligation resting upon the reporter to the public, to the speaker or speakers; and last, but more important to himself, to do full justice to all—injustice to none. This is not a report; it is 1 photo graph of a scene almost beyond belief in a civilizetl community. Where did the respons?«ufcy lie ? In answer I have only to” say, read the remonstrances of Mr. Watson against an evident determination to prevent him from speaking for par ty, for principle, ’and for honor, which is dearer than life. Read the pathetic appeals of |lr. Black to have respect for him, if not for Mr. Watson; read, also, his covert threat to withdraw from the race if a fair hearing was not granted. Read the futile efforts of Judge Eve and Mr. Weisiger to bring order out of chaos. Read the manly confession, without avoidance, of Hon. Pat Walsh, and you have a better idea of where the responsib’«L. lies than I can possibly give. & The trip from was void of interest* reached Cammack, the jmHraalthe Macon branch of the road. At that detachments of Mr. from Macon, along tile line reg i J 'long string of CanWfcjlKlancock county contingent, of a member of the i> artyVH^Hone hun dred and wear ing, in most cases, white plug hats apj de meanors. Ten nf JjgpHQe us to Thomson, t the home of Mr. Watson and the scene of the great ovation which 7 awaited him on his return from/Washington, August 9. In and about the Arlington every thing betokened an overwhelming Black gathering. Bands paraded the street; men paraded the pave ments, decorated with Black badges; John Barleycorn seemed to betaking a 'very lively interest in behalf of the Augusta and Atlanta politicians, and I must say that Mr. Watson’s chances seemed slim. My heart sickened at the thought of one man, brave as he is, facing this howling mob of demons, who were lashed into the most malignant hatred by a body of trained falsifiers. The press! What a power for good! What a terrible instrument of evil! how unscrupulously has it been used in this campaign! It is sad, too, to think how it is destroy ing its own usefulness, in case truth ful impulses should return. Con fidence once destroyed is hard to re cover. I venture to say that at least three-fourths of the people of the Tenth District would suspect the man’s honesty or sanity who would say seriously that he believed that great dailies of Georgia or that they themselves believe the reckless charges made about Mr. Watson, and the glaringly false accounts of the meetings. How any man will risk his reputation in saying that the People’s Party comprised not more than one-tenth of the meeting at Augusta, knowing well that every man, woman and child in that vast auditorium knows it to be false, passes my comprehension. THE MEETING. The Exposition Cotton Ware house, an immense building, capable of seating, as I was informed, seven thousand people, was the place selected. Eight o’clock was the hour, and on my arrival about half past seven the hall was packed more than two-thirds of the way back from the stage. Reaching the plat form and taking a seat at the table nearest the front, I had ample op portunity to survey the scene and give the result to the reader which I now proceed to do. The roof was supported by im mense pillars at intervals through the building, and immense cross beams, running lengthwise, in tiers, served to form a frame work for a gallery which has not made its ap pearence, except across the end. I These beams wore filled with youths rof every color from the darkest hue to the palest Caucasion. The stage itself had a seating ca pacity of probably four hundred, and maybe five. About two hundred ladies stood on chairs on the rear end of the stage. Why? Because the chivalrous youth of Augusta, who wear good clothes, talk about the ignorance of the farmers who have set about reforming the abuses of the ring, and ’rah for Black, stood in front of them and so they are compelled to stand on the chairs and crane over the heads of these howling gentlemen ? How do I know these were Black men? Easy enough. First by their supercilious airs, and second, because they were all tagged. When I say all these men occupied the stage, I mean nearly all, about three-fourths at least. The gallery was fill ed mostly with well behaved color ed men. Having surveyed the raft ers, the stage and the gallery I turned my attention to the vast au ditorium in front. I found before me a floor about 145x250 feet. The audience extended to the supports for the gallery, and very little be yond, because no one would remain on account of the impossibility of hearing. Allowing for the aisles, it left 125 feet square with every seat occupied. There were two inclining galleries on either side, however, that added to the seating capacity very materi ally, as the inclination allowed the fringing of the seats closer toghter, and therfore admitted the people to huddle closer together. But why speculate. A gentleman who seem ed to know told me that there were 3,000 chairs and benches for about 2,000 more. Add to this the num ber on the stage and those standing and you have in round numbers about 6,000 persons. Looking down to the front and center I beheld about two-thirds of the seats on ground floor filled with Black men. How do I know that? Because they were tagged and turbulent. On either side and the inclined seats, forming considerable more than half the seating space, I found filled with a quiet, determined body of working men. During this survey the noise was deafening. The self-elected clac quers seemed to be here and there rending the air with Black—Black— Black—Black—Black ! while another to my right had an instrument upon which he made a noise between the squeak of a pig and the wail of a baby; several had gongs and others horns with which they made the night hideous. In a varied experi ence of thirty years’ reporting, this was the most reprehensible and the most senseless gathering I ever saw. Xt was worseAhan criminal—it was idiotic. '■ f J T wo. gentlemen with crutches sat immediately in front of me, and each crutch was held aloft, gaily decorated with a Black badge. To my mind that was suggestive, for certainly his cause and his canvass are on crutches now. ESTIMATES. Although I have called the atten tion of the reader to the tagged and the untagged, yet I had not made any calculation as to the relative strength of the two sides up to this time, but the opportunity now came. A gentleman rising in the audience took off his hat and proposed three cheers for Major Black, calling on them at the same time to rise. The cheers were given with a will and lasted fully five minutes. I was more intent, however, in watching those who sat in silence. Were they Watson men, or were they quiet, un obtrusive citizens whe never got off their base and left you in doubt as to where they stood ? that was the question. I did not have long to wait. An other voice broke the—l was near saying stillness—rose above the din, and proposed three cheers for Thos. E. Watson, and that told the tale. The lion was lashed in his lair as old ocean waves when lashed by the fury of the hurricane. The people gave vent to their feelings, not in senseless jeers and leers, but in a long continuous, overwhelming cheer. In my judgment this composed the larger half, certainly the most enthu siastic. Looking around I saw Mr. Watson' embowered in roses. I cannot stop to give a detailed description, so the reader must be content with a peru sal of a few of the cards which ac companied the floral offerings of affection to a man who has reached the hearts of the people as no other man ever has in the history of Georgia: Augusta, Ga.. September 12. Hon, Thomas E. Watson: We, the ladies of the Fifth ward, pre sent to you these bouquets in honor to you and your just cause of the people, and more especially the third party. VVe will continue to extend our aid to you and your cause, for we know the injus tice of the political parties heretofore. Ladies of the Fifth Ward. To Hon. T. E. Watson: This bouquet of flowers is presented to you by the la dies of the Fifth ward of Augusta, and we beg you to accept as a token of our sincerity. Compliments of Mrs. R. L. Swan, to Hoh. Tom Watson. Compliments of Mrs. W. L. Parish. With compliments of Mrs. W. C. Chap man, to Hon. Thomas Watson. Presented by Little Mamie Raynolds, West End, to Hon Tom, Watson. It would require an express wagon to move these tokens of affection. I regret to say that many of the notes accomnanvincr these were lost. but the kind donors may rest assured that they live in the memory of the grateful recipient. Eight o’clock having arrived, Judge W. F. Eve, chairman of the Democratic county executive com mittee, advanced and spoke as fol lows : Fellow-citizens: ! Cries of Black—B—Black, Black, Black. [On the gong] ding, dong— ding dong dong. Black, Black, Black. This consumed five minutes. Judge Eve. Fellow-citizens : Thump, Thump—fellow-citizens I we cannot go Thump—Thump—fel low-citizens !!!??? fellow-citixens— Thump—Thump—!!! Cries of, Hurrah for Watson !!! Hurrah for Watson !!! Hurrah for our Tommy!!! Good-bye Jimmie ! Cries of Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! • Counter cries, Liars 1!!! Liars!!!! Liars!!!! Judge Eve. Fellow-citizens !! Thump—Thump! Mr. Whittaker [a gentleman with stentorian lung power.] Fellow citizens: You will have to be quiet or it will be !?! ? ! Cries of, Hurrah for Black, Black, Black, Black, Ding, dong ! Squeak! Bah !!!!! ’Rah for Black!!! !! Trai tor !!! ! Judge Eve : Fellow-citizens—!!! —!!!—!!! Honorable J. C. C. Black. Long continued cheering. Judge Black : Fellow—! 1! Oh, fellow-citizens—!!!—!! [Great ap plause.] Fellow—lll Oh, fellow citizens. Voices. ’lsh, ’ish, ’ish ; keep still over there—l!! 1 Boom!! Major Black. Fellow-citizens, I cannot proceed unless you keep the most absolute quiet; and I beg you also to listen to my distinguished competitor. A voice: Ask him about the Cor-! bin bank, Major. Mr. Black. Hush, my friend. Voices. ’lsh, ’sh, ’ish; traitor! traitor! traitor! ’tsing, bang. Mr. Black. Fellow-citizens, I en treat— A voice. Let her go, Gallagher. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Rats ! rats ! Judge Eve (spectacled and solemn, and accompanied with the stick, or what was left of it, which he used to belabor the table). Fellow-citizens: —Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. Fellow-citizens— Voices from the Hancock crew. Give us a rest. To hell with Wat son. By G—d, if Major Black can’t speak Traitor Watson can’t Major Black. Hush, boys, hush, boys, hush. No one is interfering but yourselves. At this juncture loud and angry voices arose in Mr. Watson’s corner, and blackguardism met defiance that brought partial order. Mr. Watson. I cannot speak un less Major Black has the opportunity. Let not one of my friends say one jvord to disturb the harmony of the meeting. Now, quiet, quiet. Mr. Black. Fellow-citizens, I wish to join in the request that has been submitted by Mr. Watson, asking for order and a patient hearing on both sides. It is impossible for me to proceed unless* quiet' is restored. (Confusion in the Hancock county crew on the stage; the sheriff is wav ing his white beaver and laughing at a vulgar remark, although some la dies occupy seats close by.) I did hope that this meeting would not be marked by any such disorder as we have witnessed here to-night. )Great cheering.) Now, boys, I hope you will be quiet and cheer at the right time. It is due to the ladies who have honored us on this occasion with their presence that we have or der. Ido not ask you to pass judg ment upon my opponent without first hearing him, and having given him a fair, patient and impartial hearing. / A voice (from a tall, white-hatted, spectacled dude, putting both hands to his mouth like a trumpet). Garden seed, cabbage seed. Traitor! traitor! traitor! traitqr! A working man (in the seat imme diately in front, whirling around). You G—d d d liar! open your mouth again and I will smash it —I will. Mr. Watson. Keep quiet, my friends. If you want to hear me you must listen to Major Black first. Voices. We are quiet. Mr. Watson. Another scene of confusion that lasted five minutes. Mr. Black. Boys, you don’t know how much you embarrass me. I take it that every man here to-night is willing to hear a fair, honest, candid discussion of these questions. I take it that every man recognizes the ob ligation that rests upon him individ ually to maintain good order during this meeting, and that the disturb ances will cease, and we will be al lowed to proceed. Since our last joint discussion my attention has been called to a speech that was made by my competitor in Sparta, Georgia—not the one in which we met in joint discussion, but the one where he spoke alone. I never saw this until since our last joint debate, and there is one thing par ticularly to which I want to pay a passing notice. I have never thought, and I have acted upon that convic tion, that in these public discussions either one of us was warranted in go ing outside of these questions, or the public record of the other, and that records are a subject of just and fair criticism. My public record he has seen fit to criticise, and to that I make no objection. On the contrary I feel that the public brought me in a position to make just and impartial criticism upon the public record of my competitor. Many voices. Hurrah for Watson! Hurrah for our Tommy ! Good-bye Jimmie, and cries from the other side (addressed to each other.) All right, boys ;by G—d Watson shan t speak at all. Mr. Black. I pass over much that might be said of his record between that period and the date of his elec tion. If I had time to submit to you in detail what he said I could show over and over again where he said that he was a Democrat; where he criticised other parties because they were not democratic enough for his fastidious democratic tastes; and while he did insist that he went to that convention representing certain agriculturists, w’hich I have always and do now, and will everywhere, most cordially and most unreservedly agree to the correctness of the claim, I shall insist that while he went in there representing certain demands that had been made by the agricul tural interests of the country; yet he went in there to represent, he went in there to press, he went in there to enact, if he could, into legis lation those demands inside and not outside of the Democratic party. (Storms of applause and shouts of derision.) I never have and I never intend to say that he ought not to be loyal to certain demands that were insisted upon by one wing of the Democratic party; but I say that having been nominated by the Dem ocratic party as a Democrat and having been elected as a Democrat, after having gone before the coun try as a Democrat, whatever special demands he felt called upon to rep resent and to enact, if possible, into the legislation of the country should have been inside and not outside the Democratic party. I say, too, with all respect to that large and respect able wing of the party, that the Democratic party, proper, never .did and never could approve these de mands. Voices. Right! right! right! Watson! Watson! Watson! (Ledl’S and jeers, and general uproar.) Mr. Black. I have before me the Congressional Directory, which, as you may know, furnishes a short biographical sketch of every member of Congress, furnished, as I under stand by that member himself. Tn that directory, in the sketch which is furnished of his life, Mr. Watson puts himself down as elected a Dem ocrat. There were others put down elected as Alliancemen. There were others put down as Independents. There were others put down as nom inated as Alliancemen and supported by Democrats. But he goes into the public record furnished to the Con gressional Directory, and furnished by himself, “elected as a Democrat?’ (Great cheering.) Mark you—(re newed cheering.) Mark you! elected not as a Jeffersonian Democrat— that broad term that may mean much or may mean little—but elected as a member of that political organization known as * Democratic party of the Tenth Congressional district. (Loud and long continued cheering.) What is the first thing he does when he goes to Washing ton ? He not only separates himself from the Democratic party but he associates himself with others who were not Democrats; not only not Democrats but had banded them selves together for the destruction of the Democratic party. Shouts of, Hurrah for Watson! Hurrah for Black. (A Babylonian duel between the two wings occurred at this point, lasting several seconds.) Mr. Black. Here are the names of those gentlemen with whom he associated himself. Two of them, I believe, according to the record, though nominated by the Farmer’s Alliance were supported by the Democrats. A kid on a rafter, “Where am I at?” Mr. Black. I will tell you where you ought to be at. You ought to be at home with your mother. Two of these, I believe, had been nominated by the Farmers’ Alliance and Independents, and supported by the Democrats, but not a single one of them had entered the Congress of the United States as a member of the Democratic party. [At this juncture great confusion took place on account of a person in the center of the hall talking in a tone inaudible to your reporter, but sufficient to annoy his neighbors. A tall police officer, who would make a fine model on which to display cloth ing, stood there as helpless as a fan in a cyclone, while cries of “Put him out! put him out! ” added to the confusion;] Mr. Black. He not only associated himself with these people, but he be came their candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives against the very party that elected him and sent him to represent them. (Great applause.) Now, my friends, when he comes back and goes before the people who honored him so highly to give an ac count of his stewardship, as he him self says, is it personal abuse to criti cise that record ? Voices. Yes, yes, yes. Mr. Black. Is it not a fair and just criticism upon his public record to call attention Io these facts? Cries of traitor! traitor! traitor! and howls of rage, interspersed with retorts of liars! liars! liars! cow ardly liars! Your Major Black dare not say that. ’Tsing, boom, bang. Mr. Black. Look here, my Demo cratic friends; whether fortunately or not, you have selected me as the speaker on this occasion; it may have been a very unwise selection, but you made it, and you ought to be bound by it, and anything that you add to what I say may be con