The People's party paper. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, November 25, 1892, Page 5, Image 5

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■ ■by this ■ ■ : AX'W |f ] <>H>. \V< fcFLTtI:«- I ,’• !•’.'•■ >••.]. ...” \ .], . pF»'-r of >t;i.cs caniol. As a tiie late election we will ■otless hold the balance of power the Senate of the United States. We have doubled the number of our adherents in the House of Represen tatives, secured control of a number of State governments, hold the bal ance of power in a majority of the States in the Union, and have suc ceeded in arousing a spirit of politi cal independence among the people of the Northwest which cannot be disregarded in the future. Not be ing formed on sectional lines, our party in a single campaign has gained a large and influential following in every State in the South. This gives promise of good government in that section of the Union, a thing that the Republican party has failed to do after thirty years of almost uninter rupted rule, and gives promise, too, of correcting wrongs, -which may exist through the people of the re spective States, instead of attempt ii g to do so by influence from with out. We have awakened fraternal feel ings in all sections, and as an earnest of our good will toward the South, the grand people of Kansas, a State containing more Union soldiers than any other, elected an ex-Confederate soldier of the People’s party to rep resent the State at large in Congress. The country is to be congratulated upon the fact that the leaders of one of the heretofore great parties have been abandoned and overthrown by the people, and their organization well nigh annihilated. This leaves the former adherents of that party free to align themselves with the great anti-monopoly and industrial movement. The accession of the other party to power is the result of violent re action and not, I am sure, of the deliberate judgment of the American people. The battle leaders of the triumphant party are -without any well-deflned policy, except that of contemptuous disregard for every element of reform within the ranks of their own party, and among the people at large. The new adminis tration will ignore the great conten tions of modern times relating to land, money and transportation, and will not attempt to solve either. In fact, the whole force of the new regime will be exercised to prevent r reform in these important matters. The urgent demand of the people for the free coinage of silver is to be disdainfully ignored, and new ob stacles will, doubtless, be interposed to further restrict the use of the white metal. In contempt of the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, Euro pean aristocrats are to be permitted to dictate our financial policy. One of the most valuable results of the late war, that of a uniform legal-tender currency, issued by the government, is to be sacrificed and abandoned, and serious attempts will be made to force the people to return to the fraudulent system of State bank issues, which existed prior to the war, and which periodically swindled the industrial classes of the fruits of their toil. This is to be sprung upon the people by a sudden stroke of policy by dealers who carefully kept their motives con cealed from the public. This crime is to be enacted into law between elections and before the people can have time to pass upon the question by the selection of representatives chosen for the purpose. That this is the deliberate plan is shown by the clause in the Democratic plat form which calls for the repeal of the law imposing a tax upon the cir culation of State banks. It is con firmed by the fact that Mr. Coe, chairman of the executive committee of the American bankers, associated together with a large number of New York bankers, publicly gave in their support to the Democratic ticket only a few days before the election. The situation gives an ad ditional importance to the great question which a few have compre hended for a score of years, namely: Shall the currency of the country be a legal-tender issue and its value controlled by the government, or shall it be non-legal tender issued and controlled by banking corpora tions ? . The issues pressing for solution are simply tremendous, and the situation portentious. Our party has not .made its advent too soon. Its mission is to restore to our government, its original and only legitimate turn tion, which has been well nigh lost bj non use, that of assuring to all its citizens —the weak as well as the mighty— the unmolested enjoyment of their inalienable rights. This cannot be accomplished until the relations be tween labor and its creature, capital, are so adjusted as to cause each to respect the domain of the other. These important forces are now upon a war footing, whereas, under hu mane laws, they would naturally dwell together in perfect peace. The repressive policy, now fully ina.igu rated in this country, will not work well in the nineteenth century. It is the fatal blunder of weak leaders, who fail to comprehend the spirit of PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1892 the age, and the growth of indepen dence among the people. It denies to labor the right to organize, relies upon the military arm to sustain cor porate pretentions, and when labor organizations defend themselves against armed mercenaries, it ad judges the members to be guilty of treason. Let those who rob by law aud op press their fellows to gratify their thirst for power beware how they trifle with an awakened people. The violent political storm of 1888 and 1892, which first swept the Demo cratic candidate, then the Republican party from power in spite of the weight of patronage which they car ried, signify a turbulent condition of the political atmosphere which plainly foreshadows an approaching crisis. It were better that it be not hastened by the enactment of measures w r hich savor of usurpation and the extension of class privileges. I sincerely trust that the work of organization and education may now be pushed with energy throughout all the States. The field is ours and we must occupy it without delay. Fraternally yours, J. B. Weaver. A Voice From the Tenth. Now, as the campaign is over and the brush of battle is ceased, let us view the past. When we first or ganized as a new party our enemies tried to treat the reform movement as a mere jest, but finding we were determined and that our ranks were filling up despite their silence, they raked up all their speakers, ex-sena tors, ex-governors and every man that could cry out “ force bill ” and “tariff reform” and rushed them down to the Tenth, thinking they could crush the People’s party senti ments, but «to their dismay they found out we were only gaining strength, and that to carry this dis trict for Democracy they must resort to other means. They forgot any God above, any hell below, and mapped out apian to defeat the honest free will of the people. Our speak ers were silenced, not allowed to speak; our presidential candidate was rotten-egged, his revered ■wife, an aged lady with silver locks, was rotten-egged. Never before was such a shame committed. Our con gressman was repeatedly howled down by a city mob that went with ' their candidate for that purpose. They intended to defeat the gallant Watson though it cost the fair name of Georgia, and they have caused a stain upon her name that will bear its mark. Major Black has not been elected to Congress by . the voters of the Tenth congressional district of Geor gia. The Augusta ringsters and the Sparta tricksters have elected Major Black to Congress. He will repre sent the Augusta ring and the negro boys that made so much money in Augusta on the day of the election. He will represent the train-load of negro boys and men that came out to Hephezibah and voted once and twice, but he will not represent the honest colored voters of Richmond county. He will represent the Sparta tricksters, but not the free and honest voters of Hancock county. Do not mope over it, Major, when you realize that you have been elected to represent the Tenth district by the Augusta ring and the Sparta bosses, but that is just the size of it. Let every earnest reformer push forward with more strength than ever; let no one be discouraged by defeat; remember that no reform movement ever went to success save through the grim ordeal of repeated failure. We are now over seventy thousand strong in this State. Think of it! In less than six months we have marshaled into our ranks over seventy thousand as firm, as resolute men as ever faced a struggle. Who knows but ere another six months rolls round we’ll have our ranks doubled. Let us be earnest and pru dent ; let every man do his duty, for upon those principles depend our posterity. We have much to be proud of in the campaign just ended, and much to hope for in the future. Let us be patient, forbearing and true ; and if we are indeed loyal to our principles, loyal to our Maker, as we should be, we will conquer though hell should oppose us. C. O. P. Blythe, Ga. Will the South Come! Winfield, Kan., Nov. 14, ’92. Editor People’s Party Paper : At last the election is over, and so far as Kansas is concerned, we have achieved a glorious victory. The Weaver electors, the entire State ticket and the Legislature are ours. Yes, more—we have elected an ex-rebel soldier for congressman-at large in Kansas, notwithstanding there are 120,000 old Union soldiers in this State. What do you think of it, you people of the South ? We have forever buried the bloody shirt and declared that we know the war is over, and that there shall be no solid North. We have stood by our professions. Oh, brethren of the South, why could you not trust us ? Why could you not help us bury the bloody shirt? It pains us to see that the South decides to remain solid, for with your help, what could we not do? Look at the Northwest! No bloody-shirt could move us from our devotion to principle; no force bill scare swerve us from our firm set purposes; and even though we realized long before election day that the South would not go with us, yet we were determined to stand -by our guns, hoping that in the near future the] South would realize the true situation and join us later. We have broken the solid North. Will you do the same in South ? Will the South give up her idols, or will she stand by her traditions instead of her better judgment ? This is the question that is agitating our people just now, for if it does not come to our rescue we cannot, suc ceed. Have we not been tried sufficiently to satisfy you that we are in earnest when we say that we have buried the bloody-shirt ? Look at our record. With over 100,000 old soldiers in this State, yet we have elected Col. W. A. Harris, an old Confederate soldier, as con gressman-at-large by a good ma jority, he having run ahead of his ticket. There should be no political di vision between the West and South. Their interests are one; their ene mies are identical. If we would become prosperous, we must unite to shake off the dom ination of Wall street, and institute government for the people, instead. What we need is education. Kansas has been thoroughly educated, and to this alone we owe our success. The “force bill scare ” and “bloody shirt” methods of politics have no terrors for us, and it is time the South shake off its superstitions. We all up here deeply deplore the defeat of brave Tom Watson, the Simpson of the South, for he had a warm place in the Kansas heart, but we elected Jerry Simpson after one of the most desperate contests ever waged against any man in this State. Colonizing voters, bribery, fraud and slander were resorted to without avail—the Republican candidate had to go down. Now, we say to the South, we are not organized for the sole purpose of defeating the Republican party, but for the carrying out of the principles of our party, and we aim to stand by our guns regardless of who follows or who deserts us. Will the South -come with us? We shall see, but don’t want to wait too long. J. H. Ritchie. Senator Gorman Makes a Speech. M. G. Ellzey, in National Watchman. Senator Gorman came direct from the national Democratic committee rooms to make a speech at his Mary land home. He said a few notable things, aud pretty nearly demolished the Chicago platform. Concerning’ the State bank plank, he said that it was one of those things, which, in the confusion of a national conven tion, may sometimes “slip in,” and are not binding on the masses of the party. In the meantime, Mr. Cleve land, in his letter, had given it a quasi and evasive endorsement, and Chairman Gordon, of Virginia, had put it forward in his address as “something better” than sub-treasury or the free coinage of silver. This last was, and is undoubtedly, the true inwardness of the thing. It did not “slip in,” but was deliberately put in for tne base purpose of de ceiving those voters who demand the sub-treasury plan and the free coin age of silver; nor can it now “slip out” in the easy way suggested by the Senator from Maryland, neither can the party “slip away” from its record so slick and easy as he thinks. The red dog, rotten egg element is a living force in the Cleveland party. Concerning the nomination of Mr. Cleveland, Mr. Gorman says he first thought he could not be elected if nominated, but he now thinks he was the very man to put up. If Mr. Gorman has reached the conclusion that whoever was put up by the Democracy would have been knocked down, doubtless he is per fectly sincere in saying Mr. Cleve land* was the best man to put up. Concerning the “tariff reform” plank, Mr. Gorman says “tariff re form,” after Cleveland, is nothing any manufacturer or business man need be afraid of. Certainly then it is nothing from which the people can hope or expect any great things in the way of relief. But Senator Gorman goes further and says em phatically that no immediate relief can follow Cleveland’s election, but when the Democrats are put in full control thejr will pare down salaries and abolish useless offices and gradu ally reduce taxation. The Senator also fiercely denounces the sugar bounty, but does not remotely sug gest a restoration of duty on sugar. This means a dreary expanse of years to come, during which the sugar and cotton planters, the wheat growers, and the producer of butcher’s meat must keep on to feed the hungry millions of the -world at a price for their products below the cost of production. And what, we ask, does this mean ? It means ruin and devastation of every rural in dustry and of ezery country home. Beyond that looms black as eternal night anarchy and civil tumult, fire and sword, and wide, wasting de struction of life and property, ending in military dictatorship and the stolid apathy of calm despair. Let those who would scoff at this picture re flect,that two months are not passed since this country saw five armies in the field in five different States, any one of which could have swept the army that Washington led off the continent at a single stroke. A notable speech was that of Senator Gorman. It is “phunny, ain’t it?” Two years ago the Democrats almost “corked” themselves in their efforts to force the silver question into the campaign against the Republicans. This year the Republican Senate held it under their nose and they are now breaking their necks trying to dodge it. Yes, it’s “phunny,” but take your medicine-People’s Rights. THE PAPERS. The Jefferson, Texas, Jimplecute, says: Now, brethren of the quill, there is no excuse for not reinstating truth as the keystone of the editorial arch. It may be difficult for some of you, after the last three months, but it ought to be done. * * * * The only thing that causes us to doubt that there is “ a God in Israel ” is the defeat of Tom Watson for Congress m Georgia. He is the grandest and noblest man in the na tion to-day, but money •was stronger than right. The People’s Rights, of Monte zuma, Ga., tells its readers that— We call upon every People’s party man to stand firm in defense of the great political advantage we have gained, and to press forward to the victory that is now in sight. The next battle is for the control of the Congress to be elected in 1894. Let us now stand together North, South, East and West —for our families and firesides, and agaist mo nopoly and plutocracy. We must win. We shall win. i Let none falter or turn aside, but let us all keep straight ahead in the middle of the road. Never mind the toil and ex pense it involves upon us. Our children will receive the heritage of an equal chance in the race of life. The Minden (Nebraska) Workman sizes it up : While there are some things about the election that afford satisfaction, on the whole we see little cause for rejoicing. On finance and the tariff, the only issues that affect the people, the old parties hold practically to the same views. By a juggling of words a divergence is manifested, but will never be demonstrated in the halls of Congress. The only radical change will be a change of officers. 'The people have changed horses but cap italists, corporations and rich manu facturers hold the reins of govern ment as firmly as ever, and it is ex tremely doubtful if the hated and much despised McKinley bill will be disfigured to any great extent. The Chillicothe (Mo.) World says : Now the Democratic party has full power and will give its remedy for the ills the people are suffering. If ever a people needed relief, the masses of the people of this country need it. One-half of the wealth of the nation in the hands of thirty-one thousand people. For every two thousand people there is one who owns as much as the two thousand. In this new country, where the hus bandman tills the rich virgin soil, the great farming community is poverty stricken. When every industrious, frugal man should be enjoying the blessing of prosperity, the major part of the people cannot get the comforts of life, It will take a he roic remedy relieve the fast : dying republic. The New Nation, of Boston, finds the same difficulty experienced by papers in other States : As to Massachusetts, we have been unable to collect the returns. That our vote is about 5,000 is very evi dent. Tne Associated Press still re fuses to print our returns even though the figures are furnished them by Populists. This decision to sit down hard on the new party we happen to know was made nearly two months ago, and their representative for New England, when confronted by a mem ber of the Populist committee, made the statement point blank that the People’s party need not expect to receive any favors from the telegraph people so long as it favors the gov ernment ownership of the telegraph. That is to say, a newspaper monopo ly has been built up on a telegraph monopoly, and the newspapers pro pose to fight any party that assaults either. It is very humiliating for a paper like The New Nation to con fess that it cannot give the result of an election after so many days have passed. The Wool Hat, of Greenwood, Richmond county, Ga., notes: The most significant feature of the grand Democratic jollification in Au gusta was the public currying of Mr. Wright as the successor of Major Black in Congress. Is it not Demo cratic usage to re-elect an officer as an endorsement of his official acts? Then why thus publicly condemn the poor major before he has had a chance to make a record? The major has served the purpose for which the ring nominated him, and already they are scheming to get rid of him. No doubt they think now, since they had to re sort to open fraud to count him in, that a candidate more to their liking could have been counted in just as easily by the same methods, and feel like kicking themselves for not think ing of it sooner. But the major will not be our congressman, and this premature nomination of Mr. Wright perhaps was only intended as a grim joke, or as soothing balm to heal the soreness resulting from the action of those bad boys in Atlanta. Poor Major Black! The Plow and Hammer, of Tiffin, Ohio, says : The responsibility of legislation and administration will be with the Democrats. No more can they come with the old time plea: “Give us a chance before you condemn.” If Democracy means the same thing East, West, North and South, there will be no power to prevent it from carrying out its cherished purpose of restoring general prosperity. It has condemned, in general terms, the con- centration of wealth, and expressed great sympathy for the depressed and distressed industries of the country, and charged the Republi cans with being responsible for it. It will now have the opportunity to prove its statesmanship and wis dom in reversing the engine that is rapidly driving the ship of State upon destructive shoals and rocks. One thing that occurred eight years ago need not be repeated now. Then Cleveland, with Hendricks, was elected on a silver coinage plat form, which he repudiated before inauguration day. This time he was bigger than his party —dictated the platform and reserves the right to place his own interpretation upon it. Now has come the opportunity of the party to prove its friendship for “more money and less misery.” The Banks County Gazette, of Ho mer, Ga., says: Though we have been defeated we must not give up the fight. We are asking nothing but justice, and honest people would not grant less. The People’s party must stand unflinch ing, remembering that the father of our country met with defeat after defeat, yet he wavered not in his purpose to rid his people of the dam ning hand of oppression. Washing ton fought for the freedom of ou r country with arms; we must pre serve our liberty with our ballots. We must not be discouraged but buckle on our armor for the next contest, and though we go down in a thousand defeats we have the conso lation of knowing that we go through with clean hands. If our opponents could say as much we could expect honest government. Be not dis couraged ; our fight is just, and we cannot afford to go back to the ene mies of God. The Farmer’s Light, of Harlem, Ga., is strong in the faith. It says : There is one fact that cannot be rubbed out, and that is, Democracy is dead in Columbia county, and no man need offer for any office unless he stands squarely with the people. * * * The Augusta ring may think they have things their own way, but they will wake up to find that they are wrong. The methods in augurated by the city ringsters will certainly be exposed. * * The heat of the recent State and national elections has passed, and now comes the election of county officers. It becomes the plain duty of every People’s party man to stand together in this election as they did in those passed. Don’t be influenced by any of our enemies, telling you that it is not necessary for you to vote in the county election as you have nothing at stake. It is very essential you vote at all elec tions, for failing to do this, will give your enemies a loop-hole to come in and defeat us. Let the People’s party of Columbia county still con tinue to make this the banner county of Georgia by voting for the People’s party candidates from constable up. The Southern Mercury, of Dallas, Texas, says: The dispatches foreshadow Cleve land’s election by a very decided majority, also that the House and Senate will be largely Democratic. To a casual observer this looks like a permanent victory for the Demo cratic party, when in fact it is the very worst thing that could have happened to them. No one denies that the Democracy is Janus-faced, and such being the case, it will be impossible for that party to give the people any substantial reforms, if they adhere to their record and plat form. They have been very prolific in their promises heretofore; especi ally have Democratic orators prom ised financial reform. The people believed these promises would be redeemed. They are doomed to dis mal disappointment in this direction ; failing to do this the rank and file desert and come direct to the Peo ple’s party as the only hope to secure reforms. The Republican party will disintegrate, because it was made up of reformers, and some of the old reform blood yet flows in the veins of their adherents. Finding them selves defeated on the lines they chose, with no hopes of success pos sible in the future, they will be compelled to cast their eyes else where. They will see all the tenable ground covered by the People’s party, and rather than disappear for the want of an issue they will disband their organization and come to the People’s party. The rich Republi cans in the South and West, whose interests are m line with Cleveland’s financial policy, will, of course, go to Cleveland, together with the pluto crats of the Northeast; while the common people of these sections will join the People’s party, and by the opening of the campaign of 1896 the world will behold the spectacle of the great common people arrayed in one party, demanding more money and less taxes, and the consolidated plutocracy arrayed in the other, de manding the perpetuation of the rule of the dollar. ' Then the great battle of Armageddon will begin m dead earnest, and will be fought to finish in the valley of the Mississippi. “ Coming events cast their shadows before.” Pointers, of Greenfield, Mo., says* The overwhelming defeat of the Republicans will usher in a new era in the politics of this country. The downfall of the Republican party will be the up-building of another. There will be two great political parties in this country, each strug gling for supremacy. The history of ail governments at all times shows plainly that two great parties con- front each other at all times and *♦. all places; we don’t presume tha* the present will be an exception, When one or the other of the parties goes down a new party springs into existence to take its place, possessing more vitality, energy and able to cope with the powers that exist. In the re-organization of the great political parties for the campaign of 1896, we believe that the Democratic party will be confronted by an an tagonist fully able to contest every part of the battle-field. Such is the history of politics. The Vanguard, of Chicago, says of the mission and opportunity of the People’s party: We are approaching one of those convulsive seasons of universal politi cal breaking up. Old things are destined to pass away, and a newly awakened people will ask for new and loftier political initiatives. At this time the People’s party has its supreme opportunity. It has, with much labor and patience, con structed the needed mechanism of a national organization. Its high mis sion during the coming four years would seem to be one of education and wise propagandism. It is a plain proposition that the People’s party can only become a conquering one by swelling its ranks with re cruits from the two old parties. These can only be gained by temper ate argument, by charity, by reason able concession and by wise com promise. The fundamental declaration of the People’s party is that the govern ment of this republic is in danger of passing out of the hands of the masses into the hands of the classes. It would save the country from that calamity and it can do so only in one way, and that is by making its foundation principle so true and broad that every good patriot can say “Amen” to it. It can do this by inviting to its ranks 1 all those who are opposed to a government of the few, by the few and for the few and wish to have this republic ruled tor the benefit of the whole. It is the natural and quite amiable weakness of ardent reformers to wish to see their specifics for relief em bodied in a party platform. These enthusiastic gentlemen ignore the fact that a party must get into power be fore it can give the people any legis lative relief. We trust that the wise leaders of the People’s party will see the bad policy of making would-be recruits accept a long string of uncertain leg islative remedies before they can be admitted to membership. The People’s party should now strive to increase and consolidate its forces on the grand old lines of Jeff ersonian government. If a recruit after assenting to that proposition agrees to throw overboard his alle giance to the Democratic or Repub lican machine parties it should be all sufficient, for the discussion of radi cal measures of legislative relief can be safely left until such time as the People’s party has the power to make its will the law of the land. The People’s party comes out of the battle smoke of the campaign white in honor and lustrous with well earned glory. It could not be defeated, for it expected no victery at this time. It fought for the love of fighting in the cause of liberty, justice and human progress. The People’s party principles, can didates and advocates were maligned without measure, but they never re torted in kind because the champions of truth and righteousness have no use for the weapons of falsehood and evil. The People’s party of America is the party of our country’s sublimer future. It is the chosen custodian of a high constructive mission, which shall bring blessing to universal hu manity. It turns its back on the feudal past with its special privileges for classes, and marches valorously toward the benignant years of the long foretold “New Dispensation,” wherein the world’s lowly masses shall enjoy that peace, prosperity and happiness which cruel and crafty power has for so many ages denied them. L. C. H. The Southern Mercury reports: Hon. Thos. L. Nugent polled about 100,000 votes for Governor. He is the most popular man in Texas, and in ability is second to none. ATTENTION ALLIANCEMEN. Brother J. W. Wilson, Alliance Lecturer for the Fourth Congres sionnal District, will lecture at Pine Knot Springs, Chattahoochee county, November 30, at 10 a. m., and at Cottage Mills, same county, Decem ber 1, 10 a. m. Doors open to the public. THE TOCSIN Is the title of a little Reform paper hail ing from Omaha, Nebraska, that bursts into the harbor of politics and religion like the mighty little Monitor cut the waves in Hampton Roads and ran astern the clumsy Merrimac. It ADVOCATES The reign of Right and Justice, and comes endorsed by a score of the leading thinkers and’writers es America; it tunes its tone and measures Truth accord ing to the natural law of EQUAL RIGHTS. Send for a sample copy of the little Yankee Cheese Box. It has 16 pages the size of the ordinary magazine, and is is sued weekly at $1 per year in advance. It is absolutely impartial, although nec essarily opposed to many of the popular ; sms of the day which contravene Equality. 5