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THE PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER.
Entered at the Post Office at Atlanta. Ga» as
aecond-olnsa natter. Oct. 1891.
Office 89 West Mitchell Street
(Concordia Hall Bonding.)
(Subscription, One Dollar Per Year, Six
Months 50 Cents, Three Months
25 Cents, In Advance,
Advertising Bates made known on ap
plication at the business office.
Money may be sent by bank draft, Post
Office Money Order, Postal Note or
Registered Letter. Orders shomld be
made payable to
THE PEOPLE’S PARTY PAPER.
Subscribers desiring to change the ad
• dress of their paper will please give
the old address as well as the new.
We must have your old address to
find your name on the mailing -lists.
OUR PUBLISHING COMPANY
Annual Convention of Stockholders and
Meeting of Directors Called.
The regular annual meeting of the
Board of Directors of Oar Publishing
Company, and the regular annual
convention of the Stockholders there
of, are hereby called to meet at 10
o’clock a. m., at the Company’s office
in the city of Atlanta, on August 6th
1896, for the purpose of electing
officers for the ensuing year, deter
mining upon the publication of a
daily paper, and transacting such
other business as may be necessary
and proper. June 27, 1896.
Tnos. E. Watson,
President,
Mackie Sturgis,
Secretary.
Populist State Convention.
The State Convention of the Peo
ples Party of Georgia is hereby
called to meet at the capitol, in At
\ lanta, Ga, at noon, on Thursday, the
6th day of August 1896.
The purpose of the convention is
to put out an Electoral Ticket, to
nominate Sta'e House officers, to
choose a new Executive Committee
and to transact such other business
as may legitimately come before a
general State Convention of the party.
Each county is entitled to twice as
many votes in the Convention as it
has representatives in the Legisla
ture, but the nu n her of delegates is
not limited.
A full Convention should ba had
as it will be thj most important
iTTave ever field.
Titos. 1.. Wa i sox,
.-r . Cha.rman.
W I’aiik it, Secretary.
June 22, 1896.
Thanks to You All.
This obscure editor will find it im
possible to answer all the letters and
telegrams of congratulation, pouring
in upon him from his good friends
all over the Union, lie takes this
method, therefore, of returning his
acknowledgments and h : s thanks.
God knows ho did not seek this
nomination, nor desire it; his motive
in withdrawing his statement that he
would not accept, and thus leaving
the Convention at liberty to use his
name, was to save the party from
the crisis which the Democratic fu
sion programme had brought upon it.
T. E. W.
Are We to Be Tricked.
Senator Wm. V. Allen of Nehrus- I
ka is Chairman of the Populist Com
mittee which was appointed by the
St. Louis Convention to notify Mr.
Bryan of his nomination by the Peo
ples’ Party.
It is stated in the Northern pa
pers that Senator Allen will not call
this Committee together and that
Mr. Bryan will not bo officially noti
fied of his nomination.
Would this conduct on the part of
the Committee be honorable? Would
it not be a grievous insult to the
Peoples Parly?
Would the rank and file of our
party tolerate such action on the
part of their leaders?
We believe that if eerie us disaster
to the cause of silver is to ba averted
the people must be dealt with fairly
and honestly. A resort to any
trickery at this time would be in the
highest degree hurtful to the success
of Mr. Bryan.
The Western Populists—l mean
the people—believe in keeping faith
with the South. The Western lead
ers in the St. Louis Convention most
positively pledged their allegiance to
the ticket nominated.
Any attempt to get the Populists
of the West to vote for Bryan and
Bewail will in our judgment fail.
The Western delegations at St. Louie
pledged their faith to the Bryan
Watson and wo believe they wi'l be
true.
The St. Louis Convention.
There will be disappointment
throughout the ranks of the Peoples
Party at the failure of our national
convention to nominate a “middle-of
the-road” ticket.
The position of this paper upon
that subject has not changed. We
thought before the convention mat,
and we think now, that the welfare
of our party, and of the principles it
represents, demanded that we nomi
nate our own ticket, and put upon
that ticket two Populists, tried and
true.
When the convention met, how
ever, it soon became evident that a
vast amount of preliminary work had
been done by the shrewd managers
who had charge of the “fusion” pro
gramme. Not only did our Western
leaders throw the full force of their
influence to the Democratic ticket,
but a few from th? other section did
likewise.
That these gentlemen were per
fectly honest and sincere in believ
ing that unconditional fusion with
the Democrats was the best policy
to be pursued, we dare not doubt;
but yet it is absolutely clear to us
that such a course would have buried
the Peoples Party and would have
left the cause of free-silver entirely
in the power of the party which had
very recently been its deadliest
enemy.
As the hours passed away at St,
Louis, it became constantly more
evident that our existence as a party
hung upon a thread. The West was
committed to Bryan beyond recall.
No matter what the convention
might do, the Populists of the West
were certain to support Bryan. This
sentiment was expressed by Senator
Wm. V. Allen, and his words were
doubtless true.
With the West gone way from us,
how could our party live? It sprang
into existence when the Alliance
leaders of the South, (led by that
golden-hearted patriot L L Polk,)
went to the West and pleaded for
unity of action on the part of West
ern Republican and Southern Demo
crat, and when, in response to Polk’s
appeal, the Western leaders, came
into the South and made us the
pledge that if we would shake off
Democracy, they would step out of
the Rxy’.blica" party, and would
meet the middle of the road,
and new party in which the
West and Ve South could act to
gether.
In the elections which followed,
more than a score of Congressmen
were elected in the West by the Alli
ance vote: and in the South the
I number was fully as large. But
when we mot in Washington, the
Caucus took many of our men and
led them away into hopeless cap
tivity.
From the West, a dozen Congress
men proved true and staid out of the
Republican Caucus
From ths South there was but one
who staid out of the Democratic
Caucus. The writer of this artiole
remembering the pledges he had
made the people, and realizing the
supreme importance of effecting a
union between Western Republicans
and Southern Democrats, took his
political life in his hands, and joined
the men of the West.
Around this nucleus, the Peoples
Party was formed; and had the i
West in the late convention by en
dorsing loth Bryan and Sewall, left
the Populists of the South at the
mercy of the Democratic party, there
would have been a peculiar cruelty
in receiving our death-blow at the
hands of the West.
With such a large number of ex
perienced workers, organized and
well-equipped, striving for the en
dorsement of both Bryan and Sewall,
the fate of the party was in the
highest degree critical. The “mid
dle-of-the-road” men were the more
numerous, but less united. They
could not agree upon leaders. In
the Vice-Presidential nomination,
they were divided between several
different candidates, while the Sewall
men were a compact body which
threatened to become a majority by
the mere failure of the opposition to
concentrate.
It was this chaotic condition of
things which I witnessed with keen
anxiety, and which caused members
of the Georgia delegation t> tele
graph me to allow my name used to
restore harmony and save the par .y.
Upon that express condition, I
consented, and the object was ob
tained. Sewall was defeated, the
Populist factions harmonized and the
Democratic programme checkmated.
This condition of things was not
PARTY PAPER, ATLANTA, GA..
V- a
r. <>:n inV■ have
withdrawn that I not
believed the life of the paity re
quired ii.
The vice-Presidential nominee
having been chosen, Mr. Bryan was
then named for President by an
overwhelming majority—and this
itself shows what extreme peril our
party was in.
Had Bryan’s nomination come on
first his victory would probably have
carried Sewall through also. It was
exceedingly shrewd in the Populist
managers to force the vice-Presi
dential vote first. To that act, the
Peoples Party owes its life today.
The platform adopted is a model
—a masterpiece. It is moderate,
clear, and strong. There is not an
extravagant line in it, nor one capa
ble of misconstruction.
The delegation from this state ac
quitted itself most handsomely. It
took a leading part in the proceed
ings from start to finish, and for
their loyalty to instructions, and
fidelity to principle, they deserve and
will receive the warmest praise from
the people whom they so ably and
faithfully represented.
In going outside their own party
to name a Presidential candidate, the
Populists have given the highest
proof of a sincere and patriotic desire
to unite the Silver forces Their
conduct has been generous to extent
without precedent.
If now the Democratic managers
should refuse to make any conces
sion at all it would show that our
efforts toward unity have all been
thrown away. If they continue to
demand that the Populists shall go
out of existence as a party, they will
prove to all the world their object in
adopting our platform was not so
much to get free silver as it was to
bury The Peoples Party.
T. E W.
As to Senator Marion Butler.
A correspondent of the Atlanta
Journal attempts to make it appear
that there has been a collision be
tween Senator Butler, chairman of
the Populist national executive com
mittee, and myself.
This is all wrong. That corres
pondenTJ' ill company with several
other gentlemen, called on me at my
residence, and we had what I sup
posed to bs a private conversation,
Something was said about the plan
of campaign, and I was asked if I
had heard from Sanator Butler. In
reply I stated that I had a telegram
from him suggesting that I go at
once to Alabama, and stating that a
letter explaining matters would fol
low.
I remarked that it seemed to me
we had better wait awhile and see
what the situation was going to be.
Mr. Bryan would have to respond to
our nomination in a few days, cr the
exe .utive committee would meet on
Aug. sth and take some action con
cerning his silence. Besides this
reason there are others—one ot them
being that our Georgia State Con
vention convenes August 6th, and it
might be well to wait and see wheth
er the party will endorse what was
done at St. Louie. It is by no means
certain that the party will do so.
Tnere are mutterings of discontent
all along the line, and if Mr. Sewall
declines to retire for harmony’s sake,
the rank aud file of our party may
break away from the leaders, and re
fuse to vote for Mr. Bryan at al).
Therefore, my own opinion is, that
we had better go slow, until the at
mosphere clears itself a little.
No unkind word escaped me in
reference to Senator Butler.
Another reason for not going to
Alabama is that the election takes
place next Monday and it is there
fore too l ate for me to arrange dates
and places and get there in time to
do any good.
Senator Butler and I differ widely
on the subject of fusion, but the
Convention has acted, the manage
ment of the campaign has been put in
to his hands, aud I am ready to act in
loyal and earnest co-operation with
him in bringing success to our ticket
Tnos. E. Watson.
Don’t Forget.
To bring us a club of subscribers
when you come to the State Con
vention.
Wo want to arrange to s!art the
daily paper immediately after the
State Convention. You can help us
greatly by putting the weekly on a
boom.
Editorial Notes.
If the alleged Fres-silver Demoi
orats insist upon running Mr. Bewail
against Mr. Watson, they will there
by prove that the real p irpose they
had in view when they adopted a
Populist platform at Chicago was to
destroy the Peoples Party. If they
are honest in their clamor for Free
silver they will retire the millionaire
candidate from the East and accept
the Populist nominee from the South,
and thus unite the silver forces with
out destroying either the Democratic
or the Populist party.
• • «
If the only design of the Demo
cratic party in this campaign is to
bring all the free-silver voters to
gether, why are they so anxious that
the Peoples Pai>y should disband
and quit business How does it
hurt the cause of tree-silver for the
Peoples Party to continue to live,
provided we are willing to co-oper
ate with other silver forces? Where
would the cause of free-silver have
been in 1892 and 1893, when the
Democrats were it, had it
not been for the Peoples Party?
♦ 4 *
When the Prodigal Son returned,
did he abase the old man, and the
elder brother for having behaved
themselves decently during the years
the Prodigal was wandering in
strange countries, and wasting his
substance in riotous living? Did he
frown upon the old man and ask
him to vacate the premises? Did he
contend that the old man should
kick the elder brother off the plan
tation?
Here, in this campaign of 1896,
we have the Democrats Prodigal re
turning to his old home after a sad
waste of time, substance, and oppor
tunity in strange lands; we Pops see
this Prodigal afar off, and wo lift up
our voices in welcome, and lo!—the
hug of forgiveness is hardly done
with, before the Prodigal remarks
that, upon second thought, he can
not trust himself to live with us, un
less we will surrender all our prop
erty to him, and make him ruler over
all the regions round about.
In other words, he cannot forgive
us for not going astray when he
did;— unless we donate to him the
Hooks and the herds, the lands, chat
tels and hereditaments, which we
saved while he was spending.
The Atlanta Constitution isdeapfly
mortified because the South has at
last been recognized on the national
ticket. Rather than see a Southern
man elected to the Vice-Presidency,
the Constitution will continue to op
po-e the honorable co-operation of
the free silver forces. By adhering
to this line of conduct, tho Constitu
tion will assure the defeat of the
free-silver moiement and the elec
tion of McKinley.
If the Constitution persists in a
course so ruinous to the success of
the free silver movement, we shall
suspect that Mr. Crisp and the Con
stitution are up to their old tricks,
and that instead of wanting free sil
ver, they are simply using it as a
campaign weapon to destroy their
foes.
Hoke Smith, for instance, and
The Peoples Party.
Tho Free-silver Convention at St.
Louis was a farce—a ten cent side
show of the Democratic party. The
man stood at the dour, and cried '
with a loud voice, and sought to at i
tract attention as the big crowd went
into the circus. With voluble elo
quence this man with the loud voice
told what visible wonders and mon
strous sizes and shapes you could see ;
in this aide-show for the pitiful sum ’
of ten cents. The wild man from
Borneo was in there—and others to
keep him company—but few entered
therein, for the trick was old, the
eights had been seen.
And so it came to pass that no
mortal man paid any revenue or at
tention to this little ten-cent Demo
cratic side-show, and when evening
fell, and voice of the man at the
doer grew weary, the tent of the lit
tle ten-cent side show was folded)
and the denizens thereof wended
their way into nothingness and in
visibility.
And as this little ton cent side
show passed into the shades, a voice
was heard saying,
“Here lies the body of Sir John Guise;
Nobody laughs and nobody cries;
Where h>s soul is, and how it fares,
Nobody knows, aud nobody cares.”
A Correction.
The types made us say, last week,
that there were no confessed gold
bugs in the Democratic party, prior
to 1896.
1892 was what we said.
/ To-day and To morNw.
I was very tired, for the work t
had been doing was toilsome; and
no v that the room grew warm and
the long task was finished, I fell
asleep.
No one in the house had been
awake but me, while I had for many
hours gone over the dreary record of
the patient poor, the suffering poor
—G id’s unprovided poor. The hours
had stolen by like slippered monks,
and now it was far into the night
when heaviness fell upon my eyes
and I was asleep.
Many* a whirling fiction passed
thro’ my heated head before there
was order in my Dream, but after
awhile all was clear—cruelly, shock
ingly clear.
I dreampt that the world lay be
fore mo like a map, and that I could
see it all at once, like a map. That
every grade and class and condition
of human life was before me at onoe
—with no mist before my eyes and
no distance to distort the outline.
What I saw was this; A magni
ficent world of land and sea; of River
and Lake and Forest and fertile field,
mountains seamed with mineral; val*
leys rich with grain.
This world wascalledbyitsMakeri
“A Home for the human family.”
This human family has grown large.
Its footprints were thick upon every
stretch of land, and the vessels they
had built darkened the waters of all
the seas.
But the earth was no longer a home
and men were no longer brothers.
They hated each other. They all
worshipped God, but none of them
regarded His Law.
Churches flourished—so did crime
Schools flourished—so did ignorance.
Charities flourished-and paupers died
in the Streets. I wondered what it
all meant. There was land enough
for al. They said God made it for
all. But a few had taken possession
of it and tie many had no homes.
There was food enough for all.
But a few strong men seized it all,
and one-third of the people had not
enough to eat.
I tried to see what kept the human
family alive. I found it was Labor.
There were many kinds of Libor.
Some labored to produce food for tie
world. Some labored to produce
clothing.
__ Some labored to make houses be
"uSO’eaxtS’oii’d nollew* trees had be
come unsatisfactory.
Some labored to teach the people
the Law of God.
Others still labored (or pretended
to labor) to make just Laws, by which
God’s will should be done in the
affairs of men.
In my dream I saw clearly a most
singular thing—those whose work
was most important to ihe world
were paid less for their Labor than
any body else. Those who merely
amused the world got higher wages
than those who fed And clothed it.
Those who played and danced got
higher pay than the man who built
the house they placed and danced
in.
The Laborers who -produced the
food and the clothing were so badly
paid that altho’ they fed and clothed
their masters, they (the laborers) had
not enough to eat or to wear.
In my dream it seemed that the
cause of this cruel thing became clear.
Those who had made the Laws had
so cunningly made them that the
strong man was master of the weak.
The strong man became the Task
Mister of the weak, and in return for
the weak man’s labor gave him what
soever pay he chose. This made the
strong man stronger and the weak
man weaker.
I thought I heard a great heart
breaking cry go up from those poor
laborers but their Task-Masters heard
it not—so deaf arethey who will not
hear.
1 thought that now and thepthese
laboring men grew furious with their
oppressors and rose up against them.
But they were put down again—some
shot and some imprisoned.
I thought that now and then
Leaders rose up among those suffer
ing people and promised to go to the
great House of Council where the
LaWs were made, and to change these
bad laws into good ones. But, either
such Leaders were too few or the
strong meu would take those Leaders
aside into some sa'e and secret place
and by unknown charms and persua
sions entice those leaders into forget
fulness of the Miseries of the People.
So passed the first part of my
Dream—the Dream of Today. As in
a vanishing landscape I could see
the great Palaces of the Rioh and the
wretched huts of the poor; the fine
raiment of the one and the rags of
the other; the well-spread tables of
the one and the cold hearth and
empty dish of the other. The Fac
tories went whirling into space—but
thro’ the windows I could see the
pale, thin features of the slaves who
toiled there; the mine opened one brief
moment and I could see the pitiful
serf cf the Coal King; the Garret
sped by, and it made the tears come
to see the shivering needle-woman
sewing there ; the streets swam by,
filled with their squalor, their hunger,
their ceaseless suffering—and Chris
tianity spoke is these streets thro’ the
mouth of the Policeman and what
she said te the tottering tramp was
“Move on;” what she said to the
ragged widow was “Move on;” what
she said to the starving child was
“move on!”
And it strangely got into my
Dream somehow that the cause of al*
the sorrow was that the Order of the
world was based on a mistake—a
dreadful mistake. That the unnatural
was the rule. That a feverish haste
had taken possession of mankind and
that the race was madly run for
things he really did not want. That
one man pushed, because another
pushed; cheated because others
cheated, hoarded because others
hoarded. Was cruel because he
thought the same measures would be
meted out to him were situations
reversed.
But the troubled nightmare passed,
and I fell into the Dream of Tomor
row—a gorgeous Dream—a Spirit
lifting Dream.
I seemed to be looking upon the
same World, but it was bathed in
light and filled with harmony.
The great rush and hurry had
passed away. The fever and tho pain
was gone. It vast machinery moved
like the stars “never hasting, but
never resting.” There was room for
all and food for all. The Earta was
dedicated anew as a Home far God’s
children—i s products their food.
Religion burst out from the cold
churches and abode in the lives of
men—that high Religion which loves
mercy, does good and seeks the
Right.
Law was no longer frittered away
among wrangling advocates and stu
pid Judges. She took her broad
principles into the walks of life and
did justice between man and man.
Rulers of the People no longer
j,-,re them
Laws and sharp prac
tices. The People themselves now
ruled i.nd the Laborer was no longer
a serf.
There were no outcasts—for they
all had homes. There were no beg
gars, for there was work for all and
fair wages for all.
There was little crime, for its cause
had been removed.
There was brotherhood among
men, for the source of their rivalry
and hatred had been taken away.
Wars had ceased. The killing of
men had become horrible, whether
singly or by thousands. A Murderer
was detested whether he was named
Guiteau cr Napoleon.
The hum of peaceful industry was
in the air. The music of youthful
laughter was in the streets. The song
of the contented Reaper was in every
field.
Why was Tomorrow so much
brighter and better than today ?
This Question seemed to come tome
even iu my dream.
And from somewhere this reply
seemed to come:
“Because the mistake of yesterday
was found and corrected. Because
Injustice was driven out of the Laws;
because favoritism in legislation
ceased; because the Laborer secured
fair treatment; because the cunning
laws of tEe Task-Mister are all dead;
because there were a few brave men
all over the world who swore solemnly
before God that the old false order of
things must perish.”
So it seems those bold men tri
umphed. How much they suffered
was not told me. How often they
wore despitefully used is not known.
How often they failed before they
finally succeeded; how cruelly they
were tortured ; how much battle and
bloodshed there was, is not known.
Like all Reformers they doubtless
suffered most grieviously. No doubt
their very souls sank within them
sometimes when the times went most
against them. But it seems they
hewed their way forward from year
to year thro’ serried ranks of enemies
till at last they could claim the vic
tory.
Theirs was the victory which can
wear the White Roses of Peace its
trophies being the bright home oirclei
of Hippy Families.
Out of the dim Past seemed to come
many voices.
One said: “I gave my life to
pleasure. Wines were good and
women were good and mirth was
good. But youth passed—age came,
and my heart was Empty and sad.”
Another voice said : “I gave my
life to War. Cities I have sacked;
enemies I have crushed; laurels have
I worn. But the sword rusted in my
hand. The spiders weave twixt me
and the sun. And in my ears as I
grow old is the cry of the Widow and
her children.”
And another voice says, “I gave
my life to my Brother man. I pitied
his misfortune. I championed his
grievance. I loved the friendless. 1
hated injustice every where and
fought tyranny wherever I found it.
The work has been hard. The way
thorny. But now as the evening
comes I fold my arms and fear nol
the coming shades. I have fought a
good fight. The Master's touch is
on my head and I hear him say, ‘ln
asmuch as ye did it unto the least of
these ye did it unto me.’ ”
Thus passed my Dream. Aud I
awoke heavy of heart, for I knew
that Today was as I had dreampt,
and that the Tomorrow m'ght never
come. T. E. W.
Bro web’s Mills, N. C. July 19,
Hon. T. E. Watson;
Dear Sir—There are a good many
Democrats and Republicans in this
section who says that it would not do
to hive frie coinage of silver. They
say there would be so much silver it
would not be werth ten cents on the
dollar. Will you explain free coin
age in your paper, the amount the
mints can com annually and the
amount per capita free coinage would
give us, if not too much trouble.
R. J. Malone, M. D.
answer:
Free-coinage was fully explained
in this paper last week.
The monthly capacity of the mints
is about four million dollars per
month, or about fifty millions per
year.
Therefore free-coinage would give
us about eighty cents per capita
annually.
Some Questions About Money.
A correspondent asks us some
questions which we print here, with
reply to each:
1. Wm silver a legal tender for
an of debts, publiq or pri
va.,. oi the Gov-~
ernment until 1873?
Yes.
2. Is silver only a legal tender to
the amount of $5 now?
No. The silver dollars are full legal
tender for any amount. The sub
sidiary coins, being purposely made
light weight in order to keep change
in the country, have been legal ten
der only to the amount of $5 since
1853.
3 Is a silver certificate only a legal
tender to the amount of $5 ?
A silver certificate is not legal ten
der at all. It is merely a warehouse
recipt. It certifies that so many
silver dollars have been deposited
in the Treasury, payable to bearer
on demand. The certificate is not
money and not a legal tender. But
its holder can exchange it for full
legal-tender silver dollars whenever
he pleases.
4. To what amount is a national*
bank note legal tender?
It is not legal tender at all. It is
merely a bank’s promise, guaranteed
by the Government, to pay so many
dollars in greenbaoks. It passes cur
rent in the payment of debts, pre
cisely as the silver certificates do, be
cause it is exchangeable on demand
for legal-tender money. /
5. To what extent is a greeback
legal tender ?
It is a legal tender for any amo unt*
Forsyth County. ■
The committee appointed to ar
range for a rally of the Peopfe’s
party of Forsyth county have ar
ranged for it to ba at Salem Camp
Ground, four miles Northwest of
Brown’s bridge, on Friday, August
7th. Every body invited to attend
and bring well filled baskets. The
programme has not yet been ar.
ranged. There will be good speakers:
secured. All papers friendly to the
reform movement please copy.
B. H. Brown, Chm.
8. J. Smith, Seo.
Mass Meeting.
The Populists and all who are in
favor of reform in Wilkes county are
hereby called to meet in mass meet
ing in Washington on Saturday,
August 1, 1896, for the purpose of
naming a ticket for representatives
and county officers, also to select
delegates to the State senatorial,
Congressional and Gubernatorial oon<
.ventions, and to transact such othef
business as may ba necessary,
IL C. Walton, Chm,
