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identically the same as the bond—less
the interest and the bond always at a
premium from 10 to 35 per cent?
The gold standard is a national peril.
In our civil war gold paid no soldier
or sailor. It was in open alliance
with our enemies the world over, and
all its energies were evoked for our
destruction. Its record is one of
blood and carnage, and on the throne
in our land today it rules with the
relentless iron hand of a heartless
tryant.
Again, the largest number of busi
ness failures in four years was 632
in 1865. Compare these with the
failures now under the gold sound
money rule, and the present indebt
edness of our people. There were 13,-
345 business failures in 1895. The
people were comparatively out of
debt in 1865, and in 1.901, eighty per
cent are homeless, with $3,000,000,-
000 of public and private debts
against the laboring classes.
Again, the credit of our nation and
the sound money so much talked
about are both dependent upon the
treasury note (bond) or greenback
without exception clause, for their ex
istence, their exchange value being
above that of gold owned and con
trolled as they are by the bankers
trust. They are made to support the
accursed system of gold for bonds
and bonds for gold, for the bankers
and a paper currency issued through
their banks to eighty millions of peo
ple at a clear profit to the national
bankers of ninety-nine cents on the
dollar, besides interests —and this pa
per not a legal tender money when
one of their banks fail. This paper
is not redeemed with gold, but with
the bond of the people held as se
curity for the issue in the hands of
the people for which the banker has
received notes and mortgages at 99
per cent interest above cost to him.
Fifty cent’s, or two cent’s worth of
silver bearing the stamp. One dol
dar United States money without ex
ception clause is legal tender for all
public dues. If we can not depend
on the good credit of the nation for a
money system, they we must depend
upon a system forged out of money
trusts and bottomed on the nation’s
bonds, payable to the credit of sam
trusts.
My friends, the above legislation
can be charged to the Republican
party, for when any acts w-ere passed
it was either in full control of the
government or had the President and
one house of congress. When there
was enough opposition in its own
ranks to defeat a bill, enough Demo
crats could be relied upon to help
carry it through. And thus have the
old twins juggled the people’s inter
ests until w’hen the public asked for
fish it was given a stone.
But, my friends, this campaign of
1908, is now on us, the sham battle,
with the sham leaders, is again up for
the amusement of the laboring men
who furnish the votes and are taxed
to keep up the great idle, absorbing
class, by keeping the producers of all
wealth divided into two political pre
tending hostile camps. Both ele
ments have their hands in the pockets
of the producer and will surely empty
their earnings into the till of monop
oly, but in the hope of getting into
offle. The Democratic party has made
an about face and became nearly a
deputy Republican organization. They
have completely surrendered to Cleve-
WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN.
land and that faction which support
ed McKinley against their regular
nominee.
And now we see standing around
Judge Parker the same old gang—
Olney, Gorman, Belmont, Carlisle and
Lamont.
The gravity of the situation deep
ens as we study the faces of that no
ble collection of patriots. How those
Democrats who have followed the
leadership of Bryan for eight years
can, with conscious political rectitude,
follow the new leadership of the
party into the camp of the trusts,
into the home of the Ishmaelites, is
past any sane man’s comprehension.
But the trusts said, now is the ac
cepted time, and the gold element ran
to the foot of the golden throne to be
crucified on a cross of gold and
promise the golden deity that they
would never stray away again.
The history of the Democratic
party for the last forty years is sad
dening. Oh, so saddening, and whj
has it drifted thus? Simply because
since the death of Hendricks, Beck
and Voorhees, it has had no leader
worthy the name. Bryan has been the
only ray of light sent to shed lustre
on it in thirty years. I believe the
mass of the Democratic party feel
outraged at the way in which their
leaders have sold them to Wall street.
There has not been an issue in forty
years that it has not been on all sides.
It has been for hard money, soft
money, white money and yellow
money. It has been for high tariff,
low tariff and no tariff. They de
nounce socialism an anarchism'in the
South—and advocate the seizure, by
the national government, of the Penn
sylvania coal mines in New York. In
the past it advocated tariff reduction
to reduce prices, and in the next
breath advocated free silver to raise
them again. Since the civil war, the
Democratic party hasn’t stayed with
a single issue it has espoused for four
consecutive years at a time. In
1876 it was for hard money under
Tilden, but found it compatible with
same finance to oppose the resumption
of specie payments. In 1880 it stole
the breenback platform, nominated
Hancock for the presidency and went
before the country advocating soft
money. In 1884 it nominated Cleve
land on a platform which made
Blaneism the paramount issue. In
1888 it went before the country on
free trade issue and was whipped out
of its boots. In 1892 it went before
the country on constitutional money
and tariff reform and won, and didn’t
know what to do with the govern
ment after it got control of it. In
1896, free silver was the paramount
issue, 16 to 1, and in 1900 it was
shifted to imperialism.
Let us look at the personnel of the
national Democratic executive com
mittee. There are Delaney Nickoll,
August Belmont, John R. McLean,
Ex-Senator Smith, of New Jersey,
Senator Martin, of Virginia; J. M.
Gruffy, of The Standard Oil Co.; W.
F. Ryan, of Wisconsin, and George
Foster, of Peabody. George Foster,
who is a New York financier, from
the land of sugar Louisiana, fought
Bryan from Dan to Bersheba in
1896 and 1900. All of a sudden, from
a poor man’s party, the democracy
develops into the-most dazzling plu
tocratic organization this or any other
country has ever known. Its splen
dor rivals that of Solomon in all his
glory. Bryan is the one voice that
was heard .in the wilderness, calling
the democratic sinners to repentance,
but he has now made friends with the
Clevelandites and is camping with the
Wall street gang —Gorman, Belmont,
Carlisle and Lamont.
I do not believe that the six and a
half million men who followed Bryan
with cheers on their lips and warm
convictions in their hearts, can now
be delivered like cattle to the Cleve
landites, who knifed the ticket or
bolted in 3896. I believe that the
great majority of the men who voted
for Bryan are men of conviction. I
can not but hope that they realize
that Mr. Thomas E. Watson, of Geor
gia, is fighting their battle now.
My friends, there is too much dif
ference between socialism and popu
lism to harmonize them together off
hand. Socialism embraces all the peo
ple as a unit, a deity, society, every
thing, individuality nothing. Social
ism destroys energy, enterprise and
development. It has no instigation to
exertion and invention. It is social
slavery, it allows no personal free
dom, it is all society. Social slaves
and bonded slaves have about equal
chances. In life patriotism finds a
very poor soil in a tenent row. Lord
society is just as much a tyrant as a
feudal lord. Socialism makes man
give up to society all that is dear to
him. His homestead with all improve
ments and orchards that he intends
for his children, his body and that of
wife and children. To society, home
and common homes it is too etherial.
If we were all angels it would be
proper, but incompatible with imper
fect mankind.
The Peoples Party demand that the
people be given the right to legislate
for themselves, by the system known
as the initiative and referendum, or
direct legislation. We only ask for
equal rights to all and special privi
leges to none. Corporations should
not be permitted to control in their
own interest any function that is pub
lic. What any corporation can do
for the people the people can do for
themselves. Populists demand public
ownership of public utilities, but de
mand private ownership of private
utilities. Populism will protect the
rights of the individual to life, lib
erty and the pursuit of happiness
make him a freeholder and defend
his home and family against trespass
that will be an impetus to him to ex
ert his energy, enterprise, invention
talent and genius to ils fullest ex
tent and cultivate patriotism, and to
restore the liberties of the people, th j
rule of the people, the equality of ah
men before the law, is our purpos?.
We believe that the manhood should
count for more than money: (hat char
acter should outweigh the dollar,
whether he work with brawn or brain.
It is the worker who should be mon
arch of the world.
For myself, I do not bcrieie that
the present tyranny of the corpora
tion, the monopoly and the autocracy
of wealth, can endure forever. Some
day, some how 7 , in some way, the
American people will rise in their
resistless majesty and drive the
usurpers from the places they have
seized. Some day, popular sovereign
ty will come again and put its foes
to rout as it did in the time of Jeffcr
son, as it did in the time of Jackson
A. W. ROSS.
Muncie, Ind.
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