Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-07-09
General Weavor's Letter Of Accept.
nucn

has addressed the following letter to tn q
| committee which was appointed to noti-
fy him of his nomination:
Hons. s. T. Norton, r. II. Gillette, solon Chase.
| =. ID. Dillaye aud Il. r. Allls Committee:
GENTLEMEN: IL is my pleasure TO acknowl-
euge the receipt OF your letter of the 2)d of
June formally notifying me OF my nomination
| 10 the Office Of President of the United states
| by the united Greenback-Labor party, whose
| 1850. '0'H' u"e "
I am profoundly grateful for tho honor con.
| ierred. Fnlly realizing the high responsibility
| 70 winch | hava been called, aud conscious
that the po'tlon was unsought by me, ao-
| cept the nomination rs n solemn duty. The
| great work accomplished in the unincntjon of
| the various Greenbaok and Labor clements
| INTO one compact Organization. This was of
| Irst Importance, and thoroughly prepares our
| forces to strike decisive blow for Industrial
| emancipation during the impending struggle
our party hath this Significance: Ii is great
| lRDOr movement, compO {cd of earnest ppo-
| ple VINO earn their bread by honest toll
| whether OF hand, head or heart; and as the
world depends for the comforts of life upon
inc various departments of human toll, 80
viii every part of society feel the yivifyinV
influence OF the grand achievements of our
organization that lic Just i'm tho future; for
when labor is prosperous every other eIe-
ment Of society feols the impulse of vigorous
The three great political parties have each
selected their candidates, and made formal
decln, atoms OF their principles. II is now the
nlgn duty OF every citizen OF the United states
70 judge between them, and, after careful in
quiry into the aims and purposes of each. to
determine the organization with which duty
calls him to act
The admirable platform adopted by the Con-
vention meets my cordial approval II is COM
prchensiye, reasonable and progressive, con-
tanning those principles OF economic reform
essential to tho preservation of the liberty
and prosperity of the whole people.
II being the duty of man to earn his bread
In the sweat OF his face, 1t becomes the first
duty of civil government to foster Industry.
All laws, therefore, which place n premium
upon idl -ness whether of men or money un-
justly discriminate in favor of capital, or
withhold from honest mon the full and just re-
ward of their labor, are simply monstrous.
Capital should be the servant of labor rather
than its master. This great truth can never
be realized until there Is an adequate circulate
ing medium. lnasmuch rs this circulating
medium is for the beneht of all, its issue and
volume should be sacredly kept under tho
control of the General Government, without
the Intervention of banking corporations All
money, whether gold silver or lper, should
be issued hy the supreme authority of the Ma
tion, and bo made full legal tender in pay
ment of all debts, public and private.
The system which now prevails gives into
the hands of banking corporations absolute
control over the volume of the currency, and
thl ough this they have the power to iix the
price of the labor and property of 5O,OJ0,OD0 of
people, by provision Of law the metho is
clearly defined whereby they may, without
limit initiate or contract tho currency at will.
CCgnate to this, and part of the same
scheme, stands the system OF funding the
public debt. Like National Banking, this was
borrowed from the English monarchy. BY
this systgmAn enormous non-taXable, interest
bealing debt is to lie perpetuated. The bonds
support the banks, and the banks foster the
public debt. If you pay oil the bonds the
banks must cease to exist. Hence, if the Ma
tiunal Banks are to continue. we must have q
perpetual bonded debt. Both patriotism and
sound craftsmanship loudly call for the abo-
ltion of banks of issue, and the substitution
OF lesal-tender Treasury notes for their circu-
latlon. Pay the bonds according to contract,
n
Seven hundred millions OF the public debt
become redeemable ut the option Of the Gov
ernment during this and the ensuing year.
Two Funding bills are now pending before
Congress-One introduced by the Democratic,
and the other by the Republican leader of the
Horse-whereby it is propose to deprive the
people for twenty and thirty years of the law
tul right to pay said bonds. This is a crime
against the laborcr and the taxpayer, and
should cause widespread alarm among all
classes.
The annual surplus revenues, and the idle
coin now in the Treasury, and that which must
continue to accumulate, If the silver lfw ap-
proved February 2S, 1878, shall be honestly
enforced, are ample to pay every dollar of the
seven hundred millions, both principal and
interest, within the next six years. There
is not the slightest excuse for funding these
bonds, except to perpetuate the debt as the
basis of an iniquiJOuS banking monopoly. 1t
must be apparent to all that the great mon
eyed institutions and other corporations now
have control of nearly every department of
the Government, and are fast swallowing up
the profits of labor and reducing the people to
n condition of Vassalage and dependence.
These mOnopolies, of whatever class, headed
by the associated banks, are interlOcked in
purpose, and always act in closest sympathy.
There are three great industrial classes in
America: l. The producers; 3 Those who
manufacture our raw materials and prepare
them for use; 3. The distributors of these
products. Each should be protected in the
legitimate fruits and profits of their labor, but
should not be permitted to extort from and
enslave the others.
The great problem OF our civilization is, how
to bring the producer and the consumer to-
gether. This can only be done by providing
an adequate circulating medium, and by rigid
regulation of Interstate commerce and trans
portutOn. This was wisely tOreseen by the
iramers OF the Constitution, and, accordingly,
by the eighth section of article first. Congress
is clothed with power "to regulate commerce
with foreign Nations and among the States"
This power imposes CORE spending duty upon
Congress to see that it is enforced. The two
great agents OF commerce are money and
transportation. 1t is undeniable that both OF
these agents are under the absolute control of
monOpOlieS. By controlling the volume of
money, the banks fix the price of all labor and
property; and the railroads, by combination,
render competition impossible, and control
absolutely the price of transportation. This
places the people between the upper and
neither milstones, and grinds them to poverty
and ruin. 1t results in the wholesale robbery
of both producer and consumer. Who is able
TO Controvert this stupendOuS fact? Farmers,
planteI and laboring men OF the United States,
l beseech you to open your eyes at once to
this alarming condition of things. | am eS-
peClally thankful tn0t the platform OF Inc par
~ which placed me in nomination is open,
bold and unmstakble on these great ques-
tions. The Republican and Democratic plat
forms are either silent with regard to these
vital issues, or they have pronounced in favor
of the monOpOlies and against the people.
With 5OOOJ,O0O of people looking them i'll the
face and pleading for relief, they utter not
one word of promise or hope. Their leaders
and platfornl-makers are in the tolls Of the
syndicate, gigantic bank corporations and rail-
road mcnupolies and have neither the dispo-
sition nor the courage to strike one generous
blow for industrial emancipation.
An area of our public domain larger than
the territory occupied by the great German
Empire has been wantonly donated to wealthy
corporations, while bill introduced by the
Hon. Hendrick b. Wright, of Pennsylvania,
to enable our poor people to reac hand occupy
the few acres remaining has been secuted,
ridiculed and defeated in Congress. In conse-
qucnce of this stupendous system Of land
grabbing, millions of the young men of Amer
ica, and millions more of industrious people
from abroad seeking homes in the New World,
are LETT homeless and destitute. The public
domain must be sacredly reserved to actual
settlers and where corporations have not
complied strictly with the terms of their
grants, the lands should be at once reclaimed.
The immigration of persons from foreign
countries, seeking homes and desiring TO be-
come citizens of the United States, should be
encouraged hut tho importation of Chinese
servie lHborers should be prohibited bS strin-
gent laws.
While the bondholder has been paid gold in
return for his deprecated currency, the
homes, our money and our altars, aud whose
blood consecrated every battlefield from Bel
mont and Donelson to Gettysburg and AppO-
mattoX, are denied the pittance justly due
them under their contract with the Govern
ment-as though soldiers and sailors could
live on gratitude alone. BY the answer Of
Secretary Sherman of June 10, 1880, to the Sen
ate resolution of inquiry, it appears that the
Government paid the soldiers in Greenbacks,
during tho war of the rebellion, $l,2I9,5l9,-
1876. The total interest paid in gold on the
public debt from July /, l,Bl, TO June 30, 1879
was Sl,S09,30l 1919. The soldier has been
taxed to pay this interest while the bondhold-
er has gone free.
During the present Congress It has been Inn
possible to induce the committees TO report a
single bill to remedy existing evils. The i'm
portant committees of the House are so con
stituted, and the dcspotic rules OF that body so
interpreted as TO render relief impossible.
Under these rules the Speaker is as much
the dictator OF the country as though he were
an Emperor and ruling in the most despotic
government on the globe.
One OF the grand missions of our party is to
Danish forever from American politics that
deplorlble spirst Of sectional hatred, which,
for base purposes, has been fostered by the
leaders of the old parties. This has greatly