The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-08-29
GENERAL BUFFERS LETTER.

The Greeuback and Antl-Monopoly Candi-
date Gives His Reasons for Opposing
Both the Old Parties ana Making the
Race for President.
LOWELL, MASS, August L, 1884
To my constituents:
In compliauce with oft repeated and anxi-
Gus inquiries, hasten to give account of nay
stewardship Of the political interests with
which WAS charged. They were four:
First-Hostility to all monopolies in com.
merce, Industries and lands
Second-The preservation of the National
legal tender currency of the people, coNstitu-
tionally issued by Congress.
Third-The needs of all men and ~omen
who labor in the production of wealth, to be
protected against the encrOachuents OF
those who absorb and consume without pro-
ducing.
Fourth The necessity for refori.i and cor
rectiOu of abuses I'm government, SO that the
pressure on the people would be as light as
possibe: its administration effective, to guard
the rights of American citizens ut home and
abroad; to make public servants individual or
incorporate, subservieut to the use and will of
the people only. so as to restore the prosper.
burdens, equal power and eqnsl privileges Of
all people
These latter were specially eonfided to me
b, the d emocratic masses of Massachusetts,,
to whom alone l owe grateful duty for high
consideration and support during the years of
effort in the reform of Government but to no
were to be presented to the National Demo-
cratic Convention for its acceptance and adop-
ton the axioms of Democratic rule as
practiced by our fathers / had intended if
these great principles of Covert ment, by the
people and for the people only. had been cor
daily received, and earnestly and honestly
adopted by that Convention as the political
chart of the Democratic party. to have per-
mtted my name to be presented to the Con-
vention for the suffrSges of the people as
Chief Executive to administer and carry for
" ard the necessary measures; in which case |
should have been bound hy its action to sup
port both its platform and nominees That
should be placed in that high position knew
was the will of l50,N0 voters of that Common
wealth, who had expressed their confidence
Sy their votes so unanimously that no man
ron that State could have been delegate to
that Convention If he had dared to breathe
aloud that he was opposed either to the prin-
;iplos represented or to my personal candi-
iaturc.
IKE tnen describes how his proposals were
received by the committee preparing the
platform of the recent Democratic National
Convention ut Chicago, expressing his opinion
that the committee was wholly given up to
.expediency." He also refers to the rejec-
tion Of his proposals in the convention itself.
and makes an attack on both the Demo-
cratic and Republican parties, and speaking
of the industrial prostitution Of the country
proceeds:1
THE GREKNBAcK REMEDY.
We. the despised Greenbackers, offer q
remedy for all this which no rejecting, keen
havr been eTectusl. Myself in Congress more
thar fifteen years ago proposed that instead
of Issuing a United States bond which would
be held by captr Lists only. and for the pur-
pose of securing bank currency only, Con-
gress should make an inccntrOvertible bond
Mt a low rate of interest, to be issued by the
Government. so that any man might invest in
1t instead of placing his money in savings
on margins on kiting stocks and then
lost when called for it. That bond bear
ing three and sixty-fve one-hundredth
per cent interest, to be presented by the
holder at any time to the Treasury. and le-
gal tenders to be issued for it, and thus the
interest to that amount of the National debt
paid by it from the taxes of the people. And
then when another bond was desired by the
investor, one should be issued by the Govern
ment and interest thereon beein. Every
financier knows that il is the odd fifty mil
lions withdrawn or put out that makes re-
dundancy or scarcity of circulating medium
and Is there a man who dares say now that such
4 bond would not have prevented the panic and
desolation to business through which we are
now passing? The time has come when the
greenback is sustained by the Supreme Court
ms constitutional currency against the opin-
ions of the paid attorneys of every financer
of the country. The time will come, II the
people of this country can get the clutch of
monopoly of its currency OF its throat. when
such a sy stem of finance as i have sketched
will give freedom to the industrial and busi-
ness interests OF the country from the terrible
fluctuations which the people now suffer.
WE WANT NO CANAL BUT OURS
put in my platform plank against the
construction of u Panama ship canal without
the consent of the United States. hotd such
a canal in time of peace destructive to our
commerce. San Francisco has become an en-
Trepot of goods of which tue products of
American industries form large part for
distribution over the Western coast of North
America which commerce we now control.
Make this canal and England dominates that
commerce. as she now does that of the West
ern coast of Contra! and South America. In
time of war, with the Panama canal open,
from thence can ravage and blockade our
whole Pacific coast. This she cannot do now.
because she owns no coaling station nearer
than the Sandwich Islands, from which il will
be quite impossible to supply blockading
fleet. Our three systems of railroads across
the continent when run in competition and
not in COLLISION, can carry our productions
to the Western coast cheaply enough, and in
that case, at least, the freight will be paid to
our own citizens. So in peace or war we must
control that canal. The Republican party has
done nothing to protect the interests and Dig
nifty of the country in this behalf. and the
Democracy refuse to promise even t" do any
thing.
commercial supremacy, he ridicuies those
who initiate English customs, buy English
goods. and prefer English habits to those OF
system of election In Massachusetts AZ fol-
lOws:1
MONoPoLIsTs HOLDS THE POWER.
'.why should the poorer classes have the
ballot and thus the masses rule the country
against us? Or as one of their magazines
published In Boston expresses II, "A Few old
families have the traditional right to govern
the notifies of Massachusetts" So that in
Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, as begin
Ming we find each legislature striving in its
turn to throw egery obstruction, hindcrance,
and impeachment in the way to prevent the
poor man exercising freeman's right to cast
his ballot, and to drive him from the polls by
requiring money qualifications and all other
devices that ingenuity may invent BIZ these
and not by the many: by an aristOcracy of
birth and wealth, and not by the people.
In the late general election for members OF
Congress in that State, 5,9l votes only
were thrown by all parties in the
election of a member of Congress, while at
the West, where free ballet is still in the
hands of ever man. at the same election o.
2sS votes were required in the election of
Congressman. And this Is called equal repre-
sentation of the people i'll the Government!
let every true American ponder upon these
figures. and inquire, whittier is the country
drIting2 If such Inequalities are possible in
the beginning. what will be the end! Let the
people arise in their might and bring back
the Government where our revolutionary mar.
dom, with equal rights, equal burdens, equal
privileges and equal powers to all men.
HOW THE PEOPLE LOST THEIR CONTROL
why have the people lost or forborne to ex-
ercise this great power! At first there were
two parties contending for great principles;
the Federal against the Democratic. The one
represented the capitalist. the monopOiist and
those believing that kin2lv government was
best if il was a home government. although
willing to aid in the expulsion of King
Georges Government. Hamilton and Adams
led this; Jefferson and Madison led the other
The divisions were so great that in that city
there was no third party. When the Federal
party was in power we had the alien and sedi-
ton laws. and judges appointed at midnight,
and aristOcratic forms of Office. I'm
der jefferson and Madison the people held
sway. and called themselves the Democracy,
as in fact they were: and then, Republican
simplicity of manners. economy in govern