The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-08-28
GENERAL BUFFERS LETTER.

The Greenback and Anti-NIonopoly Candi-
date Gives His Reasons for Opposing
Both the Old Parties and Making the
! Race for President.
LOWELL, MASS, August L., 1854
( In compliance with oft repeated and anxi-
Gus inquiries, hasten TO give account of my
stew ardship 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-
GODally issued by Congress.
Third-The needs of all men and <omen
who labor in the production of wealth, to be
protected against the encroachu.ents Of
those who absorb and consume without pro-
ducing.
Fourth The necessity for reforIh and cor
rectiOn of abuses in government, so that the
pressure on the people would be as light as
possible; its administration effective, TO guard
the rights of American citizens at home and
abroad; TO make public servants individual or
incorporate. Subservient to the use and will of
the people only, so as 10 restore the prosper
ity of the country, with equal rights, equal
burdens, equal power and equal privileges OF
all people.
These latter were specially connded to me
by the ID emocratic masses Of Massachusetts,
to whom alone / owe grateful duty for high
consideration and support during the years of
effort in the reform of Government, but 10 no
Democratic organization whatever. They
were to be presented 10 the National Demo-
cratic Convention for its acceptance and adOp-
ton as the axioms of Democratic rule as
practiced by our fathers. i 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-
United my name to be presented to the Con-
ventiOn for the suffrages of the people as
Chief Executive to administer and carry for
" ard the necessary measures; in which case
should have been bound by its action to sup
port both its platform and nominees. That
should be placed in that high position / knew
was the will of 10000 voters of that Common
wealth. who had expressed their confidence
from that State could have been delegate to
that Convention if he had dared to breathe
aloud that he was opposed either TO the prin-
siplos l represented or to my personal candk
iatsre.
lie tnen describes how his proposals were
received by the committee preparing the
platform of the recent Democratic National
Convention at Chicago, expressing his opinion
thac the committee was wholly given up to
"exDediency." He also refers TO the rejec-
tiop Of his proposals in the convention itself,
and makes an attack on both the Demo-
cratic and Republican parties, and speaking
of the industrial prostration or the country
THE GREENBACK REMEDY.
We the despised Greenbackers, offer
remedy for all this which no rejecting, keen
sighted business man will now say would not
have been effectual. Myself in Congress more
thar fifteen years ago proposed that instead
of Issuing United States bond which would
be held by capitalists only, and for the pur-
pose of securing bank currency only, Con-
gress should make an incontrovertible bond
ut a low rate of interest, to be issued by the
Government, so that any man might invest in
1t in~tead of placing his money In savings
banks or trust companies to he loaned out
on margins on kiting stocks and then
lost when called for it. That bond bear
ing three and sixty-five 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
accrues TO the Goyernmem instead or beng
paid by il 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 begin. Every
tfnancier knows that IL is the odd nifty mil
lions Withdrawn or put out that makes re-
dundaRcy or scarcity of circulating medium;
and is there man who dareS say now that such
bond would not have prevented the panic and
desoatiOn to business through which We are
now passing? The time has come when the
greenback is sustained by the Supreme Court
constitutional currency against the Opin-
ions of the paid attorneys of every hnancler
of the country. The time will come, if the
people of this country can get the clutch of
monopoly of its currency on its throat, when
such a system of finance as i have sketched
will give freedom TO the industrial and busj
ness interests of the country from the terrible
fluctuations which the people now suffer.
put IN my platform a plank against the
construction of Panama ship canal without
the consent of the United States. hold such
a canal in time of peace destructive to our
commerce. San Francisco has become an en-
7repot of goods of which the 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 Central and South America. In
n, h..
England seZes it with her immense navy, and
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
he 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 wal 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 to do any
thing.
AFTER further attacks on England and her
commercial supremacy, he ridicuies those
who initiate English customs, buy English
goods, and prefer English habits to those OF
their own country. He attacks the present
system of election in Massachusetts as fol-
lOws:l
NONOPOLISTS HOLDS THE POWER.
''Why should the poorer classes have the
ballot. and thus the masses rule the country
against usI Or as one OF their magazines
published in Boston expresses it, "A few old
families have the traditional right TO govern
the politics of Massachusetts" So that in
Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. as a begin
ming. we find each legislature striving in it's
turn to throw every obstruction, intolerance,
and impediment in the way to prevent the
poor man exercising freemans right to cast
his ballot, and to drive him from the polls by
recurring money qualifications and all other
6av h1t innnnnifV fhQEa
means Rhode Island is governed by the few
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, SOL votes only
were thrown by all parties in the
election of a member OF Congress, while at
the West, where a free ballot is still in the
hands of every man, at the saf1e election 3d.
PSI votes were required in the election of a
Congressman. And this is called equal repre-
EentatiOn of the people in the Government!
let every true American ponder upon these
figures, and inquire, whittier is the country
drSting2 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
fathers placed it, on the foundation of free
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 frst there were
two parties contending for great principles;
the Federal against the Democratic. The one
represented the capitalist. the monopOlist, and
those believing that kingly government was
best, if it was 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 Ofhce- m
der Jefferson and Madison the people held
sway, and called themselves the Democracy,
in fact they were; and then, Republican
simplicity OF manners, economy in govern
ment. and respect for the rights Of the people
were the order of the day. This state of things
continued until the time of Jackson; in his ad-
frar inn a banking TnnnOnOlY WAS