Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1885-04-04
NATIONAL PARTY.
Address to she Public.

Address to She Public.
The following address TO the pubic was
unanimously adopted at the recent meet-
ing at Washington of the National Labor
Party.
TO the Public: The Committee OF the
National party deem II their solemn duty
at the present juncture to call attention to
the condition Of public affairs, which, IN
their Judgment. greatly imperils the sate'
ty of the whole people.
During the past twelve years the country
has been ravagcd by two great financial
panics. The first extended over period
of six years. and the present one has now
existed for two years and threatens to ex>
tend indefinitely. rwentyfour years Of Re-
publican supremacy has reduced a large
portion Of the people Of the United States
to condition of helpless poverty, thrown
a It'll larger number hopslessly into debt,
wrung hundreds of millions Of money
from the people, locked it up and forced
sl,em to pay interest on an equal amount
of public debt which should long since
have been paid. The public domain has
been squandered; the control OF inter
State commerce surrendered to monster
monopolies; bank spectators have been
clothed with the sovereign authority OF
issuing money and controlling its volume,
while hut the other day the military arm
Of the Government was made supreme ov-
er civil authority as exhibited In the uu-
lawful and arbitrary use Of the army to
eject, without process or law, peaceful
citizcus who were lawfully occupying the
pnblic domain. The greed Of capital, In
its mad rush for usnry and dividends, Is
crowdipg labor to the wall. The wall OF
want Is heard most piteously in the midst
Of grestest plenty. The cry OF overpro-
duction is the desperate dodgeo of desper-
ara villains. Granaries are overhswin;
and families starving, fields overburdened
and man dying 10 want; the land burstins
with fatness and children perishing from
hunger. No lack oi anything to feed
clothe and house the bsdy, and yet d
Of want unparalleled. \
We reaffirm that the following law
have been and are now the true source O.
the calsmlties and depression whic'
affl,ct the country: /. The law puttint
two exceptions IN the United States notes
q. The national bank law. s. The ac
authorizing contraction OF the currency.
1. The oct TO strengthen the public cred
it (so-calletl.) 5. The act to fund the ma
tional debt. 9. The act demonetiz'nu
silver. 4. The resumption act. The
summing up Of these laws BY that great
philanthropist, Wendell PHILIPPE, is
worthy Of the highest consideration BY
the American people: ITO rob labor and
enFichsapItal, they win divide tho Repub-
lie into two glasses more marked than
vas the slaveholding and non-slavshold-
log classes, ths one more pretentious. the
other moro adject. They are the serpent's
egg. which will hatch ont An aristocratic
monarchy, where wealth b God. and
where the rich daily grow richer and the
poor daily grow poorer. We are s~eep-
ing on Il most miraculous speed to this
certain end--this certain death Of the
great Republic" II is impossible for
these evils to co-exist with peace and ma
tional prosperity.
We also call attention to the following
important facts: Our population is in~
crsssing At 4 rate which will reach one
hundred millions Of people within the
next twenty years. In the face ot this
startling fact our circulating modium 's
rapidly fecreasing. Widespread wretch
edness and social disaster must follow.
Notwithstanding the determined and per-
sistent sfort at ! minority Of ito members
Congress spent it, last term without pass
ing the measures necessary to relieve the
people from impending peril. The Unit
"a States Senate passed bill to preaent
to wealthy bankers subsidy Of 48s. .o00,-
900 . an additional means Of extorting
usury. This measure u known - the
McPhsrson bill. A. effort has been made
10 strike down silver coiuage, which
would still father increase the power Of
The banks 10 control our industries and
opprssa labor.
TO remedy thess evils we insist that
tho surplus 10 the Tfsasury shall b
promptly applied 70 the payment q ma
tursd Government obligations, and that
the coinage oE silver BE- placed IN tho