Nevada County picayune., 1888-08-08
WEAVER'S SPEECH. RGk!NG THE REPUBLICANS,

Congress, on July l2th. He says he Is Union Labor man and has never joined the Democrats. but this is good reading, anyway:
 Mr. Weaver: have nothing to take back with regard to my course OH the issues that arose oat os the war. II relates to the distant past. and 1t is wholly unnecessary. fol- lowed the standard of the Ropubli- can party because l believed whilst was doing it that they were right and were the friends of the poor, the l2wly and the down-trodden but when 1 learned that the Republican, ism of 1877 was not the Republican, ism of 1860; when I found that they had dcmonctiZed silver. which had been good enough for every body i from the time of Washington down to the time of General Grant; when l further learned that the Republican party had passed the act of January ] Ii, lSIj, to convert the greenbacks into interest-bcaring debt. and an other act to refund the public debt and make it payable in gold coin, thereby robbng the people of fully | $500 ,O0G, ,000 in this single enact ment when l found they had given away hundreds of millions of acres of the public lands and were making no effort to reclaimit; when l learn ed further that they intended to make ii the chief cornerstone of na- tional banking, and that bank notes were to be substituted for green backs as our sole paper circulation. with the monstrous attendant evils Of cNpan,Ion and contraction at the will of the banking corporations, and when read in the speech of John sherman. delivered at Mansfield, O.. that such was to be the settled poll- cy of the Republican party. l con cIudcd 1t was tim for me to quit.
 Ana although I had been mem Der of the convention of 1871 that nominated my colicagc, MT Gear, for Governor of Iowa, and had sup ported him in the convention for the nomination. when l became acquain- ted with these fa"ss wrote him an open and frank letter ,avisg that l could no longer act with the Repab- licanparty. could not lo so be- cause found they were no longer the friends. of the poor, and that whiIe we had cmancipated four mil lions of human beings, they were now. through vicious legislation, pur- suing a policy which would, unless arrested, enslave many more millions of the white people of thls country The event, of the past ten years have justified my graveSt fears.-- Applause on the Democratic side. | left them then and challenged them to open combat, and have ncv- er asked for quarter, nor struck my colors. l have delivered blow for blow, ever trying to keep within 1 the bounds of proper political war fare.
 I left tho Republican party when it had s0. .OOO majority in Iowa and 0O0 majority in my Congressional district over all opposition. Does that look like hunting for an office ; Doe, il not rather look like l was following my convictions: l leave this House to judge of the matter When began with this little band of Greenhackers to denounce these great wrongs found the Democracu party of the West, which l had so vigorously fought in the past under the leadership of the gallant gentle man from Missouri (Mr. Bland) and otbers were leading in the good ,,orl of remopetization of silver, and they passed a hill through this House for its full and free reinstatement Applause on the Democratic ''de' J
 l found. furthermore, that when ,hc hill for the free recolnage ol Sll- yer reached the Senate they emascu- lotpd if and that a Republican Sen ,tor from my own State (Mr. AIIi- .onl was the gentleman who accom- . .l;.h.,i inc result. Having stabbed every grccnback note m the o''N yuh fine word except, they now .ough, to send silver forth, malmed and crippled, only to be coined i" rmited quantities, and then only on government account
 .i
 I found the Democracy oi tue Northwest and of many other sec
 :,.a,L. ,,,nospI