Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-08-28
HEARD HEARD FROM.
The Sixth District Congressman
and the Alliance.
He Defines His Position or the Several
Thanks of the Platform of the
Farmers Alliance Fea-lessly
aud FRANKLY.

Plinks of the Platform of the
Farmers Alliance Fea-lessly
f.. and FRANKLY.
In reply to communication from the
executive committee of the Farmers
! Alliance and Industrial Union of Amer
lca Tor the Sixth Congressional district
OF Missouri inclosing the platform of
the organization and requesting an out
line of his position thereon, Hon. John
L. Heard, Representative in Congress
! from that district indited and forwarded
| the following frank and comprehensive
reply:
! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, !
WASHINGTON Aug. IL, 1890
GENTLEMES-YourS of recent date, inclcs
! Ing platform of the Farmers Alliance and
/ industrial Union of America, adopted at its
! National meeting in ST. Louis, has been re-
celved. and should have had an earlier re-
Spouse, but that since it came to hand have
been absent part of the times and when in
the city have been pressed by business that
accumulated during ny absence and which
demanded Immediate attention on my re-
turn.
Considering your letter a request for
statement of my views on the several propo-
stlons contained in said platform, 1 have to
reOly follows:
am opposed to the system of National
banks. believing that no corporation should
be permitted to issue notes to be used as
money by the people, and thus given power
to initiate or contract the money circulation
OF the country according to the dictates of
its own interests. 1 believe that every dol
lar of our money should be issued directly
by the Government; that it should be of full
legal tender quality for all purposes and
payable to ali classes of creditors alike.
l am in favor of the enactment by Con-
gress and the Legislatures of the several
States of such laws will offectually break
up the present system of ''option gambling"
in agricultural and mechanical products,
and shall give my cordial support to the
"Butterworth' bill for that purpose, now
pending in the House.
/ am in favor of the free and unlimited
coinage of silver, and have the satisfaction
OF being able to refer you to the fact that /
have, to the best of my ability, advocated it
in every canvass which l have made in my
district in the last six years, and before it
had been made apart of your platform. In
the present Congress 1 had the honor of in
Producing bill providing for the free and
unlimited coinage of silver and the issuance
of ''coin certificates to represent both sill
yer and gold coin al ike; which, in my opin
ion, is the best and surest way of securing
the absolute equality of the two kinds of
metallic money, and the consequent free cir
culation and use of the full volume of both
in the business of the country l have never
missed an opportunity to vote in harmony
with this declaration. and l opposed the bill
recently passed by Congress to provide a
market for the product of silver mines of
this country without giving to the people
the benefit of its coinage, and which prac-
tlcaily provides for the cessation of silver
coinage after July l. 1891. regard this act
as the most fatal one to the free coinage of
silver ever passed by an American Con-
gross, and believe that the people will ILL
perform their duty if they do not give their
support to those candidates for Congress
only W no will pledg e themselves to help in
the next Congress to wipe this law from the
statute book, and to aid in the enactment of
one for the absolute and unrestricted free
coinage of silver on the present basis of rel
alive values between our silver and gold
coin.
I am absolutely opposed to alien owner
ship of lands, and voted for the present law,
enacted by the Forty ninth Congress, to
prevent SUCH acquisition, and in the present
Congress voted against q measure propoS
ing to relax the vigor of such law.
Your fifth proposition, referring to taxa
ton. indorse in every line and syllable;
and my recorded votes in the three Con-
crosses of hich / had the honor to be a
member, well my speeches in and out
of Congress, leave no room for doubt I
hope as to my position on this important
subject.
fully agree with your demand for frac-
tional paper currency, and hope to have an
opportunity to vote for the bill introduced
in the present Congress by my colleague,
Mr. Mansur, relating to that subject.
IF your seventh proposit ion means that
the Government shall control the oper alton
of all public means of communication and |
trans portation, such as railroads and tele- |
graph lines, so to protect the people |
against oppressive charges by such com |
panies, fully approve the same. believe |
that Congress and the State Legisla- |
lures have the power, through proper |
agencies, to control and regulate such |
charges; and so believing, voted for the |
present Inter State Commerce law and |
for all amendments thereto which have been |
by the commission charged |
with the duty of admin istering it, as neces- |
sary to it's perfection. If, however. 1 am |
mistaken in the Interpretation to be put up |
on your said proposition, and it means that |
the Government should purchase all rail- |
roads and telegraph lines and operate them
then do not approve it. The work to be |
done by these agencies, while absolutely |
necessary to the business prosperity and |
comfort of the people, can not be done
without loss, unless such charges be per- /
mitted as will paw a reaSOna BILE rate of in
terest on the capital actually invested in |
their construction and operation, and this |
must be the case whether the ownership be
in private hands or in the Government; and
my observation leads me to believe that
would be more economically
conducted ~ private parties than by the
Government. If the Government has the
power to take sue n property by purchase or
cOndemnat ion under its right of "eminent
domain" it most aSsuredly can exercise the
more limited power of regulating charges
for use etc, and that is all the people need
or desire In fact, the Government, both
State and National, is to-day exercising
this power as applied to railroads; and
think there is no doubt that it IS equally APP
piicable to telegraph lines. Such being the
case, then, the question of whether or not
our people are to be oppressively charged !
for such services will be determined more
by the honesty and fidelity of those public
officials selected by the people themselves |
to make and enforce these needful regula-
lions than by the question of ownership in
the property referred to.
These observations refe: only to the ques-
ton of cost to the people, but to my mind
there is involved in the consideration a
political question of far greater Importance,
and one which presents /, most serious OBJ
lection to the proposition of actual owner
ship and operation of such properties by the
Government, and that is, the vast increase |
which it would make necessary in the army
of Government employees.
The number of Government officials and
is estimated to be from no.
600 to I2O0UO. and every man knows the in !
fiuence now exercised by them in the po- |
litical affairs of the country. Yet this num-
Der would be more than quadrnpled by the
addition of the force necessary to operate |
the railroads and telegraphs in the United
States The number of persons now
employed in these industries is
to be about $4,000.
Any administration in whose hands
might be placed this increase of political
power could perDetuata itself or its marty |