Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1890-09-18
TO THE VOTERS OF KANSAS.

grandest republic upon the face of the
earth. we are very anxious that the
people of these United States should
continue to occupy the vanguard in the
onward march of human society and
the emancipation of the industrial
classes. And believing that, among
the sisterhood of states embracing this
union, mono are better qualified to lead
forward this great labor movement Of
the nineteenth century than Kansas,
we invite your especial attention to the
principles contained in the platform of
the peoples party. And in SO doing.
we are not unmindful of the fact that
the democratic party held the reins of
this government for fifty-two years,
and that the republican party has been
in power for nearly twenty-si1 years.
Nor are We unmindful that the former,
under the guidance of Thomas Jeffer-
son, was grand exE onent of American
thought and republican government;
and the latter, under the administration
of Abraham Lincoln, was the true rep
resentative Of human progress and free
institutions.
But when we come to a careful ex-
animation of the labor history of these
two dominant PARTIES, we find they
have departed from the principles of
their early founders, and that to-day
neither of them represent any import
ant living issue before the American
people. But, on the contrary, they have
both sold their birthright for mess of
pottage, and are absolutely and COM
pletely under the control of the
moneyed power of Europe and America
combined.
These two old parties are now simply
vieing with each other for the spoils of
Office, and ever plotting for each others
overthrow. The material interests of
the industrial classes and of the entire
country are entirely forgotten, or badly
neglected. All legislation for thirty
years has been in favor of the creditor
class and against the debtor class.
Millionaires are multiplied, and the
masses are robbed. King caucus con-
trolls political action and determines the
course of all our legislation, and has
placed our country under party des-
potism such as was foretold by Wash
ington in his farewell address.
Under these circumstances, the peo-
pies party comes before the country
asking the support of every honest,
patriotic, and independent American
citizen. We come not as an annex to
the democratic party; not as an auxil-
larry to the republican party; but as an
independent peoples party. We shall
absolutely ignore all past political afili-
atoms and all sectional divisions. The
peoples party knows no democrat, no
republican, no north, no south, no east,
no west, no conditions of color or pre-
vious servitude. The only question
asked is, "Do you fully endorse our
platform ?' This platform fully recog-
nizes the absolute equality of every
American citizen before the law. We
demand equal rights for all and special
privileges for none. Protection for the
weak, restraint upon the strong; justly
distributed burdens, and justly distrib-
uted power. We ask for an American
monetary system in the interest of the
people. and for the repeal of that in
iquitous system, borrowed from old
England in the interest of the creditor
class, that is ever making the rich
richer and the poor poorer. We ask
for volume of money, put into circu-
lation among the people, adequate to
do our business upon cash basis. We
call for the ownership and control by
government of all lines of communica-
ton and transportation.
We protest against the alien owner
ship of land. and the reckless donation
of our public domain to private corpor-
atoms and wealthy syndicates. We
come to you as a party fully repre-
senting the great labor movement of
the age. We come to you in behalf of
home and Preside, of humanity and
our common country; and ask that the
mad spirit of avarice be checked, and
that manhood and womanhood-notth the
almighty dollar = henceforth rule
America.
We desire to do away with this
money famine, this mortgage blight,
these hard times, that to-day are max