Nevada County picayune., 1890-08-21

And although l had been q mem- Der of the convention Tn 1877 that nominated my colleague Mir. Gear for Governor of Iowa. and had sup ported him in that convention for the nomination, when l became ac- quainted with these facts l wrote him an open and frank letter saying that l could no longer act with the Re publican party. could not do so be- cause l found they were no longer the friends of the poor. and that whilst we had emancipated four mil lions of human beings, they were now, through vicious legislation, pur- suing policy which would, unless arrested, enslave many more millions of the white people of this country The events of the past ten years have justified my gravest fears. Ap- plause on the Democratic side. left them and challenged them to open combat, and have never asked for quarter nor struck my colors. have delivered blow for blow, ever trying to keep within the bounds of proper political warfare.
 l left the Republican party when it had so, 900 majority in Iowa, and l ,o00 majority in my Congressional district over all opposition, Does that look like hunting for an office i? Does it not rather look like was fol- lowing my convictions? leave this House to judge of that matter. When l began with the little band of Green packers to denounce these great wrongs found the Democratic par ty of the West, which l had so vigor- ously fought in the na st. under the leadership of the gallant gentleman from Missouri Mir. Bland and oth- CTS. were leading in the great work of remonetization of silver, and they passed bill through the House for its full and free reinstatement. Ap- plause on the Democratic side.
 l found, furthermore, that when the bill for the free coinage of silver reached the Republican Senate they ii, and that Rcpubli- can Senator from my own State Mir. Allison was the gentleman who ac the result. Having stabbed every greenback note in the back with the word except" they now sought to send silver forth maimed and crippled, only to be coined in limited quantities, and then only on Government account,
 l found the Democracy of the Northwest and of many other sec tions of the country bitterly opposed to the destruction of the greenback currency and its wicked conversion into interest-bearing debt, and early in the winter of 1878 they passed q bill through this House which put a stop to this destruction. The little band of Peter Cooper Greenbackers had aroused the country and many staunch old Jackson and Jefferson Democrats rolled mp their sleeves and went to work in their own party with the results stated. Applause on the Democratic side. Many Re. publicans, in defiance of their party leaders, joined in the good work also. As the battle for equal rights and fair play waxed hot, l sought atlilia- ton with the Democrats of my dis trict and State, and we have ever since in my district, and often in the State, co-operated, and we have made it pretty lively for you from that day to this. And l advise you to keep your eyes open for there is still more fun ahead.
 l have never joined the Democratic party. am q member to-day of the Union Labor party, into which the Greenback party has practically merged, along with some other labor organizations, While it is true that have never joined the Democratic party, have felt it be my duty to affiliate with that party in this House, in my State, whenever 1t was practi- cable. through the action of separate conventions, because l believe the Democratic party is nearer to the people than the Republican party, and because find more friends there for the principles which l represent than in any other party outside of my own.
 But while thus aniliating, it has been done in the frankest possible manner and with the distinct knowl- edge that l reserve my independence and the right to strike al wrong wherever found, and the gentleman knows 1 have been fearless in the eX- crcise of my independence. have nothing to conceal here. These old extracts have been read in all the campaigns in Iowa for the past de- cade, until they sound like extracts from ancient history. The Demo crats there have said, Yes, he did Int us hard, but we hit him just as hard. and the account is square and we prefer him to any monopoly Re publican that can be put up in the State. Applause on the Demo cratic side.
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