The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1891-05-08
uPRoTEsT OF THE FARMER.
Address of President l.. l.. Polk
TO Citizens Alliance, No. 4, of
Washington, ID. c.
Oniinued from Idet uelk.


months. Turing thatilme il expended
in round nj. res ne billion dollars q
the peoples money--a sum equal q
S77,0O0,O00 per mouth, S17,500.00o PEI
week, S2,5OO0OO per day, s1O4oOeEpel
hour, 81 ,73S per minute, and SIS per sec
end! Let US bear steadilyin mind that
80 cents of every dollar of this VAT
sum came from the spiculturists Of the
country. Inese suffering millions be
sieeed the doors Of the Capitol during
that time, pleading for relief They
were turned away empty handed. their
opportunities disreparded, their en-
reaiics ignored. ard they were tnsC-
lently admcnished to eto keep cut Of
politics" to "live closer and work
harder"s
They asked fer the free ard unlimited
coinaqegof silver. Democrats in the al
lance, ard Republicans in the Alliance,
simply'asked their party friends in Cor
gress to redeem the pledge which both
these parties had made before the world
in their platforms, and in the most
solemn manner We know the result
Al the dictatlcn Of Wall and Lombard
streets, men Of both PARTIES stultiiied
themselves and their parties before The
world and defeated this. just measure.
The people asked that national bar ks he
abolished and gambling in futures be
prohibited by issuing money direct to
The Eecple at cheap rite of interest
and in sufficient volume to meet the de-
mands cf the legitimate business of The
country They formulated and pre-
sentcd plan by which this might he
doBe. Promptly il was. met with the
assertion that "the government has no
mower under tie Constitution TO loan
money! ard therefore our bill was un-
constitutional. II Was asserted ihat il
was "class legislation" and that the bill
was "irApYacticable" Glass leGisla-
tionl" Why. our statutory records are
crowded With class legislation in favor
of all classes. EXCEPT the aericulturisis.
ImpIacticable I" Iftrue, whose duty
was Sit TO correct il? =" Unconstitu-
tional!" If tue, whose duty WIS il 10
frame bill that would be constiiu
tional? Whist are the duties Of mod
arn Congressmen? Are they to be con-
fined continually and forever to the ma
nipulation of party schemes by which 70
gain party supremacy, and TO the neg
leet of the great interests of the coun-s
try? Is it perfectly constitutional to
loan chr money to banks, corporations,
expositions and whisky rings, but,it is
unconstitutional to loan sitasss tlse. wealth
producers of the land. When Wall
street, through It's heartless gambling on
the brain and Drawn and sweat and
muscle of honest labor becomes en-
tangled in the meshes of IFS own wicked
devising, it has only to look to our Set
rotary of the State and say: Help us,
Cassius, or we sink" and Immediately
that official flies to its relief on electric
wing and pours into its lap $10,000,000
of the peoples gold. But it would be
grossly unconstitutional to come, in re-
spouse to the piteous appeals from eight
millions of panic stricken homes ali
over the land, and provide relief 1t is
perfectly constitutional, in order TO get
$1S0U00000 from the vaults to the
banks, TO pay thereon SI2O00000 in adj
vanced interest, $50 zoe, 900 in premiums,
end in order to get it into the pockets of
the people to charge an additional 10
per cent of $18,000,000 Perfectly con-
stitutiOnal to pay to spectators and mo-
nopolists $600000 600 in premiums and
interest, to put $1S0,000,000 IN cirCula-
ton, hut it would be shamefully uncOn-
stitutional TO adopt our plan of a direct
issue to the people of this Sl8O0000O0
at per cent, at q cost Of only $4,000, 600,
and which would go into our treasury
to diminish taxation from other sources
and thus save in the one transaction
the sum of S57 100000. But no bill
could be framed that would rot be re-
iected bv politicians as unconstitutional
if it provided for an adequate amount Of
circulation at a low rate of interest.
Money must not be issued direct to the
people at a cheap rate, as that would al-
WAYS be "unconstitutional," and therein
lies the objection to the sub-treasury
plan with politicians.
On questions of finance, on legislation
for the relief of the people, there is a
a higher court in this country than even
our supreme judiciary. II sits en-
throned in Wall street, reveling in the
strength of its ilLgotten power, and lev
les tribute at will on the industrial en-
ergies of the people.
In the coming contest between labor
and capital, Financial Reform must and
will be, the slogan and rallying cry Of
the people. They want gold robbed OF
its power to Cypress. They demand
that silver shall be restored TO all the
rights in coinage and to all the qualities
of legal tender which gold possesses.
They demand that the circulating me-
dunn of the country shall be issus3 di-
rect to the people at low rate OF inter-
est and in sufficient volume to do the
business of the country, and that in
4 he fanf1nA If
hear the imprint of the government and
Is denominated dollar that it shall be
worth one hundred cents in payment of
all dues, public and private they de-
mand the prohibition Of gambling in
futures of all agricultural aud mechanic
cal products. They believe shat every
acre of our public domain should be Sc
cured to actual settlers, and that not one
foot of our territory should be held ex-
cept by citizens of this country. They
believe that barriers should be erected
between corporate power and the rights
of the people. They favor absolute
governmental control of transportation
and telegraph lines, because they prefer
that the government should control
these great agencies of power, rather
than that they should control the gov
eminent. They demand just system
Of ga iuated tax on incomes. They de-
mand that an amendment to the Consti-
tuition shall be submitted to the people
By which United States Senators shall
be elected by a direct vote of the people
They believe that no interest, or class
or industry, should be taxed to build ur
any other interest, or class, or industry
They demand that all revenues shall be
limited TO the necessary expenses of an
honestly and economically administered
government From these great ques
lions they cannot ard will not be ii
verted. Even the protective tariff, with
all its abominable iniquities, cannot
supplant them. Force bills, "bloody
shirts" the cry Of negro supremacy II
the South" and OF rebels" in The
North, will lose all the power Of then
baleful charms in the presence of thes,
great, overshadowing questions.
The great mass of The industrial
classes, North and South, Democrats anC
Republican,, without regard to sectiona
or geographical lines, with one purpos,
and with one heart, have locked thei
hands and shields in common cause
the cause Of a common country. Til,
evils under which they suffer, anl
which threaten the destruction of thu
republic and it's institution, are Hationa