The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-07-21
THE GEORGIA CRUSADE.

THE GEORGIA CRUSADE.
SAM SMALL WEAVER, POLK AND sIMP-
SON SPEAKS.
weaver Tells what they Props TO Do
and Jerry Tells How He Captured the
Other Fellows Socks and Shoes.
ATLANTA, Ga, July 15.-Atlanta was
the central point Of the great Alliance
rally to-day, thousands OF people being
present at PiedmonteXpoSition grounds.
The audience was noticeably an agri-
cultural one. hundreds of farmers COM
ing many miles and thousands from
this and surrounding Counties to hear
the distinguished speakers. Mayor
Hemphill welcomed the multitude TO
Atlanta in an address which was en-
Enthusiastically received. Colonel l.. f.
Livingstone, President of the Georgia
Alliance and Congressman from this
district, presided. The first speaker
was General j. b. Weaver, of Iowa.
He declared in the beginning hat the
Alliance movement was greater than
the Republican party, the Democratic
party, or the Peoples party, because it
was the people. He asserted that the
pools and trusts of. America were skin
ming Republicans and Democrats alike.
There was no Politics in trusts; it was
with them as 1t was with the Dutch
man. He was asked what his politics
were and his reply was: FIFTY cents ii
bushel for corn and five cents a glass
for lager beer. My politics Is bust
ness" lie said it was high time for
the farmers to make their politics bust.
ness. IL am q follower of Thomas JET
f%erson," continued the speaker. 81
worship at his shrine politically. When
he said eternal vigilance was the price
OF liberty. he did not mean the vigil
lance of the politician but the yigi.
lance OF the people," Weaver brought
forth the widest applause from his
hearers by declaring that there are now
thirty-eight millions more people here
than there were twenty-five years ago,
but strange to say there Is five hundred
and two million dollars less of money.
He laughed at the farmers for saying
that times were dull and asking each
other what made them dull. He told
them to feel in their pockets and they
could answer that question for them
selves. II feel" SAID the General that
the time has come when we do not care
a bugbee nor a fig for any party. We
know what we want and WI are going
to have it. If the old parties get in
our way, why we'll run right over them.
thcio "oh no az HuuCHol Chen lclI as
there was of the Republican party in
Kansas last fall" Continuing, Weaver
exclaimed: Il tell you. my friends, the
industrial people Of this country cannot
afford to lose another Presidential cleo
ton. We must meet the capitalists of
this country In open field and we must
conquer them. If we are kept for
another five years under their laws now
in operation we shall be the veriest
slaves to a lot of plutocrats." lie ad-
Yocated the free coinage of silver, and
concluded with a fraternal message
from Northern Alliancemen to their
Southern brethren.
Colonel Livingstone then introduced
l.. L.. Polk, President of the Alliance.
He began by saying he believed and he
knew before God that the trainers had
cause for complaint. They had at last
awakened to the fact that they had
been for years systematically deceived
by designing politicians and dema-
gogues. lie declared that the day had
passed when the farmers could be de-
ceived, for they had gone deep down
into the question and found that the
trouble with them was in the rotten,
wicked financial legislation Of the
country. Colonel Polk called forth en-
thusiasoic applause by drawing a pic
ture of the sufferings of this Southern
land after Sherman had laid it waste
with sword and torch. He elected adj
ditional applause by declaring that
these sutferings were nothing as COM
Sherman whose blighttng influence had
been felt in every howell in America
and in the homes of every honest, la
boring mechanic. Georgia farmers
had sent petition after petition to the
halls OF the legislation, every one of
which was returned with scorn and
now they propose to make "a change in
the form OF petitions. They are going to
send petitions there in the future about
six feet long, petitions with brains at
me end and boots at the other. Turn
ing to Weaver. Polk exclaimed: Nov,
General, 40 home and tell your boys
that our BOYS who wore the gray and
faced them midst the blaze Of battle
have joineI hands with them to help
them strike the shack!es from the arms
of fifty millions of industrial people,"
In the midst Of the enthusiasm which
followed Weaver advanced to Polk
with outstretched palm, saying: I'VE
are with you, Colonel, heart and SOUL"
At this the large audience literally
went wild. The ghost of a third
our land by night" continued Polk.
LET me say that we have had third
parties started but the farmers did not
start them"
They were started by straightout
Jeffersonian Democrats and not Ali
ance Democrats. Yet these fellows are
wondering if the Alliance is going into
the third party movement. We have
a good example to go into a third party,
although the results of those parties
are not very encouraging to us. "If
there Is a third party iuaugurated in
the s uth," said the speaker, very de-
liber.tely, sit will be due to the domi-
mating, proscrlptive and intolerant
spirit of so.called Democratic leaders.
L have been a consistent Democrat
since the war and now l do not want to
interfere with party lines, but 1 have
just this to say, we want justice and we
are going to have justice. If we can
not get it, as true Alliancemen we
won't hesitate to wipe old parties out
of existence M more than we will hest
tate to wav our hands. Ii a third
party is established, 1t will be nothing
but the blind work of the old parties"
He bitterly attacked Cleveland for
surrendering or trying to surrender the
people TO Wall street and the money
power, and said that the Alliance would
carry the standard Of the peoples rights
To the front and meet and OYerWhelm