The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-03-05
Col. Polk in Wadesboro.
THE ALLIANCE A POLITICAL Or
GANIZATION.
Only Two Parties in this Country.
The People Against the Plutocrats
A Political cyclone Pre-
dicted for 1892.

trial Union, spoke IN NadeSDofo, DIS
native town, Feb. 24th. We take from
the JIessenger of that place the follow
ing synopsis of his address:
stand up here before my people |
and tell you the truth. You have been
humbugged long enough; you have
been taffied long enough. | have
traversed this country from one end to
the other. | have looked upon It's
great cities, its magnificent rivers, It's
busy hives OF industry, but when
stand in the presence of the honest
yeomanry, the great middle classes of
our country. who are the palladium OF
our liberties, who pay SO cents OF every
dollar of taxes collected, who Clothe
the world the men without whom
our ships would rot at their docks;
the men without whom Jay Gould,
with all his boosted millions would
starve, | forget all this and remember
that the glory of this country rests, at
least, in the hands of this people. The
questions which confront our country
at this time require the sternest states
manshp, the purest patriotism, to
solve. These conditions which exist
to-day show that things are out of
balance. When, in the memory of
the oldest inhabitant of this county,
were manufacturing enterprises in
more hourishng condition? Never.
When was the growth and prosperity
of railroads greater than now? Never.
At what time in our history was the
growth of cities and towns greater !?
Never. When, in all your long life,
did agriculture languish so? Never.
In 1850 the farmers of this country
owned 70 per cent. of the wealth of
the country, and paid IS per cent. Of
all the taxes in 1850 they owned
only one-third of the wealth OF the
country, but still paid 50 per cent. of
the taxes. In 1880 the total wealth of
the country was forty-three billion
dollars, and of this sum taxes were
paid on only twenty-six billion dol
lars, and of this amount fourteen billion
belonged to the farmers of the country.
| was approached on the streets of
Raleigh last week by three members of
the Legislature who asked me what
they must do about voting an appro-
priaton to the Agricultural and Me
chanical College. They said that the
tax would have to be increased if so
many appropriations were made, and
they did not know what to do about
it. told them to so back and intro
duce bill in the Legislature that will
unearth the hidden property in North
Carolina and make it bear its just
share of the burdens of the govern
ment, and then needed appropriations
can not only be made, but taxes re-
duCed at the same time. Put a seal
into the hands of tax assessors, and let
these men who own the mortgages and
notes bring them to him, and let him
stamp upon their face the word Gas
sessed," and unless they are 50 stamped
make them uncoliectable by law. am
sick and tired of seeing the farmers
carrying the burden of this country.
Would to God that we had a Con-
gress and a Legislature that would do
| them justice.
What we need is more money to
| transact our business. Political doc
tors will tell you that money will buy
more now than ever before, and ask
what are you farmers growing about
anyhow? Others say your laziness,
extravaganza and improvidence has
brought you to your present condition,
but say no class of men work so hard,
or live SO hard as the farmer. Mr..
Dodge, the statistiCian at Washington,
says agricultural depression is caused
| by lack of Investigation. Mr..
Morrill,, the father of the Senate, says
the trouble is over production, but l
say there is no production as long
as there is single cry for bread. 1t
is not over production that is causing
the trouble, but under consumption.
One man tells US that the farmers
ars to blame, another that COD is to
biome, but the real trouble is that we
are grooming under the most unjust
financial system the world has ever
seen. Negro supremacy, bloody shirt,
the tariff are all shouted in our ears to
keep US off of the real reason, the
money question. | am not afraid that
a negro will ever rule over l.. L. Polk.
a financial system has been imposed
upon this country the most wicked
that was ever devised by the Brain of
man. If not changed it will make us
a country of millionaires and paupers,
and neither millionaires nor paupers
are friends Of civil liberty. The great
middle classes are being wiped out
The people of this country have arisen
IN their might and sworn that the
government shall be administered in
the interest of the many.
Mllllonalres are very common now.
The Senate is composed of "a men,
bers and 46 Of them are millionaire.
Ihirty-one thousand people own over
half the wealth of this country. they
did not get it honestly and fairly :;
they can't do it. CA voice FROM the
audience, "They got it by robberyN')
We have organized in this countN
tor self-protection-nothing more, !
nothing less. There were some, when}
the Alliance was first organized, both
IN 1t and out of it, who thought that it
was intended to make war on the mer-
chants and professional men. There |
Is not 4 sensible man in this dountry
who does not know that the meAchant
and the farmer are in the same \boat.
II one goes down the other goes down
too. | want to say a word about Naw-
yerS. | have been misinterpreted\ on
this question. God knows | have \no
prejudice against any one engaged