The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-09-17
PRESIDENT POLK INTERVIEWED.
He Declares for The Third Party-South
ern Farmers Advised to Desert the
Democracy Some Interesting Read
ing for Southern Alliance Men.

ing for Southern Alliance Men.
Especial to the News and Courier.l
TOPEKA, KANSAS, September T.
President Polk, of the National Alli-
ance, has made three addesses in Kan
sas. President Folks opening has been
devoted principally to himself. After
giving his boyhood history, he reaches
the war period. He states that he did
not 90 into the rebellion from choice.
He upheld the Union until the wave OF
secession swept over the South, when
| he did as many others diu who were
forced to shoulder their muskets. He
had been offered command of a COM
pauy, but refused it, as acceptance
| would have been construed into en-
| dorsemeut of the cause whose arms he
carried. He afterwards accepted the
| office he held because 10y dong so he
could Indirectly aid those who were
! fighting for the preservation Of the
| Union and in /; degree, mitigate the
sutterings Of those, who, like himself,
had been forced to bear arms against
their country.
While not speaking directly about
| the contemplated strike Of the cotton
pickers in the South, he said: The
| oppressed agricultural laborers should
aud shal. uenlaud the right OF naming
| the compensation for Lhelr services, and
| until these demands are acceGed To let
| every field in the land contain only
the rotted products, North or South.
You here, he said, are fortunate in
h,,;n Lob, IN,
Gratis Of other States must be conf
| pelied to acknowledge the God-glven
| rights OF laUorers, whether they be
white or black. Some of our bre hren
have already made their demands and
they will be granted, or entire regions
will contain only families ruined by
their own greed"
In All Interview to day Col. Polk
stated that the Alliance movement
was gaining thousands Of converts
throughout the South daily, and the
great mass Of farmers, planters and
laboring men had deserted the Dem
ocratic party and were standing square
ly on the Ocala platform. II believe" !"
he said, "the Third Party will sweep
every State in the South in 1892. The
bulldoze and force the people to take
their Democratic medicine, but with
"ut result. Within the past six mouths
l could have had any office in the gift
of the Democratic party, but would
not sell my principles for pottage."
Polk uttered these words with feel
ing and declared eternal warfare on
both old parties. The bloody shirt
he said will be wrapped around the
old sectional agitators and they will be
buried too deep for resurrection. Will
! the Alliance conference at Washington
in February declare for a Third
Party? l cannot say, but there will
be Third Party. 1t might have beeu
prevented four months ago, but now
it is toe late. Our people in the South
have been abused and sne-red at by
the Democratic bosses and Democratic
press, and we vii. stand it no longer.
! The negro domination cry wont pre-
| vent break of the solid Democracy.
We W" e care ofthe negro, and see
that they are allowed to vote. They
are largely in this movement and will
be All important factor in the cam
paign next y ar.
How about the pension question ::
The Alliance has nothing 10 say against
the pensioning of soldiers who fought.
We accepted the result as final and
acquiesced. We shall ilever raise our
voice against the legitimate pension OF
Union soldiers. 1t is the result Of
warfare, and we can shake hands with
our Northern brothers who wore the
blue, and feel that they are receiving
only Justice from a Government whom
they helped to preserve. The pending
question was about party platforms.
Polk said the Peoples Party would, in
his opinion, carry every Southern
State next year. The Alliance was for
the Ccala demands and would have
nothing less.
HE PROMISES TO BREAK THE SOLID
SOUTH.
Especial to News and Courier.
TOPEKA, Kan, Sept. l5.- President
Polk, of the Farmers Alliance, adj
dressed the 7th district meeting to-day
at Wichita. He devoted all hour 10
the pension question aud olber uatters
foreign TO the Ocala demands. He de-
clared that there was not AL honorable
Confederate soldier who ever COM
plained because Union soldiers were
pensioned and demanded that one be
named WHO was opposed to the same.
III conversation to-day with l.. +.
Yont, prominent Third Party leader,
of Kansas, be said to your correspon-
dent: I'VE are going to burst the solid
South, the negroes are going with US,
and the next national mt citing of the
Alliance will declare for j free vote and
a fair count in the South, and President
Polk will first recommend it in his
message" He hesitated a moment and
said that she ought not TO say that, but
he had heard that Polk bad determined
to do this" .
Polk has promised the Third Party
leaders in Kansas that he VIII oreak
the solid South, and they demand tnat