The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1891-08-07

tween the value of gold and silver.
5. To the national banking system,
whereby the owners of our bonded in
debtedness are enabled not only to
realize the interest upon their bonds,
| but to make enormous profits out of the
currency of the country.
g. To the most reckless and eXtrava-
| giant expenditure of the peoples money
| that the world ever saw. The Demo-
cratic remedy, my fellow-citizens, for
these evils, which lie at the root of all
| your grievances, is simple. 1t IS not in
the form of an opiate which is intended
| to make them tOlerable; it does not con-
sist in tOlerating the continued exis-
tence of these evils, and an attempt to
relieve you by the commission OF other
wrongs whereby you will secure, at the
expense of somebody else, gOvernmen-
tai favOrs.
The remedy consists simply in abol-
ishing the the evils themselves and
leaving the people untrammelej TO pur-
sue their own happiness. 1t consists in
repealing tariff taxation on the neceSSa-
ries of life; in restoring the income tax
on the accretions of wealth; in the en-
actment of wholesome and stringent
laws accompanied with adequate PEN
altieS to prevent the formation of trusts
and combines; in permitting the agri-
cultural masses to sell their surplus
crops in the open markets of the world /,
and to take in exchange such neceSsa-
ries of life as may be purchased in those
our home Government; in the free coin
age of silver and the absolute reStOra-
ton of it's dignity as money metal; in
| the substitution of Treasury notes, re-
deemable in gold and silver, in suffi-
cIent volume to do the business of the
| country, in lieu of the national bank
currency, and, lastly, in the expenditure
of no more of the peoples money than
is absolutely necessary to an honest
and economical administration OF the
Government. Applause.
Now, fellOw-citiZenS, during the eXiS-
tence of these evils, of which you have
justly the right to complain, has the
Democratic party failed at any time in
an honest effort to apply the remedy !?
Is it responsible in any degree for their
existence? Has it ever seen an hour or
day that it had the power to bring the
| relief which you demand? In the past
| Twenty-Five years it has frequently con-
| trolled the Lower House of Congress;
once it controlled the Senate and once
| the executive arm of the Government
| but never for an hour has been enabled
| to secure the control of the three CO.
ordinate branches of the Government,
| which is absolutely necessary for the
| enactment of laws for the relief of the
| people.
Is there anything in the Democratic
| party, in it's growth and Developments,
which furnishes a guarantee to the citi-
| zen that 1t will be able, within the near
| future, to relieve him from the blight OF
governmental favoritism and class leg
| Islation?
In 1888 million more of white men
voted for Grover Cleveland than voted
| for Benjamin Harrison. [Applause.
| In 1890, after the enactment OF the NC
Kinley bill, the Democracy struck
great tidal wave and swept the coun-
Rhode Island, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan
and Iowa took their places in the DEM
ocratic column. LApplause.l The pop
| ular branch of the present Congress Is
| over r@heImingly Democratic. IF every
representative from the Southern
| States were to die to-day the lower
| house of Congress would be still Demo
cratic. lApplause.l The country, at
| the ballot-boX, has overwhelmingly
| pronounced against the methods and
| policies of the Republican party. The
| Democracy stands to-day on Pisgah' 8
heights overlooking the promise lard,
| and she only requires of her sons to
stand by her flag in order to sweep the
country in 1892. Great applause-I Are
| there any signs of disintegratlon in the
| Democratic ranks? Are there dema-
| gogues abroad in the land who would
| sacrifice the dearest hopes of the De-
mOcracy for the promotion of impractl-
cable heresies and their own ambition?
Let me recount the successive steps
which haYe been taken by the Farmer s
| Alliance.
| This organization has been in eXis-
tence for eight years and is the neces-
Sary result of the great injustice done
the agricultural interests OF this coun-
try by the Republican party.
| This organization was hailed with de-
light by Democrats all over the land
i The Democracy had been prOclaiming
for twenty-five years the injustice done
the farmer and during all that period l,
had prosecuted an unequal contest fol-
his relief.
1t was believed that more iuforma-
ton and better comprehension oftheil
environments by the farmers of the
country would bring additional
strength to the Democracy and sooner
enable it to get control of the Govern
ment and apply the necessary remedies
for the relief of agriculture. the ALI
ance first met in national convention
in December, 1889, in st. Louis and
there proclaimed platform of princi-
pies. This platform, with the excep-
tion of the plank in favor of govern
n mental ownership OF railroads, which il
now abandoned by the Alliance, wa:
distinctively Democratic. In the mean
, time, to bring the question under dis
, cussion nearer home, the Alliance made
rapid progress in Tennessee. The con
Vention which met to nominate Gov
ernor in July, 1890, was absolutely con
trolled by the farmers of Tennessee
That convention adopted platform
, that was from start to finish, through
and through, distinctively and unde
niably Democratic. On that platform
Gov. John p. Buchanan was nomina
: ted by the farmers constituting large
fmajority of the convention and h'
: ocratic lines. Applause. The whol'
! Eparty rallied to his support. called OF
my friends throughout, the State early
: Pin the canvass, and they stood by hin
to man. (Applanse-] canvassed M
congressional district with Gov. Buch
anan, and we proclaimed, from th
3 same rostrum, the principles OF DO
mocracy. 1 stand to-day on the plat
form on which he was nominated ana
, indorse to-day every utterance 1. hear(
: him make during the canvass. 1t i
now said that Gov. Buchanan will FOL
l low G. w. MRcuue, John ii. Mcdowell
and BensTerrill in the advocacy OF tn
, heresies which they are attempting t.
: propagate. 1 desire to say right her
tn t w hile ] am not in, the contidenc
: otI 'ov. Buchanan, 1 believe him to b.
: an L NEST man anda Democrat and d.
not believe that he will ever consent Il
= become an apostle in Tennessee of G
3 w. Macune. Should he.do so he would
= be recreant to the platform on when n
was nominated, recreant to the fart
I which he taught in his speeches and re
: creant to the great majority OF Demo
Gratis who elected him. Applause.
In few weeks after Gov. buchanan
1 was elected the Ocala convention me
> and there the Farmers -Niliance, unde
3 tho leadership of Polk, icCune, Living
: stone, TerrfLI, McDo leell and othe
= worthless, pretending Il represent tn
}. Alliance, a new deparf ire was taken
4 That convention declared in favor @
f what is known as the Sub-troaSury AM
, the land loan schemes.
Before proceeding to the discussion O
f these schemes, it is proper to remar
) that the currency, which these scheme
J contemplate, is not to be currenc
1 convertible into gold and silver at tn
r option of the holder, but is to be a cuI
@ rency issued by the Government direc
g to the people and "based," to use tn
) language of Ben Terrill, "on the powe
: of the Government to tax" The pro
' posed currency is to be receivable i
q the payment of all public and privat
@ obligations, taxes and customs duties
: Should a citizen hold hundred dol
: lars of this currency he could not, &C
cording TO the doctrine taught by Tel
= riIl, demand its payment in either gol
q or silver. In fact, 1t is convertible int
nothing except a like currency whlc
O the Government may receive in pay
4 ment of taxes. It therefore follow
q that it must necessarily become de
q based, spurious and vitiated currenc
a and the prey OF spectators. Thls
4 directly contrary to the Democrat
!, creed and the express declaration
! the platform on which Gov. Buchana
# was nominated, to the effect that an
r currency we may have should be cor
# vertible into gold and silver.
These money metals are the world
a standards of values, and the Demo
4 cratic party, from the very inception
q its existence, has contended for cul
a rency convertible into coin, believe
and the experience of the GOV0rnm0I