The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-08-28
THE PEOPLES PARTY.
FROM THE NATIONAL ExECU
TIVE COMMITTEES.
An Address to the Citizens Of the United
States-The Wrongs Of the Poo
pie and the Purposes OF
the New Party.


ish tories of 1776, and other European and
American capitalists have bound our coun-
try with chains more calling and more
dangerous than the political bonds that
oppressed the colonies, because they are
more subtle and more corrupting in their
influences.
The declaration of independence from
the arrogance of British politicians must
be supplemented by declaration of indie
pendence from tho frightful power Of con-
centrated wealth.
The political independence which the
fathers of the country secured through
seven years of bloody war, is but shall
low sham unless our country can secure
Industrial independence.
The subtle power of money to Cypress
is greater than the ephemeral power of
the willy politician. The tyrants of mod
ern civilization do not bind their subjects
with bonds Of blood and iron as did the
conquerors of the past-their weapon is
corruption, forged by duplicity and rivet-
ed by ignorance.
The warriors of Old, who sailed forth to
prey upon their fellow men, to subjugate
and exact tribute from them, did it like
men and heroes, knowing that in case of
failure their lives would pay the forfeit.
To be robber knight of modern civiliza-
ton, requires neither courage or heroism.
Under our present system the most con-
scienceless schemer, the most INSCRIPTIONS
corruptionist yields the greatest power
and levies the most enormous tribute.
The British nobility tyrannized over the
American colonies, and exacted taxation
without representation, but the American
people recognized the danger, because
their defiance of the liberties of the
colonies was so open and undisguised that
all could see it.
The fact that our country is to-day an
abjectly tributary province Of British and
other foreign oligarchs, is known and
recognized by only few, because the sys-
tem that brought it about, has been COW
cred up by subsidized or ignorant news
papers and politicians, until but two RENE
dies are left-the ballot or the bullet We
consider violence in settling disputes as
unworthy Of civilized nation and for this
reason we have organized a party of the
people to overthrow once more the tyrants
who have and are continuing to rob us of
that to which they have no moral right.
The railroads Of our country are capital
lied at $4,000 900, 900 and it is we'll
known fact that the great majority of
their stock is held by people in England
and other foreign countries, who have no
more interest in the United States than
the vampire has in its victim. Foreign
capitalists own many of our mines, ele-
vators, irrigation systems, and other
r1r0 nnrtu O1o1 ~ 30
our handsome foreign combination alone,
the Willard syndicates, controlling land
grant of $4,000 square miles, two and a
third times as much land as is contained
in all Ireland At a reasonable estimate
foreign capitalists have invested $50, OOO,-
600, 900 in our country. What value have
they given us in return! They did not
give us gold or silver because these metals
have been carried abroad by the shipload
and are mined here, not in Europe; they
performed no labor to earn this monstrous
sum, and we have given them at least
value for value, for every ounce of goods
we obtained from them.
The fact is they loaned us their credit
in the form of bank checks, drafts and
notes, and they are paying these promises
to pay, with the interest and dividends
the tribute they draw from our people.
According to the census the wealth of the
United States is about $50, 1000, OOO, 900.
Money invested at six per cent, compound
interest will double in less than twelve
years, so that our foreign masters in about
thirty years will own more than the whole
wealth of the United States to-day, allow
Ing them only six per cent on their hold
ings. But when it is considered that the
Western Union Telegraph company pays a
dividend of five per cent on about $780,
600, 900 Of capital stock, while its plant
can be duplicated for SIS 200, 900, making
the interest about thirty per cent on the
actual investment, and that this applies to
many corporations, the danger threatening
the liberties of the American people, indi-
Gates the early destruction Of the republic
and the establishment of a moneyed oil
garchy. 1t is serious question, whether
we have not reached that point now.
The cause of the evil is the policy pur-
sued by our alleged statesmen, who have
shown themselves to be the abject and
willing tools of the capitalists who are get
ting rich on the interest of their debts, at
the expense of the business, industrial and
agricultural interests of the country.
Money has been artifcially scarce by
means SO foul that it would do credit to
the professional gambler and confidence
man. The people are led to believe by a
juggling of facts and figures that very lit
tie money is available to the government,
while $50, 900, 900 are loaned to favored
banks or locked up in the treasury vaults
under all manner of fraudulent pretenses,
Let one Illustration suffice: S1OO, 1000, 900
in gold are held to redeem treasury notes
(greenbacks) outstanding" This gold was
borrowed by the government for that pur-
pose twenty years ago, and not one dollar
of it, judging from the treasury reports,
has ever been called for All this gold is
boarded still, though comparatively few
of the notes are now in circulation. And
during this score Of years, we have been
taxed to pay interest on this enormous
sum. This appears all the more ridiculous
ly criminal when it is considered that the
government issued bonds paper notes
bearing interest) to redeem greenbacks
paper notes bearing no interest) that, as
experience has shown, nobody wanted re-
deemed.
During the Cleveland administration
the idiotic policy of paying high premiums
to redeem bonds not due was inaugurated
1t was continued under the Harrison ad-
ministration. About $50, 1000, 600 was
given to the bondholders through this
system unnecessarily. But now that
about $50, 10000 in bonds are due and
might be redeemed at par the secretary