People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-09-16

either.
Then, again, outsiders must let us
alone. We must work out our own
salvation. In no other way can it
be done. Suggestions of Federal
interference with our elections, post
pone the settlement and render our
task more difficult. Like all free
people, we love home rule, and re-
sent foreign compulsion of any sort.
The Northern leader who really de-
sires to see better state of things IN
the South, puts his fingers on the
hands of the clock and forces them
backward, every time he intermediates
with the question. This is the literal
truth, and the sooner it is well under
stood, the sooner we can accomplish
our purpose.
What is that purpose? To out
line a policy which compels the sup
port of great body of both races,
from those motives which imperlously
control human action, and which will
thus obliterate forever the sharp and
unreasoning political divisions of to-
day.
The white people of the South will
never support the Republican Party.
This much is certain. The black
people of the South will never sup
port the Democratic Party. This is
equally certain.
Hence, at the very beginning, we
are met by the necessity of new poll
teal alliances. AS long as the whites
remain soidly Democratic, the blacks
will remain solidly Republican.
AS long as there was no choice,
except as between the Democrats
and Republicans, the situation CT the
two races was bound to be one Of
antagonism. The Republican Party
represented everything which was
hateful to the whites; the Democratic
Party everything that was hateful to
the blacks.
Therefore new party was absol-
utely necessary. 1t has come, and
it is doing its work with marvellous
rapidity.
Why does a Southern Democrat
leave his party and come to ours
Because his industrial condition is
pitiably bad because he struggles
against a system of laws which have
almost filed him with despair be-
cause he is told he is without clothing
because he produces too much cotton,
and without food because corn is too
plentiful ; because he sees everybody
growing rich off the products of
labor except the laborer because the
millionaires who manage the Demo
cratic Party have contemptuously
ignored his plea for redress Of
grievances and have nothing to say
to him beyond the cheerful advice to
''work harder and live closer"
Why has this man joined the Pro
Pies PARTY? Because the same
grievances have been presented to
the Republicans by the farmer Of the
West, and the millionaires who con-
troll that party have replied to the
petition with the soothing council
that the Republican farmer of the
West should "work more and
talk lesst''
Wherefore, if he were confined to
a choice between the old parties, the
question would merely be Con the
issues) whether the pot were larger
than the kettle-the color of both
being precisely the same.
The key to the new political move
ment called the Peoples, Party has
been that the Democratic farmer
was as ready toleave the Democratic
ranks as the Republican farmer was
to leave the Republican ranks. In
exact proportion as the West received
the assurance that the South was
ready for new party, it has moved.
IN exact proportion to the proof we
could bring that the West had broken
Republican ties, the South has moved.
Without a decided break in both Sec
tons, neither would move. With
that decided break, both moved.
The very same principle governs
the race question in the Sonth. The
two races can never act together
permanently, UNANIMOUSLY, benefcially,
till each race demonstrates to the
other a readiness to leave old party
utilization and to form newones, based
upon the profound conviction that,
in acting together, both races are
seeking new laws which will benefit
both. On no other basis under
heaven can the "Negro Question"
be solved.
Now, suppose that the colored
man were educated upon these ques-
tons just as the whites have been;
suppose he were shown that bis pow
erty and distress came from the same
sources as ours; suppose we should
convince him that our platform prin-
ciples assure him an escape from the
ills he now suffers, and guarantee
him the fair measure of prosperity
his labor entities him to receive
would he not act just as the white
So1~o1 did