People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-07-15
PEOPLES PARTY PLATFORM.

The conditions which surround us best
Justify our cooperation; we meet in the
midst of a nation brought to the verge of
moral, political and material ruin. Corrup-
ton dominates the ballot box legislatures.
congress, and touches even the ermne of
the bench.
The people are demoralized; most of the
states have been compelled to isolate voters
| at polling places to prevent universal in
timidation or bribery. Newspapers are
largely subsidized or muzzled; public
opinion siIenced business Frustrated; our
homes covered with mortgages labor i'm
poverished and the land concentrating in
/ the hands of capitalists. The urban work
men are denied the right of organization for
self-protection; imported pauperized labor
| beats down their wages a hireling standing
army, unrecognized by our laws, is estab-
| lished TO shoot them down, and they are
| rapidly degenerating into European cOndi-
tions. The fruits of the toll of millions are
boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes
for a few, unprecedented in the history of
mankind; and the possessors of these in
/ turn despise the republic and endanger
| liberty. From the same prolific womb of
| governmental injustice, we breed two great
claSses-tramps and millionaires. National
power to create money is appropriated to
enrich bondhOlders; vast public debt pay
able in legal tender currency has been
funded into gold bearing bonds, thereby
Pile. Silver, which has been accepted as
coin since the dawn of history, has been
| demOnetized to add to the purchasing pow
er of gold by decreasing the value of all
forms of property as we'll as human labor,
and the supply of currency is purposely
abridged to fatten usurers, bankrupt enter
prise and enslave industry. A vast con-
| Spiracy against mankind has been organized
on the two continents and it is rapidly
taking possession of the world. If not met
and overthrown at once itforebodes terrible
| social commissions, the destruction of civil
| ization or the establishment of an absolute
| deSpotsm.
We have witnessed for more than al quar-
ter of century the struggles of two great
political parties for power and plumber,
i while grievous wrongs have been inflicted
upon the suffering people. We charge
that the controlling influence dominating
both these parties has permitted the exist
ing dreadful conditions to develop without
serious effort to prevent or restrain them.
| Neither do they now promise us any sub
stantial reform They have agreed togeth-
Ell to ignore in the coming campaign every
| issue but one. They propose to drown out
the cries of the plundered people with the
uproar of q sham battle over the tariff, SO
that capitalists, corporations, national
banks, rings, trusts, watered stock, de-
monetization of silver and the oppression
! of the Insurers may all be lost sight Of
| They propose to sacrifice our homes, lives
and children on the altar of mammOn; to
destroy the multitude in order to secure
corruption funds from miliOnaires.
Assembled on the anniversary of the
birthday of the nation and filled with the
spirit of the grand general-in-chief who es-
tablished our independence, we seek to re-
store the government of the republic to the
| hands of ''the plain people" with whose
class it originated.
We assert our purposes to be identical
with the purposes of the national constitu-
tiOn-tO form q more perfect union and eS-
tablish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote
the general welfare and secure the bless
ings of liberty for ourselves and our pos
terity. We declare that this republic can
only endure as a free government While
built upon the owe of the whole people for
each other, and for the nation; that it cam
not be pinned together by bayOnets; but
the civil war is over and that every passion
and resentment which grew out of it must
die with it, and that we must be in fact as
we are in name, one united brotherhood.
Our country finds itself confronted by
conditions for which there are no prece-
dents in the history of the world. Onr
annual agricultural productions amount to
billions Of dollars in value, which must
within few weeks or months, be exchang-
ed for billions of dollars of the commodi-
ties consumed in their production.
The currency supply is wholly made
uuate to make the exchange The results
are falling prices; formation of combines
and rings and the impoverishment of the
producing class.
We pledge ourselves that if given power
we will labor to correct these evils by wise
and reasonable legislation in accordance
with the terms of our platform. We be-
lieve that the powers of gOvernment-in
other words of the people-should be ex-
banded as in the case OF the postal service,
as rapidly and as far as the good sense OF
nd no
experience shall Justify, to the end that OPP
preston, injustice and poverty shall event
uallv cease in the land. While our SYM
pathies, as party of reform, are naturally
II upon the side of every proposition which
/ will tend to make men intelligent, virtuous
and temperate. we nevertheless regard
these questions-important as they are
as secondary to the great issues now press
ing for solution and upon which not only
our individual prosperity but the very exist
ence of free institutions depend, and we
ask all men to first help us to determine
whether we are to have republic to adj
minister, before we differ as to the cOndi-
lions upon which it is to be administered,
believing that the forces of reform this day
organized will never cease to move for
ward until every wrong is righted and
equal rights and equal privileges securely
established forall men and women of this
country.
We declare, therefore:
1. That the union of the Labor forces of
the Uniled States this day consummated
shall be permanent and perpetual May
its spirit enter into all hearts for the saliva
ton of the republic and the uplifting of
mankind.
2. Wealth belongs to him who creates it,
and every dollar taken from industry with
out an equivalent is robbery. "If any will
not work, neither shall he eat" The in
terests of rural and civic labor are the
same their enemies are identical.
3. We believe that the time has come
when railroad corporations will either own
the people or the people must own the rail
roads and should the government enter
upon the work of owning and managing all
railroads, we should favor an amendment
to the constitution by which all persons
engaged in the government service shall be
placed under a civil service regulation OF
the most rigid character, so as to prevent
an increase of the power of the national
administration by the use of such addition
al government employees.
We demand national currency, safe
sound and flexible, issued by the general
government only, full legal tender for all
debts, public and private, and that with