The National tribune., 1892-10-20
AN OPEN LETTER.
Comrades, What Is Your Duty?

is fraught with the most important conse
quences to you, to yours, and to the country
1t lies wholly in your hands to decide
whether the next President shall be Grover
Cleveland or Benjamin Harrison.
1t is for you to say whether the infinite
insults and injuries to you and yours by
Grover Cleveland shall be condoned and ap
proved by his reelection, or whether the
active friendship and manifold benefits Of
Harrisons policy shall be recognized and
indorsed by solid vote for him.
This is, in its briefest form, statement
of the main issue before you. With your
votes you must decide this, one way Oh
another.
Absolutely no other issue complicates
this 1t is marvelously plain and simple
Many Of you, for reasons, local or other
wise, which seemed sufficient to you, have
been acting with parties other than that
which has placed Comrade Harrison in re-
nomination. We earnestly appeal to you
as comrades to consider this matter care
fully-in the privacy of your homes in the
solitude of your fields, in little circles OF
your faithful comrades-anywhere removed
from the distracting appeals of selfish poll
ticians-and come to decision how you
shall east your vote.
Those of you who have been acting with
the Peoples Party must now see clearly
that-so far, at least, as National matters
are concerned-that party is a cunning
snare set by Cleveland's Southern friends to
capture the Presidency by trick. Gen.
Weaver will not be allowed to carry q
Southern State We have his own indig-
nant testimony that he was not permitted
20 Of in na
and that he was treated with such indig-
nifty as to he compelled to abandon his
canvass in that region. His latest speech
had to be made under strong guard to
protect him from direct personal harm.
The obliteration of the Peoples vote in
Georgia and Florida, the enormous ma
jorities rolled up in those States for the
regular ring candidates, the fraudulent
suppression of the Peoples vote in Ala
bama, all show you plainly that the only
use the Cleveland managers have for the
Peoples Party is as machine to divide the
vote in the North and West-particularly
the latter-and throw the election into the
House of Representatives, where Cleveland
will have clear majority. The question
for you of the Peoples Party to ask your
selves is whether you will allow the Cleve-
land managers to make use of you as tools
to carry out this design. A vote for Weaver
cannot help being other than vote to pro.
mote the execution of this odious design.
a vote for the Prohibition candidates il
in the same category. 1t cannot help being
a direct vote against Harrison, and in favor
of Cleveland.
You who have voted with the Democrat:
must now feel-and feel it the more strongly
the more you consider the matter-that it i!
net so much the abstract principles of Re
publicanism or Democracy that are the mair
issues Of this campaign as the personality o
Grover Cleveland. The question that over
tops all others Is whether his attitude ant
course toward the veterans Of the war o.
those Of Benjamin Harrison shall be ap
proved. a vote for Grover Cleveland mus
be, viii be, and should be interpreted as a,
expression by the voter of approval of Cleve
| lands malignant vetoes, of his removal O