The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-10-04
THIRD PARTY MEETING.
wEAvER, FIELD, PACE AND LEASE,
r. s.x Natbiur of the Egg-Oid Market
Hall FiiIed-what the Speakers ss'd'
ub.re the Audience Came From.


Virginia Field, and Mrs. Lease, who has
been making a circuit of the country with
them.
The meeting was called to order by Mr..
c. ii. Pierson, of the Virginia Sun, who
introduced Major Mann Page as the
president of the meeting.
This gentleman. after few remarks,
introduced General Weaver, who was re-
ceived with much applause. lie was very
prolific in anecdotes and Scrlptural quo
tations. and little bits of barney for all
sorts and conditions of men, which SEEM
ed to please them nightly.
There was the usual contingent of
Third party leaders who have been
prominent OF these meetings lately, and
on the platform was Mr.. Walter T..
Grant, the Third party candidate for
Congress. The gallery was filled with
negroes. There was much shutting of
feet and Whispering aud the chairman
and General Weaver had TO ask TOR quiet
several times.
On the right of the stage were a num-
Der of ladies. who seemed much inter-
ested in the proceedings. | was told that
most of the people had come long dis
tances, even as far as Mecklenburg, with
the majority from Henrico, Hanover and
Chesterfield counties.
On the stage were: Mrs. Weaver Mrs
Lease and Messrs. j. VI. Rufiin, ]. W
Penick. II. a. Muller, r. w. Harris
John Chappell. l.. l. Lynch, Judge
Fitchett. Major X. V. Gaines and Colonel
J. Thomas Goode.
GLAD TO EXCHANGE IDEAS.
General Weaver said he was glad to
exchange ideas with the citizens of Rich
mond Twenty-Five years have brought
out new thoughts and new issues and
ideas, and old thoughts must take their
seat in the past.
He quoted Jefferson from his Declare
ton of Independence regarding self-eyi-
dent truths. that all men were created
free and equal, not from Government,
but their Creator, and endowed with life,
liberty and pursuit of happiness.
He went on, claiming that the people
have the right to abolish parties when
they become oppressive or destructive of
liberty.
He defined parties as an organization
Of men for n purpose, and declared that
new issues demanded new parties. He
referred to the old Wing and parties con
temporaneous with it, and claimed that
the parties at present defy public senti-
ment as being safer than trying 70 meet
the new issues.
The Constitution at present is q dead
letter and abandoned, and neither party
dares take it up and enforce it as our
fathers did.
lie touched on the fact that the rich
were becoming richer and the poor poorer,
and went to explain why Congress should
regulate commerce and not leave it TO
the States.
Our fathers fOresaw that this would be
a great commercial nation, and defined
the word commerce, and went on in
tiresome way, making the audience rest
less. till he touched on the people who
toiled not" and so forth, quoting the
Scripture. which brought out applause,
which was renewed when he jumped on
the banks and bankers, who, he said,
were working for private gain, not pubic
good
lie declared he was rot making war
against them, as a class, though but only
as violators of the Constitution, for they
were ms good as anybody else, and posi-
bly, no better.
THE CURRENCY QUESTION.
Then the gentleman went on to the
currency question. and rehashed all the
well-knOwn Third party views against
the order Of things. and went on at length
TO declaim in favor of the Government 5
loaninC the farmers money on their crops,
interspersed with anecdotes and Scrip
tural illusions to illustrate his point
Much barney was here used by the
speaker in illusions to the Anlghts OF
Labor and Farmers Alliances, who had
shown more wisdom lately than lawyers,
and he was a lawyer himself, he SAID.
General Weaver then referred to the
end of the war, and scared high as to
the pleasure it gave him when brother
stopped fighting brother etc, etc.
He referred to tho prosperity OF the
North then. notwithstanding the drain OF
the war. and the poverty Of the South,
which had been devastated by the con
fict. and quoted John jay Knox, Comp
troler Of the Currency, as to the rcSpec-
tive amounts Of money III the North ana
South.
The speaker got a great round Of APP
plause by asking the audience what
brought him here. and what had been
taking him all over the country. and an
swered it himself by saying: Put your
hand in your pocket, and youll see II
is money" He then drew narrowing
picture of the poverty and squaior he
had seen in the twenty States he had
been over. and said something must he
done to save our farmers from seridom
and our laboring men from becoming
! slaves.
clared that the Senator from Virginia
! DanicD bad voted to demOnetize silver
| like the rest Of the Democrats. and the
Republican party said: Me too and
/ his party said they would leave it to the
/ American people All this was received
with great applause. as was the an
nOuncement of his belief that we want
a system Of finance here. for the Ameri-
can people and not for Europe. He de
elared that the time had come when
there was to be choice between the
money power, the politicians and the
people and the people would choose be-
| tween them in favor of the people.
II, closed with complimentary allu-
sions TO the magnificent audience. az
ter claiming that the movement was a
white mans movement, and too strong
to be argued. ridiculed. or voted down.
The band played when General Weav-
or sat down. afte' speech of one hour
and n quarter. and Major Page intro
| duced General Field. rs a Nirginian and
Southern man whom the party were
rot afraid to place on their ticket Gen-
eral Field thanked the audience for their
reception. and said that paper in Rich
! mond had said that he would not dare
10 come here with General Weaver. and
! he wanted 10 show The Richmond Times
that he would dare TO come here with
| General Weaver and not be afraid or
ashamed of it. He would neither be
afraid nor ashamed to go 10
| the White House also with General
| Weaver. All this. and illusions to re-
marks in Sundays papers as to the
! meeting last night, were received with ap-