People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-09-23

J
the schemes originated by the enemies
of this people, the authors of the Third
Party, men who have nothing IN COM
mon with you and who havn't your
interest at heart.
warn my countrymen, whatever
my fate may be in this campaign, ]
warn you that if you do get into
power, If you had every
representative in Congress, the Sen
ate and the president of the United
States if you enacted these ideas in
to law, every man of you would
thank first from your bleeding hearts
after the passage of such law the
man who had the courage to stand
up and warn you against them.
The article in Mr.. Watson's book
showed the cost of running the rail-
road system of the country and the
saving if the government should own
and run it. But the article advised
coal miners to vote for the third party
and this plank, as it would then be
but step to own the mines. II tell
you, you had better look to the end
of road before you get into it.
You want to devise means of relief.
Think before you act whether the
scheme will bring relief or over
whelming disaster"
A voice asked about the railroads.
Maj. Black explained the power of
existing law which stood over the
railroads in the interest of the peo-
pie
Maj. Black read from the Peoples
party platform the part which claims
that the land of the country
is the heritage of the peo-
pie and should belong to them.
"My friend Mr. Watson says that
Jefferson took this position" Mai.
Black took liberty to dissent from
Mr.. Watson's stand. Maj. Black
read the letter from Jefferson.
He did not read it all, but a sufi-
Gent portion to show the drift,
which he declared was not what Mr..
Watson represented it to be. "The
earth belongs to the living and not
to the Dead" Jefferson said. Is that
your land plank Ito MIR. Watson.)
| say that the land belongs to the
living, but to him who has bought
the land with the usufruot of his la
Dor. But that is not the way it is
in the third party platform. They
say that all men have a right to some
Of the land of the country. | say
every man has the right, but I say
not unless he has gotten it by gift, Or
inheritance or purchase. He contin-
ued to read from Jefferson. say
that there is nothing there that says
the land is the common inheritance
of the people, as this platform of the
third party says it is. What does
your great leader say-your Presi-
Dental candidate, Weaver, whom
some of you seem SO anxious to fol-
low? Major Black read from an
article by General Weaver in a re-
cent number of the Arena about
land monopoly. Where is monopoly
ia-land % .-~- so
[ thought the trouble was you
could not sell your land in Georgia
when you wanted to, Major Black
said
Weaver said that all men had a
right to the use of the soil. He says
that the child that was being born
into the world as he (Weaver) penned
those lines, had as much right to
land as breath and air. I denounce
these tenets.
A voice interrupted.
Major Black clinched the land
question here by asking question of
this gentleman, third partyite, who
was landlord and jealous of his
holding.
Major Black. How is your brother
going to get land if he has not got
any? Are you going to give it to
him
Voice. Let him emigrate.
Major Black. All! you say; I am
mighty sorry for you, but you must
go further! say let HIM go further,
too, and get it as you got it! You
who say you believe in this land
plank and the distribution of land
will not part with a foot that you
have got, out you say: ooh, yes, you
ought to have land, but go further"
Major Black read further from
General Weaver's articles in The
Arena, stating that every man had
the right to till the soil in his own
right. say no man has the right to
till the land unless he owns the land.
DO you believe that?
Voice. Yes.
Maj. Black. Then you don't be-
lieye in holding the very land you
own.
Yes I do; I'don't believe in mon
opoly.
Mr.. Watson here arose and asked
the man in the audience to be quiet
and to ask no more questions, which
caused merriment, as the questions
aud the answers, it had appeared,
were discomforting to Mr.. Watson.
The third party demanded that
the pubic domain be reclaimed for
the ownership of the people. Every