The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-08-16
PEOPLES PARTY PLATFORM,
Adopted by the Convention at Omaha,
Neb., July 4, 1892.
PREAMBLE.

Assembled upon the n hundred and
and sixteenth anniversary of the Dec
laratlOn of Independence, the PeopIe's
party OF America, in their first national
convention, invoking upon their actions
the blessing Of Almighty God, puts
forth IN the name and on behalf of the
people of the country the following
preamble and declaration of princinles.
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. Corruption dominates the ballot
box, the legislatures, the Congress, and
touches even the ermine on the bench.
The people are d~emOralized; most of the
States have been compelled to isolate
the voters at the polling places to pre-
vent universal intimidation Or bribery.
The newspapers are largely subsidized
or muzzled, public opinion silenced,
business Frustrated, our homes covered
with mortgages, labor impoverished,
and the land concentrating In the hands
of the capitalists. The urban WOrkmen
are denied the right of organization for
| self-protectiOn; imported pauperized
labor beats down their wages; a hire
ling army, unrecognized by our laws,
is established to shoot them down, and
they are rapidly degenerating into
European conditions. The fruits of the
toll of millions are boldly stolen to
build up colossal fortunes for a few,
unprecedented in the history of man
kind, and the pOSsessOrs of these in
turn despise the Republic and endanger
liberty. From the same prolific womb
of governmental injustice we breed the
two great classes-tramps and mil
liOnaires.
The national power to create money
is appropriated to enrich bOndhOlders;
a vast public debt, payable in legal
tender currency, has been funded into
gold bearing bonds, thereby adding
millions to the burdens of the people.
Silver, which has been accepted as
coin since the dawn of history, has
been demonetized to add to the pur.
chasing power 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 enterprise,
and enslave Industry. A vast CON
spiracy against mankind has been or
ganized on two continents, and it is
rapidly taking possession Of the world.
If not met and overthrow at once it
fOrebodes terrible social commissions,
the destruction Of civilization, or the
establishment of an absolute despOtism.
We have witnessed for more than a
quarter of a century the struggles of
the two great political parties for power
have been inflicted upon th11-au ,ffnr1Ho
people. We Gf2iF &c that the controlling
Influences dominating both parties
have permitted the existing dreadful
conditions to develop, without serious
effort to prevent or restrain them.
Neither do they now promise us any
substantial reform. They have agreed
together to ignore, in the coming ear
paign, every issue but one They pro
pose to drown the outcries of a plum
dered people with the uproar of asham
battle over the tariff, so that capitalists,
corporations, national banks, rings,
trusts, watered stock, the demOnetiZa-
ton of silver, and the expressions of
the usurers may all be lost sight of.
They propose to sacrifice u homes,
lives and children on the altar of nam
mon; to destroy the multitude In order
to secure corruption funds from the
millionaires. Assembled on the ami
versary of the birthday of the nation
| and filled with the spirit of the grand
general chief, who established III in
dependence, we seek to restore the gov
eminent 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 Constitution, to form a more
perfect union and establish justice, in
sure domestic tranquility, provide for
the common defense, promote the gen
eral welfare, and secure the blessings
of liberty for ourselves and our pos
terity.
We declare that this Republic can
only endure as a free government while
built upon the love of the whole people
for each other and for the nation; that
1t cannot be pinned together by bay
onets; that the civil wal is over and
that every passion and resentment
which grew out of it must die with il.
and that we must be in fact, as we are
in name, one united brotherhood
of freedom. Our country finds
itself confronted by conditions
for which there is no precedent
in the history of the world. Our an
nual agricultural productions amount
to billions of dollars in value, which
must within a few weeks or months be
exchanged for billions of dollars of
commodities consumed in their pro-
duction; the existing currency supply
is wholly inadequate to make this ex
change. The results are falling prices.
the formation of combines and rings,
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 believe that the powers of gov
ernment-in other woros, of the PEG
ple--should be expanded (as in the case
ot the postal service) as rapidly and as
| lar as the pOOA cnnrn &C - snto1l.nnnA