People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-08-12
THE PEOPLES PARTY.
STATE PLATFORM, ADOPTED AT ALLAN
IA IuIY 2lTH 1902


sembled at Omaha, July 4, 1892. We
indOrse the ticket nominated and
| pledge the party when it shall come
intO power in the State to frame and
administer the laws in the spirit of
the Omaha platform, which is equal
| justice to all, and special privileges to
none.
g. We condemn the convict lease sys-
tenn.
8. We demand rigid economy in all
public matters and mist on every pos
sible reduction of taxation during the
present impoverished condition of the
people.
And we call public attention to the
fact that the producing interest in both
city and country is bearing more than it's
fair share of taxation.
NATIONAL PLATFORM, ADOPTED AT
OMAHA, July 18th, 1899.
Assembled upon the one hundred and six
teenth anniversary of the declaration of indie
pendence, the Peoples Party Of America, in
| their first national convention, invoking upon
their action the blessing of the Almighty God,
put forth in the name of the people of this
country, the following preamble and deolara-
ton of principles;
The conditions which surround us best
JusSEry our cooperation; we meet In the
midst of q nation brought to the verge of
moral, political and material ruin. Corrup-
ton dominates the ballot box, Legislatures,
congress, and touches even the ermine of
the bench.
The people are demoralized; most of the
states have been compelled to isolate voters
$iGntdation or bribery. Newspapers are
largely subsidized or muzzled; public
opinion @ilenced business prOstrated; 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
seH-protection; imported pauperized labor
beats down their wages a hireling standing
axmy, unrecognized by our laws, is estab-
| hShed TO shoot them down, and they are
Eapidly dSgenerating into European condi-
lions. The fruits of the toll of millions are
boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes
| for 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; q vast public debt pay
able in legal tender currency has been
| funded into gold bearing bonds, thereby
adding millions to the burdens of the peo-
| pie. 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
ferns Of property Us well as human labor,
and the supply of currency Is purposely
abridged to fatten wSurers, bankrupt enter
| prise and 0nSlave Industry. a vast con-
spiracy against mankind has been organized
on the two continents and it is rapidly
taking possession of the world. II not met
| and overthrown at once itforebodes terrible
social commissions, the destruction Of civil
ization or the establishment of an absolute
despOtism.
We have witnessed for more than aquar-
ter of century the struggles of two great
political parties for power and plumber,
| while grievous wrongs have been inflicted
upon she suffering people. We charge
that the controlling influence dominating
i 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-
er so ignore in the coming campaign every
issue but one. They propose to drown out
the cries Of the plundered people with the
uproar of O sham battle over the tariff, 80
that capitalists, corporations, national
banks. rings, trusts, W2tered stock, de-
monetization of silver and the oppression
of the usurers may oil 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 milliOnaires.
Assembled on the anniversary OF the
| birthday OF the nation and filed with the
spirit Of the grand general-in-shief 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 q free government while
built upon the owe of the whole people for
each ether, and for the nation that it can
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 preee-
dents in the history OF the world. Our
| 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
QuaDS TO make bOO &ACudAS0. Au0 4OcOAbc
are falling prices; formation of combines
and rings and the Impeachment OF the
producing class.
We pledge ourselves that if given power
we viii 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
an Intelligent people and the teachings of
experience shall justify, to the end that OPP
preston, injustice and poverty shall event
ually cease in the land. While our SYM
pathies, as party of reform, are naturally
upon the side of every proposition which
viii tend to make men intelligent, virtuous
/ and temperate, we nevertheless regard
these auestions-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-
tions 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 for all men and women OF this
country.
We declare, therefore:
1. That the union Of the Labor forces of
the Uniled States this day consummated