The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-07-08

GENERAL JAMES B. WEAVER.
Judge Gresham and Senator Kyle OF
South Dakota both declined to stand
for the position.
The Platform.
The platform is as follows:
Assembled upon tho one hundred and
sixteenth anniversary Of the Declaration
Of Independence, the Peoples party Of
America, in their first national convention,
invoking upon their action the blessing OF
Almighty God, puts forth, in the name and
on behalf of the people Of this country, the
following preamble and declaration of
principles;
The conditions which surround US best
justify our cooperation, we meet in the
midst of nation brought to the verge Of
moral, political and material ruin. Cor
ruption dominates the ballot box, the legis-
latures, the congress, and touches even the
ermine Of the bench. The people are de-
moralized; most Of the states have been
compelled to isolate the voters
vent universal intimidation or
bribery. The newspapers are largely sub
sidized 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; u hire
ling standing army, unrecognized
by our laws, is established
to shoot them down and they are raDidly
degenerating into European conditions.
90 l,A ..f1 81
stolen to build up colossal fortunes for
few Unprecedented in the history Of man
kind and the pos SCISSORS Of these, in turn,
despise the republic and endanger liberty.
From the same prolific womb Of govern
mental injustice we breed the two great
classes--tramps and millionaires.
The national power to create money Is
appropriated to enrich bondhOlders; vast
public debt, payable in legal tender cur
rency has been funded into gold bearing
bonds thereby adding millions to the bur-
dens Of the people.
Silver which has been accepted as coin
since the dawn of history, has been de-
mOneti2ed to add to the purchasing power
Of gold, by decreasing the value of all
forms Of property as well as human labor,
and the supply Of currency is purposely
abridged to fatten usurers, bankrupt enter
prise and enslave industry A vast conspir-
| aCy against mankind has been organ
lied on two continents, and
is rapidly taking possession of
the world. II not met and overthrown at
once, it forebodes terrible social convul-
sion, the destruction of capitalization, or
the establishment Of an absolute despot-
ism. We have witnessed for more than
quarter of n century the struggles of the
| two great political parties for power and
plumber, while grevious wrongs have been
inflicted upon the suffering people,
We charge that the controlling influences
dominating both these parties have per-
mitted 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 COM
ing campaign overy issue but one, They
propose to drown the outcries of q plum
dered people with the uproar of sham
battle over the tariff, so that capital, cor
porations, national banks trusts watered
stock, the demonstration of silver and the
depressing of the usurers may 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 from the million
aires.
Assembled on the anniversary of the
birthday OF the nation, and filed with the
spirit of the grand generation who estab-
lished our independence we seek to restore
the government of the republic TO the hands
Of 1.-THE plain people," with whose class II
originated. We assert our purposes to be
identical with the purposes Of the national
constitution; to form more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquil
ty, provide for the common defense, pro.
mote the general welfare and secure the
blessings of liberty for ourselves and our
posterity.
We declare that this republic can only
endure as free government while built
upon the love Of the whole people Tor each
other and for the nation; that II cannot be
! pinned together by the bayonet; that the
civil war is over and that every passion
, and resentment which grew out Of It must
die with it and that we must In fact as We
are in name, be one united brotherhood o.
| freemen.
Our country finds itself confronted by
conditions for which there is no precedent
in this world; our annual agricultural pro
8 auctions amount to billions of dollars il
value, which must within few weeks OF
, months be exchanged for billions o.
: dollars of commodities consumed il
their production; the existing cur
reucy supply is wholly inadequate to make
| InlS cNCHuuBcI bue results are IulllnS
prices, the formation of combines anC
rings, the impoverishment of the produc
} ing class, We pledge ourselves that i
, given the power we will labor to correc
these evils by wise and reasonable legisla
ton, in accordance with the terms Of oul
platform.
We believe that the powers of govern
ment-in other words, of the people
should be expanded las in the case of tn
postal service) rs rapidly and MS far as tn
good sense OF an intelligent people and tn,
+ teachings of their experience shall justify
TO the end that oppression, injustice anC
poverty shall eventually cease in the land
4 While our sympathies as party of reform
:, are naturally upon the side of every propo
sition which will tend to make men intel
ligent, virtuous and temperate, we never
theless regard these questions, importan
u as they are, as secondary to the great is
o sues now pressing for solution, and upol
y which not only our individual prosperity
: but the very existence Of free institu
tions depend; and we ask all men 10 frs
u help US to determine whether we are :
have republic to administer before W