People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-10-14
LETTER FROM COL. PEEK.
Editor PEOPLES PARTY PAPER:

mucn TO De proud OF IN Georgia.
Our party has grown to fully one
half OF the white voting population
of the State in less than eight months,
and no one dares dispute the fact
that it is composed of the best citi-
zens of the Empire State of the
South-men who have the courage
of convictions and tenacity of pur-
poses, men who, under all circum-
stances, dare to advocate and main
tain the doctrines and principles
upon which our government was
founded and established. It is
amazing to know that, in this land
of bulldozing, hoodlums, suppression
of free speech and plutocratic in
tolerance, the determined advocates
of equal rights have been successful
in pushing their army to an equal
division of the white voters of the
State. A victory for the people has
been achieved, principle establish
ed planted by the river of waters
eternal in the South; this, too, when
the Democrats, with the whole money
power in all departments, were COM
bined against us. White men in
debt were threatened, tenants were
intimated, employees in many in
stances were refused time to vote, to
others it was said, you will get out
or vote the Democratic ticket.
They wined, dined, breakfasted and
even penned the poor negro the pre-
ceding, night and with blue ribbon
and brass band the proud merchant,
aristocratic doctor, and their captains,
lieutenants, sergeants and corporals
marched the negro to the polls and
voted him against his convictions.
Fired by the whisky ring,social equali-
ty was established. In my own county
the above tactics were also resorted
to to defeat me. They went SO far
as to rob the poor house of it's in
mates, hauling them to the polls and
voting some who on account Of
lunacy cannot find their way back
when a hundred yards away from
the poor farm. Such are competent
for Democrats to use to defeat the
will Of the wealth-producers. To
what extent these frauds were prac-
ticed, we have only to say that this
little county Of Rockdale, with a
voting population 1923, cast 1854
votes. A noted hall was filled with
negroes, who were mace re- ~ry by
mean liquor, locked in for The night,
breakfasted the next morning and
headed by the leading moneyed men
Of the city, were marched in a line
to the polls and voted as soon as
they were opened. It was also Cir
culated that if I was elected Gov
ernor of Georgia [ should not take
my seat, but should die the death of
Lincoln and Garfield.
With Doodle, bulldozing and in
timidation, they used the 1O3,567
colored voters in Georgia, and did
what the refusal to divide managers
at the different precincts indicated to
all intelligent people they would DO
to save the glorious old party from
negro supremacy. When the color
ed voters could not be bulldozed,
bought or intimidated into voting
the Democratic ticket, they were
driven from the polls, only few be-
ing allowed to cast their ballots for
the Peoples party, though the large
majority would have done so if al
lowed.
Despite all this we have made
rnoaf wonderful move for orr cause
and have burnt the bridges behind
us with orders to the front. No
revolution was ever started with
such force. No people ever fought
under such disadvantages as we
have. We have met the enemy on
every field with his old political
generals in command, equipped with
Doodle for buying, munitions for in
timidating, counting and stufing.
Ours was a campaign of poverty.
Without dollar, without an ambu-
lance to carry the weak who fell by
the wayside, without trained po-
litical generals, we have fought
good fight and have enlisted in our
army for relief and reformation
more than half the white voters of
Georgia. The fight is on, and there
will be no grounding of arms, no