Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-08-05
SATURDAY. .... AUGUST 8. 1893.
ene Platform OF the Peoples Party.

The Populists claim for their party the
name of 1.-THE Peoples party" They call
II so because it Is not tho peoples party.
III We use the word "Popuhsts" rather
than tao phrase Tho Peoples party" we
do so because the former is shorter.
There's nothing in party's name. The
Know Nothings of 1854 called. themselves
"the American party" The crazy anti
slavery fanatics stole the name Republi-
can"-the name Of Mr.. JHFFrRsoN's
partv-and have for thirty years been
known as Republicans, though their
whole theory Of the nature Of our Federal
svstem and the relative powers of the
State governments and the Federal Gov
eminent is in conflict with the teachings
of the great sage Of Monticello.
The Populists' State Convention of this
week consisted largely Of unknown men,
OF OF men who, TO use q common but ex-
pressiye pbyase, have " failed TO get there
They are good citizens but poor politi-
clans. They are belated-have got left -
arc wandering in the wilderness. We will
not add that they are signing for the flesh
pots OF Egypt. OF course there are men
among them who deserve TO DO recognized
hs good men and true" To these we
shall address ourselves in speaking of the
lynchburg platform. Ii does not seem to
us that the Populists come before the
people of Virginia under favorable cir
cumstances. IL strikes us rather that
they are foredoomed to defeat.
Now as to the Populists' platform. Plank
No. deciares-hrst, for free coinage at
The ratio Of 16 TO /; then III the most ex-
plicit language against the national-bank
system. We have warned Democrats who
favor State-bank system that their pro-
posiilon TO supply local currencv not q
legal tender and good only at home would
promise nothing compared to what the
Populists would promise. And here is tho
fulflment of our prediction. The Virginia
Populists tGvOr a national currency :" to be
distributed directly among the people
when demanded on the security of their
property at q reasonable rate of interest"
This currency TO be "a full legal tender
for al debts. public and private" The
advocates of the Stste-bank system are
tons. Their bid for votes is so much
lower than the bid of the Populists that
they may we'll ask themselves whether
they have not made O gross blunder. In
deed. the Populists take direct issue with
the State-bank advocates, declaring tina.
they are unaltersbly opposed" to such
hanks. These advocates have given them
selves away IN maintaining that there was
not currency enough amongstth country
people because it was so good that it all
flowed to thesmonetary centres and left
The rural people stranded on q cherries
shore. IL the condition of things exists
winch the State-bank advocates say does
exist, then the Populists propose q system
of supplying currency TO the people which
will DO apt TO commend itself to the
sufferers from impecuniosIty as better
than bad. impossible local currency.
The Virginia Populists did not adopt the
Ocala platform in its entirety. Their
second plank has good deal of indefinite
ness in 1t, but certainly demands a gra-
duated income tax. The percentage of
tax of that sort grows more rapidly than
the income grows. II is a tax, for in
stance, which may leave untouched all in-
zones uader 5000. and tax incomes of
$4,000, l per cent. those of $4,000, 2 per
cent; those Of $4,000 per cent, and so
On.
The third plank declares for the public
Schools. Who does not favor those
schoolsY
The fourth plank declares for new
election law BY the way. II all that the
Republicans and the Populists say about
our election laws Is true, the Populists
might as we'll "hang up the fiddle and the
how"
The rest of the Populists' platform is
not worth commenting upon. They have
no aims higher than those of the time
hsnored Democratic party.