The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1893-08-19
IN BEHALF OF SILVER.
A Populist Plea for the White Metal
Some Forcible Utterances.

Some Forcible Utterances.
The Executive Committee of the
Populist party, which met in Chi
cago after the adjournment of the
Silver Convention, issued the fol-
lowing address:
To the People of the United States:
The friends of more money and less
taxes, devoted to the silver dollar
of the Constitution and of our fore
fathers: the opponents of the con-
traction, gold standard and bond
monopoly, have just held their
great convention here in Chicago.
1t was composed of representative
and patriotic men from all parts
and from all sections of the country.
The overwhelming spirit of this
convention indicates that the whole
nation is alive to the dangers which
threaten US. That convention not
only repudiated the idea of a gold
standard and gold basis, but unan-
imously committed itself to the
principle that we, as Populists, have
long held and cherished, viz: that
law alone makes money and that
the stamp of the Government con-
verts 80 cents worth of silver into
dollar equal to any gold dollar
and they unanimously accepted our
doctrine that the money of the
country should be adequate for the
demands of business and should
expand with the growth of popula-
ton and commerce.
This convention has been great
victory for the principles embodied
in the Omaha platform. The rep
resentatives of the old parties who
were..present united with US to fight
for the smoney Of the people as
against the money of the bondhold-
ers. 1t is the same old contest for
the doctrines of Jefferson, Jackson,
Thad Stevens and Lincoln and for
our Constitutional rights, which
have been assaulted by a foreign
coalition.
The convention manifested an
intense conviction that the bond
holding and banking conspiracy
which began it's awful work in 1873
in Republican Congress will now
be continued, if not consummated
in 1898, in a Democratic Congress
with equal pillage, rapacity and
peculation. It is the mission of the
Populists to resist this foreign in
vasion which, through corporate
greed, assaults our national liber-
ties by usurping our lands, monop-
olizing our highways, absorbing our
wealth, debating our laws and en-
Shaving our people.
We believe that the present effort
to demonetize silver and issue more
bonds, thereby increasing the ag-
gregate of our billions of debt, all
of which must be paid in gold alone,
burdening us and our posterity with
gold contracts which we never made,
is crime equal to that for which
Kings have been dethroned and ty-
rants beheaded, and for which we
believe every officer engaged there
on should be impeached and pun
ished as provided by law.
If silver is stricken down it will
take more merchandise from the
business man, more labor from the
wage Garner and more wheat, corn
and cotton from the farmer than
ever before to purchase the gold
dollars of the banker. Therefore
these three classes should unite to
resist the encroachments of this un-
American and destructive conspi-
racy.
The logic of events forces the i'm
mediate solution of the money ques-
ton. This we recognize without
yielding any of the great principles
in our platform, which must follow
and be settled in rapid succession
in order that our Government may
be wrested from its enemies and
prosperity restored to the people.
We do not consider the money
question as settled until the author
ity to issue money and control its
volume, in the words of Jefferson,
is restored to the Government and
the people to whom they properly
belong.
This struggle will obliterate old
party lines; tens of thousands of
new converts are coming to our
ranks; they should be welcomed
and organized into a mighty cam
paign force for 1894 to 1896.
We commend the Industrial Le-
gion and all similar organizations
as valuable aids in educating and
organizing our people. Stand by
your colors, brethren; events are
battling for US; the stars in their
course are fighting in behalf of Sis
era, every agony of the afflicted
people is an argument for our plat
form, every day confirms our pre-
dictions. There is no safety for the
people Of the United States except
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