The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-08-24
STILL ROWLING CALAMITY
General Weaver Shripks al the Farmers
Alliance National Encampment.
He Sees a Terrible State Of Affairs That Can
Only Be Rsmrdied by Placing Populist
Cranks in Charge of the Government.

mOUNT UREINA. Au8. Sa-luo ioiBcoe
crowd since the opening of the national
encampment of the Farmers Alliance as
sembled at Mount Gretna Park to-day.
j. NJ. Thompson. of Indiana county, Penn
sylvania. State lecturer of the Pennsyl-
vania Farmers Alliance. was one of the
speakers. He said. In part: The farmers of
Pennsylyanis are in q fearful condition
financially. We got into that condition
following political gods. The majority of
people of this country hav but one god
the god of ~poIitics. You have followed
those gods. and all you ave for it 10 your
tax receipts and your appetites, and you
frequently sacrifice your appetites to Sc
cure your tax receipts. Some people call
rs calamity howlers for pointing out the
true condition of the farmers. l would
rather be the calamity bowler than be made
the calamity TO howl at. Under tho present
condition the farmers of PcnDsy lvanla
will come to bankruptcy. Under the pres
emit system Of finance it il only q question
of time when every farmer, whose farm 10
m~ortgaGed for half it's value, will lose his
farm. There are but two classes of people
In this country. one class buys money and
one class sells money. All the legislation
money. The next political move that will
be attempted will be the restriction of suf-
frage."
Captain Powers, of Indiana. followed
with a short address. in which be attacked
the political papers for incorporating the
POpulists and their speakers.
When Gen. James Is. Weaver arose to de-
liver his address. this afternoon. there
were probably twenty thousand people on
the grounds. The General began his ad-
Dress with q history of the decline of
values in Pennsylvania farms. during
the past twenty years. and said:
before the panic: IL commenced in
1878, when the Nation WAS stricken with
paralysis, The country is now suffering
with u second atrack of psraly sis. and the
Republic Is doing nothing that can prevent
1t from dying q. and speedily. unless the plain.
their ballots. In twenty years real estate
has declined in value One-half. If two
panics In twenty years IL the best
the Republican party can give rs.
another party a chance. Ii Is o terrible
state of affairs that has been thrust upon
the people. There are moro people. more
work. more factories and more of every
thing that should make q nation prosper
ons than there ever was before. and still
our present terrible condition cOnfronts
us. The situation of to-day was not
caused by the election of q DEM
ocratic administration. That admins
.tration Is still enforcing Republican laws
and interpreting the laws the same as did
Harrison. Such o curse could not be
brought upon the country by the mere
change of administration. nor 10 II the re-
sult of the Sherman act. The laws have
been violated. What we want Is Obedi-
ence TO the laws and the administrs-
ton of existing laws in such q
manner that. the rich and poor will
be treated alike. We want q condition
contracts. tho banker as well as the la
b0rer. The Republican Secretary of tho
Treasury and the Democratic Secretary of
the Treasury did not comply with tho law.
They paid out the gold, and the Secretary
of the Treasury aided foreign conspirators
when he had il In his hands to prevent this
panic. This is the real cause OF the hard
times. Suoh a ~stupendous catastrophe
conld not have been produced by the Sher-
man law. A fostering sore. q gangrene
that has been growing for years. has broken
out.
LAT the close of the late war the people
were comparatively free from debt. There
was more prosperity then among the farm
ers of the the North. in spite of the loss of
those near and dear to them, than there has
been ever since. The reason of this pros
perity and good feeling was because there
was an immense volume OF paper currency
in circulation. The financial system
contracted the currency, is rsspon.
sible for the loss of thousands of
homes: lnnumerable suicides and the cor
vi " sao hAo oCpAO 1SAS
Is not o parallel in existence To the enorm-
ity of the crime which has been perpetrated
upon the people OF this Nation by the con
traction of the currency. As n resnlt of
| that crime, perpetrated on our people from
1866 tn 1873. British capital has come in and
got contol of our factories. railroads
and finances. This scarcity of money
Is what is the matter. The government
$50 every time yon trade 2lO0. Tho growth
OF population and the reduction of ~circula-
lion of currency is the cause of the panic.
There is no money IN tho country and no
administration that Will give it. but when
the farmers come into power. and they are
going into p~Ower-tho very gates OF hell
can not prevent it-they will give you
more money. The farmers will make .
dollar that VIII stay at home. They don't
want money that will 40 abroad. That Is
what is tho matter with gold. You must
reclaim the government. and take 1t from
the grasp of the mOnOpolist, under whose
control 1t has become O plntocracy.. The
only hope for the starry banner lies In the
fact that the people are arouslng and CON-
Ing to the reecue. They are determined
that they will rule. aud they will"
General Weaver then gave persons in the
audience an opportunity TO ask questions,
and. in answer TO q query az to whether
overprod uction produced low prices, said:
Il would not accuse our heavenly Father
of creating this panic. 1t Is not overpro-
duction. but under-consumption. that has
caused low prices. Were the idle men of
to-day able to buy sufficient for their needs
there would be no overproduct,on."
In reply TO the question. What would
you advise the Prohibitionists as q people
TO dot" the speaker said: go and vote
the PEOPLES party ticket. The liquor curse
exists by law. AT one time the slavery
evil took precedence over all other evils
and had TO be stamped ont. / regard the
liquor curse as an unmitiRated curse to
mankind. 1 say, call your people together
and tell them to combine with the Peoples
party and ask them to help you. The
financial question will come in first for at.
tention as did slavery; afterwards the
\ huuor avil cap ha corracfad