The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-01-27
wHArTHE pnrUIIs1s BELIEvE


The creed of the Populist party being
inquired about the Boston Journal re-
plies to one of its readers: AS eDuncia
ted in the platform adopted at Omaha, it
first of all is proclamation of woe, As
sembled on the anniversary of the Dec
laration of Independence, just midway in
the most prosperous year in American
history, the Peoples party Convention
declared that the Nation was at the verge
of "moral, political and material ruin;"
that corruption dominated everything;
that the newspapers were subsidized,
public opinion silenced, business pros
trated, our homes covered with mort.
cages and labor impoverished" and that
"a vast conspiracy against mankind has
been organized on two continents and it
is rapidly taking possession of the
world" The remedy for this State of
things, as indicated in the platform, is a
permanent union of the labor forces of
the United States, recognition of the
principle that wealth belongs to him
who creates it, Government ownership of
railways, restriction of speculative own.
ership of lands, and the issue by the
Covers ment of an indefinite amount of
money" to be distributed to the people
as directly and cheaply as possible.
1t is the financial part of the Populist
creed which is formulated at greatest
lanuth Tho dap,opds &c tba no,t,, l.,
clude unlimited greenbacks, a full tender
for all debts, free silver coinage, and a
distribution of money to the people by
means of the sub-treasury plan of the AL
lance, "or better system" The sub
treasury plan, our readers may need to
be reminded. is a scheme for the estab-
lishment of Government warehouses or
''sub-treasuries" in every county, which
should receive and store the farmers
products and loan money upon them at
a rate of interest not to exceed per
cent. per anuum. The hallucination un
derlying these demands is that there is a
much easier way to get money than to
earn it; that currency system is not
sufficiently flexible which does not
give every one as much money as he
wants; and if there is not money enough
in the pockets Of the average citizen, it
Is only necessary to run the Government
printing presses little harder and
make" as much money as may be re
quired. In other words, no attention is
paid to the essential difference between
money and the promise to pay money,
nor is there any thought of the business
upheavals which would attend the rise
in commodities following the cheaper
ing of the currency and the expulsion of
such money as passes current in the
markets of the world
1t is the party protesting these princi-
pies, and others like them, which, at its
first appearance in National politics,
with more or less aid from the Demo-
Gratis, has polled more than million
votes, chosen "a presidential electors and
elected, or obtained power to elect,
enough Senators of the United States to
be in fair way to hold the balance of the
power in that body. As we remarked
when its platform was first formulated,
it seems thing of nightmares and phan-
tasms, yet it represents political force
which must be reckon.d with, and ex-
travagaAt as its grievances and demands
are, there is enough of substance in them
to compel serious consideration.