Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-10-23
P0pULIST SPEAKERS.

/ day night, according 10 announcement,
and made populist speeches at the
Opera House. At 7:30 o'clock the
meeting was called to order by Mr..
Frank Harper, chairman of the popu-
list committee of Alexandria, who in
troduced Mr.. Pence. At this time not
over one hundred persons were in the
hall, but before the speaking was over,
about two hundred and fifty had gather.
ed-a large majority being democrats
who attended the meeting through Gu
riosity. There were some republicans
and a few colored persons present; but
if there were one dozen populists in
the hail no one could count them.
Mr. Pence, who is good talker. en-
tertained his audience for about half an
hour, when he left the hall and hurried
back to Washington. He said that the
promises made by both parties last fall
were never intended to be kept; that IL Q
West and South must unite for mutual
protection; as silver went down so did
the price of grain; that Harrison
had defeated Cleveland because
of the republican promise of a
full restoration of the silver coin
age, but that Harrison was defeat
ed because that promise had not been
kept and no one could tell what the
republican financial platform meant.
He said the Sherman bill was a coward
ly makeshift, but it was the only hos
tage the silver men held till their own
was restored to them. 1t is the policy,
he said, of the capitalists to make the
dollar as scarce and as dear as possible
so that it would buy more of the pro-
ducts of the country. He then told
that old story of the unequal distribu-
ton of the wealth of the country; that
an equal per capita distribution would
make all men happy, and told how
the poor were robbed of their share be-
cause some men had accumulated
wealth. In speaking of Virginia af-
fairs he said the democratic platformwas
was straddle, and that Col. O'Ferrall
Il straddler on the money question, for
he had stood for silver during the Har-
rison administration, but had now
turned against it for certain
selfish reasons--that he had sur
rendered to President Cleveland
and the New York influences. He
closed by saying that Col. O'Ferrall's
course on the silver question was just
as reprehensible as fiat the close of the
war, when the Confederacy was about
to surrender, he had deserted Lee and
gone to Grant in order to be on the
strong side. The burden of his speech
was free silver and he assured his hear
ers that the more silver dollars that were
coined the better off they would be
but he failed to tell them how they
were to get the dollars after they were
coined.
Senator Allen then commenced his
speech and as he did so there was
general consultation of watches-the
audience remembering that but short
time ago the Senator had made a 10
hours speech. The Senator started out
by saying that he wished to explain
some Of the views and principles of the
populists and in doing so evidently re-
garded his hearers in the light Of school
boys. He said all new movements in
religion, politics, &c, were ridiculed
and abused at first but predicted that
the populists would capture the coun-
try four years hence he said both par
ties were controlled by the money pow
ers of New York and London and that
now there was little difference between
republicans and democrats as was
shown by the proceedings now going
on in the Senate where the leaders of
both sides were urging a gold stand
ard. "You can't tell the difference be-
tween democrat and q republican in
the Senate now unless you've got
mark on them," said he. Senator
Sherman and his gang are for gold, and
Senator Voorhees, and his followers are
for the same. There never was a
stronger or fiercer fight in the Senate
than now," he added. The friends of
silver are being held up to scorn as OBJ
structionists and filibusters, but | never
rejoiced in such title more than to-
night, for am flibustering on behalf
of the farmers, the laboring men, and
never, so help me God, SO long as
strength is given me, will / surrender
to this insolent money power which
tries to control the destinies of the ma
ton" He told his hearers that to
make times better they must vote for
the populists and that with the success
OF that party hard times would disappear
and poverty would be thing of the
past. He, too, said that the smaller
the volume OF money the more it would
buy and urged an increase of Cir
calation. He said that the popu-
lists would reduce the tariff which
the democrats had promised to do, but
would not; that the capitalists had
raised money to nominate both Cleve-
and and Harrison so that in either
event the money power would be in
control, and that it was the intention of
the populists to reduce the tariff and
make the capitalists pay their share of
the expenses of the government by
putting on an income tax. Mr.. Allen
was asked by one of the audience to
which party he belonged before hej join
ed the populists. He replied in boast
ful way ITO the republican-born
one; an abolitionist; born in Ohio, on
the line Of the underground railroad,
and had helped many colored man to
follow the north star" Resuming his
speech he said that the hard times had
started in 1873 when silver was demon
itized and on asking SIS many of his audi
ence who had read the Sherman act to
hold up their hands, and counting but
half dozen, asked how could change
be expected till the people better in.
formed themselves. He then explained