The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-08-24
A POPULST ARGUMENT
General WeavBr's Address at the
Farmers Alliance Convention.
TWENTY THOUSAND LISTENERS

The Late Presidential Candidate Charges
the Existing Financial Crisis to Republic
can and Democratic BIaIadmi nistrhtion,
and Predicts Relief When Farmers II u Ia.
MT. GRETNA, Pa, Aug. 4-The largest
crowd since the opening of the national en-
eampment of the Farmers Alliance assem-
bled at Mt Gretna park yesterday. Among
the prominent arrivals were General James
d. Weaver OF Iowa, late Populist candi
date for president, and Colonel ID. p. Dun
can, of Columbia, S. c., secretary Of the
National Farmers Alliance Three thous-
and people, mostly farmers and their wives,
assem- bled in the main auditorium to hear
w NJ. Benninger. of Walnutport, Pa,
advocate the free coinage of silver in the
Pennsylvania Dutch language. He was
followed by j. NJ. Thompson of Indiana
county. Pa. state lecturer of the Pennsyl-
vania Farmers Alliance. He was followed
by Captain Powers, of Indiana.
When Weaver arose to deliver his ad-
dress in the afternoon there were probably
10000 people on the grounds The general
began his address with history of the de-
cline of values in Pennsylvania farms
during the past twenty years, and sail:
This decline of values took place before
the present panic; it commenced In 1873
when the nation was stricken with paraly-
sis The country is now suffering with a
second attack of paralysis, and the repub-
lie is doing nothing that can prevent it
from dying, and speedily, unless the plain
common people come to its relief with
their ballots, 1t Is terrible state of af-
fairs that has been thrust upon the people
There are more people; more work; more
factories, and more of everything that
should mako a nation prosperous than
there ever was before still our present ter
rible condition confronts us.
Such curse could not be brought
upon the country by the mere change of
administration, nor is it the result of the
Sherman law. The laws have been vio-
lated. What we want is obedience to the
laws and the administration of existing
laws in such manner that the rich and
poor will be treated alike We want a
condition that will make all men obey the
law of contracts; the banker as well as the
laborer. The Republican secretary of the
treasury and the Democratic secretary of
the treasury did not comply with the 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 these
hard times. Such stupendous catas-
trophe could not have been produced by
the Sherman law.
"At the close of the late war the people
were comparatively free from debt. There
was more prosperity then among the
farmers Of the north, in spite of the loss of
those near and dear to them, than there
has been ever since. The reason of this
prosperity ald good feeling was because
there was an immense volume of paper
currency in circulation. The financial
system of the government, which con-
tracted the currency, is responsible for the
loss of thousands Of homes, inRumerable
suicides and the corruption of the morals
of the people. There is not a parallel in
existence to the enormity of the crime
which has been perpetrated on the people
of this nation by the contraction Of the
currency. AS a result of that crime per-
petrated on our people from 1866 to 1873
British capital has come in and got CON
troll Of our factories, railroads and finance
THE scarcity of money is what is the
matter. The government financial system
compels you to 20 in debt 500 every time
you trade 800. The growth Of population
and the reduction of circulation of cur
rency is the cause Of the panic There is
no money in the country and no adminil-
farmers come into power they will give
you more money. We don't want too
much money, but we ought to have per
capita of gold, silver and paper money.
We will give you good money-the free
coinage Of the silver dollar OF JACKSON,
jefferson and Washington, the silver dol
lar of 4l21a grains.
THE farmers will make dollar that will
stay at home. They don't want money
that will go abroad. That is what is the
matter with gold. This country needs an
independent financial system, an Ameri-
can system o. gold, silver and paper issued
by the government and not by the banks
You must reclaim the government and
take it from the grasp of the nonopolist,
under whose control 1t has become a plu-
tocracy This republic cannot be saved
unless there is virtue enough in the people
TO come to tho rescue u