The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1894-03-22
Pure DEMOCRACY.
PEOPLES PARTY rLaTFoRs 4.
Adopted at the Omaha Conference Of
Iaboring People, } My 3. 1924

+ Adopted at the Omaha Conference Of
Laboring People, My :, 1929.
/ Assembled upon the one hundred
and sixteenth anniversary of the
declaration Of independence, the
/ PEOPLES party OF America, IN their
/ firs1 national convention. invoking
! upon their action the blessing OF
/ Almighty God, puts forth IN the
name and on behalf of the people
sf this country, the following pre-
amble and declaration of principles:
The conditions which surround US
I best justify our cooperation. e
meet IN the midst of nation brought
10 the verge of moral, political and
material ruin. Con upton dominates
the ballot box, the legislatures. the
congre IS, and touches even the ~
mine of the bench. The people are
demorhzed. Most of the State have
been compelled to isolate the voters
at the polling places TO prevent uni
versal intimidation or bribery. The
newspapers are largely subsidized or
muzzeled, public opinion sllenced
! business Frustrated, our homes
| covered with mortgage abOr I'M
poverlshsd, and the land concentrate
/ ing III the hands of the capitalists.
/ The urban workmen are denied the
| right of organization for self-prOtec-
ton; imported pauperized labor
beats down their wages; a hirelIng
standing army, unrecognlzed by our
! laws, is established to shoot them
down, and they are rapidly degener-
ating into European conditions. The
fruits of the toll of millions are
bodily stolen to build up colossal
! fortunes for few, unprecedented
in the history of mankind, and the
possessors of these, in turn, despise
the republic and endanger liberty.
From the same prolific mode of gov
ernmental injustice We breed the
! lionaires.
The national power to create
money Is appropriated to enrich
bondholders. a vast public debt
payable in legal tender currency has
been funded into gold bearing
bonds, thereby adding millions to
the burdens of the people.
THE OLD PARTIES ARRAIGNED.
Silver which has been accepted as
coin since the dawn of history, has
| been demOnetiZed to add to the
purchasing power of gold by de-
creasing the value of All forms Of
property, as well as human labor,
and the supply of currency is pur-
posely abridged to fatten usurers,
bankrupt enterprises and enslaye
industry. A vast conspiracy against
mankind has been organized on two
continents and is rapidly taking pos
session of the world. If not met and
overthOrwn at once it forebodes ter
rlble social commissions, the destruc-
ton of civilization, or the establish
ment OF an absolute despotism.
We have witnessed for more than
century the struggles of the two
great political parties FOR power and
plumber, while grievious wrongs
have been inflicted upon the suffer
ing people. We charge that the
controlling influences dominating
both these parties have permitted
the exising dreadful conditions to
develop without serious effort to
prevent or refrain them. Neither do
they now promise us any substa tial
reform. They have agreed together
to ignor IN the coming campaign
every issue but one. They propose
to drown the outcries of plundered
people with the uproar of a sham
battle over the tariff, so that capt.
tallsts, corporations, national banks,
ring, trust, watered stock, the de-
mOnetiZation at silver and the op-
pressions of the usurers may all be
lost sight of. They propose to sac
rlhce our homes, wives and children
on the alter of Mammon; to destroy
the multitude in order to secure cor
ruptlon funds from the million
| aries.
Assembled on the anniversary of
the birthday of the nation, and filled
with the spirit of the grand genera
ton who established our ipdepend-
ence, we seek to restore the govern
ment of the republic to the hands of
1.-THE plain people," with which class
1t originated.