The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-01-31
PEOPLES PLATFORM
~ Omaha, Neb.. July 4. 1892.
Corruption Dominates the
Ballot-Box. the Legisla.
lures, Congress.


lures. Congress.
Assembled upon the one hundred
and sixteenth anniversary Of the
Declaration Of Independence, the
peoples party Of America, in their
arst national convention, invoking
upon their action the blessing of Al
mighty God, puts forth in the name
and on behalf of the people of the
country the following preamble and
declaration Of principles:
The conditions which surround us
test justify our cooperation; we
meet in the midst of a nation
brought to the verge of moral. polit-
zeal and material ruin. Corruption
dominates the ballot box, the 1egis-
latures, the congress- and touches
even the ermine on the bench. The
people are demOralized; most of the
states have been compelled to isolate
the voters at the polling places to
prevent universal intimidation or
bribery. The newspapers are largely
subsidized or muzzled public opinion
1llenced, business Frustrated, our
PONIES covered with mortgages, labor
Impoverished, and the land concen-
erating in the hands of the capital
1sts. The urban workmen are de-
1led the right of organization for
8slf-prOtectiOn; imported pauperized
labor beats down their wages; hire
ung army, unrecognized by our law,
y established to shoot them down
fnd they are rapidly degenerating
INTO European conditions. The
fruits Of the toll of millions are bod
w stolen to build up colossal for
tunes for a few, unprecedented in
che history Of mankind, and the pos
SCISSORS Of these in turn despise the
republic and endanger liberty. From
the same prolific womb of govern
mental injustice we breed the two
great clasSes-tramps and million
2ires.
The national power to create mon
~ is appropriated to enrich bond
holders; vast public debt, payable
legal tender currency, has been
funded into gold-bearing bonds,
thereby adding millions to the bur-
lens Of the people.
Silver, which has been accepted as
fotn since the dawn of history, has
been demonetized to add to the pur-
yhasing power Of gold, by decreasing
Che value Of all forms of property as
we'll as human labor, and the supply
Qf currency is purposely abridged to
htten usurers, bankrupt enterprise,
end enslave industry. A vast con-
1piracy against mankind has been or
1anized on two continents and it is
Rapidly taking possession of the
world. Ii not met and OverthrOwn
ct once it fOrebOdes terrible social
eonvulsions, the destruction of civil
t4ation, or the establishment of an
absolute despotism. We nave wit
messed for more than quarter OF a
century the struggles Of the two
great political parties for power and
3under, while grievous wrongs have
been inflicted upon the suffering peo-
PIE. We charge that the controlling
parties have permitted the existing
Dreadful conditions to develop,
without serious effort to prevent or
restrain them.
Neither do they now promise us
eay substantial reform. They have
agreed together to ignore, in the
enc They propose to drown the out
sries of plundered people with the
uproar Of a sham battle over the tar
IL, 80 that capitalists, corporations,
national banks, rings, trusts, watered
stock, the decentralization of silver,
and the expressions of the usurers
may all be lost sight Of. They pro-
pose to sacrifice our homes, lives and
children on the altar of mammOn; to
destroy the multitude in order to Sc
cure corruption funds from the mil
honaiers. Assembled on the anniver-
gary of the birthday Of the nation,
and filled with the spirit Of the grand
general in chief, who established
tQr independence, we seek to restore
the government of the republic to
the hands of "the plain people,"
with whose class it originated. We
assert our purposes to be Identical
With the purpose of the national con-
stitution, to form a more perfect
,Qnion and establish justice, insure
domestic tranquility, provide for the
sQmmon defense, promote the gener-
81 welfare, and secure the blessings
~ liberty for ourselves and our pos
'terity.
We declare that this republic can
saly endure as free government
While built upon the love of the
whole people for each other and for
NE nation; that it cannot be pinned
together by bayonets, that the civil
var is over and that every passion
and resentment which grew out of it
must die with it, and that we must
10 in fact, as we are in name, one
united brotherhood. Our country
ends itself confronted by conditions
Tor which there is no precedent in
the history of the world. Our
annual agricultural productions
amount to billions of dollars in
value, which must within few
weeks or months be exchanged for
Billions of dollars of commodities
consumed in their production; the ex-
listing currency supply is wholly in
adequate to make this exchange.
The results are falling prices, the
formation of combines and rings,
the impoverishment of the produc-
ing class. We pledge ourselves that
II given power we will labor to cor
rect these evils by wise and reason
able legislation in accordance with
the terms of our platform.
We believe that the powers OF gov
arnment-in other words. OF the DeO-