Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1894-10-05
THEPOPULISTPARTY

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WHAT IT is AND OF WHAT ELE-
j.. ...,=-5 MENTs COMPOSED.
Principles Of the Party as Formulated at
Omaha, St. Louis and Ocala-Objections
to This OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Glass Of Citi-
Gems Arrayed Against Another.
The fact that this party has been able
to elect governors and legislatures in
several states and to secure several SEN
ators and members of the house of rep
reseptatives in congress gives it a right
to be considered as a factor in politics
which must be taken into account by
the old and dominant parties.
So far as it has conference, this new
party is composed Of the Farmers ALI
ance, Knights Of Labor and other bodies
supposed to be organized to promote the
interests of the industrial classes'' in
opposition to the '*capitalist and en-
ploying classes, " together with the dis
satisfied elements of all classes.
The principles of this party, as for
INFLATED by its national convention at
Omaha July 4, 1892, at the St. Louis
and Ocala conventions and other author
lied utterances, seems to be these:
First-That the nation is on the verge
of moral, political and material ruin be-
cause Of corruption at the ballot box, in
the legislatures and congress and on the
bench, all resulting from legislation by
the two old parties in the interest of
the rich and reducing the masses to pow
erty and suffering. The remedy pro.
posed for this is:
Second-The permanent and perpet-
ual union Of the labor forces of the
United States in a political party for the
purpose Of electing public officers of all
grades who hold to and will carry out
their principles.
Third-Governmental ownership and
control Of the means for the creation,
conservation and distribution Of wealth.
How far this is to go is not yet fully
determined. The nationalists would in
clude lands, houses, factories, stores and
everything else, abolishing money and
having all things in common. But the
general mass seem to be content with
governmental ownership of railroads,
telegraphs and such like means of COM
munication and the establishment Of
governmental savings banks, loan Offices
and other means Of taking care of and
distributing money. Many of the utter
ances under this head are so crude and
contradictory that exact statement is i'm
possible.
Fourth-Demand is made for the free
and unlimited coinage of gold and sill
yer at the ratio Of to 16; of circulate
ing medium of not less than $50 per
head of population; of the issue Of gov
eminent notes, to be a full legal tender
for all debts and demands, public and
private, to be loaned by the government
to the people on land or other security
at 2 per cent interest per annum.
Fifth-Like other platforms, there
are declarations concerning current
questions, temporary, and which cannot
be held as permanent principles, and
many declarations which are simply the
common utterances Of all parties. No
attempt will be made to state these.
The three fundamental principles Of
the party seem to be CD the political
organization of the industrial classes to
control elections; (2) large extension
Of governmental ownership and control
of industrial forces; 81 large supply
OF government money, with direct issue
to the people who want it.
Objections to This Party.
The objections which present them
selves to- this party and it's demands are:
First-That, being based on an as
sumption Of the poverty and restitution
Of the masses, it is in danger of becom-
ing an organized attack on all rights of
private property and must end in an
archy or communism. No one should
enter the party who is not prepared to
follow it to one or the other of these
conclusions.
Second-That, being an attempt to
organize one class of citizens against
another class, laborers against capital
lists, it must lead to more pronounced
conflicts, aggravate all the evils of Or
ganiZed lockouts and strikes and tends
to civil war-not to peace.
Third THAT, being based on charges
of universal corruption and fraud, it
tends to break down all confidence Of
man in man and begets the very corrup-
ton it charges in it's own followers as
well as others. Evil grows in him who
evil thinks. The short experience of
this party already demonstrates it's de-
influence.
Fourth-That, while charging uni
versal corruption upon all branches Of
the government, national and state, it
proposes to infinitely multiply the
and rewards Of corruption by
multiplying the governmental control Of
the production and distribution of
wealth. When public officers are
charged with the creation, loaning and