The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1894-01-26
PEOPLES PARTY PLATFORM.
The Preamble.

lOo, IN their hrSt national convention, IN.
voking upon their action the blessing OF
Almighty God, puts forth, IN the name and
on behalf of the people Of this country, the
following preamble and declaration of prln-
Diples:
The conditions which surround US best
Jus lily our cooperation. We meet in the
midst of nation brought TO the verge Of
moral, political aud material ruin. Cor
suptiOn dominates the ballO;-bOx, The egis-
latures, the COM ress, AID touches even the
srmIne Of the bench. The people are de-
mOralized; most Of the states have been
compelled to isolate the voters at thu poi,-
Ing places 70 prevent universal intim da-
ton or briberE.
The newspapers are largely subsidized or
muzZIed: public Op nipn sileiced; business
pr 8 rated; our homes covered with mott
gag, =; labor Impoverished, and The lad
euncen'r aiDg IN the hands OF capitalists.
The urban workmen ar denied The right
of Grga iza,lnn for self-protec,ion; I'M
porte pauper led lahpr bats down their
wages; hireiing Hi.iiti.ng army, unrec"g-
niZed by our laws, s establi>h he'd to Sh, OF
tn III 4 wn. and they are rapidly degeJier-
q IN IN 0 Eur pean condi'i MS. The fiuIs
ln. toll # m lliuns are b idly o.en o
,,siiid up colo sal fortunes for few, ul-
p &c den I'd in tie his DRY OF mank nd and
the possrs sOrs of hese. in turn, desplss
the r,ublc and e, ger liberty. From
the sam pro itc womb OF gOvernmen al in
ius &c We br.s d two great elias ~es-. ramps
and M lliOnalres.
II National power 10 create money il
appropr ated 10 enr Oh bondholders; vast
pubic debt. payabl. legal tender cur
rency has cen funded into gold bearing
bonds. t ereby adding millions to the bur-
dens Of the people.
81 YER, which has been accepted as coin
SINCE he dawn of his ory, has been d. mon
,Zed to add tn the purchasing power OF
gold. by decreasing the value OF all forms
of property as we'll as human labor, and
the supply OF currency 10 purposeIy
q rldged 10 fatten usure, ., bankrupt en- ar
prise and enslave industry. A vast con-
yp racy axainsg mankind has been organ.
lied on two continents, and is rapidly TAX
Ing possess ION of the world. Ii not met
d Overthr0wn at ouce. 1t iorebodes terri
BILE social CONFUSION, the uestruc ion Of
CAPT ajiza ion. or the establishment of an
abs,.iu'e despOtism. We have witnessed
tor more than quarter Of century he
rugg rs OF the TWO great political parties
for power, while grinvOns wrongs have
been inflicted upon the suffering eopie. :.
We charge that the controlling jnflu-
ences DONNA Ing both these parties bave
permitted the exist ng dr. adfui cond Ons
to develop VIII hOuI serious effort 10 prevenI
or res ram them. Neither do thsy SOW
promise US any subs an ial reform IN. They
have agreed together to ignore in the com
ing campa On every issue but enc. They
propose 10 drown the cutlery OF plundered
people with the uproar of sham battle
over The tart, 20 that capital, corporations,
ma iOnai banks, trusts, watered stock, he
dem; ne,iza iOE Il silver and the Oppress-
ing of the usurers may be lost sight VI.
They pr pose to sacr fee our homes, lives
ard children on the altar OF Mammon; to
des roy the&mul,itude in order to secure
corruption from the mllIiOnaireA
Assembled on the versary of the
BIZ! hday of the nation, Aid filed VITA the
sp,ri, Vt the grand generation who estab-
llShed our Independence, we seek 10 re-
store the government OF the republ c t. the
hands OF :The plain people, with whose
ciass vt originated. We assert our pur-
poses 10 10 identica with the purposes Of
the national cons tuition; form a more
perfect utrion. establish justice, insure do
nestle tranquility. provide for the COM
tn0a detvnse, promote general welfare and
secure the BLESSINGS Of liberty for our.
selves and our pos Gritty.
W. declare thai this republic can only
endure as free government, while bnilt
upon the love Of the whole people for each
other and tor the ma ION; that it cannot be
pinned together by the bayOnet; tina, the
civil war is over and that every passion
and resentment which grew out of it mus.
die with it and that we must in fact as we
are In name, be one united brotherhood Of
freemen.z -i'
Our country finds itself confronted BY
conditions fnr which there il no Drec-den
IN this world; our annual agricultural pro-
auctions amount to billions OF dollars in
value. which mus: wi HIN . few weeks or
months be exchanged for billions # dol ars
Of commodities consumed in their produc-
ton; the existing currency supply 10
0hOllY inadpOu .te to make thil exchange.
the results are falling prices. the formation
Of combines and rings, the Impeachment
Of the producing class. We pledge our
selves that II given the power, we will
labor to project these evils by wise and
reasonable Iesisla ion, in accordance with