The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1894-09-27
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
The Two Old Parties Are COMPANIONS
in Crime.

Conventions of the two old parties
which have been held up to date unite
in reaffirming their platforms of 1892,
without any attempt on their part at
defining what either of those verbose
literary productions will be held to
mean when constructed by members
of their respective parties, should the
people decide to give either of them
the power in congress to crystalize
their meaning into law. Recent ex
periences furnish abundant evidence
that when the democratic party Of
1892 set forth in their national
platform a demand for an immediate
and substantial reduction of duties
thew meant only the shifting of
schedules and changing from al val
orem to specific, and vice versa, tax
ing the duty off the goods and placing
it on the boxes the goods come in.
Again, while in their platform Of 1892
they demanded free coinage of silver,
the votes of their representatives in
congress have demonstrated their
meaning to have been practical demo
netization by ceasing the coinage al
together.
Again while their platform of 1892
demanded the repeal Of the bank tax,
their congressman after the people ele-
ected them gave US another object les
son by voting no on a resolution to re-
peal it. Verify 1t Is indeed an unsoph
isticated intelligence, anda conGding
nature that could be again inveiglcd
into trusting further pledges from such
a source.
AS TO the meaning of that other
confusion of terms, which the various
republican conventions are reailiring
with such unanimity, and dignified
by the title Of a national platform,
contrlved by bankers and trust mani
pulators IN 1892, and repudlated by
thelpeople at the polls in the follow
ing election, it is only necessary to
state that it would bc Interesting to
have them explain just how an in
crease in duties and consequent far
ther restriction of imports, can re-
lieve Americas wage carners or bust
ness men, when it is considered that
our imports were very materially less
the past year than our exports. rhe
fact is our merchants could not sell
either foreign or domestic goods for
the reason that their patrons-the con-
sumcrs-could not dispose of their
products or labor in sufficient quaint
ty, or at such prices as would enable
them to purchase. This inability to
sell on the part of the consumer was
in turn caused by the inability of the
employers of labor to obtain money
to carry on their various enterprises
encept o. such terms as would make
final bankruptcy the outcome of their
efforts, No ranker or more villainous
sophism ever emanated from the
brains of clown or knave in all the
ages that the buy-without-selling lift.
yoursclf-over-the- fence-by-your- boot
straps logic by the aid of which Sher.
man, Aldrlch, Reed and Mckinley are
attempting to again ride into power.
Regarding their mouthinss about
money they prove but hollow mock
cry. When it is understood that the
enormous losses suffered by the com.
mercial interests of the people of this
nation for the last year were made
possible only by the votes of Johr
Sherman and % republicans in the
United States senate, when they re
pealed the purchase clause of the sill
yer coinage act Of 1890, without sub
stitut;ng free coinage therefor thei,
efforts to turn states evidence
against their partners in crime, Cleve
land. Voorhees, 4 Co.. must prov,
abortive for in 1928 with congress
AMI the executive, did not the republi
cans lei by John Sherman demonetiz,
the white metal, by making no provi