The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-11-14
PEOPLES !PRATroRM
ADOPTED BY THE CONVENTION

AT Omaha, Neb., July 4, 1S92.-Cor.
ruption Dominstee the Ballot
Box, the Legislatures,
| and the Congress.
| s !. $;
81 VI
| Assembled upon. thd one hundred
and sixteenth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence, the Peo-
national convention, invoking upon
their action the blessings of Almighty
| 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
best Justify our cO-ope ration; we meet
In the midst of a nation brought to
the verge of moral ruin. Corruption
! dominates the ballot box, the legisla-
lures, 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 silenced;
business prostrated;our homes covered
with mortgages: labor impoverished;
and the land concentrating in
the hands Of the capitalists.
The urban workmen are denied the
tiOn; imported pauperiZed labor beats
down their wages; hireling army, I'M
recognized by our law, is established
to shoot them down; and they are
rapidly degenerating into European
conditions. The fruits Of the toll Of
millions are bodily stolen to build up
colossal fortunes for few, unprece-
denied in the history of mankind, and
| the pOssessOrS of these in turn deSpise
the republic and endanger liberty.
From the same prolific womb of gov
ernmental injustice we breed the two
great classes-tramps and million
aires.
| The national power to create money
Is appropriated to enrich bondholders;
/ vast public debt, payable in legal
tender currency, has been funded into
gold-bearing bonds thereby adding
millions to the burdens of the people.
| Silver, which has been accepted as
coin since the dawn of history, has
been demonetized to add to the pur-
chasing power OF gold, by decreasing
the value OF all forms Of property, as
we'll as human labor. and the supply Of
currency is purposely abridged to fat
| ten uSurerS, bankrupt enterprise, and
enslave industry. A vast conspiracy
against mankind has been organized
| on two continents, and it is rapidly
| taking possession-of-the world. If
! not met and oveEthrQWn at once it
| forebodes terrible focal commissions,
the destruction of.eiTliz ation, or the
establishment of hh absolute despot-
| ism. We have Witnessed for more
than quarter of ascentury the strug-
giles of the two great political parties
| for power and pluHde&, while grievous
wrongs have beensinficted upon the
suffering people. -,Wescharge that the
controlling Influences dominating both
these parties have permitted the ex-
! listing dreadful cona itibns to develope,
without serious effort to prevent or
restrain them.
Neither do they noYlp promise US any
substantial reform; They have agreed
e tSgssxs e. hut t5s comics Tbeg
propose to droWnsthe otltcries Of plum
dered people will the uproarofa sham
battle over the tariff; so that capital
lists, corporations, national banks,
! rings, trusts, watered stock, the de-
monetizatio of silver, and the oppres-
/ siOnS of the uSurerS may all be lost
sight of. They propose to sacrifice our
| homes, lives and children on the altar
of Mammon; to destroy the multitude
| in order to secure corruption funds
from the millionaires. Assembled on
the anniversary of the birthday of the
nation, and filled with the spirit of the
grand generation of men, who estab-
4 lished our ependence, we seek to re-
store the government OF the REPUBLIC
| to the hands of "the plain people"
with whose class it originated. We as
sert our purposes to be identical with
| the purpose of the national constitu-
tion:-''to form more perfect union
| esta blish justice, insure domestic
tranquility, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare,
| and secure the blessing Of liberty for
ourselves and our posterity."
We declare that this republic can on.
! ly endure as free government while
| built upon the love Of the whole people
/ for each other and for the nation; that
/ it cannot be pinned together by bay
| onets, that the civil war Is over and
! that every passion and resentment
which grew out of it must die with it;
and that we must be in fact, as we are
| in name, one united brotherhood. Our
country finds itself confronted by con-
ditions for which there is no precedent
in the history Of the world. Our an
nual 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 pro-
duction; the existing currency sup
ply is wholly inadequate to make this
exchange. The results are falling
prices, the formation of combines and
| rings, and the impoverishment of the
producing class We pledge ourselves
| that if given power we will labor to
correct these evils by wise and reason
able legislation, in accordance with the
terms of our platform.
We believe that the powers of gov
ernment-in other words, of the peO-
ple-should be expanded (as in the
case of the postal seftice)as rapidly and
as far as the good sense Of an intelli-
gent people, and the teachings of ex-
perience, shall justifF$to the end that
oppression, injustice and poverty shall
eventually cease i9. tks land.
While our sympathieS as party of
reform are naturally upon the side Of
every proposition which will tend to
make men intel.Eeh*, virtuous and
temperate, we hbvHtheless regard