The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-04-10

they will, for reasons before stated,
have q President adverse to these
measures who will kill them with his
veto, and we have no mean to treat
with you and no chance of uccess if
we should. The Lord might as well
be asked to surrender His church to
the devil as for you to ask a POpulist
to walk into either the Republican or
Democratic party to secur bimetal
lism. Neither of these parties are
friendly to it, nor can they ever be
made 80; and while you remain with
them we have no party to walk to and
must stand alone. The vote you are
casting counts in favor of the gold
power, even if you are in Colorado,
voting for silver Congressman, or silver
United States Senators you are fixing
your State for a gold President whose
veto will kill any free coinage bill for
silver, and the moral effect Of your
act, as it goes out of your silver States
into others is a direct slap in the face
to the only true party and friend you
have.
Both the old parties and Mr.. Cieve
land concede that bimetallism is right
by alleging that they want to s9e it e
stored as soon as the creditor nations
of Europe will permit us to restore it.
If it is not right we should not adopt
it with their permission; if it is right it
is as good to adopt without their per
mission as with it if we can maintain
it. Can we do this9 The evergrown
coward in the old party says no" Let
us reason together and see This is not
the first time we were ever called upon
to act Independently of England, and
in defiance of her wishes. For the
century prior TO 1775 Great Britain had
not only denied us representation, but
had forced us to trade with her, sub
jecting our ships and goods to seizure
and forfeiture if we attempted TO trade
with any other nation. Our fathers
formed leagues, pledging themselves
not t o eat or use anything that paid a
revenue to the British government,
and to make that pledge good, although
we numbered less than three millions
of people, they went upon British yes
sells and thre v their cargoes into the
sea, struck for liberty and indepen-
dence, and obtained it against the
power you now ask US 70 crouch be
fore.
In March, 1775, the Democratic and
Republican towards who were friendly
to the colonies in the same sense that
actual bimetallists who are now in the
Democratic and Republican parties are
friendly to silver, stood up in the house
of Burgesses of Virginia and said
don't strike for independence, but
wait and petition longer to the British
government" Patrick Henry, a Pop
ulist of his time, recounted how long
they had been sending petitions to the
British government for redress, the
same as we now point to you how you
have been seeking bimetallism for
twenty years through the old parties,
and we ask you as Patrick Henry
asked them, what have you to show
or to hope for at their hands2"
The men who opposed Patrick Henry
said: I'VE are too weak to Strike for
liberty and independence, the same as
Republicans and Democrats now tell
US, I'VE are too weak to go to bimetal
ism alone"
AS before stated we then had less
than three millions OF people, we now
have nearly seventy, a territory greater
than all Europe, and richer in natural
resources that 60 to sustain life and
create wealth, which territory is capa.
BILE of sustaining as large a population
as now inhabits Europe, and sOon will
have that many peOp.e. Can it be that
we thus bow before Western Europe
and still have inherited in our veins
the spirit of the revolutiOn2
When the towards of 1775 said I'VE
are unable to cope with Great Britain"
Patrick Henry ans wered: when will
we be strOnger7 Will it be the next
week or the next years Shall we gather
strength from irresOlutiOn and inaction,
and when a British guard shall be sta
toned in every house3"
Applying his reasoning to the condi-
tons now we ask, when will we be
better prepared to go t bimetallism
alone than we are now9 Will it be one
or ten years hence9 Will it be when
the gold grip shall have reduced the
price OF wheat to Is cents a bushel and
cotton to 5 cents a pound and every
thing else in proportion? Every debtor