The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1894-10-26

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the two old parties in tho interest of
the rich and reducing tho masses topov-
erty and suffering. Tho remedy pro-
posed for this is:
Second-The permanent and perpet-
ual union of the labor forces of the
United States in political party for the
purpose of electing public officers of all
grades who hold to and will carry out
their principles.
Third-Governmen 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 IS; of a circulat-
ing medium of not less than $50 per
head of populations; of the issue of gov
eminent notes, to be full legal tender
for all debts and demands, public and
fc hn Nv
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 (D the political
organization of the industrial classes to
control elections; (2) large extension
of governmental ownership and control
of industrial forces; (3) 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 its demands are:
First-That, being based OH 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 OH 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 its own followers as
well as others. Evil grows in him who
evil thinks. Tho short experience of
this party already demonstrates its de-
moraliZing influence.
Fourth-That, while charging uni
versal corruption upon al branches of
the government, national and state, il
proposes to infinitely multiply the
means and rewards of corruption by
multiplying the governmental control Of
the production and distribution of
wealth. When public officers arc
charged with the creation, loaning and
collecting of almost unlimited amounts
of money, with the owning and manage
ment of enterprises requiring the en-
ployment and discharge Of hundreds Of
thousands of men, where will be the
limit of peculation and fraud? If we
cannot have honest officers with the
present very limited temptations and
means of stealing, what can we expect
with the unlimited opportunities pro-
posed? Human nature will be the same,
and results must be in proportion to the
means offered.
Fifth-The scheme Of governmental
ownership Of the means Of intercourse
and transportation seems impracticable
from the financial standpoint. These are
AoW PAoPoi1y VI pllNaeo OWuels, auu
there seems to be but two ways in which
the government can acquire them. One
is to purchase them. But the govern
ment has no money to buy with and can
get none except by some form of taxa
ton. If it should buy them ON credit,
it would create a national debt many |
times greater than the war debt, and
that debt would have to be represented |
by promises to pay" and to pay both |
principal and interest onerous taxes |
must be levied. This property, then,
cannot be honestly acquired but by Gre
ating an immense debt, to be paid by
ourdensome taxation for generations.
The other means of acquiring this prop
'rty is "confisoation. But there is no
eason why this kind of property should
20 confiscated any more than any other.
c was lawful property when its owners
invested in it, and they have the same
moral and lawful right to it that the
armer has to his land, the merchant to
lis goods and the mechanic to his tools.
Besides the constitution is in the way,
or that declares that private property