The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1894-06-21

There can hardly be a doubt that had
we arrived at our present feeling In
national affairs without our exberien-
ces of the past four years In State poll.
tics, we should be clamoring for q
new party of all those who wish to
check this legislation in tho interest of
the few moneyed men of the country,
and consequently against the great
middle and lower classes and against
whcle geographical sections. We would
take our stand against the enemies of
our State and the enemies of the hon
ent masses Of the people Of the United
States. We should put life into the
hackneyed phrases, "government for
the people" and equal rights to all,
special privileges to none." We should
point with pride and threatening warn
ing to the fact that we of the South
are the true modern representatives of
the heroes of the revolution; that the
population of the NORTH, In large meas
ufe foreignized, or else rendered unfit
for responsible and beneficial govern
ment by the abasement of Individuality
consequent upon the modern trend Of
the politics Of great municipalities,
may be willing to submit to the rule of
their favored few, but that we are not
OF the stuff to submit to being longer
made their slaves by the subversian of
the general govern ment. We should
welcome the assistance of the West
and OF the bold-spirited and uncor-
rupted, though somewhat ignorant or
cratic primitive classes Of all sections
IN righteous fight to settle the ques-
tion.
Upon what meat doth this, our
Caesar, feed that he Is grown 50 great ?"
Alat! does not truth compel the re-
cognition Of this as very much the DO.
sit1on of great organization Of the
agricultural masses of the last few
years? We saw no justification for
their position when they took it, we
saw much to condemn in the extremes
to which they seemed to be going; we
tried to suppress their Gun called for"
rebellion; we felt righteous disapproba.
t1on or them; we became prejudiced
against them; we shall never find it
easy to say that they were right and
we were wrong, or even that they we're
partly right and we partly wrong. 1t
Is human nature: "Can ANYTHING good
come out Of Nazareth ?"
Honesty compels the following con-
cesslon to those to whom we least ex-
pected over to concede anything:
Q) We felt secure in the ship of State
except tor the tariff leakage, to which
alone were we aroused. The Farmers
Alliance movement first sounded the
alarm that called attention to our Fl.
nancial laws as bringing us to the verge
of wreck. Yet little heed was paid till
we were caught in the whirlpool, and
cries from all sides then so drowned
the first note OF warning that few gave
the credit Of 1t to a source so "unwOr-
thy'of recognition" Who of our fac
tion appreciated the need of more
money, of elastic money, of local money
as bearing upon the prosperity of our
section-the depression Of business en-
terprise2 1t was all new to uB, we had
not studied 1T and we ridiculed those
who, though not as we'll educated as
we, prated of it so learnedly and conf.
IDENTIFY. "1tespectabe" authorities are
everywhere now pressing these three
points.
Who of us knew the relation of
money" to commodities and to gold
and silver, the robbery Of debtors as
we'll as creditors that results from a
variation Of these relations, the fact
that gold had appreciated as much as
silver had deprecated, that our gov
erhment had let "monev" appreciate
with gold, and thathence with the gold
standard the debtors are being robbed
fully as much as they would rob"
creditors II "mOOey" were deprecated
to the basis Of silver by Its free coin
age2 If robbing must be done there
would he less cruelty in inficting it
upon creditors. The masses of debtors
who seemed to wish thus to retaliate
might be reasoned with and urged to
go no further than securing justice, but
they should not have been goaded with
denial of the truth or their contention
that they are victims and with epithets
for wishing to make the "other fello VS.
change places with them. In their just
| and desperate determination to get
themselves out they are excusable for
| not first deVisipg absolute safeguards
against employing means that might
get them out at the expense of Others
especially when they believe those 9th
ers have put them in the hole.
(2) Who of US thought of the income
tax until brought to the front by those
| people? If 1t and certnin other ap.
proved new demands were heartily car
ried out by the Democrats, our party
would have gotten all the credit (the
poor pioneers being lost sight ofD and
proved itself the peoples party, leaving
no room for the "People's party" The
income tax has been shown by Mills to
be intrinsically just, but its happening
to bear chiefly upon certain sections
and classes renders 1T peculiarly right
at this time, to offset In measure the
streams Of money that have flowed and
will flow from South to North by pen
sions, from poor to rich by protection
| t0 Those who have charged that
dealing in futures causes a combination
of capital to fix prices and injure the
producer and Is also means Of cor.
ruptlng legislation, and that tn money
power wWall streeL'D does consciously
and systematically machinate against
the people in insidious ways are no lon.
ger to be regarded as "fools" charging
"absurdities." We now approve these
sentiments coming from other lips.
-. Q The warning against Cleveland as
the tool Of Wall street." though at the
Time Indignantly resented by us all as
not only slander but gratuitous in
suit to noble man, has been justified
hy time; and, though we may not en-
dorse the 1nstnuation Of turDitudp. we
owe recognition to the pro phetic Insight
ana the courage. OF those "infamous
| (6) There ia anonoh -