The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-12-25

Democratic maladministration, be-
trayal of popular confidence, and per
version of the peoples government to
the use and advantage of a destructive
money trust and TO other monopolies.
We sympathize with the oppressed
everywhere; but we are Opposed to. all
lawless combinations of men, whether
representing capital or labor. We be-
lieve in peace and strict obedience to
law. We are opposed to strikes as
tending to infractions of the law, as
wrong in principle, and condemn them
as we do the unlawful and unprose
cuted combinations of capital against
which they contend. We urge upon
labor the wise use of the ballot as the
only ~peaceable solution of the grave
conditions that confront our social
progress, conditions which cannot be
converted into social peace except on
the basis of social righteousness,
IL. For thirty years riotous living,
debauchery and shameless disregard
for the rights of the people has been
the rule rather than the exception at
Washington. The present administra-
ton, the present Senate and Congress,
seems to be composed largely of men
who are outstripping their pre- decessors.
Some of them are old timers, and their
new associates have caught the intec
ton The money power, whiskey,
sugar and other monopOlies are repre-
sented in the Cabinet and in both
Houses of Congress. At present we
have a government of, for and by
trusts and monopclies. In striking
contrast to the above we point with
pride to the clean records made by u
little band of Peoples party Senators
and Congressman. Always at the post
of duty, never arrested to make a quo
rum, unselfish, fearless, incorruptible,
like true Spartans, they have stood by
their pledges to a man. With this
record in our favor we assert that
honesty in politics is not an iridescent
dream" and can invite all who earnest
ly desire good government to leave
their monopoly ridden parties and help
us to fill our National Legislative halls
with honest statesmen.
IL. We favor the running of the pub
lie schools of our State at least four
months in each year as required by our
Constitution, for both races, in order
that the blessings of education may be
extended to all the people of our State
alike.
10 We condemn the Democratic ad
ministration of North Carolina for it's
failure to execute the anti trust laws
now on our statute books, also for the
failure to prosecute the officers of
broken banks through whose criminal
c~arelessness and dishonesty large
amounts of both public and private
funds have been lost and our citizens,
widows and orphans have been made
to stuff r.
IA We favor the establishment Of a
State institution for the reformation of
young criminals.
III We COAOC14A NHO IdSJ OOLCld Oh
Assembly of the State for it's lavish
and reckless waste of the peoples mon
ey, and for it's failure to collect the
back taxes due and collectable for Ger
tain railroad corporations in the State,
and unjust discrimination against other
corporations.
Is We condemn the election meth
DDS resOrted to in certain counties and
ton of 1892, concocted and executed
by the Democratic machine of the
State, by which thousands o. citizens
who lad voted for years under the same
administration were deprived of their
suffrage, by which ballots of the Peo-
PIES party after being delivered TO
poll holders to be properly deposited
were destroyed in bull pens" and
other dark hole voting places, and bal
lots for the Democratic party were sub
stituted; by which false returns were
made; by which county canvassing
boards, with autocratic power, threw
out many townships which gave ma
~jorities for the Peoples party, to such
an extent as toput in power a minority
party. Such party is unfit to govern.
Such a party is an irresponsible des-
potism bottomed on fraud and all good
citizens shonld strive to defeat and
crush it. We favor such changes in
our present election law and election
machinery as will take from the party
in power the absolute control of the
suffrages of all of our people, We con