Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1895-03-28
CONFERENCE COMMENTS.

| CONF FERENCE COMMENTS.
J rIe Time Has Arrived to Present to the
People the Grsndost Monetary System
Ever Conceived.
What was accomplished at the ST..
Louis conference9 is the inquiry Of
populists everywhere. Lack of space
prevents my giving list of the promi-
nent persons present, but / can tell
you what the personnel Of the confer
ence was.
There were two bodies Of populists
in session at one time, one the national
committee with representatives from
more than forty states. The other,
the conference, was not delegate
body, but an assemblage Of party work
ers brought together by the invitation
of Chairman Taubeneck.
The national committee was a much
more representative body than the con-
ference, as nearly every state was rep
resented, either in person or by proxy,
while in the conference large numbers
were present from the states adjacent
to Missouri.
1t was also notice able that the COM
mittee was much more conservative
than the conference. This was due to
the fact that there were in the confer
ence many socialistic populists, who
freely presented their views, not for
getting the tenth plank" of the social
lists; and were we to incorporate in our
next national platform all the schemes
that were urged for adoption at this
conference, it would be yard long.
TIE conference was in session during
the entire two days, and devoted itself
to speech-making upon every phase of
reform possible to conceive.
The national committee devoted tho
afternoon and evening of the first day
to listening to the speeches and sug-
gestions made by members of the con-
ference, so as to gain a consensus of
opinion as to the needs of each state.
There was roll call of states, and one
representative from each told what
was being accomplished, after which,
with these suggestions in view, the ma
tional committee went into an execu-
tive session the next forenoon, after
noon and evening, which resulted in
the issuance of an address, the adop-
ton of plan of organization and the
establishment of bureau for the of
fetal distribution of literature by the
committee.
The address was prepared by sub
committee of eleven, meeting in con-
junction with committee of six APP
pointed by the conference. 1t has the
true ring and strongly emphasizes the
necessity of an enlarged volume of the
circulating medium and declares that
the action of President Cleveland and
the secretary of the treasury in at
tempting to transfer our currency sup
ply into the hands of the banks exclu-
sively, and of making gold alone le-
gal tender, forces the money question
to the front as an issue Of the first inn
portance which must be met at once.
1t condemns the issuing of bonds and
calls for the restoration of silver to the
position it occupied prior to 1873, re-
gardless Of the policy of other nations.
1t denounces the fostering of all mo-
nopolies, and the pooling bill, recon-
mending in its stead that congress pro-
coed to bring all the railroads under
government ownership.
It censures the sending Of United
States troops into states without con-
sulting the state authorities
1t calls for the immediate organiza-
ton of an educational campaign by our
national, state and local committees.
In adopting a plan for organization
the committee almost unanimously in
dorsed the industrial legion and recon-
mepded the organization of legions
everywhere, suggesting that these be
called peoples party clubs, peoples
party legions or industrial legions, ac-
cording to the existing conditions in
different localities.
A resolution was also adopted con-
corning the ballot box outrages in the
the south, and q committee of three
appointed to bring the matter before
congress.
Because of misrepresentation which
arose previous to the convention, many
persons went to it thinking an effort
would be made to force the movement
upon the silver plank alone. 1 myself
was deceived in this respect and went
TO the conference for the purpose of
opposing such attempt To do this
would be quite as unwise as to add
everything to our platform; but on ar
irving at the conference 1 found the
silver bugaboo did not materialize and
that the danger lay not in this direc-
ton, but rather that the pendulum was
likely to swing to the other extreme.
This conference made it apparent to
all that there are to-day in our party
two elements, and that great transit
ton is in progress; one element tending
towards socialism and the other to-
wards greater conservatism; hence the