Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1895-06-05
A TIMELY WARNING.
RINGING LETTER FROM PAUL
VAN DERVOORT.
the Campaign of 1896 - Populiste
Must Get Move on Them.

I desire to call the attention of our
people to the fact that it will be ut
terly impossible for the so-called Amer
lean bimetallic party to gain a stand
ing before the country under the ballot
laws of many states suf-
hcient to even give them
a place on the ticket in 1896. In
Mr.. Sibley's own state it would be inn
possible. There is no election this year
that will enable them TO poll the per-
centage of votes required Under these
ballot laws. Last fall the chairman of
the Illinois state committee of our
party had te have petitions prepared in
over half the counties III Illinois:
The Peoples party have overcome
all these obstacles. 1t has taken them
five years to do so. They now are
regular recognized national party under
the ballot laws in all our states.
Hence if a real honest 16 to 1 silver
man wants to vote for free silver he
must vote with the Peoples party. A
'epublican president, senate and house
Of representatives demonetized silver.
Republican senates and republican con-
crosses refused to restore 1t. A demo-
cratic president, senate and house or
representatives repealed the Sherman
act, and congress elected by 100 ma
iority for free coinage repealed the. last
act in its favor and refused to restore
free coinage at Is to /, II to 1, Is to l.,
19 to and 20 to l.
Any man, woman or child that will
trust the two old parties after their
perfidlous criminal record on the free
coinage of silver deserves to be enslaved
for all their lives.
1t being conceded that the American
bimetallic party cannot get legally be-
fore the people under our ballot laws
in time for the election of 1896, and it,
in my mind, being clear that its under
ground managers knows that, what was
it organized for?
Twelve men furnished platform,
kindly named the candidate for presi-
dent, and later have designated the
vice-president, and gravely invite all
the parties to disband and come into
their camp.
In my judgment the American BIZ
proclamation, and the st. Louis con-
ference, which it was intended should
also declare in favor of the same plat
form, were and are all parts of a
scheme to disrupt and destroy the Peo-
pies party and deliver it bound hand
and foot to the democratic party in
1896, whose convention will declare for
silver and whose congressman win sell
out silver as they did in 1898 and 1894
and all along the line since 1873.
II the Peoples party at st. Louis had
agreed to the same platform promul-
gated by the bimetallic party and silver
democratic congressman, we would
| have been out of job as party. AL
| these democratic state conventions and
! legislatures would have declared fol
| that platform, free silver and little
| of the money question, and then the
| howl would have gone up for the i'm
mediate dissolution of our party. The
| whole thing is trick. The effor. is tt
revive and resurrect dead and damned
| democracy and it behooves the People:
! party everywhere to be on their guard
to organize the Legion at once in every
precinct, and show all these silver con
sarts that the only sure way to a*in Il
i to come into the Peoples party ant
vote for the only platform that desiare
in favor of the free and unlimited coin
age Of silver at 16 to 1.
If you want to be destroyed, run over
betrayed and sold just lie dormant an,
you will be delivered. If you are mel
determined to be free and crush Dotl
the old parties and knock out traitor
from your own ranks begin at once ant
! get ready for business.
PAUL VAN DERvooRT.