The Louisiana populist. [volume] (Natchitoches, Natchitoches Parish, La.) 1894-1898, 1895-02-01
The Burning Question.

called upon to answer the most Sc
rious question they have ever had
to face. The question is: are the
people capable of self government
1t will not come in the form of any
issue that has been presented here
tofOre but on the question OF wheth-
er the government shall control
finance, or finance control the gov
ernment. There will be other m od
flying questions arise and the dan
ger to the people lies in their be.
ing liable to permit minor ques-
tiOns to Over-shadow the greater.
The one great question of money
must be settled in the next cam
paign if it is ever settled peacably.
The people must lay aside their
differences on other great questions
and array themselves on the side
of free and unlimited coinage of
silver and government issue of
money, without tho intervention of
banks. When this question is set.
tied to the satisfaction of the peO-
pie and the safety of the country
then other issues will arise and
other divisions would not injure
the cause of the people. If the
people who favor government COD
troll of the finance suffer them
selves to be divided into hostile
armies to destroy each other, it
will show their inability to look af-
ter their own welfare, and there is
no doubt that every possible meth
od viii be used to divide and con-
quer the forces of liberty. No one
who understands the situation can
doubt the Importance of unlimited
coinage of silver and the issuance
of all money by the government.
Will the friends ofreform in fiaunce
permit themselves to be drawn
away from the main issue by some
other question that can be as safe
ly solved in 1900, as it can now
There is class of men who hang
OH like grim death to all their de-
mands and say they will die fight
ing before they give up one of them.
Their nerve is to be admired, but
how about their judgmenti
These claim they are reformers
on the line. "Land, finance and
transportation" What would you
think of general who had three
divisions of a county to defend
from an invading foe who would
not concentrate his forces against
the enemy when he saw a chance
for a decisive battle, but would
have his strength scattered all
over the three divisions of his ter
ritory. The strength of the ene-
mics of popular liberty is now con-
ceutrated on the attempt to take
the control of the finances away
from the people and into their own
hahds. There never has been .as
great encroachments on the rights
of the peOple-as' represented by
the constitution and government
as have been made in the last four
years. The money power has al
most exclusive ownership of con-
gress aud the executive as well as |
the judicial branches OF the gov
ernment. You find no such en-
croachment on the side of land mo-
while the railroads being |
in close connection with the banks,
are enjoying the same advantages
the balance of the money power
enjoys. We want to see all the
friends of silver and a correct sys-
tenn of finance join in one grand
army to route the money power and |
until this is done, we will have no
in the success of the re-
'orm cause. While the reformers
,an be divided into hostile camps,
will have its own way, !
or there will always be enough |
Inference of opinions to keep men
rom going into reform parties in
which they find something they do
lot like. No man who is in favor
# government ownership of rail-