The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-01-02

All Instructive Letter From Francis
II. Clarke.
To the Editor:

To the. Editor:
The recent election was, Notwithstanding
its remarkable, character, barren of
lessons any event in the worlds his
tory. | have seen many articles, editorials
and speeches which pretend to tell us what
the landslide taught. 1t taught nothing.
The entire great event finds it parallel in
the experience of the wise man in Mother
t;oose's famous melody:
There was-s in town
And he Wondrous wise;
He jumped into bramble (Democratic)
bush
And scratched out both his eyes;
And when he found his eyes were out
With ali his might and main,
He jumped into another bush Ntepublican)
To scratch them in again."
Probably the results will be the same.
But one thng-and one thing only-has
become apparent since election. Monopoly
claims the Republican victory and proceeds
TO assert its now re-established rights. 1t
mas grabbed and swallowed the financial
right arm of the government, and now
proposes to sever it from the main body
by biting il off close to the neck. shoulder
and all. careless of whether it incidentally
reaches little further and cuts the wind
pipe or strikes the juguiar vein or not. 1t
has clapped Debs into Jail for striking In
perfect accord with the prediction opinion
OF the supreme court 1t proposes to fix up
the machinery to strengthen the credit of
the creditor by enabling him to take the
debtors mortgaged property without wait
ing a year for the debtor to redeem. 1t
Srooms its millionaires for senatorial hon
ors: makes money its chief and only argu-
f.,
,'eignine to conform to the little fashion
set by the immortal Caesar, it does not
refuse the crown twice to be accepted on
the third presentation, but seizes it at
once places it with greedy haste upon its
pitiiess. scheming. brazen, corporation
head. 1t is we'll. Whom the gods wish to
destroy they first make mad
1t may be that in 1896 the Republican
party. with Thomas B. Reed, of Maine.
Its standard bearer. will have another
landslide in its favor. | do not believe it.
Yet my reasons not very good ones.
The one Is that landslides, like lightning,
very seldom fall or strike twice in the
same place. The next is that when these
old parties get down to real battle it must
appear that they are only sectional parties
and are not equal to a purely national
issue.
n new rarty very probably the Peoples
Party, it it takes the right position the
most pressing ssue) will be able to win in
the very next election. If it does not take
the right position on such issue it will fail
ana the people may once more give q
ridiculous exhibition, like the one depicted
in the famous verse already quoted. The
platform of the party may we'll embrace
the usual indictment of old systems and old
governors But it should be very careful of
Il O6a al pr;p
cipleS in order to clearly inform thinking
zhen what direction it proposes to move in
have heard many persons declare that the
three important pldnks of platform
should refer to land, TRANSPORTATION and
money. Evidently the people are not ready
10 adopt the single tax or to nationalize
railroads yet. They nearly all concede
that something must be done to check the
growing tendency toward land monopoza-
ton: to stay the growing power of railroad
companies. and prevent the more apparent
abuses of the bonding system. That is
about all they desire. If any political party
dares to venture beyond those limits it will
lie thrust back. Political truths which are
not understood must be taught. Political
parties are not teachers They are, or
should be, systematic forces directed to es-
tablish such truths understood. The
teaching should be done by the propaganda
societies. \ wise political party. which is
also sincere, should adopt as it's issue that
advance proposition which is most likely to
be successful if vigorously pushed to the
front and advocated. In other words the
question is. What is the most important
reform proposition upon which a ma jority
OF people can be got to agree election
day If the Peoples Party will take up
the consideration of the next election in
such light, it has good chance to win.
What question presses most forcibly at
present? / cannot help believe that the
land question and taxation is really one
OF supreme Importance. But it does not
press for solution as yet, which is apparent
from the fact that the people are not
awake to it. Let the propaganda societies
20 on with this work in that direction
The question of the hour is the money
question. Yet years of effort have not
brought the people to look at it except
through the eyes of bankers or millonaires
What phase of the money question is most
considered today. Unquestionably the sill
Yer phase. If could have my way 1 would
demonetiEe both gold and silver and have
nothing but paper money based on gold
silver and every commodity and thing of
value. with proper safeguards as to over
issue. The great world is against me on
that plan. Now, then as cannot have my
way, L am. for one anxious to see ma
Jority of the people unite on a proposition
which. if adopted will produce beneficial
results RECOMMENDATION of silver on the
free coinage basis seems to be object BILE
to many honest and intelligent people, be-
cause they fear certain dangers which they
describe. If we could get those people with
us who are honest We could win. The dis
honest ones We cannot get, because we
nave no money to buy them. Now I think
the silver question is pressing so forcibly
at this time that it will break off large
factions from both old parties by the time
the next presidential conventions meet and
perhaps break up of them altogether.
On this pressing question where will the
Peoples party stand? Will it repudiate it +?
Will it overlook it? 1t cannot afford to-
1t must put itself on record dissolve into
propaganda society without present po-
litical mission. 1 believe that the remone-
tia ton of silver. while only morsel of
reform, is in the right direction. Remone-
tize it and you can never again strike
down one without striking down both to
metallic standards. But / cannot see WHY
the plan proposed by Banker Barker of
philadelphia, would not be acceptable to all
free silverites and honest bimetallists alike
He proposes to let our own silver produc-
ers have their product coined by paving
the government one-half the difference be-
tween the London market price and the
coin value at the time it is presented at
the mint. For instance, the London price be-
ang ~ cents per ounce the producer paws the
government ten cents per ounce and gets
back his coin worth 100 cents The alien
producer from foreign mines paws the
whole difference. If free coinage would