The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-05-22
WEST AND SOUTH.
THEY MUST PULL TOGETHER
a GRAND SPEECH-W WATSON Ar.
RAIGNS THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY,
A Speech Ringing With the True
Spirit of Populism.

Congressman Black has agreed that
his contest with Tom Watson in the
last campaign was dog-fall. He has
resigned, and they will hold the elec-
tion over. Mr.. Watson has already
been nominated by his constituents
! and entered the campaign. The fol-
lowing is an extract from his speech
at the time Of his nomination:
Here today, in the midst OF the
| brave men who have been by my side
in all the darkness and danger Of the
last three years, do assert most posi-
| lively that we did not want to leave
the Democratic party. We did not
want to 60.
We left the house of our fathers
with heavy hearts.
We parted with old friends sadly,
reluctantly.
But we just couldn't stay. In the
temple Of Jefferson and Jackson
strange gods have been set up, and we
| just couldn't bow to them. We were
| not strong enough to put the other
| fellows out, and we were too strong to
submit-so we shouldered ourselves
and walked.
We founded new party that the
creed Of our fathers might not want
for shelter, home, a shrine.
We could not bear to see the prin-
| ciples upon which the government
was founded smothered beneath the
eastern inf1uencel which then con-
trolled, and still controls, both the old
parties.
We could not bear to see our 'gov-
ernment Of the people, for the people,
and by the people" perish away from
| off the earth without a protest and
struggle.
So we formed a new party, conse-
Grated to the good old creed, and To-
Gated within the old landmarks.
We founded new party because we
believed that the new wine of reform
would fare badly in the old bottles of
political corruption.
Because new party was necessary
before the negro OF the South would
eyer cordially cooperate with the
white man Of the South.
Because new party was necessary
before the white farmer of the west,
he being Republican, could ever CO.
operate with the white farmer of the
South, he being Democrat.
Because new party was absolutely
necessary to secure political plat
form which would be simple, honest
| and nNcifivo doc1o rof nf rr;nc;rloc
| and not a mere cowardly, contempt
ible, and deceitful juggle OF words
which mean one thing at the North
and another thing at the South, one
thing to the Wall street interest and
another to the agricultural interest,
one thing before election and quite
another when the season arrives for
salary grabbing and duck hunting.
| We were wise in forming new
party.
II the Democrats had not gained so
complete a victory in 1892 that ques-
tion might have continued for many
years the subject of angry debate.
But il ever there was crowd that
suffered from getting too much Of a
good thing it was the Democrats, who
captured the Presidency, the Senate,
| the House, and thus secured absolute
/
able responsibility.
Not enough Of the Republican party
had been left to hang an excuse on.
The Peoples Party was not big
| enough to hold in front of screen.
/ Democrats after a generation of
lies, evasiOns. shutting and denials
had to face the music and tote the
whole responsibility for everything
done and not done.
And in all the history of party poll
tics there has never been so complete
a smashup.
Never since the "Wonderful One
Hoss Shay went to pieces in one
comprehensive. simultaneous and COM
plete smash-up-an epic of utter an
nihilation-has there been such an
all-round catastrophe as that which
has happened to the Democratic
party.
1t not only managed to do nothing
it has pledged to do, but it also con-
trived to do everything Its leaders
had fought the Republicans for doing.
Steering by the hated "Reed rules"
tho Democratic speaker, Mr.. Crisp,
managed to sail the dear old Demo-
cratic ship into every port where the
Republican vessel had eyer touched.
The free-silverism m of the Democrat
ic party closed the doors of the mints
as preparation" for free coinage.
The closed doors remained closed. The
preparation for free coinage is joke
which has little fun in it to the man
who sold cotton at cents or wheat
at 40.
The economy Of the Democrats
emptied the treasury, burdened us
with bonds for borrowed money, in
creased our taxes, and sold us into
vassalage to Rothschild.
Their tariff reform is crazy quilt,
whose shreds and patches were sold to
the highest bidder and which so reek-
ed with the Communism OF self" that
even Grover Cleveland was ashamed
to sign the bill.
Their pledges to increase the cur
rency materialized in contraction Of
more than $l0O, 100. 600 in one year.
Their stern warnings to the greed of
corporate wealth bore fruit in giving
three cabinet positions to corporation
lawyers and to such complete sur
render to the railroad kings that the
United States army and United
States mail sack are kept ready at all
times to aid the corporations in quell-
ing strikes.
|. Their bimetallism never rested,
never wavered, until it had establish
ed the single gold standard-destroy-
| ing one-half Of our money and our
J values-and thus adding to the value