Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-01-03

The Address Delivered at the st.
Louis Meeting OF the
Committee.

The leaders Of the National Pop
ulist party met in st. Louis the last
week in December, 1894, and sent
forth the following address to the
The National Committee OF the
Peoples party send greetings to It's
constituency throughout the United
States. The rapid increase OF our
vote in every part OF the union and
the startling events OF the past two
years wildly justlties both the eX'
istence of and necessity for the Peo-
pies party. The contention OF the
party that one OF the great needs OF
this country hiss been and is an en-
larged volume of circulating rnedi-
u.n, is now practically conceded by
all parties and by the Government.
The gold power and banking inter
ests are insisting through the t'resi-
dent and his secretaries that the
large issue of our currency supply
shall be given exclusively into the
hands of the banks; that silver shall
be excluded, all treasury notes re-
tired and that gold alone shall bs a
legal tender, thus making the mon.
etary question an issue which must
be met at once.
Within the present year the cor
porations, grown arrogant because OF
the vast possessions Of wealth and
the exercise of unconstitutional
powers have made wal upon the
people and induced the Federal
Courts to exercise in their interests
unusual and arbitrary powers, in
duced the invasion of the States by
Federal troops without the request
OF either the Executives OF saidStates
or the Legislatures thereof, and are
at this time, through a recreant adj
mlnistration and Il truculent Con-
gress, attempting to clothe the rail-
road corporations by means OF a
pooling bill, with power to further
and more Systematically rob the
press and plumber the people; and
having already deprived the people
of access to the silver mines of the
country as an independent source of
money supply, are now ,in8the inter-
est of a banking oligarchy ,endeavor-
ing to deprive them of the right to
have their Government, in the exer.
else of its constitutional power, to
issue the money of the nation and
control its volume.
In the opinion of your committee
these events are startling ,~subversive
of the liberties of the citizen and de-
structivs of business and social Sc
curity and adhering to the Omaha
platform in all its integrity, your
committee insists upon the restora'
ton of the coinage of gold and silver
as it existed prior to 1S73-at the
ratio of 16 to without regard to
the action of any other nation, and
that all paper money shall be issued
by the general Government, without
the Intervention of banks of issue,
the same to be a full legal tender.
We also declare our implacable
hostility to the further issue Of
interest bearing bonds.
We denounce the pooling bill as
a move toward completing the
monopoly of transportation and de-
mand that instead Congress proceed
to bring the railroads under Govern
ment ownership.
The power given Congress by the
constitution ito provide for calling
forth the militia to execute the laws
of the union, to suppress insurrec-
tons, to repel invasions," does not
warrant the Government in making
use of a standing army in aiding
m~onopolies in the oppression of the
public and their employees. When
free men unsheath the sword it
should be to strike for liberty, not
for despotism, nor to uphold priv.
legged monopolies ia the oppression
of the poor.
We ask the people to forget our
past political differences and unite
with us in the common purpose to
rescue the Government from the c3n-
troll of monopolists and concentrated
wealth, to limit the power of perpet.
uation by curtailing their privileges,
and to secure the rights of free
speech, a free press and trial by jury
all rules, regulations and judicial
dicta in derogatation of either of
which are arbitrary, unconstitutional
and not to be tolerated by a free
people.
We recommend the immediate
organization of an educational cam
paign by the National, State and
local committees.