The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-07-23
LE-OF-THE-ROAD MEN HAVE
LAUNCHED a CURIOUS
DOCUMENT.
ALL KINDS OF FINANCIAL FOOLERY.
Enumerated in the Financial Plank-The
Government Should Be Banker and
Money Lcndcr-Owncrship of
Railway Telegraph Systems.

| st. LOUIS, July l3-lne mluule-Of-tnc-
road Populists have Il platform prepared
which was drawn up by Hon Alfred f.
Daggett of California, which they will
support and under which they will at
tempt to nominate straight-out Popu-
list for the presidency. The financial
and tariff planks are:
FINANCIAL.
"First-We demand national currency,
mfe, sound and flexible, issued by the
| general government only, as Il full legal
| lender for all debt, private and public,
md such national currency should be
issued by the general government direct
without the Intervention of any national
bank and without the agency of any
! financial or other corporation whatever
'Second-We believe that the United
States is in fact Il free and Independent
nation and that its freedom and the
| financial and industrial liberty of its cit
liens should not be made to depend upon
the financial within, caprice or avarice of
any foreign nation. and therefore we
demand the free and unlimited coinage
of silver and gold by the government of
the United States at their present legal
ratio of 16 to l, without reference to
| the action or financial course of any for
eign nation.
"Third-We demand that the laws au-
thorzing the Incorporation of national
banks be absolutely and Internationally
repealed and that all national banks and
the national banking system now in
vogue be abolished.
"FOurth-We demand that congress
enact law which shall declare that all
contracts, obligations and judgments of
every kind and character, requiring the
payment of money shall be payable at
the option of the debtor in gold or silver
coin or other lawful currency of the
United States and that such laws shall
declare that every provision inserted in
or made part of any such contract, OBJ
legation or Judgment which requires the
debtor to pay the money due in any
specified kind of coin or currency shall
be null and void. and the court i'm which
suit may be brought to obtain Judgment
on such contract. obligation or Judgment
shall adjudge the provision which re-
CURES the debtor to pay the sum due
Hereunder in any specified kind of coin
or currency to be null and void.
"Fifth-We demand that the amount
of circulating medium be speedily in
creased to not less than $50 per capita
of the population.
"SiXth-We demand that the govern
ment establish a system of postal savings
banks in each city, town. village and
hamlet of the United States which CON
tains population of 1000 or more and
that the people be permitted to deposit
their money for safe keeping in such pos
tai savings banks and that the govern
ment carry on the business of transmit
ting money from one point to another
through the medium of postal bills of
exchange issued by authority of the gov
eminent through said postal savings
banks.
'Seventh-We demand that a law be
passed by congress authorizing the gov
ernment to loan to citizens of the United
States, but not to aliens or to corpora
tons, money on all landed property to
the extent of two-thirds of the assessed
valuation of said landed property, which
said loans shall be secured by mortgage
to the government and should be made
for periods of not less than five years
nor more than ten years to any one cit
zen upon a rate of interest not to eX-
ceed per cent per annum.
'Eighth-We demand that a law be
passed by congress authorizing the gov
eminent to loan money to municipal cor
poratlons in the various states for the Dur-
pose of Improvement only to the extent
of one-third assessed valuation of the tax
able property in such municipal corpora
ton, and the rate of interest charged
should not exceed the actual cost of issu-
ing the loan, and all loans so made shall
be payable to the government by the
municipal corporation receiving the loan
in installments, each installment not to
exceed per cent of the sum loaned'