The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-07
TOM WAT3ON's CAMPAIGN.
OPENED IN ATLANTA LAST NIGHT
BEFORE 5000 PEOPLE.
Begins F'is Presidential Race by
Endorsing Bryan and Condemn
ing SeWalI.

| rs @CSN~AttH
Atlanta, Ga. Aug. 6.-Thomas f.
Watson opened mis- Nice-Presidential
| campaign tonight with an address of
two hours in length, delivered before
| an audience of 5000 people. i'm the
| rough shed built for the Moody meet
| ings several months ago.
Mr. Watson appealed at the outset
| for non-partisan hearing, declaring
| that he spoke without bitterness in
| behalf of the man who held the plow
VINO pulled the hoe. who welded the
| hammer. If God gave him the
| strength, he declared he would plead
| the cause of the people through the
| pens of the reporters present before
| 65,0OO,000 of people. He entered into
| an enumeration of the reform de
mands of the Peoples party. indIcting
| the government for high crimes and
misdemeanors in the granting of the
governmental power Of making money
| for a special class; in the unfair levy
ing of taxes, which laid the heavy
hand of tribute upon those least able
to sustain it.; in closing the minis to
the free and unlimited coinage of
SILVER; in leaving the great public
highways of tne country in ,he con
troll OF grasping corporations who
levied tribute upon the people who
were compelled to use them i'm the cor
ruption OF the ballot.
lie explained at length his course
i'm leaving the Democratic party after
having been elected to Congress as
Democrat. He said that his opponent
had run as straight Democrat while
he made his race on the Alliance plat
form, and was pledged to stand by hat
platform though the heavens fall.
Furthermore. the National Alliance
convention had instructed those Con-
gresham elected on the Alliance plat
form not to go into the caucuSes OF
those of the two great parties. Not
only had he felt bound to stand by
principles rather than party, but he
mad seen then, as he saw now, that
the only chance for Jetfersonian Demo
cracy was to unite the farmers of the
South with those Of the West. To do
that required another party. The
Southeruer could not be induced to
go into the Repubrcan party nor
could the Western Republicans be in
duced 10 enter the Democratic party.
4 common rallying point was abso-
lutely necessary When Congress met
in 1892. eleven Western congressman
stepped out Of the Republican party
"Of the thirty Southern Congress
men elected on the Alliance platform,
how many stepped ow, of the Demo
cratic party?' exclaimed Mr.. Watson.
"0uly one, and thank God that / can
say it. was that one
He explained further that he had al
lowed himself 10 be run for Speaker
simply to emphasize the South's de
q. A}Aef half the
common battle against the East.
The Southern Democracy was to-day
bidding defiance to Wall street and
the East for the first time in 30 years.
WHY? Because the South and the West
had at last joined together to throw
off the yoke of the East The West
ern Democrats had not done this. How
many Western States had Tilden car
ried or Cleveland?
when" he said addressing the DEM
ocrats' in the crowd, has there been
a time before when you could slap the
Eastern Democracy in the face with
one hand and Wall street with the
other and rely on the West to get out
of the scrape?
1T was the Western Populist who
had made this possible and who did
the Western Populists use to be? The
Western Republicans.
1--WE can stand by Mr.. Bryan. He
has been with us and has fought for
our policy But when we are asked to
swallow Mr.. Sewall we beg to be eX-
cused. We cannot vote for Mr.. Sewall
because he does not represent our
platform. If we do, we say we did
not mean what he said in the plat
form. You can't consistently say this
is fight of the West and
South and 90 off to Maine
to get candidate for Vice
President Therefore, seeing that
your Democratic leaders had made a
mistake we stepped in to the breach
and did what they ought to have done.
nominated a Southern man for Vice
President.
This is a movement of the South
and West and you must have South
erner on your National ticket"
In conclusion Mr.. Watson made this
statement:
eve are not going TO put up any can
didate against Bryan. We are going
to vote for him whether Sewall is with
drawn or not. I am going to manage
this campaign so that Bryan gets ev-
cry vote we have got. ] shall tell my
people to stand by the contract made
at st. Louis. Let Bryan have every
vote you can muster. Let Jones say
what he likes. Let him insult us If he
will. Make no answer. Work for the
country's interests. Do your duty
Here is what we are going to do in
our State convention. We are going