Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1896-09-10
TIE CRY OF FREEDOM

THE CIR x OF FREED0N n,
ia the issue Of The Washington
Post of the oath instant you present
under the caption, "A Pitiful Spec
ltacle,' a cartoon presenting "Pop-
lEulist" Of the Imagination, doubtless
las he appeared to the bright young
man who reported theSt. Louis con-
vention for The Post. / know The
Pest is great independent news
paper, which presents current news
with fairness and often with great
ability, but Ifear sometimes, Ia its
desire to be entirely impartial, that
it islands SO straight that it leans
over backward" am almost tempt
ed to insinuate that it is treating this
poor Populist with that sort of i'm
Partially, and it is this impression
that leads me to crave little space
in your great journal wherein to
draw pen picture of the Populist
of real life. Now sslcok on this pic
ture"- cit is pitiful'' as you say
five million human beings in this
great nation, great in resources, great
in wealth, great in every quality and
condition that makes nation great,
five millions of honest farmers are
SO poor, SO ground down by power
ty's cruel "crown of thorns" that
they cannot afford respectable suit
of clothes. Many of them are SO
poorly fed that they are lank and
hungry eyed, too poor even to pay a
barber to shave and neatly trim their
hair-and their wives and little
ones? What words can paint them
in this picture? You see them on
Sunday in their best calico gowns,
cheap stuff, barely covering thin
pinched forms, and their footwear,
the old "plantation shoes" made for
colored folk before the war, or quite
}often shoeless and hatless, you see
their little ones vending their way
to school-if perchance there is one
in the district, and they can be spared
from the labors of the field. Yes, it
is ga pltiful spectacle" | confess, full
of pathos, full Of misery. -..
Still, it faithfully portrays the con-
dition of the small farmers Of this
great country to-day. And how can
it be otherwise while the farmers can
only get cents bushel for oats, 10
cents for corn, and 80 cents for
wheat, and give their potatoes away
to any one who will dig them (tbey
sold for cents per bushel in New
York last spring.? Is it SO very
strange these people seek new con-
ditions and break away from old
parties and form new ones? Is it
strange they should be discontented
with their lot, or call national con-
ventions and appear there in busters,
antique hats, and patched trousers;
or that they should be wild of eye
and unkempt as to their hair and
beard? Possibly they may act
strangely, and say and do things that
startle and offend the polished, we'll
dressed newspaper man who records
their doings, and other onlookers
from the great cities, but who, know
ing the facts and causes that haYe
called them forth in this fantastic
array, to enter up before God and
their fellowmen their solemnprotest
against the hard fate that chains
them to such conditions, who, / ask,
has the heart to jeer or scott at them
as they chant misere before the
world? Alas, there are those who do
and commit a crime against humani-
ty.
Now here is another picture; look
on this. In the great City of New
York 1000 persons are asse ssed fol-
million dollars and upward, tbous-
ands for half million, thousands
for over one hundred thousand; and
this may be repeated on smaller
scale in dozen other Eastern cities.
Who nrooto1 oil %h;, o,o,o,o,r 80