The San Francisco call., 1896-05-13

This carried, and Mr.. Gator then intro
duced the following anti-bond resolution:
1--WE denounce the policy and practice OF
the Democratic and Republican parties in
maintaining the gold standard and in is
suing bonds to purchase gold TO pay Ma
tional Obligations which are on their face
and by law payable either in gold or silver
coin, and condemn the hypocrisy of the
Republican party for denouncing Grover
Cleveland for SO issuing bonds, while it
has by its representatives in Congress up
held the said policy and has refused to
vote for bills brought in by Populist Sen
ators to restrain the issue OF such bonds
without the consent of Congress-"
in the disc9ffon that ensued one of the
members wanted the bond-issuing policy
denounced as conspiracy between the
Democratic administration and money
brokers and bankers of Wall street and
England to enslave the people finan-
cially.
Objection was successfully made to this
proposition by the argument that it would
be impossible to legally prove the exist
ence of such a conspiracy and that the
Peoples party ought not to make declsra-
tions that it was not in position to prove.
Then the lrrepressible Dillon threw an
other one OF his planks into the arena, but
no one deigned to take hold of it and it
got irrecoverably lost in the shuttle of
words and amendments that followed.
Mr.. Gators resolution was adopted.
Undsmayed by defeat, Mr.. Dillon again
tore off another plank from his now some
what dismantled platform and submitted
it to the committee. 1t was, one that
brought glad smile to some and grim
smile to many. This is it:
"We demand that whenever monopoly
becomes oppressive it shall be taken
possession of and owned and operated in
the interest of the people, just remunera-
ton being first made for the property
| taken. Among such monopolies we spe-
cifically point to the Central and Union
Pacific railroads and, condemning the
funding bill now pending in Congress, we
demand that the Government take imme-
diate steps for the ownership and control
of those public highways and that they be
operated in the interests of the whole peo-
| pie and not in the interests OF other con-
Meeting lines.''
| Despite the strong language in which
this was couched, it did not meet with the
apparent deep feeling of hatred enter
tanned toward the great monopoly,
more particularly the latter paragraph,
beginning: Among such monopolies We
specifically point to the Central and Union
| Pacific" etc.
This entire paragraph was finally killed
| to clear the deck for q stronger and more
! sweeping measure against funding and in
favor OF Government ownership and opera
! tlon OF the roads named.
This done, Judge Dillon was gladdened
| by the adoption of the first paragraph.
Gator was on the alert, and by the time
the anti-monopoly plank was disposed of
| he was ready with and presented the fol-
lowing to cover the question of funding
and Government ownership, as during the
earlier discussion it was declared that no
resolution could be too strong:
1--WE oppose and denounce all bills to
l md 81, <Nf fh0 So
| railroad debts, and we oppose any settle
ment by which these roads are to remain
in the hands of any private person or cor
! poration unless these debts are paid in full
and at maturity, and unless so paid we
demand that the Government, by virtue
OF the terms of its mortgage, enter into and
take possession of these roads and ope :ate
the same as National enterprises in the
interests of the people; and upon fore
closure, if there is a deficiency, that the
| government pursue every legal or equita'
BILE remedy to recover any such deficiency
from those responsible therefor"
Little discussion was created by this and
1t wss soon made plank OF the platform
to be submitted tomorrow to the main
convention.
At this point Gator threw what proved
to be the apple of discord into the assem-,
blage with this artistic and artful straddle
of the tariff question:
I'VE favor genuine protection to Ameri-
can labor by the restriction of the immigra-
tion of foreign labor and by true Ameri-
can system of finance which will render
justice to labor and industry and restrain
the evils of usury, and we demand the
creation of National non partisan tariff
tribunal of experts TO the end that all
revenues derived from tariff shall be so
adjusted that the benefit shall result to
labor and not to the trusts, and we de-
nounce the Democratic and Republican
parties for refusing to properly restrict
immigration of foreign labor when having
the power to do so in Congress"
Things were going along swimmingly
and 1T looked as if the plank would re-
ceive the unanimous approval of the COM
mittee, when Murphy of Shasta, calling
attention with due modesty and defer
ence to the fact that he was young in
years and inexperienced in politics,