Evening star., 1896-07-21
Manifesto Approved by the Eaeou-
tive 0emmitseet
PRINCIPLES OF TEE PARTY OUTLINED
The Other Political Organizations
Are Arraigned.
PLEDGES TO THE VOTERS

Cyclone Davis or TexaS, VINO IS TO pre-
sent it to the populist convention at st.
Louis. 1t has been submitted to the ex-
ecutive committee. of which Mr.. Davis Is
a member. an approved by them:
I'VE. the peoples party Of the United
States in convention assembled, proclaim
the following as the paramount creeds and
principles of our party and the pledges
and promises upon which we ask the votes
and cooperation Of the American people.
On page Of volume Of Jeffersons works
he says: Our legislators are not sufficient
ly apprised of the rightful limits of their
power over US. Their true office is to de-
clare and enforce only our natural rights
and duties and to take none Of them from
US. The idea is quite unfounded. that on
entering society we give up any natural
rights The Declaration of American In
Dependence, the corner stone of our repub-
lie, proclaimS the solemn truth, all men are
created equal; they are endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable rights;
among these are life, liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness; to secure these rights
governments are instituted among them,
we therefore declare that life, liberty and
happiness are not secured when land mo-
hopolies by law hold millions of acres Of
land for speculative greed, while millions
of Industrious families are forced to live
and die without homes. We declare that
when highway monopolies by charter grant
and vest privileges, lay tribute and toll
upon American travel and traffic limited
only by the mercieSs greed Of sOulless cor
porations. We declare that life, liberty and
happiness are not secured when the govern
ment refuses to coin money for the many
and prosecutes the people as counterfeit
ers If they coin money for themselves. and
then In the name Of the law binds the
homeless and moneyless millions for gen
erations to come In serfdom and death by
issuing bonds to borrow money.
We declare that life. liberty and happi-
ness can be secured by a just system of
land laws preventing land monopoiies: a
just system of highway laws preventing
highway monopoly and just system of
money laws preventing money monopoly.
Our patriotic fathers who framed the
Constitution declared that 1t was framed
and adopted in order to form a more per-
feet Cnicn, establish justice. insure do
mestic tranquility. provide for the COM
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves
and our posterity.' and we affirm that all
laws passed and all policies adopted by
our government must have for their object
one or more of these results, otherwise
they are void under the Constitution and
contrary to the spirit of the republic.
standing devotedly by the foregoing
principles as fundamental we declare our
lawmakers in allowing aliens. corporations
and monopolies to absorb our lands by
law have not established Justice but IN
JUSTICE: have not promoted the general
welfare and secured to us and our poStertty
the blessings of liberty, but have produced
homeless millions in distress and poverty.
Where God gives dominion over the earth
it has been taken from them by the law
of the land.
The Railways.
I'VE declare that with a few traffic as
sociations and corporations owning all rail-
ways. holding power to set the salaries
| officers (,f at. fiva
times the salaries of the officers of the
government which created them; scaling
down the wages Of the employees to starva-
tion margins; issuing bonds into multiplied
millions OF dollars at their own discre-
ton and overriding that provision Of the
constitution which says, No preference
shall be given by any regulation of COM
merce to ports of one state over those of
another, they compel the south and west
to pay millions annually In upholding the
traffic centers and ports Of the east and
break down every principle Of republican
government; tax us without representa-
ton, produce poverty, eRgender strife and
germinate strikes which destroy ins tead Of
insure domestic tranquility and to pro-
tect the rights of these corpora tions and
adjust the differences between them and
the people they have filled our country
with federal courts, over which the people
have no jurisdiction and which in turn
exc out the substance Of the people, all
OF which can be secured by government
ownership of these highways. When we
find fixed national, state. county, NUM-
cipal, corporation and mortgage debt over
hanging OR country for more than $500
per capita. and find our mints closed by
law to the coinage Of silver which has been
used as money for 5000 years. and when
money for the people and then charters
banks which have no place in our Con-
stitution, and which Jefferson said were
more dangerous to the liberties Of the
no nf,Y,ln hnn
them control over the money of the coun-
try-we know that our lawmakers did
not make this system to establish JUS
uce, insure domestic tranquility. promote
the general welfare and secure the bless
irgs OF liberty to ourselves
Alien Ownership of Land.
Therefore we declare that no alien shall
be allowed to own lands In our country
without first becoming an American citi-
zen.
I'VE declare that no corporation shall be
allowed to own land except what is neces-
sory for the legitimate purposes for which
such corporation was created.
Believing that the home is the basic
source of the grandest civilization. we de-
tablished by which all land monopoly shall
be speedily abolished and the lands sacred
ly preserved for homes for our people and
their posterity.
No poii. Win pIiuo W ine TACT tnat
when John Jay, our first envoy. went to
foreign countries his Instructions, signed
by George Washington, President, and
Thomas Jefferson. Secretary of State. for
bade him to make any treaties that would
allow any foreigner to own soil in this
country without first becoming an Ameri-
can citizen and that when the Ohio COM
pany. the Mississippi company. the Wabash
company and other companies. organized
by Mr. Gergard and others, asked FOR the
right to own soil. they were prohibited by
our forefathers. and the doctrine was an
pounced that the soil should be sacredly
held for homestead purposes
I'VE view with alarm the fact that onlv
about one-third of our families own homes
and yet the foreign and domestic corpora.
| tions and monopolies hold by paper title
and registered mortgage enough land under
our nag to make more than twenty-five
average states in this Union. and we cal1
upon all lovers Of home and liberty to ioiu
With US in remedYinp this evil The .i1h.