The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-05-27
A GREAT APPEAL.

A GREAT APPEAL.
CYCLONE DAVIS SPEECH.
Delivered at Atlanta, Cass County,
Texas, April %, in Closing a
Debate With II. Clay
Mack.
(Continued.)
Abraham Lincoln is now out of the
way of conspirators. His murder was
charged to the leaders of the rebellion.
Strife and rage ran high. The war
closed and Andrew Johnson assumed
charge as vice to Lincoln. The conspir-
ators now raised the cry to strengthen
the public credit" by demanding that all
the bonds OF the government, as we'll as
its paper money should be paid in coin
Specie resumption" and return to spe-
Gle payments" was heard of and read of
on every hand. The armies disbanded.
The soldiers go home The southern
states elect members of congress. An
drew Johnson issues a message VS. the
money power, and at once the conspira-
tors raise the cry of Reconstruction" to
turn out the members from the South
and take the eye of the nation from the
money question. Impeachment articles
were presented against President John
son as an impeachment to reconstruction,
but in fact to prevent him and his con-
gress from stopping the conspirators in
their raid and schemes of plumber; their
object being to keep the country in
strife and hatred until they complete
their plans. The acts of March 1859 and
July 1870 changing the debts of the
country from lawful money" debts to
coin debts. While prejudice and pas
sion ran high between the North and
South, the ''credit strengthening act"
"refunding acts,'' etc, changed the
bonded debt specifying their payment
by law in coin. Now by the turn of
Shylock's hand he strikes down the sill
yer coin, and the people wake up to the
fact that their debts are now payable in
coin" and, behold, the silver coin is
dead by law; and two-thirds of the paper
money, which has been the life blood of
the nation in time of peril had been
burned and coin bonds issued in their
stead.
Thus, the act of 1873, conceived in
fraud and brought forth in crime and
conspiracy, placed the country on the
gold standard; and to drown the cries
of an outraged people the conspirators
lean people to gnaw on.
When the fog and dust of every battle
had cleared away it was found that the
money power had fastened it's clutches
closer around the Threats of the people
Step by step these merciless tyrants
have moved forward. Link by link they
have welded the chain which is to bind
us in bonage. One-third of the soil of
America is in their hands, either by
paper title or registered mortgage, and
II tired labor stops on that soil to rest
his wearied frame or sojourn thereon to
breed his brood of offspring he must
capitulate with these tyrants and from
his scanty earnings meet the unceasing
demands of rent roll, and is forced to
choose between submission and slavery
or ejectment and vagrancy. To remedy
these evils our platform declares that
no corporation shall own lands except
for public good; that no lien shall own
land without becoming an American cit
izen, and that land shall not be monop-
olized for speculative purposes.
Thus contemplating that the soil of
America shall be owned and held for
homes and homestead purposes for our
selves and our posterity. Almost the
entire transportation system is in the
hands of these usurpers and their do
nestle allies, and every pound of Amer
lean freight and every mile of travel by
the American citizens must pay tribute
to these vampires at a rate limited only
by the merciless greed of this heartless
horde. To redress this wrong or rem
edy this evil our platform provided for
the purchase or construction of the
highways by the government-nation
and state conformity operating them for
public good at cost-holding national
supervisions of rates, making them uni
form in every direction in every state,
and elect the general officers in the
states so as to distribte the patronage
and power among the people and prevent
central power and despotism. These
same venal vampires. this same heart
less horde, these same lecherous leeches,
the same corporate cannibals," this
caravan of ShylOcks. hold debt against
the nation, states, counties, cities, cor
porations and citizens amounting to
over $500 each. This debt, drawing in
terest at per cent requires $50 each
annually to pay interest, and we only
have according to their own figures $25
per capita to pay withdrawing us
bankrupt at the end of every year and
S. behind on interest annually for every
man, woman, and child in our borders,
if we pay our annual interest in money
Most of this debt is held by foreign
bondholders, and If we pay them in any
money but gold they run it into the
treasury at Washington and demand
gold; and the agent of the craven cara
van, who. through the treachery Of the
two old parties has been elevated to
high authority, plasters the tender limbs
of our offspring. the burdened shoulders
Of our aged sres and the aching brows
Of our overworked mothers and wives
with another issue Of bonds to furnish
them the gold. Having nothing that
will satisfy these spoilating pirates ex-
cept gold or American produce. and the
debt being a legitimate demand under
the law of the land. we are compelled to
ship to them our cotton, grain and meat
export every year and accept credit on
interts account for that year. Thus he
buys all our cotton, all our grain, all
our meat that is exported every year and
never sends one dollar back to Amer
lea. This gives him the power to price
all our produce. Having no gold with
which to pay, and being forced by re-
gard for honesty and the demands Of
law to pay. we must pay in produce at
prices he is willing to give. This is
rule that governs all commercial tran
sactions when you pay money DEBT IN
anything but money.
Tboco c,,ppipC commentators now seek