The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1896-08-07
WATS0N'S CAMPAIGN
Opened in Long Speech Before Vast Au-
dence

oDSHeu III Long speech BEFORE q vast Aus
d.encs
| ATLANTA, Aug. G-Thomas F. Wat
son opene< his vice presidential cam
paign tonight with an address of two
| hours in length, delivered before an au-
| dience of 5000 people, in the rough shed
| used for the Moody revival meetings
several months ago. MI Watson APP
| pealed at the outset for nonpartisan
hearing, declaring that he spoke with
bitterness to none and in behalf of the
men who held the pillow, who pulled the
| hoe, who welded the hammer If God
| gave him strength he declared he would
plead the cause of these people, through
| the pens of the reporters present, before
65, 000,0 GOO of people in the morning.
He entered into an enumeration of the
reforms demanded by the Populists
indicting the government for high crimes
and misdemeanors in the granting of the
governmental power of making money
to a special class: in the unfair levying
of taxes, which laid the heavy hand of
tribute upon those least able to sustain
il; in closing the minis to the free and
| unlimited coinage of silver; in leaving
the great public highways of the country
in the control of grasping corporations
who levied tribute upon the people who
We're compelled to use them, and in the
| corruption of the ballot He explained
| at length his course in leaving the Dem
ocratic party after having been elected
to congress as a Democrat and by the
machinery of the Democratic party. He
said that his opponent had run as a
straight platform Democrat. while he
had made the race on the Alliance plat
! form and was pledged to stand by that
platform though the heavens fell. Fur
thermore the national Alliance conVen-
ton had instructed those congressman
elected on the Alliance platform not to
go into the caucuses of either Of the
two great parties. Not only had he felt
bound to stand by the principles rather
than the party, but he had seen then
as he saw now. that the only chance for
Jeffersonian Democracy was to unite
the farmers of the south with the farm
ers of the west To do that required
new party. The southern Democrat
could not be induced to go into the Re-
publican party, nor could the western
Republican be induced to enter the Dem
ocratic party. \ common rallying point
was absolutely necessary. When con-
gress met in 1892 eleven western con-
gressmen stepped out Of the Republican
party.
"Of the thirty southern congressman
elected on the Alliance platform, how
many stepped out of the Democratic
party?" exclaimed Mr. Watson.
"Only one-and thank God I can say
I was that one
He explained further that he had
allowed himself to be run for speaker
simply to emphasize the south's desire
to meet the west half way in the common
battle against the east
Recent events, Mr. Watson declared,
had vndicated his course. The south
ern Democracy was today bidding def
ance to Wall street and the east for the
first time in thirty years. Why? Be
cause the south and west had at last
joined together to throw off the yoke Of
the east. The western Democrats had
not done this. How many western
states had Tilden carried. or Cleveland?
when" he said, addressing the
Democrats in the crowd, has there ever
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 you out of the
scrape? 1t was the western Populist
who had made this possible And who
did the western Populist use to be? The
western Republican. Looking at af-
fairs as they stand since the Chicago
convention, the western Populists say to
the Democrats, We are going to help !