The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-04-10
PINGREE A POPULIST.
erANDs PAT ON EVERY ARTi-
GLE or OUR FAITH.
Republican, and populists and Frse-sii-
yer Democrats will Name Him for
Governor Of M~lohisan-May BE Heard
From July ~.

AoLuludLeu mayor PlngT00, OF D0LrOll,
for president. The nomination was
made the other day at a meeting Of the
literary club connected with the school.
Her name was on the program for q
speech on Mayor Pingree and his re-
forms. The speech will interest re-
formers generally, because Mayor Pin
'gree's views are given on the three
great questions Of the day-Finance.
transportation. Land. Here 1t is:
Men are best known by the ideas
which they represent.
When we think Of Washington. we
are reminded Of the hero in war and In
peace, who knew no faltering in the
darkest hours Of the republic. and who
served his country for eight years with
out money compensation.
When we think Of Jefferson we
think of his memorable words: That
which will promote the interest Of the
Individual In the most permanent and
ioenehcial form. is the promotion Of the
general good. increasing the opportun-
titles Of mankind. and charging the
scope Of civilization
When we think of Monroe. we con
found his name with that great doctrine
of international law now fully recog-
nized throughout the world.
When we think Of Jackson. We are
reminded of his brave resistance to the
money power, which sought to faster
upon this country a duplicate of the
Bank of England.
When we think Of Lincoln we are re-
minded Of his fidelity to the cause Of
human rights, as represented in the
abolition Of slavery.
when we think Of Wendell Phillips
we see the figure Of an aristocrat stoop-
Ing to embrace the cause of the enslave,1
negro, unawed by the SCOTS and jeers of
plutocracy.
All these men were made for the oc-
casion: By the oppression Of George
III. Washington was made: in the at
tempt to centralize the government.
Jefferson: from the oppression Of the
Central and South American republics.
Monroe: the attempt to renew the char
ter Of the United States bank. Jackson:
and the cause of slavery made Lincoln
and Phillips.
"1n the latter we have a type living
among us to-day, made by the selfish
greed Of corporate wealth, which seeks
to turn all things to its own interests,
regardless of the suffrages of the people.
Hazen S. Pingree is an abolitionist in
another sense. He believes in the abol-
1tion Of corporate wealth, as presented
tn financial monopolies, transportation
monopolies and land monopolies.
Let us examine his position on these
questions, for 1t is fitting that we, the
future heirs to this republic and its in
stitution-, should study out the science
of government.
what is financial monopoly? Why
does Mayor Pingree seek to abolish it?
Is it best for the United States that
these forms Of monopoly be abolisned?
"We find financial monopoly repre-
scented in the national banking system
of the country, which delegates to a
few persons almost the entire control
of the finances, with power to contract
or expand the currency at will, to cause
panics, create distrust, strikes and
bloodshed. Now. Mayor Pingree be-
lieves that the right to issue money
should be solely delegated to the peo-
pie, through the treasury, with a gov
eminent banking system in which there
would be no selfish interests for private
gain.
with this idea worked out, it is quite
plain that there would be no more pan
mo fov +Lo ~oor1o Lorir~ q s.
the government would not rush to the
government banks to withdraw their
money from circulation, as was done in
the panic Of 1893. This panic was
brought about by the greed of the bank
ers of Wall street, New York, and the
bankers of Lombard street, London,
who sought to break down the rising
sentiment in favor of the remonetiza-
ton Of silver, which was unwittingly
d~emonetized by act of congress in 1873.
Let us look a little further into this
panic Of '93. The democratic party had
just been seturned to power on what
was popularity supposed to be a free sill
yer platform, by an overwhelming ma
jority Of both houses Of congress. This
platform promised to remonetize silver
with free and unlimited coinage at tho
ratio OF 16 to 1. But there was an obsta-
Gle in the way. The president saw fit
to put a different construction to the
platform.
There was a prospect, however, that
congress would pass a free coinage bill
over his veto. To Offset this 1t was de-
cided by the Wall street bankers and