The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-09-14

beats down their wages; a hirelng standing
army unrecOgniZed by our laws, is estab-
| lished to shoot them down, and they are
rapidly degenerating into European condi-
tions. The fruits of the toll of millions are
boldly stolen to build UP colossal fortunes,
unprecedented in the history of mankind
and the possessors of these in turn de-
| spise the republic and endanger liberty
From the same prolific womb of govern
| mental injustice we breed two great classes
-tramps and millionares''
They denounced BOTH the old parties, as
equally responsible for the terrible condi-
| ton of the people. The platform said:
Eve have witnessed for more than quar-
ter OF century the struggles of the great
parties for power and plumber, while griev-
Gus wrongs have been inflicted upon a suf-
fering people. We charge that the control
ing influences, dominating both these par
ties, have permitted the existing dreadful
conditions to develop without serious eff
forts to prevent or restrain them Neither
| do they promise us any substantial reform
They have agreed to ignore in the coming
campaign every issue but one. They pro-
| pose to drown the outcries of a plundered
people with the uproar of sham battle
over the tariff, so that capitalists, corpora
| tions national banks, rings, trusts, watered
| stocks, the characterization of silver and the
oppression Of the usurers may all be lost
sight Of They propose to sacrifice our
homes and children on the altar of Mann
mon, to destroy the multitude in order to Sc
cure corruption funds from the million
aires
Upon this platform, with its familiar con-
Guiding demands we went before the peo-
| pie, and, after four months campaign, we
polled 1855, 424 votes and carried four states
ana partially two more; receiving altOgeth-
| er % electoral votes The Democrats won in
| the contest and elected Grover Cleveland
president by III electoral votes, against 145
In fhn
both old parties kept up their sham bat
tle' over the tariff and studiously ignored
the great issues raised by the Peoples
Party.
In 1893 the Omaha platform received strilx-
| ing corrobora ton from the terrible panic
which fell upon the country, sweeping away
banks and business, and plunging millions
into bankruptcy. Mr.. Cleveland's panacea of
| free trade did not relieve the sufferings of
the people, In the elections of 1894 the
Democratic party generally repudiated
and 1t became apparent that that venera-
BILE organization must find new issues Or be
borne to its everlasting resting place. There
did not seem to be state it was certain to
carry in 1896.
The Peoples Party vote in 1894 and 1895
rose to nearly two millions, and everything
indicated its speedy national triumph.
In this emergency the Democratic party
saw that it had no resource but to steal
one of the principles of the despised Popu-
the reconciliation of silver, in congress-
and defeating a dozen bills looking to that
end, 1t changed front in the twinkling of
an eye, and In the Chicago convention Of
1886, in a prearranged theatrical scene of
great uprOar and enthusiasm, moved to the
. front the devoted and lifelong champion
Of that which it had always opposed.
! having stolen one Of the principles of our
| PLATFORM. it became necessary to steal our
votes and break up our organization. Hence
h0, nc
met, tremendous pressure was brought to
bear upon it to do what no political party
| had ever done before in the history Of our
| country. to-wit, to nominate the candidate
| of another party for president, and stop in
| mid-career of it's own tremendous growth
| and tie itself to the doubtful fortunes and
| still more doubtful sincerity of rival or
ganiZation.
| In vain it was urged upon the convention
| that if we maintained our separate exist
| ence and nominated orr own candidates, we
could still unite with any other party in
| support of joint eiectordl tc.,el III every
! state.
! If this plan had been adopted, the Repub-
| l1can party would surely have been de-
s, feated; but Democracy insisted that the
battle must be won under their banner
| Hence our noble candidate for vice-presi.
! dent was ostracized and pushed aside, in
| behalf of man whose every principle was
! in fundamental antagonism to the creed Of
l
electoral votes and nearly 100000 voters.
+! was ignored and spit upon. Our nomination
| was thrown back in our faces by tele-
| gram from the gentleman we had nom-
| mated. The telegram of declination was
| suppressed by those who had betrayed us;
| but votes were carefully exploited in
4! the election which followed.
| By an extraordinary calamity gentleman
| was made chairman Of our national COM
| mittee, and COMMUNICATIVE of our
| forces, who had achieved success by an I'M
| holy combination with Republicans, and
! who was ready to equalize things by sacri-
| ficing our party to accomplish another I'M
holy union with the Democrats.
| He preached disintegraton and demorali-
| cation just as Benedict Arnold stipulated
for the scattering of the American forces
| that the British might the readily
| overthrow the young republic.
| Mr.. Butler taught our forces that the
| first duty of a soldier was to break ranks
| and go over to the enemy. 1t if
| Gen. Miles had issued orders to our troops
| at Santiago to tear down the American flag
| and merge with the Spaniards, because we
| all thought alike the question of God
| mental injustice we breed two great classes
| All efforts to chain the boundless subtlety
| of this cunning man have been in vain. AS
! late as Aug. 25 1885, in speech at Denver,
| Col. despite all previous compacts and
! promises, he urged all friends of free silver
| to act together; and he denounced those
cause they differed on other questions
And yet he well knew that the Republicans
and Prohibitionists of Colorado and all the
| Western states were also in favor of free
I silver and that there was just as much
reason to unite with them as with the DEM
OcratS. He also knew that where a smaller
and weaker party unites with greater and
stronger. it is the inevitable union of the
lion and the lamb. He knew that the ex-
pertinent had nearly obliterated the Peoples
WV IN,
leading the rest of those who trusted him
into the abyss where reposed the moulder-
ing bones of the greenback party. He well
knew that the free-silver issue was but one
of the many planks of the Peoples party.
and, while desirable in ITSELF. could not
bring the people relief if corporate power
was to continue to rule the nation and
plumber unchecked the industry of the land.
| Our chief battle is not against the de-
| monetization of one metal for the benefit Of
| another but against the claiming of the
worlds progress to the car wheels of a pre-
| historic superstition. in the shape of both
metals The growth of population and the
happiness of mankind thus made contin-
| gent upon accidental discoveries of two in
| trinsically worthless metals. The whole
| alteration of gold and silver is but sur
4 It's effects than slavery, poygan,y and
| witctcrart.
| While it is conceded that money is a gov
ermental measure of value, and consists
not in material but in the stamp of the ha-
| ton the whole world is today held in check
| by system of gold-barter, while enterprise
I h.