Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1898-02-23
HARMONY SUPREME
All Citizens Who Care for
Their Country
GreRt PurPOse-Ihe Defeat of the
ROGhschiId Octopus.


ROIhschiId Octopus
The addrt sses on behalf of the Dem
ocratic, Populist and Silver Repub1i
can parties, which are the result O.
conferences which have been in prog
ress among the leaders of these part
les at Washington for the past few
weeks have been issued. They seel
to unite the members of the three part
les in future elections upon the finan
cial issues as the question of para
mount Importance, and are separate
appeals to each of the parties to con
solidate all along the lines for this
purpose. The address to Democrats is
signed by Senator James K. Jones, o1
Arkansas, chairman of the Democrat
&c national committee and is endorsed
by the Democratic congressional com.
mittee; that of the Populists by Sena
tor Marion Butler, chairman of the
Populist national committee and the
twenty-five other Popu1ist members OF
the senate and house, and that of the
Silver Republicans by Chairman Chas.
Towne and the Silver Republicans in
the senate and house and also by ex-
Senator Dubois.
The Democratic address is as fol-
lows:
To THE PEOPLE:
The surrender of the Republican
party to the advocates of the gold
standard and monopoly is at last COM
plete. The present administration
called to power on the solemn pledge
of the Republican national convention
at st. Louis to promote bimeta11ism,
has formulated and sent to congress a
bill, the leading purpose of which, the
honorable secretary of the treasury
avows, is TO commit the country more
thoroughly to the gold standard.
The country has already, for TWEEN
ty-four years, been so thoroughly COM
mitted to this standard, partly by law
and partly by the usurpations of the
executive branch of the government
that its effects are seen and felt on
every hand; wages are reduced; work
As hard to get; the weight of debt is
doubled; the value of land and other
property is reduced one. halt more un-
til the lives of the people are "made
bitter with hard bondage" 1t is GER
tainly not in the interest of humanity
to have this condition of things more
thoroughly established.
The retirement of the government
paper money must reduce the volume
of circulation, and while the secretary
admits that the contraction of the cur
rency would be more ruinous in two
years than interest on like amount of
bonds for forty years would be, he calm
ly informs us that the national banks
will probably issue a sufficient amount
of money to prevent this enormous
suffering.
We are frankly told that lawful
money will be made relatively
scarccr than it is now," and that it is
intended that under the operation of
the bill it will be "easier to get gold
than lawful money" Practically all
the money in the hands of the people,
now as the secretary distinctly admits
is silver, chiefly in the form of silver
certificates. The svowed purpose OF
the bill is to make it hereafter more
diffiCta1f tO uraf tLnca
In view of the great principles in
volved, and of the danger so close al
hand, we urge the people everywhere
to arouse themselves and at once take
steps to save themselves and their
children from the letters now being
openly forged to bind them. In re
cent years there have been a number
of instances of congressional districts
where the advocates of gold and mo
nopoly were largely outnumbered by
their opponents, and where, neve rthe
less, by failure to unite and act to
gether, friends of the gold STANDARD
have been successful. Thus, as the
result of a personal and partisan
wrangle, the cause of truth and jus
tice has been overshadowed, the inter
est of humanity ignored and the great
est good TO the government subordi
mated to an ignoble strife. We appea
to you to let this not be the cas-,
again. Our only danger is in division
If there should be those who wou1C
like to divide us, let them be summar
lily and emphatically rebuked by tn,
people, who have none but high ant
patriotic motives.
After the bold declaration of the ad
ministration in favor of the golt
standard, no sincere bimeta1list cal
ever again, by his vote or infiueuc,
give aid or encouragement to the Re
publican party.
The issue is joined; we cannot avoi,
1t if we would. Either the friends o
bimetallism or the advocates of tn
gold standard, trusts and monopolie
must succeed. Who is not for US
against US. We ask no man to abau
don his party or change his politics; W
ask no one to yield any principle; bu
in this great contest we do appeal t
all good men to stand solidly togethe
for liberty and humanity, and strik