The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-03-03
POPULIST ADDRESS.

Chairman Democratic National Com.
mittee.f
POPULIST ADDRESS.
The Populist address is as follows
The conspiracy of gold and monop.
oily is nearing its elimination. Every
advance it has made during the last
twenty-five years has been by adroit
and stealthy processes. These would
have been impossible if it had not
had it's agents and confederates hold
ing positions of public trust in the
executive, legislative, and judicial
branches of the government. Neither
the benefciaries nor the tools of this
conspiracy have any particular poll
ties. In name, the last administra-
ton was Democratic; the pres
ent administration is called Re-
publican, but it has ingloriously
practiced and defended the perfidious
policies Of it's predecessor.
At length, the selfish and brutal
interests behind this conspiracy deem
themselves strong enough to dispense
with the caution and duplicity hith-
erto necessary to their success.
The administration boldly avows it's
| endorsement of their scheme against
the liberty and prosperity of the
people. Within few weeks it has
formulated and sent to Congress a
bill, the leading purpose of which is,
in the words of the Secretary of the
Treasury, ITO commit the country
more thoroughly to the gold stan
! dard."
This country has during the past
| twenty-four years suffered enough
from the blighting effects of the gold
lation and executive usurpation have
been able to establish it. 1t is now
boldly proposed to legalize what has
been done in defiance of law and to
use the power secured by false pre-
tences from a long-suffering and too
trustful people to put upon this infa-
nous design the stamp of alleged
popular authorization.
In pursuit of this purpose of COM
mitting the country more thoroughly
to the gold standard, the plan of the
administration, as of the last, is to
retire the greenbacks and other nom
interest-bearing paper money of the
government, to issue interest-bur-
dened gold bonds, and to increase
the powers, provisions, and profits OF
the national banks. This achieve
ment would turn over the duty Of
supplying the peoples money, the
very life-blood of business, to a sell
fish, heartless, and irresponsible for
eign gold syndicate, and it's Ameri
can agents and allies.
1t must be remembered also that
this foreign gold syndicate and its
allies have, with the connivance, if
not the assistance, of our govern
ment, captured and today control
every instrument of commerce in the
nation.
In framing the Constitution, our
patriotic forefathers, with Jealous
care and with prophetic wisdom,
provided that commerce should be
regulated by Congress- but this tre-
mendous power has been abdicated
by Congress in favor of the gold trust
and the banking ring. Money is the
first great instrument of commerce,
but the gold ring, not satisfied with
controlling our financial system, has
captured the other instruments of
commerce, to enable it to keep the
gold standard yoke upon our necks,
and ..to more thoroughly subiugate
our people and dominate our govern
| ment.
YOKE OF MONEY POWER.
All history teaches that those who
have controlled the instruments of
| commerce in any country have not
only controlled and dominated that
government. Thus the gold syndicate
and its alleged monopolies in our
| country having seized the great in
struments of commerce, have used
| this tremendous power to discrimi-
nate against sections and individuals,
to destroy competition. to breed
| stagnation, and to create hard times
| in the midst of plenty. Thus the Or
| ganization and maintenance of great
in iustrial trusts have been promoted
which operate to aggravate the evil
conditions which gave them birth.
Thus they are making millions of
paupers, to create a few million
aires.
! The inevitable result must be to
convert our government into an oil
garchy of sordid wealth.
In the accomplishment of this end,
evil influences must shackle opinion
and muzzle discussion. They not
only subsidize the press and attempt
to seat their own-paid attorneys in
our legislative halls, on our benches
of justice, and in all departments OF
government, but wherever college
faculties are susceptible to pretend
ed generosity, or inverted philan-
thropy, they carefully manoeuvre for
either service or silence.
The divine right Of kings is to be
succeeded the divine right of million
aires, who propose to run everything;
not only the instruments of com
merce and our industrial system, bu,
also. as far as possible. the pen of the
editor. and the voice, if not the intel
leet. of the university professor.
Having succeeded in this. the con
spirators will not only completed,