The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-09-06
A PLAGUE ON BOTH METALS
Middle-ofthe-Road Populists Again
Appeal to the People.

Cincinnati, Sept 6.-The middle Of
the-rOad Populists convened their sec
Ond days session of the national con-
Vent1on at an early hour TO-DAY WHeh
the temporary organization was made
permanet and Chairman lSnatuS
DOnnelly made another radical speech
denouncing all those who had cooper
ated with fusion movements ana
strongly advocating the reorganization
OF the party, not only for an independ-
ent presidential ticket but for independ-
ent candidates for congress, state OIL
GERS, etc. A letter was received from
Ex-Governor David Waite, of Colorado,
in which he denounced Senator Butler
as a treacherOus chairman and false
leader and advocated the nomination
of straight POpulist tickets for presi-
dent and other offices.
An elaborate address to the people
of the United States was adopted. 1t
reaffirms the previous platform of the
PopuHsts and covers many additional
questions, and in referring to the pres
ent situation, it says:
THE Peoples party vote in 1894 and
in 1895 rose to nearly two millions and
everything indicated it's speedy nation
al triumph. In this emergency the
Democratic party saw that it had no
recourse but to steal one of the princi-
pies of the despiSed POpElists. In the
Chicago convention of 1896, in a prear-
ranged theatricaI scene of great up
roar and enthusiasm. it moved to the
front as the devoted and life long
champion of that which it had always
opposed.
Senator Butler, who is the chairman
of our national committee, preached
disintegration and decentralization just
as Benedict Arnold stipulated for the
scattering of the American forces, that
the British might the more 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 All
efforts to chain the bOundless subtIety
of n in in
Our chief battle is not against the de-
mOnetizatiOn of one metal for the ben
eft of another, but against the chain
ing OF the worlds progress to the car
wheels of a prehistoric superstition in
the. shape of both metals The whole
world today is held in check by a sys
tenn of gold barter, while enterprise
languisheS. industry suffers and the
cemeteries are pOpulOus with the bodies
of bankrupts and suicides. We will
end the tricks of the office seekers by
putting our national ticket in the field
at once. We believe the soul is bigger
than the pOcketbOOk. We have moth
ing but kind words for Republicans and
Democrats individually. Our hearts go
out to the wretched and oppressed of
the whole world. While we demand
that if either gold or silver is to be used
as money. both shall be so used; we
insist that the best currency this coun-
try ever possessed was the full legal
tender greenback of the civil war And
we look forward with hope to the day
when gold shall be reIegated to the
diseased teeth of the people and the
American family possess free of tri-
butte to bankers, a governmental, full
legal tender measure of values, made
of paper. that will expand side by side
with the growth of wealth and pOpula-
ton. We call attention to the public
school system and the postal service
as exemplifications of a beneficent state
socialism and to similar institutions for
the Improvement of the condition of the
people