The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-06-15
POPULISTS MUST STICK TO THEIR
TEXT.

large number of Populist papers con-
tinue to fill their columns with articles
about trusts. OF course if all reform pa
pers talk nothing but trusts they will not
be educating the people on the money ques-
tion Just SO long plutocracy can keep
the people ignorant of how they are being
robbed by the control of the money volume
just so long plutocracy is satisfied. Trusts
and antitrusts will be the main issue be-
tween the two old parties next election.
SO it would be the best idea to let their
papers talk trusts If you want to
finish killing the Peoples party just keep
on talking nothing but trusts till the Dem
ocrats make their next national platform,
and then one-half the Populists will say,
that's what We want. Well fuse with
them or join'em. That would be as good
thing as plutocracy could wish for Every
well informed Populist knows that the con-
troll OF the money volume is what creates
trusts and all other monOpolies Then, why
not lay the axe at the root of the tree. The
real principle of Populism is, that THE
GOVERNMENT MUST ISSUE AND CON-
troll IT'S MONEY VOLUME AND MAKE
EVERY DOLLAR A FULL LEGAL TEN
DER. NOT REDEEMABLE IN OR SWAPP-
ABLE FOR ANY OTHER DOLLAR, AND
THAT THE GOVERNMENT MUST OWN
AND OPERATE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES,
Then why should so many reform papers
be decoyed from the real issues by the
noise the old party papers are making
about trusts. OF course the Peoples party
is opposed to trusts but it intends to reach
the trusts by killing the creator of trusts
Quill, West Plains, Mo.
The foregoing counsel to Populist edi-
tors has in it much good sense. Public
sentiment is very largely controlled by
what the papers say. Newspapers are
responsible therefore for public opinion
The old party plutocratic press reaches
larger number of readers than our re-
form papers, hence the excitement,
amounting to almost a craze, over the
Philippine war and trusts.
Interesting as these questions may be
to all of us, it is neverthe-
less fact that when we dis
cuss these questions we are aid
ing the old party papers to draw public
attention away from the vital issues of
our times. Foreign wars, trusts and
falling prices, tramps, enforced idleness
and rapidly concentrating wealth are all
only symptoms of the disease that af-
fects the body polite. 1t is a common
error to overlook the disease by devot-
ing too much attention to these symp-
toms. All we'll informed Populists are
Greenbackers and the clearest headed
are strongly urging return to the
primitive faith. All this wrangling
about bimetallism VS. monometallism to
every thoroughbred Populist seems mis-
spent energy. Populists stand opposed
to metallic money.
With us the whole money question re-
solves itself down to the question
whether banks or government shall
control the volume of the peoples mon
ey. Upon this simple proposition de-
ponds every other phase of the so-called
money question. Settle this question,
and settle it in favor of the people and
against the private banks and all the
other financial issues drop out of sight.
II the government can issue greenback
paper dollar, full legal tender, in guam
titles sufficient to maintain staple prices,
the issues between the owners of gold
and the owners of silver drop out of
sight; intrinsic value, redemption
money, international money and all
other gags and old chestnuts that have
so long confused the masses disappear.
The capitalists of, the country know
this. It has been q part Of their scheme