Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1900-05-10
BUFFERS ADDRESS
TO THE p0pULISTS
National Chairman Of the Peoples
Party Pays His Respects to
Mid-Roaders.
TRIED TO WRECK THE PARTY
Deliberate Attempt Of Few Self
Constituted Leaders to Split the
Orsanization---l'us the
True Peoples Party.

Sioux Falls, S. d., May 9.aenator
Marion Butler, national chairman oil
The populist party, in opening the ma
tional convention, said:
Mr.. Chairman and guests Of the
PEOPLES national convention: feel
facts concerning the party's history since
the last national convention. 1t is we'll
known that more or less dissatisfaction
insly unavoidable episode of two eics
presidential candidates in the last cam
palsn. A few men took advantage of this
dissatisfaction to appeal to an honest SEN
timent, or shall say prejudice, 10 create
q sehlsm in the party. They charged
headed by myself, as your national chair
man, to deliver the party bag and bag
gage TO the democratic organization. In
the spring of 1898 they loudly demanded
. meeting ting OF the national committee to
your chairman. SHOULD call them together
and let the committeeman from each
s ,,,a outline policy for the party until
member that ! called meeting of the
national committee in the summer of 1898
at Omaha: did it to give those self
hearing their grievance. You all Know
the result. These self-constituted pa
trots demanded at the committee meet
lng that a resolution should be passed
declaring that the next national conven-
tion OF the peoples party. should he held
at least one month ahead of that of the
Old party conventions.
The Omaha Agreement.
I'm the interest of harmony and in or
der to meet these dissatisfied. self-con-
COMMITTEES accepted their resolution and
passed ii unanimously. This resolution
has since been known as the Omaha
Tbese 9on a know rd h' o rsSt
few In number, but very noisy, proceeded
to bolt the action of the committee meet
ing within less than an hour after it had
adjenrned, and issued g call for a rump
convention that met in Cincinnati in Sep
TENDER. Despite this treachery and bad
i; me national committee, at its meet
ago, stood by that Omaha agreement to
the letter and called this convention to
m y, more than thirty days ahead of both
was the result? The same self-consti-
tuted patriots again bolted the action of
the committee at Lincoln, after getting
etT aye 1laI that they had demanded in
Omaha determined to bolt and try to
spilt the party. and, failing to find an
excuse. they bolted again anyway. But
committee voted and only two or three
who held proxies. and of these two or
Ihfee were men who already voted in
fact by supporting the Barker and Dom
nelly rump ticket.
These bolters, however, are few in
plumber, but, like the 1rishman's frog,
they make noise enough for a Million
Discusses tho Platform.
nected with the management of the party
senator Butler referred briefly to the
platform to be adopted by this conven-
tion, saying in part:
ton should adopt. but let me cali Your
attention to the three fundamental
convention and point out their appica-
ton to present conditions.
Livery political party Will go into this
fish language viii be exhausted in search
ing for adjectives with which to paint the
evils of criminal and unlawful combina-
tions; but mark how many platforms will
nave the courage or the honesty to point
to the causes that produce trusts and to
oiier remedy for them. That remedy
Is +. ALREADY In every platform ever adopted
by peoples party convention. IT was
first put forward as the preventive. In
short, il the first peoples party platform
adopted had been enacted into law we
trial combinations called trusts. Then, in
short what;sare the causes that produce
trusts and what is the remedy for the
evil? Any combination OF people controls
ing the three great instruments OF COM
merce will control all commerce and can
put amy and every business in the, nation
into trust at will. They can go further
ther. and control the government itself
What are these three Instruments of
commerce? First, money; second, trans
portatlon; third, the transmission of in
telligence. When they are controlled by
private hands they are private monopo-
hes, and they become the three great
mother trusts-a trust OH money, Il trust
on TRANSPORTATION and 81 or ho
transmission of intelligence: and those
who control these mother trusts can put
every industry into a trust.
us there anything radical in the posi-
ton OF the peoples party demanding that
these three great instruments of COM
merce shall be taken out of private hands
government function, i'm the interest OF
all the people, to the end that every indi-
Nldual and every business enterprise may
have an equal opportunity to use these
instruments of commerce without dis
elimination or favoritism. Let us see
Turn to the constitution framed by our
the powers and duties OF congress there
Is laid down at the head of the list that
IT Is the duty of congress to control the
Instruments of commerce. Has congress
done 1T? No. What is the result? A gov
eminent OF the trusts for the trusts by
the trusts. What is the remedy? Stand
by the constitution. Let congress carry
out its sworn duty and control these in
struments of commerce in the interest of
all and not permit them to be controlled
bY private individuals for the benefit of
the few
Principles Above Everything.
brlefiy,to the action of the peoples party
IN the last campaign and to the situation
that confronts the party now. He said:
since pot n the so hStery w e. the World
lzcd, has any party ever shown the same
unseifsh devotion TO principle as has the
peoples party. Several weeks before the
peoples party nationak convention ASSEM-
pied in 1886 every member of the party
from Maine. to California and from the
lakes lakes. to the gulf expected to see the ma
for president. and vice PRESIDENT but at
the democratic national convention which
fore the a e% weeks be
ocratic convention, which had for many
Years been following false gods, returned
to the faith of Jefferson and adopted a
platform and nominated q candidate tina:
came near standing for the great funda-
mental principles of good government
which l jefferson, JACKSON and Lincoln adj
True, the platform did not specifically
declare for all of the creeds of JEFFERSON
ana Lincoln, as had the peoples party
platforms from the beginning. but the
convention named a candidate who COM
manded the respect and confidence of ev-
cry follower of jefferson and Lincoln to
put patriotism and country above party,
refused to nominate another candidate,
but accepted the democratic candidate,
and had the nominee for vice president
stood for what the nominee for president
did, that candidate also would have been
accepted, With the help of the people S
party and patriotic silver republicans I'M
der the lead of Teller. Towne Dubois,
cannon and Pettigrew we polled for that
ticket more votes than any ticket of any
of the nation.
To-day we are facing another national
campaign. Since 1896 the trusts and mo-
nopolies have increased and multiplied in
number and manifold power. The nation
al banks have been given greater power