Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-05-15

A>SoioshsI-o. II. EuulSLOn, u. ".
Thomas, w. v. Allen.
South Dokota-Wm. Lardner, f. G..
Borhri, III. p. Smith.
Observation-Disclosures Schilding, A. A.
i Worsly, Vim. Monroe.
THE SPEECHES.
Sioux Falls, May e.-(By Assoc
ciated Press -senator Marion But.
Ter, of North Carolina, chair
man Of the national commit
tee, called the convention to
order. After some pleasant remarks
about Sioux Falls, the preparations
made for the convention and the
kindly welcome given the representa-
tlves OF the party, he said:
Il feel that it is my duty to state a
| few facts concerning the party's his
| tory since the last national conven-
ton. 1t is well known that more or
| less dissatisfaction resulted from the
unpleasant but seemingly unavoidable
| episode of two vice presidential can
didates in the last campaign. A few
men took advantage of this dissatis-
faction to appeal to an honest senti-
ment, or shall say, prejudice, to Gre
? sSAN'.AA Z
ed that there was a conspiracy on foot
headed by myself, as your national
| chairman, to deliver the party bag and
! baggage to the democratic organiza-
ton. In the spring of 1898 they loud
| ly demanded a meeting of the nation
al committee 'to save the party They
said that l, as your chairman, should
call them together and let the COM
mittee from each state outline pol
| icy for the party until
the next national convention. You all
remember that l called meeting of
the national committee in the sum
mer of 1898 at Omaha. did it to give
those self-constituted leaders chance
to be heard and to give the full COM
mittee of the party chance
to act after hearing their grievance.
You all know the result. These self
constituted patriots demanded, at the
committee meeting, that resolution
should be passed, declaring that the
next national convention of the peo-
pies party should be held at least one
month ahead of that of the old par
| ty conventions.
In the interest of harmony, and in
order to meet these dissatisfied self
constituted patriots more than half
way, the committee accepted their
resolution and passed it unanimously.
This resolution has since been know,
as the Omaha agreement You all
know the result. These self-constitut-
led patriots, only few in number,
but very noisy, proceeded to bolt the
faction of the committee meeting with
in less than an hour after it had adj
journed, and issued a call for a rump
convention that met in Cincinnati in
September. Despite this treachery and
bad faith. the national committee, at
its meeting held in Lincoln, Neb.. a
few months. ago, stood by that Omaha
agreement to the letter and called
this convention to meet more than
thirty days ahead of both of the old
party conventions. But what was the
result? The same self-constituted pa
/ triots again bolted the action of the
committee at Lincoln,after getting ev-
erything that they had demanded in the
Omaha resolution. They went to
Omaha determined to bolt and try
to split the party, and failing to find
Ian excuse they bolted anyway. They
went again to the meeting of the
lcommittee at Lincoln determined be-
fore hand to bolt, and try to find an
excuse to bolt, and failing to find an
excuse, they bolted again anyway. But
one member of the national conven-
ton committee voted and only two or
4 three who held proxies and OF these
two or three were men who already
voted in fact by supporting the Barker
and Donnelly rump ticket.
These boilers, however, are few in
number, but, like the Il.ishman's frog,
they make noise enough for i million.
After reciting some other facts. con-
Injected with the management of the
party, Senator Butler referred briefly
to the platform to be adopted by this
convention, saying in part:
II will not attempt to, or presume
to outline the platform that this con
4 yention should adopt, but let me call
your attention to the three funda-
mental planks in the last peoples par
ty national convention, and point out
their application to present condi-
ltions.
Every political party will go into
TINS campaign denouncing trusts. The
English language will be exhausted in
searching for adJective with which to
paint the evils of criminal and UNI
~. III SO1h D4hutlCIS, Dul IlldIk NOW
many platforms will have the courage
or the honesty to point to the causes
that produce trusts, and to offer a
remedy for them. That remedy is al
ready in every platform ever adopted
| by the peoples party convention. 1t
was first put forward as the preventa-
tive. In short, if the first peoples
purity platform adopted had been en-
|acted into law we would not today
| have these great Industrial combina-
tions called trusts. Then, in short,
what. are the causes that produce
trusts and what is the remedy for the
leyil? Any combination of people
controlling the three great in
Instruments of commerce will con
4 troll all commerce, and can put
any and every business in the nation
into trust at will-they can go fur
Their, and will go further, and have
gone further, and control the govern
ment itself. What are these three in
struments of commerce? First, mon
ley; second, transportation; third, the
transmission of intelligence. When
they are controlled by private hands