The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1904-07-14

Spouse to a demand on the part OF the
wealth-producers for a political or
ganization which would represent their
economic welfare.
The election of Abraham Lincoln in
1860 was temporary victory for that
large class described by him in his
first annual message as
Men. with their families-wives,
sons, and daughters-(who) work
for themselves on their farms, in
their houses, and in their shops,
taking the whole product to them
selves, and asking no favors OF
capital on the one hand nor of
hired laborers or slaves on the
other"
But, las the result of the war, cor
porations have been enthroned, and
as early as 1868 it became apparent
that the republican party organiza-
ton had passed into the hands OF the
same type of men Christ drove from
the temple. The democratic party,
cursed with the odium of slavery, and
driven from power, might have died q
peaceful death had not the Belmont
family furnished the funds to keep the
organization aliye-the same Tribe OF
Belmonts who dominated the recent
convention at st. Louis.
In 1868 the House of Belmont de-,
feated Gentleman Geo. Pendleton in
convention and nominated Horatlo
Seymour who was known to favor
coin payment of the bonds. But they
were unable to control the platform
declaration, which was for
"One currency for the govern
ment and the people, the laborer
and the officeholders, the pension
er and the soldier, the producer
and the bondholder."
And when it became apparent that
Seymour would defeat Grant and that
he would religiously carry out the
platform although a hard money"
man himself-the Belmonts, Sam Til
den, and Manton Marble of the New
York World, short time before cleo
ton contrived hellish scheme to de-
feat him--and they succeeded. There
is no room here to tell this story but
1T may be found at length in Alex. Del
Mars History of Monetary Crimes
The Peter Cooper "greenback'' move
ment of 1876 was after the war the
first organized protest against pluto
cratic domination of both old parties.
In 1880. with James b. Weaver it's
standard-bearer, it polled 307 ,306 votes
and was promptly fused, to death
between that and 1884. In 1884, under
the leadership of Ben Butler, ii fell
back to 1880 votes; and in 1883 was
supplanted by the union labor party
with A. J. Streator as leader, polling
1895 votes.
The peoples party. then began to
rise from the ashes of the green
back" and union labor parties. Gath
erings at st. Louis in 1889, at Ocala,
Fla, in 1890; at Cincinnati, May 10,
1892, each of which adopted resolu-
1899, each of which adopted resolu-
lions in the nature or a platform, we're
the forerunners of the peoples party
national convention which met at
Omaha, July 4, 1892, and nominated
James B. Weaver for president and
James G. Field for vice president
| So rapid was the rise of the peoples
party that the Weaver electors had
20 votes in the electoral college, and
the popular vote was 1,055,424. The
subsequent history of the peoples par
ty is too recent to need repetition here.
Suffice it to say that the apparent rev.
olution in the democratic party in 1896
| almost-but not quite-wrought the
undoing of the peoples party.
| The radical change from the strad-
ding, meaningless democratic plat
FORM of 1892 to the Chicago platform
of 1896, together with the nomination
OF Mr. Bryan, led most populsts to
hope that for once in its history the
democratic party was completely di-
yorced from its plutocratic leading
strings. The Palmer and Buckner bolt
strengthened this notion. Hence ii
was most natural that the great ma
jority of populists should sanction the
action of the peoples party at St.
Louis In 1896, and give Mr.. Bryan the
full measure OF their support.
The national democratic convention
al Kansas City in 1900, however. was
sufficient notice to most populists that
the plutocratic leadership In the DEM
ocratic party had not been eliminated,
but was simply pretending 10 be
Il