The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-10-13
WATSON S PEN IN ACID.
Popu1ist Candidate in Letter of Accept
cncc Is Vitrio1ic.

Thomas E. Watson's letter formally
accepting the Populist nomination for
President, has been made public. The
letter, which is az dressed to Samuel w.
Williams, chairman of the committee on
notification, is about 1850 words long.
1t denounces 6ercely the Democratic
party and its candidate, declares the gold
standard "unscientifc and wrong" as
serts that those who produce wealth il
the United States are robbed of the
fruits of their labor and charges ''com-
bined capital with a plot to crush out
individual liberty by downing the labor
unions.
The only hop, for the middle and low
er classes" as Mr.. Watson terms them,
he sees is the rise ard growth to success
Of third party, not subject to corpora
ton domination. ConstructiveIy, he pro-
poses national board of arbitration to
pass upon disputes between capital and
labor, the adoption of the initiative and
| referendum for the making Of federal
laws and the ownership of public utili-
| ties.
The letter opens with a lament by Mr..
Watson over the tendency of humanity
] to submit to the domination of a few,
who use their power for oppression. Pass
ing from historical examples to the con-
dition of things now in the United States,
he finds symptoms which always have
characterized the diseased nation when
afflicted by class legislation" The cor
porations, according to the Populist cam
| didate, now rule the land and the people.
| "A blacker chapter than that which re-
| cords how both the old political parties
united to despoil the common people Of
the land" says Mr.. Watson, SIS not to be
found in the annals of class legislation"
Attacking the gold standard, the can
| didate says:
The gold standard is not ''irrevocably
fixed" because it is unscientifc and wrong.
| Nothing is more certain than that the peO-
| pie OF this country will continue their strug-
| gle until they have national currency
which the money power cannot control, and
which answers the purpose Of perfecting
exchanges without becoming an armory
| from which the buccaneers of modern f.
nance draw the irresistible weapons with
| which they attack values and raid the mar
| kets.
| In what Mr.. Watson terms "the farm
ing out to the national banks of the,pow-
! er, privilege and profit of supplying the
country with paper currency" he finds a
system whereby the privileged fatten
upon usury at the expense of the un-
privileged" and hold "despotic power" "
Both the Republican and Democratic
parties are ''irrevocably fixed" Mr.. Wat
son says, in their support of the national
| banks.
In discussing telegraph, telephone, ex-
press and railroad management, the let
ter says:
No other people among civilized nations
| are, so cursed with corporate tyranny as
J ourselves. Half a dozen corporate kings
| can meet in the Office Of J. p. Morgan and
| can tax the life out of any city or town In
| the United States. By a stroke Of the pen
lars. to the burdens of the people. They
enable the trust to STAY its rivals by grant
ing rebates, or special rates. which make
| competition impossible. They debauch pub
| lie morals by their methods of gaining what
! they want from governors, legislators,
judges, editors, politicians and members OF
| Congress.
I Passing to denunciation Of the dead
ly principle" of compound interest, Mr.
Watson attacks the Standard Oil Com
pany. ]. p. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie
August Belmont, Arthur P. Gorman and
Charles NJ. Schwab for financial opera
tons which, he says, have caused ga
rising tide of angry discomfort" all ovel
the country. These evils all would bt
cured by the application of Popuhsti'
ideas, according TO Mr.. Watson.