The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-06-28
POpulist Committeeman View
Party Record With Satisfaction.
They Issue an Address to the
American People.
SAY THEY WE'RE RIGHT
Early Doctrines Have Net With
General Acceptance.
" Fifty-cento . Dollar Saved the
Nation, They Declare.

Of the committee on address opened
today's session of the annual confer
ence of the national committee Of the
Peoples party and was adopted unani-
mously- The address follows:
To the American People: The ma
tional conference Of the Peoples party
assembled at St. Louis, June 27 and
%, 1906. looks back upon the contests
that have been made by the party with
satisfaction. It is joyful over the gem
eral acceptance of the doctrines which
the party has advocated. Every politi-
cal party has adopted part of them
and there is every reason to believe the
principles We have advocated will in
| the near future be the foundation of
| the policies of the American people.
/ During the last few years there has
1 been continual demonstration of the
/ correctness of the economic principles
declared by our party conventions.
1 The so-called fifty cent dollar has
saved the nation from business dis
/ aster. When the decreasing power of
/ the dollar began to be felt in COM
merce the hard times began to disap
/ pear and as the decrease continued
prosperity became more general
| Duties on imports have remained un-
/ changed, transportation has remained
/ in the same hands. no new land laws
! have been enacted and the change
I
/ from bankruptcy and ruin to business
/ activity can be credited to nothing
/ except the increase in the volume of
/ money and the tremendous and alarm
! ing imitation of bank credits that have
j been used in business as money
/ equivalents. Our contention has never
1 been for any God-ordained-mone
metal, but for an increase in the vol
ume of money sufficient to restore and
maintain stability in the price-level.
Party Was Right.
It has been completely demonstrated
4 that the party was right in the advo-
cacy of the quantative theory Of
money and this economic theory will
/ probably never again be denied. There
is no exception to the law of supply
and demand. The quantative theory
IS the application Of this law of money.
/ Although this question IS now we'll set
tied, the money question remains as
/ important as 1t ever has been. Money
+ is the creature of law, nothing can be
4 legal tender STANDARD Of payment)
money except as the law makes it SO.
/ Such a statement is no longer called
I anarchistic. It is an axiom so plain
1 that no intelligent and well informed
man can seriously deny it. The gov
| ernment ought not to delegate to a
/ private corporation its prerogatiVe to
( issue MONEYS an axiom just as
sound. There would be no objection
! to this axiom were it not that such a
/ privilege granted to banks is a source
of great profit to them. The present
policy of delegating the governmental
prerOgative to issue money and the
| proposed issuance of asset currency is
a question of grave and pressing inn
/ portance.
There are other principles of the party
that are not accepted in full and the
/ partys mission will not be fulfilled un-
/ til the questions concerning monopoly.
/ transportation, machine rule, control of
the avenues of information, the cen
sorship of the postofdce department
| and the other questions have been set
| tied. Experience has taught that un-
limited power in private hands is dan
/ gerOus to the public welfare. Every
| private monopoly is the exercise of such
power within its field of action. All
monopolies should be owned and opera
| ted by the whole people. This doctrine
/ has been widely adopted except in the
United States and in some degree even
here. Wherever adopted the people will
a return to governmental control of
monopolies in private hands.
Popular Senatorial Elections.
The demand that United States sena-
tors should be elected by the people in
stead of by the legislatures was first
declared in the platform Of the Peoples
party and is now advocated by practi-
cally the entire nation.
The demand for a parcels post and
/ postal note system is being insisted
upon everywhere. These demands
were first made by the Peoples party.
We are opposed to any tariff that in
its administration is for the benefit of
| American trust combinations which
sell to foreigners cheaper than to the
American consumer.
Wherever any of the principles of
the party have been enacted into law
! there has been a unanimous endorse
ment of them; this is particularly so
in regard to the rural free delivery
secured by the Hon. Thomas 3. Wat
son, while a member Of congress.
The growing evils such as govern
ment by Injunction, militarism, au-
/ tocracy in the postoffice and in all of
the other departments of the govern
ment. graft and favoritism eVeryWh ere
are merely the expressions of an in
creasing degeneracy in the machine
rule system which will be terminated
as rapidly as the peoples sovereignty
IS re-established. Oregon Los An
geles and other direct legislation cities
in America. also Switzerland, are shin
/ ing examples of the results which fol-
low the re-estab biishment of a direct
vote system in legislation. The direc-
ton towards which our political sys-
tenn is to develop is beyond question;
the only problem is. how best can we
promote the cause.
Looking Backward
A calm review of what has been ac-
compIshed is inspiring: The peoples
sovereignty mas Deen eStdDuSneQ IN
Oregon and South Dakota; the refer
endum exists in Nevada; the advisory
Initiative is installed within the par
ties in Texas; a public opinion system
is in use in Illinois and by Its use pub
| lie ownership of street railways IN
/ Chicago is being accomplished. This
autumn the people of Montana and
i Delaware are to vote upon the esta b
lishment of their own sovereignty-in
/ Montana the question Is the adoption
Of a constitutional amendment for the
4 s..st ts.A L.