People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 September 1894 — HOT STUFF FROM BUTTS. [ARTICLE]

HOT STUFF FROM BUTTS.

The Hoosler Populist Takes His Pea ta Hand tm Write a Few Lines. Chicago Times. Chairman Butts of the Populists' state central committee is mad, and he has written a salty letter to Chairman Gowdy, of the Republicans, and Chairman Taggart, of the Democrats, for not recognizing the Populist candidates in the joint discussions already arranged for and published in Saturday’s Times between W. D. Owen and Capt. W. R. Meyers, of the Republican and Democratic parties re spectively. It appears that Friday, Chairman Gowdy, of the Republican state central committee, wrot as f 'Hows to Mr. Butts in reply to his challenge for joint discussions:

“In our conference with Chairman Taggart and Secretary tteilly, of the Democratic state committee, last evening, the •natter of your challenge was mentioned and it was the opinion o both committees that the time an ordinary political audience could properly be held would be fully occupied by the speeches of Messrs. Owen and Myers upon the agreed terms. We were also of the opinion t hat the issues between the two great er parties were all the people would care to spend time upon. We must therefore decline your request for tripartite debates.” Chairman Butts has replied as follows:

“I submit t if the discussion is to be a hippodrome upon that ancient chestnut, the tariff, it will not only be difficult to hold an audience, but still more so to obtain one when a chief plot in a play is, ‘Which is the better protective tariff, the McKinley or the Gorman-Brice law?’ ' It will also be easy for- such an tiidience as may be gathered and held, because no thinking will be required, and it is therefore likely that such meetings will be periods of repose. A third speech upon living issues which would be instructive and require thought and judgment upon the part of the audiences might be distressing to t ie combine. BOTH PARTIES AGAINST BIMETALISM. “You are kind enough to mention a ‘time an ordinary political audience could be held.’ May I inquire whether you expect to hold it by injunction, proclamation of the president, or by the military arm of the nation or state? Prom my information it will take all three, unless comfortable sleeping quarters are provided. In the last letter from your aggregated wisdom I notice the following gem: ‘We are also of the opinion that the issues of the two greater parties were all that the people would care to spend time upon.’ I was not aware that there were issues disturbing your combination. I had been led to believe that the only issue which kept you from complete amalgamation was as to which should have the offices. I am further strengthened in this position and belief by a well authenticated account of Mr. Myers’ speech at Noblesville on the Ist inst., in which he advised Democrats to keep away from Populist meetings, and further advising them that if they could not vote the Democratic party ticket then to vote the Republican ticket.

“You also mentioned your organization as comprising the greater parties. That evidently was to cover past conditions and cannot apply to present ones. You are a unit as parties against the free coinage of silver at a 1 ratio of 16 to 1 until Europe consents that our congress shall perform a constitutionally imposed duty of coining money and regulating the value thereof. You both agree that the president shall issue interest bearing 1 bonds to buy more gold coin and

other obligations of the government when there is a large amount of silver in the treasury. “As parties both of your organizations were in favor of and supported the unconditional re peal of the Sherman law, which law was yearly adding 150,000,000 to our vdfum of currency. Your combined parties, leaders’ and press were in .accord with the idea that the panic was caused by the Sherman law and that its repeal would bring back the confidence of the European money lenders, and thereby they would permit business here to resume its former dominion. After the repeal was effected your parties both admitted you were wrong as to the effect of the Sherman, law, and therefore you both said it was all on account of the tariff. Your parties unite in ignoring the fact of a contraction of the volum of money by eliminating the further use of silver, reducing the circulation of national bank currqpcy , over 1200,000,000 since 1573, although, the number of hinks has largely increased: and placing this country upon a gold standard, whereby merchant!* have been for years struggling in vain to maintain their businesr, against a constantly falling mar ket, and which has more than double the effect and power of debts and left unemployed mill ions, of workers who are willing and anxious to work, and that, too, at a time when granaries are full and uature has been pro vident. Every intelligent & u < honest man who has mvestigu ted knows that such contractioi and decrease in the money volum have prologed the present panic The party leaders and journa of both your one-time separati organizations joined in loud acclaim as an act of patriotism, ai the illegal issue by associated banks of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia Of over $03,000,001) of clearing-house certificatewhich was intended to and di perforin the functions of money, in violation of law. Botli your parties great newspapers are under those news censor?, the Associated and United Press, which censor is controlled by the European money power and under whose dictation .financial heresies and tyranny are forced upon such daily papers to keep their readers in ignorance, and they blindly follow the idea ol the alleged potent influence of the tariff.

Recent and present administrations of your twiu organizations have been in unison, so manipulating treasury accounts so as apparently to show that there is now more money in circulation than at any former period, and in order to make it ap pear that in 1866 there was a small per capita the following items are omitted: One-year notes of 1887 * S.WW.ib Two-year notes of 1867 9.415.::.‘> <'oinpolled interest notes 1.V.MM2.14 Seven-thirty notes NXi.2ul.ft.i Temporary loan ten tluys 129.178.1!' Cert ideates of Indebtedness .... ‘.*6.8,11. 0Total omsttod $1,130,154.47 “These omitted items were al used as circulation and passed from hand to hand, and whet* adden to other omitted ilems make a per capita for Ish6 ol $52.01.

ESTIMATES CALCULATED TO MISLEAD PEOPLE. “The present padded estimates of circulation include over *lO,000,000 of fractional currency, which everybody knows is not a part of the circulation; at least £67,000,000 of paper currency that has been lost, burned, 01other wise destroyed. Add reserves held in national and state banks and trust companies. *872,000,000, and add loss of coin and coin certificates, and the circulation per capita £lO, afid yet the padded estimates make it *25. “Your combination is nnani mously silent upon the burning questions now agitating the peeple of the government ownership of railroads, municipal ownership of street railways, | publie light and water supply. Further, there is unanimity o

both administrations of your parties in not requiring the Pacific railroad to repay to the government over 173,000,000, which it has paid for them. Your parties combined in concealing from the people the payment by the government to railroads since 1830 for transportation of United States mail the aggregate sum of 1398,482,296,71 to say nothing of the interest thereon, which being yearly increased at the rate of $25,000,vXK). ■ has made an expenditure already sufficient to have built •ne-fourth of the miles of railroad in operation iu the United States. .

“In view of such facts I can readily see how difficult it would oe for voters,, to be held in old party ranks if the monotonous chewing of the tariff schedules should be interrupted by the people’s party candidates presenting for the consideration of the people some questions and facts which would cause an awakening that would leav you helpless. Your refusal to allow the people’s candidate for secretary of state to participate in the joint discussions shows how much your discretion exceeds yours valor and candor. The honest*and intelligent voters are, however, receiving education upon the above topics, and as fast as educated are actuated oy patriotic motives in refusing to be longer bound by party chains and are coming to us in platoons. It is therefore fitting that your old party leaders, who have been so long united in in famy and corruption, should not in their political death be divided.”