People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 January 1896 — Page 4 Advertisements Column 1 [ADVERTISEMENT]

Direct legislation will knock out the political machines and down the bosses. Senator Tillman thinks there will be a revolution in this country before 1900. The national committee of the People’s party will meet in St. Louis, January 17, 1896. Jerusalem, the Holy City, where Christ preached the religion of humanity, has 135 saloons now. About all a Democrat can do now is to make faces at the Republicans. He feels too bad to say anything. There has been enough corruption and sin in Washington to condemn a hundred Sodoms and Gommorrahs. “Knowledge is power.” If it wasn’t it could not pull the. ignorant out of the ruts of prejudice and superstition. Party lines are resting loose upon the people and it is a good time’ to get in some efficient work for the causfe of reform. A vote for either of the two old parties is a vote to change political bosses of the same kind, but of a different brand. <AII of the reform forces ought to be ab|e to unite on a platform with direct legislation as the leading question to settle other issues. The whole question resolves itself into the one: “Shall the citizen or the than human rights?” Bayard simply talked about what Cleveland actually did, and congress saw fit to reprimand him. Why don’t they get after old Tallowfat? If the machine displaces labor, and the machine is owned by capital, how is labor to be benefited by the machine? Don’t answer too quick The Republicans are in practical control of congress now, but they are like the man who had the white elephant—then don’t know what to do. All that a corporation requires to rob the people, under our present system, is a lead pencil with which to make figures. An ordinary highwayman uses a gun.

Direct legislation is the “cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night” that will ultimately lead the reform forces into the promised land of industrial freedom. Grover pretends to object to the British extending their sway over South American territory, but he lets the bars down clean to the ground to give them a foothold in the United States. It is impossible to retain gold in this country as long as the interest and dividends on British loans and investments amount to more than four times the amount of gold we produce. The next thing we look to hear is something about the divine rights of capital. There are plenty of suckers that, would swallow that “gag” if it was administered to them by the party bosses. What we want to know now is whether bank money, not indorsed by the government, will be “good in Yurrup.” And if indorsement by the government makes it good, why iln’t government paper money better? Some of the churches are moving with the object of having God put in our constitution. We venture the opinion that God would object unless we put more of Him in our system, our votes and our social lives. Before the repeal Of the Sherman law we were told that it was that that was driving gold out of this country; now we are told that it is greenbacks. It is neither. It is the interest and dividends on British investments in this country. When the bankers took their shoulder out from under the public credit as pet contract, they immediately began another raid on the treasury reserve. The banker is one of the "birds” that old honest Abe Lincoln said “ought to have their devilish heads shot off.” Count up the profits derived from government, and the losses sustained » hy taxes, trusts, railroad corporations and speculators. Now how does the account stand? What good does government do you a? compared by the evils it permits others to inflict upon you? What is government for, if not to protect your rights? Instead of that, it is so administered today as to prevent you from praticing your rights Put on your study cap and think thes« things over. There is a wdy out of the dilemma and jrou will be able tc find it.