People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 March 1896 — Paragraphs From The Progressive Farmer. [ARTICLE]

Paragraphs From The Progressive Farmer.

Col. Dan Jones, Democratic candidate for governor of Arkansas, declares that he will not support the nominee of the Chicago convention except upon a free coinage platform of 16 to 1. * * M. Isn’t it funny the way the Republican papers urge the Democrats to nominate Morrison? The Democracy of a few years ago would have scorned the advice; the Democracy of today will perhaps accept it. * -* Make a tramp and you destroy a man. There were no tramps in America until we adopted a system which made money too valuable to employ labor; therefore that system, the gold standard is responsible for the tramp. Can you tell "why the dollar that bought only one bushel of wheat a few years ago was not just as sound as the dollar which now buys two bushels? Which would you rather have, the dollar you got for one bushel, or the dollar you now get for two bushels?

* * There are 800,*000,000 one cent pieces in the United States. Thi6 is equivalent to $8,000,000, and the metal is worth perhaps ten thousand dollars. Is this “sound money?” Why don’t the bankers object to it? Oh, it don’t interfere with the bankers! * * Cleveland now threatens that if congress does uot at the present session provide for the destruction of the greenbacks, he will call a special session for that purpose. Instead, congress should immediately order the administration to pay out silver on coin obligations according to law and the contract. * * Every Populist, every lover of equal rights and good government, should begin to plan to attend the great joint convention at St. Louis July 22. Those two conventions will be the greatest ever known in the United States, and they will represent the most emphatic protest against existing conditions ever made in any country. * * We have in mind a locality where a certain piece of property was taxed *44.77. The people, tired of such high taxes, flopped over and put the other old party in power. The very same property was then taxed *72.45. This is no joke, for we have the receipts. The old parties are both alike, except that each may be a little worse than the other. * Tramps are so’plentiful in Wisconsin that a state convention has been called to consider the question. The tramp is a modern institution in the United States, and so is the gold standard. Both came together, and both will leave together. The tramp is the product of that system which makes money too highpriced to employ labor.

How many of your neighbors don't take any paper at all? These can not expect to know anything of the conditions that oppress except as they are told. How many" others take none but old party papers ? These can know nothing except what they get warped and twisted in the interest of a party. Let us try to get into the hands of all some means of learning what it is that, hurts them, and what is necessary to do in order to relieve the hurt. * T,he party lash will be used from now on as it has never been used before. Already the gold standard elements of both old parties are taking pledges of the silver men of their respective parties, that they will stick to the party, no matter what action it may take on the finance question; and those who will not give such a pledge are being mercilessly excoriated. The silver men who cannot be bought with offices or promises, arc to be whipped in or kicked out. * *

* The only word the administration has for silver Democrats is “surrender or die!- Recently 63 Democratic members of the Kentucky legislature joined in a request that Carlisle advise jthe few gold bug Demo l crats that prevent the re-election of Senator Blackburn, to join with the majority and end the struggle. reply was to the effect that if the silverites wish harmony in the Democratic party they should abandon Blackburn, and elect a gold-bug.