People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 April 1896 — Page 1

VOL. V.

PEOPLE’S PARTY PLATFORM.

FOUNDATION PRINCIPLES. First —That union of the labor .forces of the United States this day consummated shall be permanent and perpetual; may its spirit enter all hearts for the salvation of the republic and the upliftings of mankind. Second —Wealth belongs to him who creates it, and every dollar taken from industry without an equivalent is robbery. “If any will not work, neither shall he eat.” The interests of rural and civic labor are the same; their intesests are identical. Third —We believe that the time has come when the railroad corporations will either own the people or the people must own the railroads, and should the government enter upon the work of owning or managing any or all of the railroads, we should favor an amendment to the constitution by which all persons engaged in the government service shall be placed under a civil service regulation of the most rigid character, as to prevent the increase of the power of the national administration by the use of such additional government employes. FINANCE. First —We demand a national currency, safe sound and flexible, issued by the general government only, a full legal tender for all debts public and private, and that without the use of banking corporations, a just equitable and efficient means of distribution direct to the people at a tax not to exceed 2 per cent, per annum to be provided as set forth in the subtreasury plan of the Farmers’ Alliance or a better system; also by payments in discharge of its obligations for public improvements. We demand free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the present legal ratio of 16 to 1. We demand that the amount of circulating medium be speedily increased to not less than SSO per capita. We demand a graduatad income tas. We believe that the money of the country should be kept as much as possible in the hands of the people, and hence we demand that all state and national revenues shall be limited to the necessary expenses of the government economically and houestly administered. We demand that the postal savings bank be established by the government for the safe deposit of the earnings of the people and to facilitate exchange. TRANSPORTATION. Second —Transportation being a means of exchange and a public necessity, the government should own and operate the railroads in the interest of the people. LAND. Third—The land, including all the material rescources of wealth, is the heritage of the people, and should not be monopolized for speculative purposes, and alien ownership of land should be prohibited. And lands now held by railroads and other corporations in excess of their actual needs and all lands now owned by aliens should be reclaimed by the government for actual settlers only.

Political News From Headquarters.

Peoples Party News Bureau. ) Headquarters National Ex. Committee, V St. Louis. Mo., April2l. ) The reform leaven is still working and each day makes success appear more certain. One of the main things necessary to secure the much desired result is harmony and concerted action all along the line. St. Louis and the entire country is waking up to the fact that the Peoples party national convention on the 22nd of July will be one of the greatest conventions ever held on American soil. An evidence of this is the anxiety and efforts being put forth by the railroads centering in St. Louis to secure traffic over their lines to the convention. The Wabash has already printed thousands of folders containing the call and other information concerning the convention for general circulation. There is a manifest disposition at this time among some of the indedendent metropolitan daily papers to treat our party with greater consideration and fairness than ever before. This is only a straw perhaps but it indicates the direction of the wind. The editors of the great papers are fully aware that the country is on the verge of a political revolution. In the recent Chicago election, Eugene Smith, member of our national committee, was a candidate for alderman in the 12th ward and received 2,506 votes, being second in the race. This is looked upon by all parties as being a phenomenal contest. Mr. Smith is in favor of a union of the reform forces, which accounts for the large vote which he received. It may not be generally known, but the election committee of the house recently voted to unseat James E. Cobb, democrat, of Alabama, and seat Mr. Goodwin, a Populist. J. H. Davis, the Texas “Cyclone,” has challenged the democratic candidate, M. W. Johnson, of the fourth congressional district, to a joint discussion of the political issues. It is predicted that after “Cyclone” gets through with Mr. Johnson he will not look so pretty but will know more. . Hon. H. S. P. Ashby, chairman of the Texas state commitiee, opened headquarters at theTremont hotel in Ft. Worth on April 8. Under his able leadership the party in that state has grown in four years from nothing to at least 200,000 voters at this time. No one is more deserving of credit for hard work and sacri|Lces than Mr. Ashby. Senator Tillman of South Carolina, in a recent interview at St. Louis, disclaimed being a Populist because of their wild and visionary ideas. The Populists nave a reciprocal feeling for Mr. Tillman. The Peoples party state committee of New Jersey has been called to meet at Trenton May 1 to fix the time and place for a state convention. No state east of the Alleghanies is in better condition, politically, than New Jersey. Chairman Proctor and John Wilcox and J R. Buchan are an army in themselves. The Oregon campaign is now in full blast. Chairman Young has opened headquarters at Hotel Perkins, Portland, and under date of April

THE PEOPLE’S PILOT.

FOR THE FREE AND UNLIMITED COINAGE OF SILVER AND GOLD AT THE RARITY RATIO OF SIXTEEN TO ONE WITHOUT REFERENCE TO ANY OTHER NATION ON EARTH.

7 writes to Chairman Taubeneck: “I hope that you may see your way clear to keep Gen. Weaver in Oregon until June. His long experience renders his advice not only valuable but highly essential. John W. Breidenthal and Ex. Governor Lewelling of Kansas were in St. Louis last week making arrangements for accommodations for Kansas delegation to the national convention. They are both confident of carrying Kansas this year. The recent announcement that Wharton Barker of Philadelphia, editor of “The American,” a great national journal, had allied himself with the silverites, is causing sorrow and gloom in the gold-bug camp. The republican state committee of North Carolina recently sent a delegation of its members to confer with the populist state committee of which Senator Butler is chairman regarding a fusion of forces but our leaders consider the party sufficiently strong in that-state to stand alone. Locally, fusion may continue in North Carolina but nor on a state ticket. Word comes from Alabama that the silver democrats are joining hands with the populists which makes success in that state almost certain. The Gibson county, Tennessee, populists in convention recently, instructed for J. Hugh McDowell as candidate for congress in the Ninth district. J. C. McDermon the present democratic congressman from that district had a majority of 2,625 two years ago. McDowell can defeat him if any one can. In local municipal elections held recently in Colorado, Utah and other western states the populists succeeded in making great gains over proceeding years and carried many cities This was also true in several Wisconsin towns. Oklahoma populists will hold district conventions on May 22 for the purpose of selecting delegates to the national convention. Chairman Vincent is stirring things up down there. Ex-Governor Boies of lowa has come out for free silver with a vengeance and threatens to bolt the action of the Chicago convention if the democrats declare for a gold standard. The time was when Governor Boies did not know exactly “where he was at” on the financial question. Perhaps the possibility of securing a presidential nomination*had something to do with his decision. Many democrats are deluding themselves with the idea that their party will declare unequivocally for free coinage of stiver this year and nominate a candidate for president who is in harmony with that idea. This will hardly be, since Wall street cannot take chances on allowing it. There is much dissension in the prohibition party over the money question with the prospect of a bolt when the party meets in convention at Pittsburg on May 27. Free silver pro-

RENSSELAER, IND., THURSDAY, APRIL 23. 1896.

WHAT THE GOLD STANDARD WILL FINALLY BRING US TO.

hibitionists, like the free silver democrats and republicans can find a congenial home in the People’s party. The executive committee of Dallas county, Texas, with Mr. Harry Tracy, chairman, and C. H. Stribbling, secretary, recently issued a call for a county primary to be held June 13 to nominate a county ticket. The call contains the following: “All voters are eligible to participate in said primary irrespective of whether they be democrats, republicans, populists or independents except those participating in the democratic primary for county officers called for May 14. We advise those who endorse the above reform and desire to become candidates for any county, district or precinct offices in Dallas county to declare their candidacy subject to the above called referendum.” Milton Park, of the Southern Mercury in an interview in the Dallas News, states: “The democratic primary will be held on May 16 and we invite all citizens who are opposed to the 16th of May primary to participate in our primary on the 13th day of June. Gold men, silver men, democrats republicans and populists are invited to participate. No man will be barred unless he has previously voted in the democratic primary. If the people select candidates who are not populists, then we will support them. We do not care who they voted for or how they stand on state and national issues. A man can vote for Cleveland, Harrison of McKinley or any other presidential candidate. That will cut no figure in this case. Our invitation is general and sweeping. ' It is somewhat singular that Mr. Park and Mr. Tracy should lead such a movement, when they have been opposed to everything in favor of an honest union with the silver organizations throughout the United States. This is the first in the history of our party where a committee invited gold-bug republicans and goldbug democrats to take part in Peoples party primaries. A call for a national convention has been issued by E. Evans, chairman and M. F. Gray, secretary, of the so-called “National Reform” party which was launched at Staten island on July 4of last year. The convention will be held at Pittsburg, Pa,. May 25, two days before the prohibition convention for the purpose of uniting with them if possible. Union seems to be the watchword this year all along the line. A call has been issued by Eltweed Pomeroy for a conference of all voters in the United States who favor the principle of direct legislation to meet in St. Louis on July 21 for the purpose of formulating demands to be presented in the Peoples party convention to follow on the 22nd. The Peoples Party News Bureau is still receiving much complimentrry mention. Editor Salter of the Ocobla, Mississippi, Press writes: “These letters supply a long felt want by reform publishers, especially those in the rural districts.” ' A. R.

—From The National Bimetallist.

Bit Off Too Much.

In throwing silver overboard it is more than possible that the sh.ylocks have bitten off to much. It is not often that a shy lock will cut his own throat, but this may be the one exception. The temporary enhanced purchasing power of gold stimulated the production of that metal to such an extent that the day is not so very far distant when, at the present ratio of 16 to 1, silver will be worth the most. This may seem like a rash prophesy, but time will prove its correctness. In fact, it is not a prophesy at all. It is a calculation based upon certain unalterable laws and unquestioned facts. First: The.inevitable law is that the increase in the volume of money decreases its purchasing power. That the increase of gold product decreases the purchasing power of gold, and that the increase in the product of silver decreases the purchasing power of silver—and vicvi versa. Of course the decrease in the purchasing power of the one metal, even while its product is being increased, may for a time be checked by the disuse of the other metal. Till the vacuum thus caused is filled the above rule may seem inoperative. For instance, though there lias been already an enormous increase in the production of gold its purchasing power has steadily increased, but this is owing to the fact that silver coinage has been suspended. Till this shortage, caused by the suspension of silver coinage is made up by the gold product, the purchasing power of gold will contiuue to increase. But when this vacuum caused by the withdrawal of silver is filled the the rise in the purchasing power of gold will not only decrease, but will at once begin its inevitable decline. In the years to come, you who are students in financial lore, please remember what here is recorded: The decline in the purchasing power of gold will be as rapid as has been that of silver since 1875! And the decline will not stop till the difference between gold and silver is as great as it is now with the conditions reversed. When the day comes, as come it will, that gold begins to decline in purchasing power the value of silver will begin to increase—not only relatively with gold but actually with all other commodities. The above is as unalterable a law as that water runs down hill. And now as to the facts: Second: The indisputable fact is that the production of gold is increasing at an enormous rate, with a prospect of a long and continually increasing product. In 1887 the world turned out 1106,000,000 and in 1890 the output was only 1113,000,000. Last year the output of gold rose to the enormous aggregate of $203,000,000—a yield equal to the entire product of any two decades down to 1840. In the last five years the gold output has doubled, the rate of increase being about 12 per cent for e ach year. If the average for the next five years is no more than 10 per cent the production in 1900 will reach the vast sum of $320,000,000, and the world’s stock of gold will be increased, considering the product of the last five years, by more than $2,000,000,000. A well-known French economist estimates that within two or three years the world will yield about $244,000,000 annually, and that this will continue for at least twenty-five or thirty years. The productive power of gold mining machinery, as well as the greatly cheapened price of rock drills and explosives, has cut down the cost of gold production to about one-fourth what it was forty, or more than twenty years ago. It.is interesting to note the fact that already Shylock begins to shake in his cowardly shoes oyer the rapidly increasing supply of gold. We refer of course to those shy locks who are interested in long time investments. ' The note-shav-ing shylock who deals in commercial paper is not interested in the question. A Chicago goldbug organ of recent date expresses its uneasiness on the subject in the foliowing language: “When the gold basis was established the world’s production of gold averaged but ten millions a year. Within this century enormous piles of gold have beeil amassed and the stock, as we have seen, is certain to receive immense additions. In what way will the mechanism of finance have to be readjusted to meet the new conditions? The fear of limitless production of silver. which made international bimetallism entirely hopeless, even in the opinion of ardent advocates of that system, has been supplanted by the fear of a gold flood; and it is interesting to note what moral bimetallists draw from this change. “It is believed that the present commercial ratio between gold and silver will be materially modified. Some, indeed expect to see silver at a premium. A very able writer in the Bankers’ Magazine, of London, is inclined to believe that gold will depreciate in value and that effects on the industrial world will be extremely alarming. —Norton’s News.

NUMBER 42.