Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 May 1894 — POPULIST CONVENTION. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

POPULIST CONVENTION.

? : — ■ <* ■ The People’s Party Platform and Ticket. Leroy Tfmpleton the Permanent Chair, paan—Sirs. Gotfgar Speaks. > Thc-populists of'liidiuHjt met in delegate convention at Tomlinson Hall. Indiana pol is, Thursday, May 24. The attendance was not as large as had been predicted. A full attendance would have given 2,952de regales, but several counties were not represented. The personnel of the body was almost exclusively agricultural. At 10 o’clock Joshua btrange, chairman of the State Central Committee, came upon the stage and called for the various committees to come upon the platform. Revn Wadsworth opened the meeting with prayer, tTie delegates standing en masse, Mr. Wadsworth said: “We appeal this morning to the God of Abraham and Jacob, the God of Moses and of Israel...the God of Washington arid the God of Lincoln to lift up the oppressed and to succor the needy.” He hoped that “God would put it into the hearts of the voters of Indiana to place good, hone.'t mrm in offl ce. —Give us Godhonorinc men - God -loving men. When the wicked rule the righteous mourn. AL and sedition.” [Cries of “Amen! Amen! God grant it! Amen.”] Mr. Strange addressed the convention briefly and was warmly applauded. Alvin Heimes, chairman of.the commit- “ teeWn Leroy Templeton for permanent chair-

tnan and Andrew Johnston for seretary. The report was adopted. - Mr Templeton. di. being introduced, said: I h:irr’ brrnT: r H'vHiere t(>ritiy to makeyou speech: now I am not going to make you a speech; 1 aln simply going to give you a little talk, for I realize that you are men of business and want to get home. Now then 1 will say, not that 1 want to make a speech, that we are here to form a government that will protect the weak, and not only protect the weak, but keep down the strong. We are in need of such a government, and if we do not get it, we will soon go back to the government of the strong, ruled by brute for<ce. Now, then, 1 realize when I look around that we have the strong in our midst. You know, and I know, that wo have had such laws in the last years to protect the strong and to keep down the Weak. We have got such laws today that trample upon and keep down the weak. 1 crave your cooperation. and realise that we shall get along pleasantly with the business, and put a good ticket in the Held. It has been hinted and said over this land that we Populists and laboring men are going on to the direction, of anarchy. That is not true, we simply want to have the right prevail. We are going to have it prevail, and that without ’’tramping J on the grass,” Tiie report of the committee on credentials was read by delegate Cary, chairman as the committee. It showed the total number of accredited delegates to the convention to be 2,-952; necessary to a choice, 1,477. Delegates present Were entitled to vote also for those absent. The report was adopted unanimously. A controversy arose over the order of business, and Mrs. Goiryar, being present, was called upon for a speech. She spoke briefly. Among other things she said: God Almighty never put more people on earth or in any one spot than He could take care of. We have allowed vicious politicians to pack our conventions, and we are marching to the Capitol under an independent banner, and we are getting away from the old party whip, determined to make the statutes ol God lhe statutes of man. Wo will worship the golden rule instead of the golden calf. Concerning the silver problem, she spoke of "John Cleveland and Grover Sherman.” She said: “I am not in favor of marching to Washington, bu-t let us march to the ballot box and meet organized wrong with organized right.” The platform committee not being ready to report the convention Adjourned until 1:30 p m. On reassembling in the afternoon the hall was well tilled with delegates and spectators. The platform was then submitted as follows: TliE I’LATFOBM. Another political contest is at hand freighted with consequences of weal or woe to our people to be determined at the ballot-box next November. We meet under conditions that should immediately cause every thoughtful citizen to thing deeply and silently commune with himself on the present conditions of business stagnation, actual distress and poverty attending many hundred thousands of our producing and laboring people, the result of legislation in favor of specially favored classes by the Republican party the past thirty-two years, reinforced by its ally—the so-called Democratic party—under Grover Cleveland. Posing as parties of the people—both of thzm having, since the elections of ’92, repudiated their platforms containing their solemn promises upon which they sent their President into the White House and obtained ’’their seats” in the National Legislature, and have, since the meeting of this Congress, ignored the requests and fietitlonsof the people for remedial legisatlon, as no more than the idle vaporings of so many slaves, and have proceeded jointly with ’’their votes” and the act of ’’their President” to fasten upon the American people the single gold standard of foreign monarchies. We ask all patriotic, honest citizens to assist in destroying the Demo-Republican party at the polls in ’94 and ’96, as they are no longer worthy of confidence orsupport; we meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, politcal and material ruin. Corruption dominates the. ballot box, the Legislatures, the Congress, and touches even the ermine on the bench and corrupts the church. Imported pauperized labor 1 "at s down the wages of labor, and our working peoplware rapidly degenerating into European conditions. The fruits of the toil of millions are bodily eto.len to build up colossal fortunes for a few. and the. possessors of those in turnfles|>ise the republic and endanger liberty. From the same prolific womb of governmental injustice wo. brood the two great classes-—tramps and millionaires. Miivj r, which lias been accepted as coin since the dawn of history, has been demonetized to add to the purchasing power if gold by decreasing the value of all forms of property us well as human lab**’-

and the supply of currency is purposely abridged to fatten usurers, bankrupt enterprise and to enslave industry. A vast conspiracy against the sovereignty of the American people over theirdomestic financial policy has already taken possession of the American Congress. If not met and overthrown at once it forbodes tdrrible social convulsions, the destruction of civilization. or the establishment of. an absolute despotism. We have witnessed for more -than a quarter oHt eentury the struggles of the two great political parties for power and plunder, while grievous wrongs. h ave Been inflicted iipdh the strffering people. We charge that the controlling influences dominating both these old parties have permitted the existing dreeadf ul conditions to develop, without serious effort to prevent or restrain them. The Smaller manufacturers are rapidly being crushed out by-the great syndicates and aggregations of capital, while the -common laborer-ha?- become but a mere automatic attachment to a machine. Where Once a dozen intelligent mechanics were employed we now find one speechless machine managed by a foreign outcast or a child deprived of education. The capitalist rolls up his untold thousands and millions by reason of this condition of affairs. while the daily press tells the sad tale of the starvation and suicide of the poor and unemployed. We have tariff laws to protect the man who owns the machine, but no laws to protect the mechanic who formerly did the same-work from convict, labor and foreign competition. When the operative resists a reduction of his wages, the owner of the machine aud the mines, presses an electric button and orders his agent to send on a load of Italian or Hungarian paupers. The two old parties are alike guilty and responsible for this condition of affairs. If we turn from manufacturing to other branches of human effort we find the same, fearful condition. Farming is to-day a prostrate and ruined industry, but it is not the proposed changes by the old parties in duties of the shifting of schedules that will produce more money and financial relief to our people. We pledge our party that if given power -we will labor to correct these evils by wise and reasonable legislation in aceordanw witlvtlie terms of our platform. Invoking the mercy and blessing of God' upon our suffering and distressed people, we commend to the thoughtful considerour declaration of principles and platform, inviting tljesuppporc of every voter who favors the return of prosperity and happiness in place of the present and prospective conditions of pante and poverty, while the government of our beloved country remains under control .of the old, corrupt parties that have outlived their useful-’ ness. — rr =---’ ■ • . ~ We demand a national currency of ?50 per capita, including the free coinage of silver atlthe ratlo of 46 to 1; Issued by the general government only, a full legal, tender for all debts, public and .private, distributed to the people direct, without .i.hi)..i.u.U - rvenucmafbanking. corporations, in payment of all. obligations of the Government, ar.l deniand the issue of non-interest-bearing treasury notes of small denominations. We declare our unalterable opposition, as a party, to tanks of issue, State or national. We also denounce the past and continued use of the Goverpment fiat by Congress to create interest-bearing bonds. We charge that the crime of demonetizing silver in ’73, by the Republican parly, further consummated by the joint action of both the old parties at the extra session of Congress in ’93, has fully accomplished the purpose of the moneyed aristocracy of the United States and England, in placing the American producers of our great staple crops on a level with the poorest paid pauper labor of the world under English control, by changing through this crime against American producers and laborers the pricing instrument for all products and wages to the single standard of gold only. We demand a national graduated income tax oir .salaries orjiiconies in excess of reasonable expenditures for the comforts and necessities of life. -k. .. 2 Wo pledge the People’s party, when given control of the Government, that the gunholders, who put up life to save the Union from secession, shall be equalized with the bondholders, who speculated in human life and the blood of our people, and thoir pensions shall be.treated as a vested right. We favor the election of United States Senators and all postmasters by direct vote of the-people. We believe the people are yet capable of self government and demand of the nex t legislature the repeal of the metropolitan police law. We also denounce the present unfair and unjust law that forbids minorities representation on election boards or witnesses to count of ballots, as a violation of the natural rights of the people; the entering wedge of the destruction of free government; the very essence of party tyranny and taxation without representation! Laws that no honest man can defend. Wo demand a constitutional convention to revise our State constitution and in-

elude therein reform in the methods of taxation and the, initiative and .referendum system of legislation, with the veto power of all the important laws in the nahdS of the people. We demand such equitable adjustment of the statute for the listing of property for taxation that will permit the deduction of all bona-fide indebtedness from sum total listed, Weilemand a reasonable homestcadlaw that no process of any court can touch. We demand a law taxing all inheritances coming to citizens of Indiana, both direct and collateral, at 5 per cent, above 52.000, for the benefit of the State sinking fund. <j Wo demand the most liberal educational facilities for the masses within the. power of the State to provide, and a more efficient administration of the public schocfund. We demand that convict labor shall be taken, as far as possible, away from competition with honest free labor in conduct of the State prisons, recommending that counties work their convicts building and improving country roads. We demand a law at the hands of the next Legislature that will make it optional with debtors in this State to pay any legal obligation in gold, silver or other lawful money of the United States. We demand that our State naturalization laws conform to our national laws upon the subject. We view with alarm the evil Influences of the liquor traffic. We heartily indorse the initiative and referendum system of legislation. The right to Vote is inherent In citizenship, irrespective of sex. We demand an effective enforcement of the laws prohibiting the employment of child labor. We demand that a system of arbitration be established. We favor the reduction of the working hours by law in mines and factories. We demand that cities be speedily empowered to assume ownership and control of public water, transportation and lighting plants.in such manner as to operate wholly in the interest of the people, without imposing burdensome taxation. We are against the giving out of public works under contract to the lowest bidder. The State and the communities should carry out such work themselves under the supervision of experienced officers. We favor an efficient employers’ liability law and the inspection of mines and factories for the protection of life and limb of the workingmen. The roll call of districts being called for nominations for Secretary of State, the names of Dr. C. A. Robinson, of Shelby county; C. A. Power, of Marion countyi

and Dr. Morrison, of Putnam, were presented. The two latter withdrew and Robinson was nominated by acclamation. For Auditor of State J. K. Matthews, of Johnson county; Edgar A. Perkins, ol Indianapolis; and John L. Goberi, oi Crawfordsville, were placed in nomination. Matthews withdrew and a ballot by districts resulted in the nomination ol Perkins by a large majority. Mr. Perkins make a short speech thanking the convention for the honor conferred. _ N. H. Motsinger, of Shoals; A. B. Keeport, of Logansport; and John L. Goben, were placed in nomination for Treasurei of State, The ballot resulted: Keeport, 1,446J<; Motsinger, 907; Goben. 498J<. Thf chair held that it required 1.477 votes to nominate, but on motion of Mr. Motsinger, Mr. Keeport was declared the nominee. David W. Chambers of New Castle, and Silas M. Holcomb of Tipton, were candidates for the nomination of AttorneyGeneral. The ballot resulted, Holcomb, I, Chambers, Two names, those of John R. Thornburg, of M adison county, and J. Harry Montgomery, of Lawrence county, were mentioned as candidates for clerk of ths Supremo Court. The former, however, refused to acceptthedianor and Montgomery was nominated by acclamation. The same course was pursued in the nomination of A, J. Allen, of Vigo county, for Superintendent of public instruction. J. J. Johnson was nominated, but withdrew in favor of Mr. Allen. W. P. Smith, of Indianapolis, was nominated by acclamation as the Populist candidate for State Statistican. The name of Jonn Rumnier was presented but withdrawn before a ballot was necessary. The roll was called for nominationa for State geologist, but no name was presented to the convention. The chairman asked if there was no member of the party smart enough- to classify the rocks, and a man from the First district nominated Edward Kindle, who is an inrtructor in ’theState University at Bloomington. He wasnomin a ted by, acclamation. The nomination fdr Judge of the Supreme Court for the First District was referred to the State committee. David W. Chambers was nominated for the Fourth District by acclamation. There was quite a debate over the adoption of the name to head the ticket. A motion was made to call it the “People’s Ticket” and an amendment was offered to insert the word “Party”. Debate was finally shut off by Mr. Patterson calling attention tn the fact that the amendment was necessary to make the ticket legally the same its the National ticket. The whole thing was finally referred to the State central committee. The plow and hammer was adopted as the emblem. The convention, at 6 o’clock, adjourned sine die.

LEROY TEMPLETON.