what I rrtxiM r I it wa the first party to demand an
In tni great nation, tftchirg thous-1 incotne tax.
and of mile from north to mouth and In later jeara iU platforms hare de
frosa eajtt to are!, it of nossty take j Bounced the extraordinary use made of
year f tise for th people to beootte j the writ of injunction by some of the
fanulxar with th tenet c any party ad- X federal judges, as well as the tyaannical
eating new principle. RepeciaJIy U f exerci&e of the power to punish for con
tempt.
The perfidy of legislators and the ras
cality constantly developed in municipal
bodie whereby money was misappropri-
thif u if the great dailies and magazine
tsurepresent the fact car suppre infor
mation epos the aubfect. To many mil
lion of people, well infom-d on other
subjects, the principle cf populin are
wholly enkcown. and if they hare acy
opinions at all on the abjct they are
far froca the truth.
wa planted by Abraham Lincoln when I
he wrote that Inter in mhkh he aid i
that h trembled for hi ouuntry when j
be the enthronesjent of corporation j
ore than at azy tlne dering the dark -1
t day of the war. The peer he of !
Thaddena Steven ia conre called at-
teetaoo of thinking oen every where to ;
the danger threa teeing the welfare of
the mae throcgh the roncentratioa A ,
wealth- For ocse tin the hope wa
fadalged in, that reform eocld be effect
ed through the republican party. But ;
eTery so of prominence in that party
who raited his voire against the aacre
tioej cf power by the wealthy, wa in
variably hurled froo effve and power, "
Gtn. Van Wjck. in Nebraska, wa but
sn anxacg a large number rtpretentit:
this da.
One thins that delated the nsoresect ,
was the aJmcwt ucieral ignorance of j
tb people ef the ritc 4 political
had ieter hn taught in
chfAs and th cog
a ted and franchises worth millions given
away to corporations in spite of the ear
nest protests of the voters, stimulated
the party to look for some means of relief
from this great evil, and the "initiative
and referendum" has been adopted as
the only remedy likely to bring relief as
has been demanded by the good citizens
of all parties. The demand for the ap
plication of this principle has appeared
in all the platforms of the party for
some years. That it is not a device
simply to catch votes, is proven by the
fact that wherever the party has had the
power it has immediately incorporated
it into law. The legislation. in South
Dakota is an example.
This principle has been frequently
commended by Mr. Bryan, as well as
many men of prominence in the repub
lican party. It is in full operation in
Switzerland and partially so in many
other of the most enlightened nations."
: As new issues have arisen the party
has instantly taken a, .position on every
one of them without evasion or equivo
cation. Every populist stands with both
feet upon the. declaration of indepen
dence and the constitution: of the United
States. He believes that wherever the
jurisdiction of the United States ex
tends, there the constitution reigns su
preme. It held its first national conven
tion on the Fourth of July, and adopted
for its motto, "Equal rights to all and
special privileges to none,"
. Notwithstanding the constant charges
made against it by the plutocratic press
the party has never shown any tendency
toward Carl Marx socialism, disorder or
anarchy. Its voters are made up, for the
greater -part, of the most conservative
citizens of the union, namely, the farm
ers. They believe that all those things
eccopsy. It
The Foundation of American
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
Liberty,
4" Tiff l'j
Y
Lxk.-'wOr
Twrw. .JAiV-r
4
oiimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America:
v
1 i
hen, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dislve the political bands which have
connected them w ith another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the seperate;and equal station to
which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires
that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
h th-e truth? to be sol f -evident, that all men are crented equal; that they are endowed by their treat or wit n
1 ri-IiT; thai, among then are LifiLiberiy,and the pursuit of Happiness. That.to. secure these rights, gpvera-
- i:i:iuu-.i anioricr men, deriving their just powers. .from the cedent of the governed;. That,whenever anyForm of Gov
ernment becomes destructive of these ends ,it is the Right of the People to alter orab6lishit, and to institute anew Government
laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their
Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and
transient causes; and accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are suffer
ahe. than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably theame Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right,
it is their duty, to throw off such Government and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter
their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and
usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove thislet Facts
be submitted to a candid world:
He has refused his Assent ro Laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their opera
tions till hi? Assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would re
linquish the nght of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Pub
lic Records, f-.. the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance, with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly,for opposing with manly firmness, his invasions on the. rights of he
people.
He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected whereby the Legislative; Powers, in
capable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise, the Stac remaining in the meantime exposed
to .11 the, dangers of .nvasion from without and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these statesv for that purpose obstructing the I)aws for the ICaturaliza
tion of Foreigners,refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of 'new Appropriations
of Lands. " " . . ' ' V .
He has obstructed the. Admim'straticm of Justice, by refusing his Asseftt ' to - Laws for establisMng Judiciary Powers,
-i ' " I -'" i:-2e?o Jr,ii? dependent t-n hi? Will alone for the tenure vftFiefr office?, anTihe.anount 'and paynieniTei tEcir
sent -hither swarms of OiTicers to harass our JPedpIe and eat out their
altitude of JSTew.Oilices.
id
He has kept among us in times of peace, Standing Annies, .without the: Consent of -our Legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of, and superior to the- Civil Power. - -.. . - - k
He has combined with others to subject us lo a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws,
giving his Assent to their acts of pretended Legislation: . , ; v
Fr i:;...:r;orir. ic.rj-.: i.c-iL ..-juvcr tn-ops rnoag us: - '''
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabit
ants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
rr ini:v mmc tao? on us without our consent: .
1 .t t.K-riMKir us, in many eaes, of the benefits of Trial b.y Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offenses:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary govern
ment, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute
rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering, fundamentally, the Form of our
Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all cases
whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
31c La? plundered cur seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt pur towns, and destroyed tEe lives of our people.
He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and
tyranny, already begun, with circumstances of CrueltjT and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally
unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens, taken Captive on the high Seas, to bear Arms against their Country, to be
come the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections ainonesj us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the
merciless Indian Savages, whose known rules of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions
have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define c Tyr
ant, is unlit to be the ruler of a free People.
Xor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts
made by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of
our emigration and settlement hero. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity,and we have conjured them,
by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and cor
respondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the ne
cessity which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind. Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress Assembled, appealing 'o the
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the Xame and by Authority of the good People of these
Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be,Free and Independent States;
that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State
of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as Free and Independent States," they' have full Power to levy
War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and do all other Acts and Things which Independent States niav
1
of right do. A
e support oi this iJeciarauon, witn nnn reliance on, the iTOiection oi Uivine iTovidenee we
it Lives,, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
! 9-
mutually
fW St
i
-1
in which all the people are vitally inter
ested, such as thfr streets, public high
ways, common schools, the postaffice, the
xeiegrapn, me rauroaas, city gas, waver,
and . electric licrhtincr. should be owned .
V- v i i . .i i i : . i
firmlv Hint, nil fhrvaA' fhinora whifh Rrft of'
lie has no concern, should be owned ' by
private individuals, a j ; r .
-. The voters of the party' are opposed to
all monopolies . of whatever nature,
whether it be in money, in land, in trans
portation or in production. Such men a
nunarea years ago wouia - nave peen
cauea jenersoman aemocrais, anu uiiriy
years ago Lincoln republicans.
ti - La j a a u
; l l '.ij L i- i-
poffices. That ; they stand upon that
j a l ii A r . - A. 1
grouuu ycii is proven uy uuo ouuuu w&eu
by their delegates at their last national
convention, when they nominated two
men, one for president and one for. vice-
president, neither of whom was a mem-s'
ber of their party. .
The principles which 'were first pro
mulgated by the peoples party have had
a most astonishing growth, both dn this
country and in Europe. If civilization
is to continue in anything like its pres
ent form, they .must eventually become
the policies or all nations.
' Such are the principles of . populisms
and believing that these principles can
, v. r ri -
J. Bryan and Charles A. Towne for pres
ident and vice president, the voters of
the party will cast their ballots for them.
tisoft wholly iwi it. Thr w nn
way for th yot (o et information
cpt to think out for thtr'!, is th '
ImI way that thy could. th grrt and
hrtrufc rxni that attracted
tb aUatka rA th wholajr ac.4 thick '
ve. bo had fonnulatiKi 1 c. .
Th oaMtiv trpsu- KnOMmih j
tr the for. A xrt cry wrt p j
r&M and thr wr t boric that th
j-. jM -btai5. Thi itq th (
ca. th fans ri th wt acd tb
fmh fat down t tbirk it rt tm thtn
!. Thr wa xo&tk!t z wrocz
Milliocair. ucknown bfor. -r t
roiif ocr ntsrafc, and on th Ahr
band th prcjrtf Ha rnotactly
icered in EUstVir. fVKi-ff
wrrr. What t it ;
It ia cot at all ttrat? that in th l '
Cicnirg d the Eiorsnct macy a?ari
wr adrocatfed. bet ttx ; raari ctr
had tnrport sough to et izio th jarty j
pUtfcan. If cne est into th firnrs
hosx at that tin, h would alssost in
Tariably fnd a litti book-h!f in eoc
f5omr Hd with prr cmerd to!us
trating upon cccocic 'bjct. Many
M thea wrr traih, but the farmer read
tha withoa is.bttii.jf their fait doc
trine. H fxat "thonght and thooght.
nstil he ca to s conclesin concern
injp what waj wrong and th bt way vj
cake thing right.
The tn public eort wa the nonrina
tion cf th great philanthropist the
citizen that the an?l had written down j
as a friend f man Peter Cooper, a a )
candidate for preidect. Froa that tits ',
on ther has always bees a third jartj ;
in the ld a a protect ag.int th ad-
TanceaieBt of plutoerary, ail animated '
by th uz idea, all fihtics for the ',
ms caa&e. It wa not until ISiC, and
after cnc&eron conference and prelim-
inary cojrentioc that the fanner of
the wet and outh and the labor unions
got together at On. ah a and promuJipited
a t cf priscipW which tiil tand ,
the belief of th oter of the people !
party. With the exception of one para j
ifcTaph which met with much opposition. !
and which wa tentatively put forth
with th word attached, or osieU.icg
better." the principle then enunciated
hare been the principle of the party. i
The municipal ownervhip of street car
fnchie. gm. water and electricity,
wa first proposed by th populist.
j That thi principle is fecund, i now ;
hardly ccctetd acy where and it adop-;
tion by hundreds of monirjpaliti, both
In thi cosntry and in Karope. icdtcate
that it will soon be the policy of ail tn j
lightened people.
Goreixtaent MTtcg backs was an- 1
other thisg frt advocated by the po
pie's party. The demand fer uch inti
tntion grow in f aror every jear.
Ckwernmect ownership of railroads-. -telegraph
and telephone i another
tenet cf the jrty. Xr!y of the
xaost enlightened ntkc hate made thU
a" gcTernment policy, especially i it o !
in regard to th tegraph acd tele
phones.
.Th peopi party ha always hei5 t
that the government should iue all
nvoney and that the uattity ithould be
co limited and cr.ctroilJ that stable j
price shoald be maintained. It wam the
frst party to init peritectly upon the
quantity theory of the purchasing power !
ti money. It hold with the supreme
coart cf the United State that mosey !
in the last analysis i "a printed iegaJ !
decree," and it make little ierence j
whether that decree i printec on gold, j
miter err paper, the all important thitg
being th ittantity" isssed. It belieTe
thes'tandad 'e&Setl iLlt "prtce ! at e government as now administered under the administration of William McKinley has come into direct antagonism with the Declaration of Inde
other thing btlrg iua.L are coctroiied Iendence will be evident to any man who reads the lines printed in red in the above copy. That "governments derive their just powers from the consent
by the quantity of legal tender mony in f the governed," has been a statement held sacred by every patriot. But William McKinley attempts to govern "our colonies" by military commanders and
circulation. commissioners appointed by himself. He is following exactly in the footsteps of George III in the appointment of judges and in the erection of a multi-
Th x-eopk's party wa the rlr.t prty ' tude of new offices and sending to Porto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines swarms of officers to harass the people and eat out their substance, in quartering
TgTeYr troops mong them in imposing taxes on them without their consent, in depriving t Wof i theright of a trial by jury. He has
ratio of 16 to l. ard in defen of that plunderel their seas, ravaged their coasts, burnt their towns, and destroyed their lives. That is what William McKinley has done, and the living lines of
plank it ha never caed to tght. i tire penned by Thomas JeiTerson when the foundations of liberty were being laid on this continent, stand today as his arraignment before God and man.
The republicans have provided for the
issuing of from f 100,000,000 to $500,000,
000 of Jank mnnev. these beinor the esti
mates made by different authorities in
Wall street. The party made a cam
paign for "sound money, good money.
the best . money etc" By this act they
have shown us what they believe to be
the best money.1"1 According to their
philosophy, a bank note that is only a
partial legal tender and can be issued
and recalled at the pleasure of the Amer
ican Banker's association is "better
money than that which is full legal ten
der and its volume, controlled by the
government. Will any man, who . has
good, common sense' say that a partial
legal tender bank money, ia beter Jthan
a full legal tender money issued, by the
government?-' The reform' forces - '"all
favor the " best r money,
guishes them from the
that they know a good thing when they
see it and the republicans don't. v ' . "
What d(istin-
-According tb the official estimates of
the departments at -Washington ,' by the
knt nf th 'fiscal veAr. tv tsrHT"' Iiiiva at.
pended- in freeing' 5uba, fn" capturing
Porto Rico and tryingulto conquer the
PhiUppines $613,809,232. 1 'A11 for' thft
benefit of "trade.'j But'tneafwhole com
merce between , thesftisiahdSf.Zand the
that sum There is evidently something
in this business besides "trade." What
is it? A few' men .who have. . swelled
their fortunes by millions ,by dealing in
boodle contracts could tell us all about
it. Buy an old hulk 6f a ship for 52i0,-
000, put 1100,000 worth' of repairs on her
i j ii ..n i i i. i i i
owner for $60,000. That is the kind pf
"trade" they have been indulging in. 1
McKinley is cutting up more antics in
the Orient to the disgust of thousands
who voled'for him in 1896. These men
are far more bitter against him and hi3
policies than any other, sort of voters.
With them it is' anything to beat' ' Mc-.
Kin ley. For the most ' part, ,they are
Americans of., three and four genera
tions. There are others who have fled
from the standing armies and imperial
ism of Europe. They, too, are bitten
They don't want this refuge, to which
VA kwt rxt V.nvrxrm tin. HA . ll
blip u?ou Ji. liuiug 1UI IUU ICtrb
hundred years, destroyed; ' With them
it is also, "anything to beat McKinley."
"Our plain duty" in China goes no
further than the protection of the lives
of American citizens and their property.
Right there it ends. The imperialistic
tendencies of this Mark-Hanna-McKin-ley
government have tried the 'patience
of patriotic citizens to the point where
they will endure no more of it. One im
perialistic war in the Philippines is as
much as even the ordinary republican
can endure. Let'McKinley take one more
step in that direction and Bryan will
carry every state in , the union without
making any campaign at alL
During the last year there has been a
rflmxrlrnhlfl inflation in rrr?it a wall a
- - - 1' W A . U
an increase in the: volume of money.
An inflation in credit always results in
one thing a collapse. The only way
that business gets on its feet again after
such a collapse is to increase the vol
ume of money. The tremendous and un-
looked for output of gold during the last
year gave that increase in money that
enabled business to look up a little.'
Populist economic principles are as firm
as the rock of ages. Truth is eternal.
The evidence continues to accumulate
that the great backer up and encourager
of the Filipino resistance has not -been
the speeches of Hoar and others opposed
to the McKinley policy, but the speech
of one Beveridge of Indiana.' ., Every
Filipino officer captured since it got to
the islands and was translated; has been
found to have a copy of it in his' pocket.
If he didn't have a pocket he had it
stuck under his belt.