The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 7, 1892 Page: 1 of 16
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Official Journal of the Farmers State Alliance of Texas.
"Organize, Educate, Co-Operate." ]
•j "Liberty, Justice, Equality."
Vol. XI, No. 27.
DALLAS, TEXAS, THURSDAY, JULY 7, 1892.
| Whole No. 532.
A
Review of Mr. Reagan's Letter.
JAMES M. ARMSTRONG, SR.
In a long letter to H. H. Moore,
of Brownwood, Texas, de-
clining to speak at that place under
date of June 22, published in the
Galveston News of June 26, Mr.
Reagan, says .
"There are so many questions
of public policy upou which the
Democratic party and the Alliance
or third party agrees that I would be
glad to do anything in my power
to induce them to act in harmony,
aud to thus secure to themselves,
and to the country, the power to
inaugurate and carry out such po-
litical reforms as it might be found
possible to make."
The idea that there is a single
"public policy" upon which the
Democratic and Third party agree,
is but the silly vaporings of senil-
ity. Let us examine some of the
commissioner's propositions.
1. "They both oppose class leg-
islation and desire the repeal of
such laws as benefit one part of the
people at the expense of the other
part of them." Great God! how
is it possible for Mr. Reagan in the
face of all history, to say that the
"Democratic party is opposed to
all class legislation," when he
knows the history of that party
is nothing but a record of class
legislation ?
2. " They both desire a system
of government which will protect
all the people alike, and which will
not confer privileges on one part
of the people that are denied to
other parts of them."
If this proposition is desired by
the Democratic party it has never
been discovered in its action or
platforms, and there is no such de-
sire expressed in the People's Par-
ty platform; as our platform de-
sires nothing," "favors nothing,"
but demands all (see the difference),
hence we infer that the commis-
sioner has never seen a third par-
ty platform.
3. "They both favor the reduc-
tion of the tariff so as to prevent
the transfer of the country, by
mere operation of law, from one
part of the people to the other,
impoverishing one to enrich the
other ;and so as to limit the amount
of the revenue to be collected to
the actual needs of the government
economically administered."
Wrong Again, commissioner. If
there is anything said about "the
revision of the tariff," in the third
party platform', no one has ever
seen it, and all of the reform con-
gressmen known to be in congress
are free traders.
4. " They both favor the free
and unlimited coinage of silver
the same as of gold, and the issue
of coin notes, redeemable in either
metal, instead of gold notes and
silver notes."
Nowhere can it be found in the
platform of the third party that
they favor "the free and unlimited
coinage ofjsilver the same as gold;"
nor was such a stupendous folly
ever dreamed of by any third
party man, as "the issue of coin
notes redeemable in either metal,
instead of gold notes and silver
notes." Dear old friend, if you
will get a platform and study it
closely, you will find, "We (do not
favor anything but) demand the
free and unlimited coinage of sil
ver," and gold is not mentioned in
the third party platform. And,
as for redemption in any metal,
the veriest tyro of a third party
man knows, without being told,
that a paper dollar given for a
gold or silver dollar is no redemp-
tion in any sense whatever ; it is
only swapping dollars ; but, when-
ever a dollar is given for any of
the products of labor, redemption
follows then as certainly as night
follows day. We care nothing
about the material out of which
a dollar is made, so long as it bears
recognition by the governmen.
5. " They both advocate a larger
volume of circulating money sta-
ble and unfluctuating in value, to
aid the industries, and promote the
prosperity of the country."
The third party advocates no
such thing, and the framers of that
immortal document never dream-
ed of advocating anything in the
make-up of that platform. It. is
all demand. Neither is anything
said about aiding "the industries
and promoting the prosperity of
the country."
6. " They are both in favor of
subordinating the corporations of
•the country to the laws of the land,
and of governmental regulation of
the carriage of persons and prop-
erty by railrtfad companies."
There is absolutely nothing in
the third party platform, to coin-
cide with the above, unless the
commissioner has a copy not yet
made public.
7. "Both advocate a graduated
tax upon incomes, so as to compel
the graduated tax great estates to
pay their proper share of the ex-
pense of government, and inci-
dentally as a means of arresting the
aggregation of fortunes in single
hands, dangerous to our system of
free democratic government, and a
menace to civil liberty."
We would like to see the Demo-
cratic platform, that advocates the
above or as to thatjmatter a third
party platform either. We de-
mand a graduated income tax."
We, as has been said before, neither
advocate, recommend, nor favor;
but demand."
8. " Both are in favor of pre-
serving the public lands for homes
for actual settlers."
Since when was the Democratic
party in favor of any such meas-
ure ? That great Democratic
statesman (?) Stephen A. Douglass
commenced giving away the pub-
lic land to railroads, when he en-
gineered a bill through congress
giving tke Northern l'acific rail-
road millions of acres of the pub-
lic land, and a congress composed
of Democratic and Republican
members have continued to give it
away until it amounts to nearly
200,000,000 of acres, and Demo-
cratic Texas has given to the same
corporate cormorants nearly 40,-
000,000, and only stopped because
there was no more to give. The
third party platform says nothing
about "preserving the public lands
for homes for actual settlers." The
framers of that document knew
very well there is little left to pre-
serve.
9* " Both are in favor of the
president and senators of the Uni-
ted States by a direct vote of the
people."
That is news! Will some one
please show the platform of the
Democratic party, favoring that
measure.
10. " And both of these parties
condemn and denounce the ex-
travagance of expenditure by the
Federal government. I need note
other points of agreement."
If the Democratic party ever de-
nounced and condemned the ex-
penditures by the Federal govern-
ment they must have whispered it,
as it has never been heard in the
immediate neighborhood of the
writer. There was something said
ast year about a "billion dollar
congress," but this year, while the
congress is largely Democratic, it
is said the expenditure is $100,-
000,000 in excess of last year, and
no great amount of denunciation
is being heard.
Having shown the readers of the
Mercury how fully and complete-
ly the two parties agree, according
to the views of our railroad com-
missioner, in my next, I will en-
deavor to show bow they disagree
according to the same authority,
that is if I should conclude to
further review the letter. It is
the opinion of the writer, however,
from the tone of the letter, that
the commissioner has some misgiv-
ing as to the continued success of
old machine, and is preparing a
soft place on which to fall. It
looks that way to an old Third
party man.
Land Tenure in the United States.
Mcrlinila Sisins in K. of L. Journal.
The lands within the present
borders of the United States have
been obtained by wars with Eng-
land and Mexico, bought of other
nations and treaties with Indians,
comprising in all 3,607,004 square
miles, or 2,308,866,560 acres.
In 1803 we bought of France for
$11,250,000 what is known as the
"Louisiana purchase," lying west
of the Mississippi river, including
Arkansas and part of New Mexico,
ann extending to the Rocky Moun-
tains, together with Oregon, Wash-
ton Territory and the western part
of Montana and Idaho. Before
the principal, interest and claims
of all kinds were paid the invest-
ment cost us $15,000,000.
We bought Florida of Spain for
$6,500,000. In December 29,
1845, we took in Texas, she keep-
ing her public lands and giving us
her State debt and a three years'
war with Mexico, which cost us
$66,000,000.
After conquering the territory
embraced in New Mexico, a partof
Colorado, Arizona, Utah, 'Nevada,
and California from Mexico, we
paid her $15,000,000 for the great-
er part of it, and $10,000,000 for
the balance known as the "Gads-
den purchase."
In 1867 we bought of Russia
577,390 square miles of ice and
snow, known as Alaska, for $7,-
200,000. All the rest of our land
we got when we cut loose from
Britain, but had to fight eight
years to get a good title—first in
the Revolutionary War, costing us
in reported killea 7,343 and over
15,000 wounded and $135,193,100
in money. Afterward the war of
1812, costing us in killed and
wounded 5,614 men and $107,159,-
000 in money.
We have paid everybody bnfc
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Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 7, 1892, newspaper, July 7, 1892; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185472/m1/1/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .