The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 12, 1896 Page: 4 of 16
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SOUTHERN MEBCUBY.
MAR. 12, 1896.
rFALLS IN LINE.
ONE DOLLAR A YKAR.
—PUBLISHF.l) W.EKKLY BY-
SOUTHERN MERCURY PUB. CO
MILTON PARK,
MANAGING EDITOR AND G£NL MGR
TEXAS POPULIST STATE PA PEE
AND
Official Journal Farmers' State Alliance of Texas
Entered at the Dallas, Texan, post office att
mail matter of the second class.
Office, 196 Main St., Opposite Trust Building.
BPEOIAL NOTICE.
Owing to an unforeseen accident
the Mkrcury is forced to forego its
usual talk editorially, With its sub-
scribers, and the public in gener l.
The space will, however, be found
well filled by the last epistle of Hon-
orable Barnett Gibbs, who proclaims
himself a populist, and in line with
the people's party in its mission of re-
storing the government to the hands
of the people. Next week our m -
chinery will be in order and the Mer-
cury will be out on time.u
Congress has conquered another
nation.
Send none but reliable reformers to
St. Louis.
The populist campaign in Texas goes
on, ticket or no ticket.
The Wichita Falls methods should
be introduced in Washington.
Texas should send fighters for prin-
ciple to the St. Louis convention.
Fusion means concession^. The peo-
ple's party has nothing to concede.
Foreign nations should take warning
that congress is loaded with wind.
If Farmer Tillman is a sample "hay-
seed" congressman, let's have more of
them.
Eugene V. Debs is the grandest
labor leader the world has ever pro-
duced.
There apears to be no scramble what-
ever for the democratic presidential
nomination.
While congress is away fighting
foreign nations, th«* bond grabbers are
robbing the treasury.
Congress should call off the dogs ot
war on foreign nations and set them
on the home thieves.
The democratic presidential nomina-
tion appears to go begging. Grover
will be forced to acept it.
Labor has been organized for fif-
teen yéars, yet it has not a single rep-
resentative to-day in the halls of con-
gress.
St. Louis being a beer producing city
and Chicago a producer of whiskey
the latter city of course secured the
democratic convention.
Carlisle visited the New York bank-
ers a few weeks ago to fix up the old
democratic machine. As the machine
waa found in such bad repair, the
bankers failed to make the old thing
Work.
Senator Pelfer is fighting the cost of
dead congressmen. Now, if some one
will champion the reduction of expense
tor live congressmen, there may be
hope for a WttJe economy.
HON. BtRNETT GIBBS DECLARES HIS
FAITH IN THE PEOPLE S PART/.
He Scores the Old Parties Fore and
Aft in One of the Most Interest-
Ins of His Series of Force-
ful Articles,
Hon. Barnett Gibbs has delivered
seven shots, all of which have appear
ed in seven separate issues of Sunday's
News.
The first shot set people to guessing
the next intensified the situation, but
subsequent shots did not solve the
problem.
In the meantime he was credited by
half the politicians with going over to
the populists, and the other half wink-
ed and said: "That's all right; keep
your eye on Gibbs. He ain't populist
to hurt yet, and you can't prove it
either by anything he has said in the
thirty or thirty-five columns of his
seven shots."
Now the politicians can "place" the
hitherto unknown quantity.
The ex-lieutenant governor declares
he will vote the populist ticket.
That means he will not abide by the
democratic primaries; in fact, will not
take part in them. To do so and then
vote with the populists would be stul-
tification. i 1 |
He has been a party man always and,
as usual, tells where he can be found.
Here is what he says eighthly and
lastly;
To begin with, the chief mudsiller
sat in his den dreaming of the Novem-
ber day when the battle flag of the
mudsillers would be planted in Austin
close by the goddess of liberty. When
the reporter asked about No. 8 and
the populist platform he said:
"I have found so much cussedness in
the records that I have not had much
time for platforms. I believe the po-
litical boil has come to a head and
will burst this fall, even poulticed with
a foreign war poultice. Congress it
trying to unload on the president
and the president is trying to unload
on congress all responsibility, and the
country is trying to unload both. They
have all got red flannel around their
necks trying to cure cricks caused by
dodging live issues. The constitution
gives congress a right to declare war,
but under a strict construction, such as
Judge Reagan speaks of, I find no au-
thority for that body to run a bluff on
either mudsillers or foreign nations.
Custom permits high priced diplomats
and politicians in convention to do this
kind of monkey business, but it is not
constitutional grant to congress.
They have under the forms of law the
right to tax people to death or get them
killed if they can. But this is all.
The populist platform Is favorable
to an issue of money by the govern-
ment sufficient for the business neces-
sities of the country. It is favorable
to the government ownershipof enough
railroad mileage to fix a basis of rea-
sonable freight rates.
It is favorable to a direct, quick
vote by the people of any important
issue when the legislative and execu-
tive departments can't agree on legis-
lation.
It is favorable to a reform of the
official fee system.
It has declared unequivocally for
these things, not one of which is or
ever has been advocated in any demo-
cratic platform. The democratic party
is for everything in spots, but for noth-
ing in its platform or record.
"I firmly believe thait the best inter-
ests of these states and of the United
States demand these reforms, and if
there are other things in the platform
that I don't so heartily endorse these
are good enough and important enough
to make me vote the ticket.
"I would vote it even if the party
did not have any platform, for I feel
that this state and national democratic
administration should be rebuked
most severely by the state which trust-
ed them most and gives them the
largest majorities. The same power
that made them should unmake them
and thus serve notice on them that
these people will not tolerate deceit or
ingratitude from those whom they
have trusted.
" 'Thinkest thou there are no serpents
in the world
But those which slide along the grassy
sod?
There are some in the path of political
life
Do bask their spoted skins in fortune's
sins.'
"The democratic party uses the old
name to conjure with, but by its record
it is trying to crowd out the republican
party as a federal party. The meanest
platform ever devised is the one that
straddles; the .next meanest platform
is the one that is made to catch votes
and has a man nominated on it with
malice aforethought, knowing that he
is going to .nullify it or get off it when
occasion requires it.
"Shall these people believe or give
a vote of confidence to politicians
who—
" 'Keep the word of promise to our ear
And break it to our hope?'
"Is there not left enough of inde-
pendence and resentment in these dem-
ocrats of Texas to condemn by their
votes deceit and ingratitude? Shakes-
peare said that ingratitude was worse
in a man than lying, vainness, babbling
and drunkenness, and the record of
democratic leaders show how ungrate-
ful they have been to the honest, busy
people who have trusted their hapiniess
and prosperity in their hands. What
is the record? After all, one line of
record is beter evidence than all the
platforms they have made or may
make in the future.
The national democracy in finan-
cial maters have done what the repub
1 leans wanted to do, but had not the
courage to do, namely, contracted the
curencyand issued $300,000,000 of bonds
in time of peace. The party has play-
ed hot and cold on the financial issue,
3traddled in their platform, and strad-
led still worse in congress. They pass
an income tax law, knowing that the
court will knock it out. A democratic
ongress works a democratic president
for all the pie in sight, aad then cusses
him out for doing something when he
invited them to set the pace. The party
in congress didn't want to shoot or give
up the gun either. They would not play
ball themselves, but criticised the man
who did because he played a bad game
The democratic party,aided and abett-
ed by the republican party, see-sawed
the country into a bad financial condi-
tion and then would not pass a bank
rupt law so the citizen could surrender
all he had and start again naked in the
race of life. I quote this:
"There are two things that congress
ought to settle at this session, but
congress is not expected to act upon
either of them, because the do-nothing
policy-commends Itself to republican
leaders as "good politics." Congress
ought to enact an adequate law of
bankruptcy. Such a law is sorelj
needed in the interest of honest bus-
ness and of public morality. But the
senate committee is opposed to any ac
tion and is expected to kill any bill
that the house may pass on the sub-
ject. Congress ought also to dispose
of the Pacific railroad matter this year
in such fashion as to secure justice to
the government and recover from rob-
bers all that may yet be recovered from
the booty got from the treasury and
converted to private and corporate
uses. But here again 'politics' Inter-
venes to paralyze action. In this mood
congress is of no service to the country
and its cowardice is demoralizing. It
would do well to take Senator Smith's
advice and go home.'
"When a democratic senator from
Texas is approached by his constituents
to vote for a bankrupt law which will let
a man surrender what he has and start
afresh in life, he writes them, 'pay your
honest debts,' and turns right around
and votes for a financial system that
leaves them no chance to pay. This is
all right for a congressman who gets
his roll no matter how scarce the med-
ium may be. If a fellow only fattened
according to his honesty, one-half of
those congressman would do to ex-
hibit as living skeletons in the side
shows. The democratic congressmen
Increased the aggregate appropriation
beyond Tom Reed and his raiders.
They increased the pension list, and
gave senator Hearst the most royal
funeral ever received by any congress-
man. This is a pronounced democratic
policy not in the platform. They kept
up with the republican procession and
trotted a little faster even at a funeral
and the records show it. A democratic
president with a democratic owl and
opossum congress, issues $300,000,000
of bonds, and then makes a four-card
flush bluff at England, and shuts off the
garden seed, to let the mudsiller see
how patriotic and economical a demo-
cratic administration could be just be-
fore another election.
"There are two federalist parties
controlling this government that don't
believe that the people have sense
enough to vote direct on an Important
issue, and who believe in delegating
all powers and privileges to the fa-
vored few. Their franchises carry with
them more power than did the royal
grants made to Lord Baltimore and
others, and carry less responsibility
to look after . the interests of the
masses. In each convention the demo-
cratic party views with pride its con-
tribution to this condition of things.
"Nothing but absolute defeat in
Texas will make them see that their
record is a shame. Texas will never
get her share of attention from the gov-
ernment until she shows that she is
free from political absolutism.
Twenty-five years more of democratic
rule in Texas would find her no nearer
a reasonable freight rate by reason
of a basis to be fixed by the general
government canalizing the Trinity,
and the state building a railroad from
the gulf to Red river. The commer-
cial, agricultural and manufacturing
interests demand a change and a re-
buke, and this can only be effected
by the independent element voting
with the people's party strength al-
ready organized. We can't afford to
let little side issues on inconsequential
objections prevent us from putting
Texas in line with freer political
thoughts and action. According to
Judge Reagan, there are enough good
things in the populist platform to ease
man's conscience in voting the
ticket, and ther certainly are enough
outragebais things in the democratic
record to make a man's conscience un-
easy if by voting the ticket he has
to indorse those things. I know that
90 per cent of the populists voters are
hD.aegt people who would not in their
own party tolerate extravagant, bad
government for six months; but sup-
pose they were as ignorant as the pie-
eaters say they are, and their platform
was not as good as Judge Reagan says
it is; still they could not give Texas
any worse case of fits than she now
has, and on the theory of the Arkansas
doctor, it is easy to bring the patient
out of fits into good health.
"If any man honestly believes that
the state and national democratic par-
y has given us • good, economic gov-
ernment and not harrassed progress
and prosperity, all right; if not, he
should as a lover of his state and na-
tion cast a vote of want of confidence
and assert his independence, no mat-
er who tries to persuade him against
his duty.
"There never has been a crisis in
this or any other country where it did
not require nerve and self-sacrifice
to cut loose from political affiliations
in the interest of better, purer and
freer government. What cares a man
for slander, villification, ridicule and
abuse of pie-eating tories, if he hon-
estly believes that he is doing his po-
litical duty, instead of obeying some
boss who himself is a puppet of an
eastern ring master. We can all join
in to teach the world and our own
posterity that there Is no political
serfdom in this great state. •
'If we ratify by our votes the pres-
ent extravagance and tax raise and
ring rule we will soon be called on to
ratify a still greater amount of the
same kind of government. It is the
patient donkey that is always loaded
heaviest. Why can't we get together
in every locality and organize for a
winning fight and an effectual protest
against crying abuses oí government.
In every schoolhouse, hamlet and
county a leader can be found if the
people will hold up his hands and en-
courage his efforts. When the cause
of France was lost and its weak-kneed,
pie-eating generals were in hiding a
woman, Jpw> of Arc, got in the middle
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Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 12, 1896, newspaper, March 12, 1896; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185650/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .