The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 1, 1897 Page: 4 of 16
sixteen pages : ill. ; page 15 x 11 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
UEBN
ONE DOLLAR A YEAR.
—PUBLI8HBD WIBKLT T—
Southern mercury pub. oo.
TEXAS POPULIST STATE PAPER
AMD
Oflclal Jemal Farmers' State Alliance ef Texas
MiLTon Park, Managing Editor.
ADVERTISING DHPAKTMENT.
^"mcíens, \ Traveling Solicitors.
Entered at the Dallas, Texas, poet office ae
mall matter of the second class*
Office, lSjjJMaln St., Opposite Tragi Bonding.
DALLAS, TEXAS, APRIL 1, 1807
What I the difference between the
3Bradley-Martlns and the hawks that
Dlunder the fawner's barnyard night
«unid day?
If the axiom is true that "it is only
by suffering that a people can be edu-
cated," the American people Will soon
be wide awake.
The most intelligent members of the
'25th Texas legislature are disgusted
With the dodging, do-nothing record
that body has made.
'Tihe difference between Bryan and
Bailey is: Bailey wants tihe coon, whiile
poor Bryan is on a perpetual snipe hunt,
under the manipulation of the free sil-
ver fakirs.
The only means available for per-
petuating a government by, for and
of the people is found in the initia-
tive and referendum. Every populist
«should come to .the aid of the N. R.
P. A. in Its efforts to put all power in
the hands of the people.
ftafensey and Crane and the other
"democratic leaders didn't deliver John-
son county to the saloon men in the re-
cent flection. Well, well! How slick
these democrats are! They manage all
the time to get something for nothing.
It was a light in which each populist
voted as he pleased and had no goods
to deliver.
Who cleared the forests and made
the rural districts of the United
States produce 38 per cent per capita
more than in any other country?
The dudes? No!
Speculators? No!
Bondholders? No!
Soldiers? No!
Farmers? Yes!
Should those who feed and clothe
the world dictate the laws? Yes!
Why don't tbey do it? Because
they listen to the advice of the kid
lawvers.
The man who opposes the initia-
tive and referendum in the manage-
ment of the people's party does not
believe the people are capable of
self-government and wants to hedge
them around with old party methods
for selfish purposes.
It is mortifying to see a man in-
vested with a little brief authority,
lodged and fed at public expense, as-
sume the airs of a dictator and spurns
with contempt the opinions of those
who honored him and whose confi-
dence he has betrayed.
The only way to dispose of such
men is to put the initiative and ref-
erendum into operation. If the non-
office holding members of the peo-
ple's party can't dictate the policy of
their party how can they expect to
establish a government of, by and
for the people.
The democrats worked the Bryan
and free silver racket to make a
point politically and immediately
proceed to repudiate Bryan, Bland
and free silver and fall back on the
old tariff issue with an anti-Bryan
leader. This shows that the middle-
of-the-road populists understood at
St. Louis the slick game. If Bryan
had won, the free silver part of the
game was scratched by Sewall et als,
but the pie-eaters would have gotten
the offices. As he did not win they
repudiate him along with silver ftick.
They will fight for awhile on the tar-
iff until the southern politician can
study up some other scheme with
which to fool their easily gulled con-
stituents. It is said that the ^cod-
gressional manipulators from the
south have agreed to vote for more
pensions and official perquisites if
some republican (congressman will in-
troduce a force bill, The trade is on.
When the people study the excess-
freight rate to the Gulf and find out
the real trouble and how easy it is to
remedy it those politicians will be re-
pudiated who do nothing and propose
nothing looking to relief. They
mouth around about corporations and
federal courts when the state can
put the people Independent of both.
The politicians holding down jobs
with their hands In the pockets of
the people, and the railroads too are
not anxious to see any change to bet-
ter industrial conditions in Texas.
They are on easy street and very
comfortable, while the poor devil of
farmer groans and sweats to pay the
high freight rate to the Gulf. The
Texas railroads charge him three
times as much for 300 miles as. the
ships do for 5000 miles.
Whenever the farmers keep their
scrap books of information and drill
and educate their own speakers in
their own school houses there will be
a reform in the government. The
average young lawyer Is taught that
the average producer Is merely a
beast of government burden and has
but little mercy on him. The aver-
age producer works from one year's
end to the other to make both ends
meet, and never takes time to inform
himself or his children on economic
or political conditions, and this slav-
ish Ignorance has from the birth of
the world produced bad government.
It is the official class that yell out
"economise! economize!" and at the
same time rcach out and take the
hard earnings of yourself and family
to pay high flying salaries and bar-
baric fees and r<jyal pensions and
funerals. Your barefooted children
pay for all this splendid parapherna-
lia of officialism.
II in every school (house i<n Texas
some bright boy or girl would read to a
country club what Sam Jones truthful-
ly says about ithe tax eater in last issue
of the Mercury, it would do a world of
good. There will either be a school
house political revolution or a worse
one growing out oí the absorption of the
earnings of the people by the various
governments operated in the interest
off the fast growing official class, spe-
cially cultivated by republican and dem-
ocratic policies. This class Will make
a pretended figlht on corporations tad
trusts or even on the Lord to keep the
peeople blinded to their robbery. They
4 have foisted one of their class on every
seven voters and their official salary
and fee system has made capital hide
out and refuse to employ labor where
the official1 class can pull them.
When McKlnley protects the East
against Europe who will protect us
against the East. We of Texas will
protect ourselves by voluntary patri-
otism and self-denial or go Unpro-
tected.
Texas can protect herself by giving
us a road from the Gulf to Red river
that will enable us to trade with the
big world outside of the United
States on a low freight rate. We
have got the tramp ships on our Gulf
coast willing to carry freight all over
the world for 25 cents per huhdred.
How ate We to get td the trámp ships?
tn the sfecond pláce if the people of
Texas consume Texas goods the
money will stay here. Above all
things^ who Is to protect us agaltst
the official class that Is absorbing
our earnings? There will be no mon-
ey left for the lawyer, the preacher,
the teacher or the merchant if there
is not a check on officialism.
If there is ever any change for the
better in government, it will be when
the farmers scrap-book and club
meetings force It.
If the bankers and merchants Wont
help change Industrial and politi-
cal conditions quit doing any business
with the banks and merchants. Draw
on your own skill by living at home on
home products. The producing class-
es have a fight ahead of them for
self-preservation. To-day their ig-
norance and indifference makes them
the burden-bearing class.
Every seven voters are supporting
a public officer or pensioner, the most
of whom are professional idlers, what
substance the producers have left
goes to the trusts or favored corpora-
tions who put up a small part ot their
gains to contribute to the dissipation
of the high-priced statesmen.
East Texas will bevfe. iiávé one
half the prosperity she is entitled to
until her people make a move for Im-
provement.
In the first place every neighbor-
hood in East Texas has got to get rid
of their little runty off colored bulls.
In the second place each county has
got to get one live merchant that Is
up to date, In preparing her fruits,
vegetables, wine and molasses for
market. The western country would
take all this produce if put on the
market in good shape and all her
yearlings at good prices, if of good
color and stock. Organize industry
and farm olubs, in every school house
ot East Texas will soon be put to the
front. She needs farmer scrap-botfks
and clubs.
If the Texas farmer would provide
wheat patches, sorghum patches, al-
falfa patches and artichoke and pea-
nut patches, to raise stock hogs on
he could compete with the world in
raising hogs to be fattened in the
corn districts. East Texas is the
best part of the state for this indus-
try, but will never make anything
out of razor backed, mast starved
hogs.
Put this in your scrap-book and
when you get through selling five
cent cotton this fall, figure out how
to begin another year. Talk it over
with your neighbors. The people of
Texas have got to change their in-
dustrial net hod s and do it quick
KEEP UP THE PIOHT.
The people's party platform finds
but little opposition except from
those who own and control our lands,
transportation, lines and money* and
those who have never studied the
questions involved.
Demagogues in all parties as thé
paid bench «en of these monopolists
Will labor in every conceivable way
to keep the people divided upon min-
or issues for the purpose of weaken-
ing their efforts to restore just, eco-
nomical and humane government.
The people's party platform—all of
it—will be the leading issues before
the American pebple, in spite of ev-
ery effort óf plutocrats. Those who
possess the intelligence to understand
the effect of laws upon the condition
of the people, and who have the man-
hood to fight for free government,
will rally to the support of these
great principles in 1808 and 1600.
All these powerful monopolies are
thoroughly organized and officered.
The people Are being gradually mob-
ilised into an opposing army and
learning that the coming conflict wl'l
be between these monopolies and the
people^
There afe yet many Who care moré
for their party than for the liberty
and prosperity of their countrymen,
but this class is rapidly disappearing.
The people are becoming convinced
that the people's party was organiz-
ed to sa/e them from the hell of
industrial slavery. They rea'lze now
that it cannot be destroyed, and,' are
rallying to its standard as the last
hope for industrial emancipation.
OI d party leaders may try to decoy the
people by the delusive cry of free sil
crer, ar"honest monfey."They may even
corrupt m&hy peoples' party officials,
but the education the people have re-
ceived through the reform oress has
made the people too wise to be vic-
tims of such deception.
The people ire rapidly finding out
that the democratic and the republi-
can party leaders are under the con-
trol of these monopolies; that the
machinery of these old parties is ad-
justed so as to crush every effort of
the rank and file to be heard, or their
wishes-respected; hence are turning
to the young and growing people's
party as the only hope for industrial
freedom. -
Let every populist buckle on his
whole armor, step Into the ranks, aid
In adjusting the party machinery so
as to keep the power of the organi-
zation in the hands of its non-office
holding and non-office seeking mem-
bers. The initiative and referendum
will accomplish this. It is one of
our platform demands. Let us en-
force it in our party management.
If Texas gets a low rate to the Gulf
she will not only save millions every
year in freights on cotton and other
produce, but she will furnish all the
granite and all the steel rails used in
the development of South and Central
America from our Llano and other
fields. We will get this low rate
when the state uses her convicts to
build *a railroad from the Gulf to Red
river. When the farmers and bus-
iness men understand the situation
ourpeopls will get this íoad. Until
then the life blood of our people will
be sucked out by the high freight
rats to the Gulf.
How long, O Lord! how long will
these people remain in ignorance aqd
bondage?
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 1, 1897, newspaper, April 1, 1897; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185704/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .