The Peoples Voice
VOLUME 9.
Forming a New Movement.
Kansas City, June 19.—The allied I
third party movement, which its pro-1
moters hope will result before 1!)04 in !
a national organization strong ]
enough to name a presidential nomi-1
nee, was launched here this after-
noon. It was the outcome of a con- j
ference of reformers from the ranks
of the old parties, and its principles j
are said by some to have been adopt- j
ed with a view to fiting the views of
W. J. Bryan.
At the conference there were re-
presented Populists of all persua-
sions, public ownership advocates, I
free silver Republicans, Socialists,
Single Taxers and Bryan Democrats. !
It was stated that it was proposed to j
form a third party in Missouri, which I
should finally be taken up by the dis-1
satisfied in the old parties from other
states.
A committee on organization re-1
presenting each element present to-
day submitted the following set of
principles, and they were adopted:
Public ownership of all public utli-
ties. as railroads, telegraphs, etc.
While awaiting the legislation
necessary to secure public ownership,
regid control of freight and passen-
ger rates and severe penalties for re-
bates and other discriminations by
railroads.
Taxation of railroads and other
public utility corporations in the
same proportion as the value of farm
and other properity.
Direct legislation by the initiative
and referendum.
A graduated income tax.
That whatever is used as money
shall be full legal tender, issued by
the general government in sufficient
volume for business purposes, and
that volume fixed in proportion to
population.
Just election laws throughout the
states.
Home rule for cities, and abolition
of the present system of using the
police as a standing army to carry
primary elections in the interest wf
dishonest politicians, representing
still more dishonest special privilege
corporations.
Election of United States Senators
by popular vote.
The committee organized electing
J. H. Cook, fusion Populist, chair-
man: J. H. Hillis, midroad Ponulist,
vice president, and P. S. Kowalski,
public ownership member, secretary.
The committee, besides deciding on
the new name for the movement, de-
cided to call a state convention for
some time next fall. In the mean-
time the members will prepare an
address to the people of the state.
Lee Merriwether of St. Louis, who
called the conference, was asked.
"Will your movement not result
in turning the state over to the Re-
publicans?"
"I do not know," he replied, "but I
would a little rattier the Republicans
win than the present organization of
Democrats. As Mr. Bryan said to
me last Monday, 'I like an enemy
uuder his own colors better than one
who would steal my colors.' "
The Editor of the Dalton Herald of
Georgia comments on the above as
follows.
Missouri is a great state. Great in
every way. It was foremost in the
Greenback movement, which sprung
up as a protest against the Republi-
can and Democratic parties which
were engaged at the time in burning
up the greenbacks (the peoples mon-
ey) and issuing gold interest bearing
bonds in their stead. Missouri cast
NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1901.
NUMBER 50
the largest greenback vote of any of
the states and elected four members
of congress. All that kept the state
out of the Greenback column was the
hypocritical professions of the Demo-
cratic politicians to be better Green-
backers than the Greenbackers them-
selves. There were just enough fools
deceived by the politicians to destroy
the movement, which merged into
the Peoples party only to be again
deceived by the same gang of de-
ceivers.
The outcome of the present inde-
pendent movement will be watched
with interest throughout the country.
The other independent movements
against the politicians received their
support almost exclusively from the
agricultural classes. Scarcely a
county in tiie state which did not go
to the towns with a good majority of
votes in opposition to the politicians,
but the politicians overcome these
majorities in the country districts by
controling and manipulating the
town vote. The present movement
differs from the others in that it has
its start in the cities, the strong-
holds of the rings and politicians.
Pour years ago last spring, Mr.
Lee Merriwether, the leader in the
present movement, ran as an inde-
pendent candidate in opposition to
the regular Democratic candidate,
whose nomination was clouded, and
received about 20,000 yotes. His
platform then was practically the
same as that outlined above.
Out of the contest of four years
ago grew the Municipal Public Own-
ership League of St. Louis. In this
year's election Mr. Merriwether was
the candidate for mayor on the
ticket nominated by the League, and
received about 40,000 votes a gain of
100 per cent, and it is claimed was an
honest plurality of all the votes cast
but through an alliance of the Demo-
cratic and Republican politicians, the
office was given to Ilolla Wells, a
capitalist and McKinley Democrat.
If *he intluence of the League ex-
tends to the other cities and towns of
the state, and the old Greenback and
Peoples party element among the
farmers should rally to its support,
there is no telling what is in store for
this new movement of the people
against the politicians.
Mr. Merriwether is regarded as
one of the ablest men of the state,
and his following in St. Louis em-
braces many of the wealthies among
the business and professional men,
besides the Central Labor Federa-
tion of that city made the essential
features of the platform of the new
movement the leading demands of
their organization. The fact that
Mr. Cook, fusion Populist, and Mr.
Hillis midroader, are at the head of
the state committee indicates, to
our mind, the coming together of the
two wings of the Populist party in
that state. Removing from the
Democratic party the Populist ele-
NOTHING SUOWh
ABOUT US
We don't like dull business
and we don't propose to sub-
mit to it. Our merchandise
must be sold—that's what we
bought it for. Trade must
be brisk else we are dis-
satisfied
Extraordinary Price Inducements
Are what we offer you. Better see us. It will
pay you in every way.
t®rj &
ksM
ment in that state would so weaken
the leadership of ex-Go v., Stone that,
did he choose to do so, Col. W. H.
Phelps, who is the real leader of the
Democratic party in Missouri and by
odds the ablest politician west of the
Alleghenies, could put the party of
his state in line with the Eastern di-
vision of his party, and thus force
the gold standard element to come to
the support of the Democracy to
save the state from going into the
hands of the new party; while at the
same time it would insure the vote
of that state to a "sound money"
Democrat in the next national con-
vention.
But whatever turn matters may
take this new movement is the best
kind of evidence that the people
have not relinquished their warfare
on their ancient and natural enemies,
the politicians. And this awakening
in Missouri will arouse the faithful
all over the land, leading we trust to
a unity and activity of reform forces
which will destroy both the old par-
ties of politicians in 1904
Much Reading for Little Money.
The New York World has got the
cost of printing down to a minimum.
Its latest offer of its monthly news-
paper-magazine is interesting if from
no other cause than that it shows the
acme of "how much for how little.'
The Monthly World is a 32-page
magazine with colored cover. Ita
pages are about the size of the pages
of the Ladies' Home Journal, and it is
copiously illustrated in half-tone.
The illustrations are the result of the
best artistic skill, aided by all the
latest printing-press appliances,
making a magazine unrivalled in the
quality of its contents and its appear-
ance.
Each issue contains stories of rom-
ance, love, adventure, travel; stories
of liction and fact: stories of things
quaint and curious, gathered togeth-
er from all over the world; the results
of scientific research, and editorial
reviews. It numbers among its con-
tributors the leading literary men
and women of the day.
A feature each month is a full-page
portrait of the most famed man or
woman of the moment in the public
eye.
In collecting and preparing for
publication the literary matter and
art subjects for the Monthly World
no expense is spared.
The New York World will send six
numbers of this newspaper-magazine
on receipt of fitteen cents in stamps.
Address The World, Pulitzer Build-
ing, New York.
Why I Am a Populist.
Because I am in favor of more
money and less taxes.
Because 1 am in favor of every in-
dustry standing on its own bottom.
Because I am opposed to special
privileges.
Because I am opposed to trusts.
Because I am opposed to the law
that authorizes the government to
loan money to the corporations at I
per cent and denies it to the citizens
and individuals.
Because I believe there are other
questions besides the tariff and pen-
sions that affect the welfare of the
people.
Because 1 believe that congress
should exercise the rights guarante-
ed by the constitution "to coin money
and regulate the value thereof."
Because I am opposed to the na-
tional banks as banks of issue.
Because 1 am in favor of the postal
savings banks for a safe deposit of
the people's money.
Because I am in favor of the gov-
ernment ownership of railroads.
Because I believe that American-
ism demands the speedy settlement
of these great questions. -Stillwater
Advance.
County Normal.
The Territorial Board of Education
has recently decided on July 10th
to August 1st 1901 as the time for
holding the second session of Normal
Institutes. This will cause our Nor-
mal to begin earlier than was form-
erly announced. Remember the time
July 10th to August 1st 1901.
C. H. Meeker, Co, Supt., Elect.
lit Sim l hi fiiin id Gomel en.
Undertaking and Embalming.
Keep one eye on this space.
CAPITAL VS. LABOR
Contented Will Take One Sitle of all
Questions. Discontented Will Reach
Out for Civil Control.
Boston, June 28.—The oration of
"Ideals in Politics," which Wayne
McVeigh delivered before the Phi
Beta Kappa at its annual meeting
at Cambridge, has attracted unusual
attention. Among other things Mr.
McVeigh said:
"It seems to me quite too plain
for dispute that no single member, of
a weaker race can be killed, no hut
ofsuch a race, however humble can be
burned, no o le can be selected for
especial honor for his part in such
pitiful warfare without its helping to
light the torch which starts the lire
by which some hapless negro is to be
burned at the stake in our own coun-
try, not only in defiance but in con-
tempt of law, and all such acts must
be surely followed by greater inse-
curity for the surplus wealth which
the contented class possesses.
"No, it is at least possible that in
the not distant future American poli-
tics, may transform Mr. Webster's
warning into history, for our elector-
ate is already beginning to be divid-
ed and must in obedience to the law
of social evolution, continue more
and more to be divided by that sharp
cleavage which seperates those who
are contented with their lot from
those who are discontented with their
lot.
"Under whatever disguises, called
by whatever names, inheriting or
seizing whatever partisan organiza-
tions, the alighment of two great
political divisions of American
voters who will sooner or later
struggle against each other for the
possession of the government will
inevitably be upon the basis I have
named. The party of the contented
will be ranged under one banner, and
the party of the discontented will be
ranged under the other and that
alignment will steadily develope in-
creasing sharpness of divisions until
the party of the discontented, being
the majority has obtained the con-
trol of the government to which,
under our system, they are entitled,
and then they will be sure to remodel
the present system for the distribu-
tion of wealth, unless we have previ-
ously done so, upon bases wiser and
more equitable than those now ex-
isting.
The one party will be under what-
ever name, the party of capital and
the other party will be under what-
ever name, the party of labor.
It certainly would tend to make
private property more secure in
America if the less fortunate majori-
ty of our population saw us of the more
fortunate minority giving' courage
and time and thought to efforts to |
solve these problems and others like I
them, and thereby to lessen some of I
the evils which in many cases bear so I
heavily and so unjustly upon thej
poor."
The Parmer Makes the Nation.
\ Let there be a total failure of crops 1
| for two years and the people of these
| United States would be on the verge
of starvation. It is said that the
state of Nevada in the few years has
produced more than $600,000,000 of
gold and silver, yet its inhabitants
are few in number and poverty-
stricken. If they should dig gold
for the next ten thousand years, its.
inhabitants would be in the saule
condition. But she is not without
hope.
Its soil is barren for want of water.
If the government will build reser-
voirs there and agriculture is encour-
aged, it will not he many years until
it will have a large, wealthy and
happy people. Only farming can do
this. Nothing makes a great nation
but a population which tills the soil.
Upon the farmer rests science, re-
ligion, law, medicine and everything
that makes the world worth living in.
If one of these farmers should tell
a city man that a country full of
gold mines never added wealth to a
community, th ; city man would look
upon the son of the soil with con-
tempt, and immediately conclude he
must be a populist lunatic.
But who is the lunatic? As we
have often said, we repeat now, the
farmer makes the nation. The
farm is where the strong sane men
grow. There is the source of supply
for the brains of the cities, and we
are truly glad we are able to furnish
reading matter that may be appreci-
ated by the farming population of
this county. — Stillwater Advance.
The Oklahoma commissioners to
the St. Louis World's Pair are de-
sirous of securing about a dozen
samples of wheat and half a dozen of
oats from Cleveland county, to be
preserved and exhibited at the ex-
position at St. Louis in 1903. They
desire the samples to be of the very
best wheat produced in the county
and from fields that produced unusual-
ly large yields, as they will exhibit
the wheat in glass tubes upon which
it was produced, the name of the
grower, the variety of wheat or oats,
the yield per acre and the test per
bushel. The commission have had
prepared a number of sacks holding
four or five quarts each, with proper
labels attached thereto, which have
been placed at the office of the Nor-
man Milling Company in Norman,
and all farmers of this county having
samples of their products which are
of superior quality and large yield,
should call at this office and arrange
to leave a sample of the very best,
it is desired that this county make as
good showing at the exposition a.- any
other county in the Territory, and
this can be done only by our farmers
and wheat growers taking hold of this
matter and helping make the exhibit
from this county of the very best.
Kiowa and Comanche Map.
We have just received a copy of
the latest edition of the Homeseeker's
Gnide, a neat little book giving full
directions and Information for taking
a homestead, town lot* or mining
claim in the Kiowa and Comanche
reservation soon to open to settle-
ment and accompanied by a ffne
sectional map. Published by Fred
L. Wenner, Okla., and sent postpaid
foi 50 cents.