832 



UNITED STATES. 



of soldiers of the Revolution drawing pensions, 

 the youngest seventy-three and the oldest ninety- 

 nine years old. There were 222,521 first pay- 

 ments of pensions during the year, requiring 

 $38,522,274, which was $69,592 less than the 

 130,514 first payments in 1889-'90, the average 

 being $485 in 1890 and only $239 in 1891. The 

 first payments on claims under the act of June 

 27. 1890, averaged $71. 



Indians. The Indian population, exclusive 

 of natives of Alaska, was 250,483 in 1891. The 

 number of Indian youths enrolled has increased, 

 as has also the average daily attendance in the 

 schools. The Indians have consented, as a rule, 

 to send their children to schools, and it has not 

 been found necessary to take immediate com- 

 pulsory measures to secure their attendance, as 

 authorized by the act of March 3, 1891. 



Political Conventions. At a conference of 

 representatives of the Farmers' Alliance and in- 

 dustrial organizations held at Cincinnati on 

 May 19, the People's party was founded. Reso- 

 lutions were adopted convoking a conference of 

 " all progressive organizations " at Cincinnati on 

 Feb. 22, 1892, and a national committee was 

 appointed which was authorized, if no satisfac- 

 tory coalition with other reform organizations 

 could be effected, to call a convention of the 

 People's party for the nomination of a President, 

 to be held not later than June 14, 1892. On 

 Nov. 23 the Republican National Committee, at 

 Washington, selected Minneapolis for the place 

 of meeting for the national convention and, ap- 

 pointed June 7, 1892. as the date. The National 

 Committee of the Prohibition party met at 

 Chicago on Dec. 17, 1891, and agreed on St. 

 Louis as the phice for holding a national con- 

 vention, which will meet on June 29 and 30, 1892, 

 for the purpose of nominating candidates for the 

 presidency and vice-presidency of the United 

 States. 



The following was adopted, on May 20, by the 

 conference at Cincinnati, as the platform of the 

 new third party, to be called the People's party : 



That we most heartily indorse the demands of the 

 platforms as adopted at St. Louis, Mo., in 1889. Ocala, 

 Fla., in 1890, and Omaha, Neb., in 1891, by industrial 

 organizations there represented, summarized as fol- 

 lows : 



The right to make and issue money is a sovereign 

 power to be maintained by the people for the com- 

 mon benefit, hence we demand the abolition of 

 national banks as banks of issue, and as a substitute 

 for national bank notes we demand that legal-tender 

 treasury notes be issued in sufficient volume to trans- 

 act the business of the country on a cash basis, with- 

 out damage or especial advantage to any class or call- 

 ing, such notes to be legal tender in payment of all 

 debts, public and private, and such notes when de- 

 manded by the people shall be loaned to them at not 

 more than 2 per cent, per annum upon non-perishable 

 products, as indicated in the sub-treasury plan, and 

 also upon real estate, with proper limitation upon the 

 quantity of land and amount of money. 



We demand the free, unlimited coinage of silver. 



We demand the passage of laws prohibiting alien 

 ownership of land, and that Congress take prompt ac- 

 tion to devise some plan to obtain all lands now owned 

 by alien and foreign syndicates, and that all land held 

 by railroads and other corporations in excess of such 

 as is actually used and needed by them be reclaimed 

 by the Government and held for actual settlers only. 



We demand a just and equitable system of gradu- 

 ated tax on income. 



We demand the most rigid, honest, and just 

 national control and supervision of the means of pub- 

 lic communication and transportation, and if this 

 control and supervision does not remove the abuses 

 now existing, we demand the Government ownership 

 of such means of communication and transportation. 



We demand the election of President, Vice-I'ivsi- 

 dent, and United States Senators by a direct vote of 

 the people. 



The following additional resolutions, not a 

 part of the platform, were also adopted : 



That while the party in power in 1869 pledged the 

 faith of the nation to pay a debt in coin that had 

 been contracted in a depreciated currency basis and 

 payable in currency, thus adding nearly one billion 

 dollars to the burdens of the people, which meant 

 gold for the bondholders and depreciated currency 

 for the soldier, and holding that the men who im- 

 periled their lives to save the life of a nation should 

 have been paid in money as good as that paid to the 

 bondholders, we demand the issue of legal-tender 

 treasury notes in sufficient amount to make the pay 

 of the soldiers equal to par with coin, or such other 

 legislation as shall do equal and exact justice to the 

 Union soldiers of this country. 



That as eight houi-s constitute a legal day's work 

 for Government employes in mechanical departments, 

 we believe this principle should be further extended 

 so as to apply to all corporations employing labor in 

 the different States of the Union. 



Reciprocity Treaties. The first treaty of 

 commercial reciprocity concluded in accordance 

 with the clause of the Tariff act of Oct. 1, 1890, 

 providing for the admission into the United 

 States free of duty of sugar, molasses, coffee, tea, 

 and hides in return for reciprocal concessions, 

 was signed with Brazil on Feb. 5, 1891 (see BRA- 

 ZIL). Arrangements with Great Britain in re- 

 spect to the free importation of products of 

 Jamaica, the Leeward and Windward Islands, 

 Barbados, and British Guiana were finally con- 

 cluded in December, 1891. A treaty was con- 

 cluded with Spain for Cuba and Porto Rico, 

 and promulgated in a proclamation issued by 

 President Harrison on Aug. 1, under which salt 

 meats, lard, hay, resin, cotton, crude petroleum, 

 coal, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, fruit, lumber, 

 manufactures of iron, sewing machines, and 

 other articles are admitted into those colonies 

 free of duty, and refined petroleum, wheat and 

 flour, boots and shoes, corn, and many other 

 American products at reduced rates of duty. 

 Treaties with Salvador and Guatemala, provid- 

 ing for practical free trade in American prod- 

 ucts, were signed in December. A liberal ar- 

 rangement was also made with Santo Do- 

 mingo. The English treaty goes into effect witli 

 British Guiana on March 31, 1892, and with the 

 other colonies two months earlier. In the con- 

 vention with regard to Jamaica many commod- 

 ities of prime commercial importance, and in all 

 63 articles, are exempted from duties, and 12 

 others are admitted into that island at reduced 

 rates. In the other colonies 58 articles are 

 transferred to the free list, and duties are lowered 

 for 16 others. Negotiations with Germany, 

 France, Belgium, Italy, and other European 

 countries resulted in the removal of the prohibi- 

 tion of pork imports, in consideration of their 

 admission to the reciprocity clause, taken in 

 conjunction with the new meat inspection law. 

 Before the end of the year reciprocity arrange- 

 ments had been made with all the Spanish 



