THE POPULIST BOMBSHELL OF 1892 147 



as the standard money of the country, and to the 

 coinage of both gold and silver without discrimi- 

 nation against either metal or charge for mintage." 

 The rival Republican platform declared that "the 

 American people, from tradition and interest, favor 

 bimetallism, and the Republican party demands the 

 use of both gold and silver as standard money." 

 Each party declared for steps to obtain an interna- 

 tional agreement on the question. The Republi- 

 cans attempted to throw a sop to the labor vote by 

 favoring restriction of immigration and laws for the 

 protection of employees in dangerous occupations, 

 and to the farmer by pronouncements against 

 trusts, for extended postal service particularly 

 in rural districts and for the reclamation and 

 sale of arid lands to settlers. The Democrats 

 went even further and demanded the return of 

 "nearly one hundred million acres of valuable land" 

 then held by "corporations and syndicates, alien 

 and domestic. " 



The directors of the Populist campaign proved to 

 be no mean political strategists. General Weaver 

 himself toured the country, accompanied by Gen- 

 eral Field when he was in the South and by Mrs. 

 Lease when he went to the Pacific coast. Numer- 

 ous other men and women addressed the thousands 



