A Populist Outcry Against the 'Money Oligarchy'
Mining tycoon William M. Stewart denounces the economic misery of 1893, blaming the financial elites of New York for the nation's despair.
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Senator Stewart of Nevada wrote to Governor Penoyer of Oregon, expressing his admiration for the Governor's recent proclamation regarding the economic state of the country. Stewart stated: 'The [system] has been corrupted by the gold kings and advocates of a man from Wall Street to the great office of President, which has produced results that have filled the country with want, misery and despair. The enemy of the people is everywhere, supported by money changers in Europe and America. Nothing can prevent the rise of the money oligarchy but sudden and determined action by the people before they are subjugated and their means of resistance exhausted.'
“Nothing can prevent the rise of the money oligarchy but sudden and determined action by the people before they are subjugated and their means of resistance exhausted.”
In the severe economic depression of 1893, Populists and silver-proponents viewed Seattle and the Pacific Northwest as victims of Eastern financial centers—a precursor to the long-standing regional suspicion of Wall Street's influence on Western livelihoods.
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