, 1878-04-13
A Good Beginning.

met at Portland on Wednesday.
After tho organization the first
business in order was the adop-
ton Of platform. Only one
section was adopted when the
Convention adjourned till the fol-
lowing day. The section adopt
ed is as follows:
The Democracy CT Oregon, in
convention assembled. make the fol-
towing declaration of principles:
Fust--That simple government.
honestly and economically admins
tered. confined in its operations to
the administration of justice and the
preservation Of the public peace. is
the only safeguard against the
abuses of power to which persons in
authority are prone, and the corrupt
and lavish appropriation of the pub
lie funds to corporations, which has
characterized the national admins
tratien for the past seventeen years.
Now that is first rate. Nine
tenths of the people of Oregon
will endorse every word of 1t,
and no other party in the State
will dare to take issue III oppo-
sition to it. If the Convention
will stop right there with their
platform and make their nomi-
nations to correspond, of men
whose lives and characters are
consistent with these declara-
tions, their success would be as
sured unless some other party
should offer better nominations.
But we have no idea that the
Convention will do anything of
the kind. The politicians must
have a long string of meaning
less ''resolves," )" only invented to
delude the common people" and
to create imaginary issues where
no practical issues exist, all for
the purpose Of diverting popu-
lar attention from the character
of their candidates to the discus
sion Of the distractions contained
in their platform.
We well remember the last
political convention Of any party
in which We bore part, eight
years ago, in Albany, Oregon; a
platform was adopted practical
ly repudiating the public debt.
Every candidate nominated was
required to endorse the platform
as 4 condition to his nomination,
and not one believed in it, and
each spent the entire canvass in
trying to explain it away. The
only object sought was to pan
der to a popular prejudice crea-
ted by reading Brick Pomeroy's
paper, thousands of which were
then circulated through Oregon,
and it succeeded as temporary
expedient to the great future
detriment of the Democratic
party.
The public sentiment of Ore
gon, as well as Washington Ter
ritory, is, without doubt, largely
Democratic, upon strictly politi-
cal issues, as they existed pre-
vious to the war. Then Demo-
cratic majorities were overwhel-
ming throughout the Pacific
States and Territories. Upon
the same issues the same senti
ments prevail to-day, but are
smothered by party management
viii. h looks only to personal
success. The people of Califor-
MIA, for instance, of both politi-
cal parties, have repeatedly de-
clared their hostility to the dom
ination Of corporate monopoly.
Upon that issue they have elect
ed a majority of the Legislature,
again and again, and just as
often as they have done so the
monopolists have dictated legis-
lation, and with the single ex-
ception of Senator Booth, the
California Senators have been
the paid Attorneys of the Cen
trail Pacific Railroad Company
for the last fifteen years; the ex-
ception being the result of break
ing down party lines. Oregon
resumed her position as a Dem
Ocratic State very soon of4or+ho