Morning journal and courier., 1880-06-07
THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM

The platform adopted by the Republican National Convention contains much that is satisfactory, notwithstanding the fact that it's construction was controlled by desire not to have anything in it that would add to the number of exciting topics before the Con vention The claims of the Republican party to the continued confidence and sup port of the people could hardly have been better and more briefly stated. These claims need no puffiing or extra assertion, and athe simple record of the great achievements of the party is sufficiently impressive. The position of the Republicans on the State rights issue is well defined in the second resolution: ''The Constitution of the United States is a supreme law and not mere contract {; out of confederate@ States it made sovereign Nation. Some powers are denied to the Ma ton, while others are denied to the States but the boundary between the powers dele gated and those reserved is to be determined by the National and not by the State tribu- nals Other eommendable parts of the plat form are those which recommend a constitu- tional amendment to put the same restrictions on the State Legislatures concerning laws af-
 
 Congress, and to prohibit them from apply ing public moneys to the support of sec tarian schools tariff duties and excise taxes discriminating in favor of American labor the extinction of polygamy in the Territories; that governmental subsidies to private per sons Or corporations cease and that the ob- legations of the Republic to the soldiers who caya3 # ba vivid1u norma in mind rTha praise of President Hayes and his adninis- tration is graceful and fitting.
 The anti-Chinese resolution will cause much discussion. It is as follows: ''Since the authority to regulate immigration and in- tercourse between the United States and for eign nations rests with Congress, or with the United States and it's treaty making, the Republican party, regard ing the unrestricted immigration of the Chi nese as an evil of great magnitude, invoke the exercise of those powers to restrain and limit that immigration by the enactment of such just, humane and reasonable provisions will produce that result" Since it is not yet proven that the unrestricted immigration of the Chinese is an evil of great magnitude, or is likely to be, it is little early for such Q resolution to be put into a Republican plat form. The accusation that this resolution makes concessions to Denis Kearney and his followers is justified. It is demagogic and unworthy.
 The manner in which the civil service rel form resolution got into the platform is more creditable to the Massachusetts men than to the Committee on Resolutions, who. concluded to omit any mention of the matt ter; and though it does not seem to have been very heartily accepted by the Conven- tion, it is 0 cheering thing that it was accept ed at all. Although civil service reform has not made much progress yet, and does not seem likely to very soon, there is no question but that the people approve the attempts made by President Hayes to elevate the civil service, and would be glad to see the time when the remark made by Mr. Flanigan- ''What are we here for except to get office on the principle that to the victors belong the spells ?"-win not be considered just the thing to say or think in nominating conven- tion