The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1880-09-02
PLATFORM OF THE NATIONAL
GREENBACK PARTY.

That the right to make and to issue
money is a sovereign power to~be man
tanned by the people for the common
benefit. The delegation of this right to
corporations is a surrender of the central
attribute of sovereignty, void of constitu- :
tional sanction, comforting upon a subor-
dinate irresponsible power, and absolute
dominion over industry and commerce.
All money, whether metallic or paper,
should be issued and its volume controlled
by the government and not by or through
banking corporations, and when 80 issued
should be full legal tender for all debts,
public and private.
2. That the bonds of the United States
should not be refunded, but paid as rapid
ly as practicable, according to contract
To enable the government to meet these
obligations, legal tender currency should
be substituted for the notes of the national
banks, the national banking system abol-
ished, and the unlimited coinage of silver
as well "a gold established by law.
8. That labor should be 70 protected by
national and state authority as to equalize
theburden and insure just distribution of
its results; the eight hour law of Congress
should be enforced; the sanitary condition
of industrial establishments placed under
rigid control; the competition of contract
convict labor abolihed; bureau for labor
statistics established; factories, mines, and
workshops inspected; the employment OF
children under fourteen years of age for
hidden, and wages paid in cash.
A. Slavery being simply cheap labor, and
cheap labor being simply slavery, the i'm
| portation and presence of Chinese serfs
necessarily tends to brutalize and degrade
American labor; therefore immediate steps
should be taken to abrogrte the Burlin-
game treaty.
5. Railroad land grants forfeited by rea-
son of on-fulhillment of contract should
be Immediately reclaimed by the govern.
ment; and henceforth the public domain
reserved exclusively as homes for actual
settlers.
6. 1t is the duty of congress to regulate
interstate commerce. III lines of commn-
nication and transportation should be
brought under such legislative control as
shall secure moderate, fair and uniform
rates for passenger and freight traffic.
z. We denOunce as destructive to pros
perity and dangerous to liberty, the action
of the old parties in fostering and sustain
ing gigantic land. railroad and money cor.
porations and monopolies, invested with,
and exercising, powers belonging to the
government, and yet not responsible to il
| for the manner of their use.
! s. That the constitution, in giving con
gress the power to borrow money, to de-
clare war, to raise and support armies, to
provide and maintain a navy, never inten-
ded that the men who loaned their money
for an interest consideration should be pre-.
ferred to the soldier and sailor who prriled
their lives and shed their blood on land
and sea in defense of their country, and
we condemn the cruel class legislation of
the Republican party which, while profes-
sing great gratitude to the soldier, has
most unjustly Disseminated against him
and in favor of the bondholder.
9. All property should bear its just pro-
ortion of ia xation, and we demand a
graduated income tax.
| 10. We denounce as most dangerous the
efforts everywhere manifested to restrict
the right of suffrage.
IL. We are opposed to an increase of the
standing army in time of peace and the
insidious scheme to establish an enormous
military power under the guise of militia
laws.
IL. We demand absolute democratic
rules for the government of congress, pla
cling all representatives, of the people upon
an equal footing, and taking away from
committees veto power greater than thai
of the president.
13. We demand a government Of The
people, by the people, and for the people
instead of q government of the bondhol
der, by the bondholder and for the bond
holder; and we dsnounce every attempt tc
stir up sectional strife as an effort to con.
ceal monstrous crimes against the people.
IA. In the furtherance of these ends we
ask the cooperation of all fair minded
people. We have no quarrel with individ-
uals, We wage no war upon classes, but on
ly against vicious institutions. We are
not content to endure further discipline
from our present actual rulers, who, hav-
ing dominion over money, over transpor-
tation, over land and labor, over the ma
chinery of government, and largely over
the press, WELD unwarrantable power over
our institutions, and over life and property