Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-04-10
A SENSIBLE AVOWAL OF PRINCI-
PTEG

PLESs
The platform advocates economy in public
affairs uniform taxation, equal protection to
capital and labor, regulation by legislative acts
| of the rates of common carriers, maintenance
of public schools, free elections without inter-
ference by military, condemning keeping alive
the bitterness of the late war, declaring the re-
cent decisions of the United States supreme
court in relation to the election laws as favor
| ing the Republican party, pledging support to
all laws favoring untrammeled suffrage oppo-
sition to the protective tariff and denounciHg
the third term movement.
The above is the Geographic summary
of the platform of the Oregon Democrats.
If any reader can find flaw in it, we trust
he will point it out. For itself the GLOBE
can give cordial acquiesence in every point
covered by the dispatch. The platform en-
bodies a series of ideas that are the en-
bodiment' of the Democratic sentiment of
the country. The watchward of the party is
economy. In the past this principle has
been maintained. Since the incoming of the
Democratic Congress the country has been
saved the sum of over hundred millions Of
dollars. By this reduction the party has
shown that its professions are not merely
professions, but are put in practice.
Uniform taxation is simply just. For
that reason and for no other it has become
one of the tenets of the Democratic policy.
At present the poor man bears the
greater burden of taxation. He is taxed
upon the clothing he wears, the food he
eats and the implements he uses in the pur-
suit of livelihood. The rich man, while
he pays tax upon his food and his cloth
ing need pay nothing upon the abundance
he poss esses provided he invests it in ju-
dicious manner. The Republican party has
evidently been the party of the money power.
1t has aided to build up an aristocracy Of
wealth and to degrade the laboring man to
the level of the serf.
Free elections, without the interference Of
the military or any other power, is theory
with which all can agree. In republic
where all are allowed to express prefer
ences at the ballot box, no occa-
sion exists for an endeavor to con-
troll electors by force. Though no force be
used it is implied by the presence of its en-
gines at the place of voting, and is in reality
a menace upon the liberties of the people.
As to the late decisions of the supreme
court no two opinions exist. They were
grossly partisan, and the power that appoint
ed the judges intended that they should be
80. It is true that such scandals upon our
judiciary should cease, and all honest men
of every party will unite in the demand that
they shall.
The only ground upon which tariff on
imports can be defended is its necessity. The
Democratic party recognizes the necessity,
but insists that the tariff shall be placed
upon revenue basis, and that only. No
protection plea can be accepted, for our in
dustries need no protection. They are
amply able to care for themselves, and if
they are not they deserve to perish. The
people do not wish to be taxed for the pur-
pose of fostering monopolies, and will resist
any such attempt
The platform of the Oregon Democrats is
sound in every essential particular if the
telegraph has reported it rightly, and some
of the conventions east of the Rocky noun
tains would not disgrace themselves by pat
terning after it.