The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-30

Sucn money IN Sl1nclent Qualt1tleS 70 supply the act
ual demands of trade and commerce in accordance
with the increase of population and the development
of our Industries. We demand the substitution of
greenbacks for national bank notes, and the prompt
payment OF the public debt; we want that money which
saved our country in time Of war, and which has given
it prosperity and happiness in peace. We condemn
the retirement of fractional currency and small
denominations of greenbacks and demand their
restoration. We demand the issue of the boards of
money now locked up in the United States Treasury
by applying them to the payment of the public debt
now due.
2. We denounce as dangerous TO our republican
institutions those methods and policies of the Demo-
cratic and Republican parties which have sanctioned
or permitted the establishment of land, railroad,
money and other gigantic corporate monopolies. and
we demand such governmental action as may be
necessary to take from such monopoies the powers
which they have corruptly and unjustly usurped, and
restore them to the people to whom they belong.
3. The public lands being the natural Inheritance
of the people, we denOunce that policy which
has granted to corporations vast tracts of lands.
ana we demand that immediate and vigorous
measures be taken to reclaim from such corporations
for the peoples use and benefit all such land grants as
have been forfeited by reason of non-fulfllment oe
contract, or that may have been wrongfully acquired
by corrupt legislation, and that such reclaimed lands
and other public domain be henceforth held as a
sacred trust, to be granted only to actual settlers in
limited quantities.; and we demand that alton owner
ship of land, individual or corporate, shall be prohibit
ed.
4. We demand congressional regulation Of inter
state commerce. We denounce pooling stock-wa-
tering, and dis ;rimination in rates and charges, and
that Congress shall correct these abuses even. if nee
essary, by the construction of national railroads. We
also demand the establishment of a government postal
telegraph system.
obligations to pay money should bear their just pro.
portion of public taxes. We demand a graduated
income tax.
6. We demand an amelioration of the condition
of labor by enforcing sanitary laws in indus
trial establishments. by the abolition of the CON
vict labor system, by the rigid inspection of mines and
factories, by a reduction of the hours of labor in indus
trial establishments, by fostering educational institu-
tions and by abolishing child,labor.
y NJ aAaAaDA, III s,Olx ~ e nAOHuaofa1
labor, made with a view of reducing to starvation
wages the working men of this country, and demand
laws for its prevention.
:. We insist upon a constitutional amend
ment reducing the terms of United States senator's
one half, and making them elective directly by the
people; also making the President ineligible to re elec-
ton.
8. We demand such rules for the government
of Congress as shall place all representatives of the
people upon an equal footing and take away from
committees a veto power greater than that of Presi-
dent.
10. The question as to the amount of duties to 10
levied upon various articles of import, has been agi-
tated, quarreled over, and has divided communities for
nearly q hundred years. 1t is not now, and never
will be settled, unless by the abolition of indirect tax
alton. 1t is a convenient issue. always raised when
the people are excited over abuses in their midst.
While we favor q wise revision of the tariff laws with
a view of raising revenue from Injuries rather than
necessaries, we insist that, as an economic question, its
Importance is insignificant as compared with the
financial issue; for whereas we have suffered our worst
panics under low, and also under high tariffs, we have
never suffered from a panic or seen our factories and
workshops closed while the volume of our money in
circulation was adequate to the needs of commerce.
Give our farmers and manufacturers money as cheap
as you now give our bankers, and they can pay high
wages to labor and compete with the whole world.
IL, For the purpose of testing the sense of the
people upon the subjects. we are in favor of submit
ting to a vote of the people an amendment to the Con
stitution in favor of suffrage, regardless of sex, and
also on the subject of the liquor traffic.
IL. All disabled soldiers of the late war should be
e~quitably pensioned; and we denounce the policy of
keeping a small army of office, holders whose only
business is TO prevent, on technical grounds, deserving
soldiers from obtaining justice from the government
they helped to save.
13. As our name indicates, we are a national party.
knowing no East, no West. no North, no South. HAY
ing no sectional prejudice, we can properly place In
nomination for the high Offices of state men from any
section of the Union.
IA. We appeal to all people who believe in our
principles TO aid us by voice and pen and votes.
When debate was declared to be in order on
the various resolutions. Mr.. Jones, of New York,
said:
Mr.. Chairman, and gentlemen Of the Convention
Until II o'clock my time was occupied with the sub
committee, preparing the excellent platform which
every point covered by the subcommittee of which L
was a member, was agreed upon, L believe unanim-
ously, with one exception, and that one is that which
referred to when addressing you before, that the
language in our platform should be explicit that it
was the intention of our party to authorize the issue
of money sufficient 10 transact business on a cash
basis. There was some difference of opinion last
evening on that language being inserted in the plat
form. This morning it occurred to me that it was
important that the sectionalism of the old parties and
the nationality of our party should be Incorporated in
the paper, and l drew this while a later sub-eom.
have seen MI Gillette and Nv. Norton,
who just read the majority report,
and they consider the national feature
of this paper an important one to be incorporated in
that, but we had not time to do it after comparing our
papers. l am not tenacious at all as to what disposi-
ton is made of this paper. 1 have no factious oppo.
sition whatever to offer to the very excellent platform
the majority of the committee have reported. tAp
plause:l l think it by all odds the best platform our
party has ever yet adopted. [Applause.l But l repeat,
I was anxious to have these two points covered in the
platform; but the two members of the committee that l
have conversed with since we have compared our
papers-about l clock this afternoon-said they
themselves would like to have those ideas in the
paper. if it could be. l believe [ am right. If Mr..
Gillette is present he can answer for himself and Col.
Norton is here also. ! will not detain the chairman
or the convention. l don't propose to press my paper.
1t was merely to convey my views on the money ques-
ton, which l considered important.
THE COINAGE OF OIL AND SILVER
Mr.. Render, of Pennsylvania, offered the fol
lowing as an amendment to the majority reports:
Resolved, That we are in favor of the free and UNI
limited coinage of gold and silver"
He spoke in favor of the amendment, saying
that such a proposition had been in every plat
form that the Greenback party had adopted.
This provoked a stormy discussion, which was
participated in by Messrs. White, of
Colorado; Hull, of Iowa; Atwood, of
Pennsylvania; Doody, of New York; Vorhis, of
Illinois, and others, The point was raised
that the first resolution in the majority report
regarding the Supreme Court decision covered
this very point. The discussion was protracted
on a motion to refer the resolution
back to the committee with instruction
to report it Immediately. The previous
question was moved and seconded and.
amidst much excitement, the resolution to refer
was defeated and the amendment suffered a like
a. .~- 1Gf. wAx1 Tx uu.ar 49,. It'll 49,
der the operation of the previous question,
the majority report, made by Colonel Norton,
was adopted. although several delegates vehe-
mently insisted that they wanted to speak, and
did not want to be shut off under the gag rule.
Gen. Butler Selected on the First Ballot, and