Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1884-07-15

heavy burdens upon the many who ar
governed for the benefit of the few VIII
govern. Public servants thus become arb
trary rulers. This is now the condition G
the country; hence change is demanded.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY-A REMINIsCENCE
The Republican party, so far as principl
is concerned, is a Renaissance. In prae
tice it is an organization for enriching thos
who control its machinery. The fraud
and jobbery which have been brought t
light in every department of the Govern
ment are sufficient to have called for reforr
within the Republican party; yet those i
authority, made reckless by long possession
of power, have succumbed to its corruptin
influence, and have placed in nomination
ticket against which the Independent por
ton of the party are in open revolt. There
fore change is demanded. Such chang
was alike necessary in 1876, but the will Q
the people was then defeated by frau
which can never be forgotten, nor condor
ed. Again, in 1880 the change demanded b
the people was defeated by the lavish use O
morey contributed by INSCRIPTIONS con
tractors and shameless jobbers who ha'
bargained for unlawful profits or for higl
offices.
The Republican party during its legal
its stolen, and it's bought tenure Of power
has steadily decayed in moral characte
and political capacity.
IT'S PROMISES AND PROFESSIONS.
Its platform promises are now list o.
its past failures. 1t demands the restora
ton of our navy; it has squandered hun
dreds of millions to create a navy that does
not exist; it calls upon Congress to remove
the burdens under which American ship
ping has been depressed; it imposed and
has continued these burdens; it processes
policy of reserving public lands for small
holdings by actual settlers; it has giver
away the peoples heritage, till now a few
railroads and nonresident aliens, individual
and corporate, possess larger area than
that of all of the farms between the two
seas; it processes preference for free institu
tions; it organized and tried to legalize the
control of State elections by Federal troops
it processes desire to elevate labor, it has
subjected American workingmen to the COM
petition Of convict and imported contract
labor; it processes gratitude to all who were
disabled or died in the war leaving widows
and orphans; it left to the Democratic Houas
of Representatives the first effort to equalize
both bounties and pensions; it protfers a
pledge to correct irregularities of ou1
tariff; it created and has continued them;
its own tariff commission confessed the need
of more than 26 per cent. reduction. It's
Congress gave reduction of less than
per cent. 1t processes protection of Ameri
can manufactures; it has subjected them to
All increasing flood of manufactured goods
and hopeless competition with the manufac-
turing nations one of which taxes raw
materials. Itprofesses to protect all Ameri-
can industries; it has impoverished many to
subsidze few. 1t processes the protection
of American labor; it hasdepleted the returns
of American agriculture, an industry fol-
lowed by half Of our people. 1t processes
equality of all men before the law. In at
tempting to- fix the status ofcolored citizens,
the acts of its Congress were overset by decis-
ions of its courts. 1t accepts new duty
of leading in the work of progress and re-
form; its caught criminals are permitted to
escape through contrived delays or actual
connivance in the prosecution. Honeycomb-
ed with corruption, outbreaking exposures
no longer shock its moral sense. Its honest
members, its independent journals, no long
er maintain successful contest for authority
in its counsels or veto upon bad nominal
lions. That changes necessary is proved
by an existing surplus of more than 500, 600,
600, which has yearly been collected from the
suffering people. Unnecessary taxation is
unjust taxation. We denounce the Repub-
lican party for having failed to relieve the
people from crushing war-taxes, which
have paralyzed business, crippled industry,
and deprived labor of employment and of
Just reward.
PLEDGES OF THE DEMOCRACY.
The Democracy pledges itself to purify
the administration from corruption to re-
store economy; to revive respect for law
and reduce taxation to its lowest limit con-
sistent with it's due reward; to the preser-
Walton of the faith of the nation to it's cred
itors and pensioners; knowing full we'll,
however, that Legislation affecting the oc-
equations of the people should be cautious
and conservative in method, not in advance
of public opinion, but responsive to its
demands. The Democratic party is pledg-
ed to revise the tariff in spirit of fairness
to all interests, but in making reduction
in taxes it is not proposed to injure any
domestic industries, but rather to promote
their healthy growth. From the founda-
ton of this Government the taxes collected
at the custom-house have been the chief
source of Federal revenue. Such they must
continue to be. Moreover, many industries
have come to rely upon legislation for sue
cessful continuance, SO that any change of
law must be at every step regardful Of the
labor and capital thus involved. The pro-
cess of reform must be subject in execution
to this plain dictate of justice. All taxa
ton shall be limited to the requirements of
economical government The necessary
reduction in taxation can and must be eff
fected, without depriving American labor
of the ability to compete successfully with
foreign labor and without imposing lower
rates of duty than will be ample to cover
any increased cost of production which may
exist in consequence of the higher rate of
wages prevailing in this country. Sufficient
revenue to pay all expenses of the Federal
Government, economically administered,
including pensions, interests and principal
of the public debt, can be got under our
present system of taxation from CUSTOM
house taxes on fewer imported articlt S,
bearing heaviest ON articles of luxury, and
bearing the lightest on articles of necessity
THE EXISTING TARIFF DENOUNCED.
We therefore denounce the abuses of the
existing tariff and subject to preceding
W. oOLittAN uiltG L OuoIdl GdAd-
ton shall be exclusively for public purposes
and shall not exceed the needs of the Gov
eminent economically administered. The
system of direct taxation known as Gin
ternal revenue is a war tax, and so long as
the law continues the money derived there
from should be sacredly devoted to the relief
of the people from the remaining burdens of
the war and be made a fund to defray the ex-
pense of the care and comfort of worthy SOL
diers disabled in the line of duty in the
wars of the republic, and for the payment of
such pensions as Congress may from time to
time grant to such soldiers, a like fund for
sailors having been already provided, and
any surplus should be paid into the Trea-
sury.
We favor an American continental policy,
based upon more intimate commercial and
political relations with the 10 sister republics
of North, Central, and South America, but
alliances with none.
We believe in honest money-gold and
silver coinage-of a constitutional and Cir
culating medium convertible into such
money without loss.
Asserting the equality of all men before the
law, we hold that it is the duty Of the Gov
eminent in its dealing with the people to
mete out equal and exact justice to all citi-
zens, of whatever nativity, race, color, or
norc1ac sion ral;ro,,c or ,olitioal