Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-08-19
GENERAL BUTLER.
SYNOPSIS OF HIS LETTER OF
ACCEPTANCE.
His Views of the Political Situa-
tion-Reasons Why he Should
be Elected.
SPECIAL BY TELEGRAPH To THE REooRD-uNros.

ESPECIAL BY TELEGRAPH TO THE RECoRD-UNIoN.
Boston, August 18th.-General Butler
says in a note that his address is issued
thirty days sooner than intended, at the
solicitation of his personal friends, but
somewhat against his own judgment
had hoped" says he, to have had the add
vantage of distinct statement of princi
pies by the Democratic candidate for the
Presidency, and ascertain from his own
declaration whether in recanting some of
his public opinions he might not show
himself better than the official action of his
party has shown itself by its platform
TAFFY FOR CONSTITUENTS.
General Butler addresses himself totally
to his constituents" which word is found
to embrace the people of the United States.
He saws the Democrats of Massachusetts,
confided to him the following political in
terests: % Hostility to all monopolies in
commerce, industries and lands. (2) The
preservation of the national legal tender
currency of the people, constitutionally
men and women, who labor in the produc
ton OF wealth, to be projected against the
Entertainments of those who absorb and
consume without producing, a. The
necessity for reform and correction of
abuses in the Government, so that its pres
sure on the people would be made as light
as possible and its administration
effective; to guard the rights of
American citizens at home and abroad;
to make public servants, Individually or
incorporated, Subservient to the use and
will of the people only, SO as to restore the
prosperity of the country with equal rights,
equal burdens, equal powers and equal
privileges of all the people. He says he
owed a duty to the people, but to no Dem
ocratic organization whatever, and he had
intended, if these great principles of gov
ernment had been cordially received and
honestly adopted by the Democratic Ma
tional Convention as the political chart OF
| the party, to have permitted his name to
go before the Convention as Il candidate for
President; in which case he would have
been bound by its action to support the
platform.
WHY HE WAS NOT A CANDIDATE At CHI
CAGo.
He says: In thus doing the will of
those who sent me, l sought none of the
honors of the Convention, and intertered
! with none of its proceedings, save TO serve
as n member of q committee on what
should have been its platform of princi
pies and not of eXpedients." He then re-
lates his experience on the subcommittee
on resolutions, which was partly embraced
in his speech before the Convention. He
| SAYS that the resolution offered by him to
so levy taxes as best to promote Ameri-
can interests and industries and to foster
American labor, failed of adoption. From
that hour his candidaturc in that COnyen-
ton became impossible. He afterwards
offered a series OF resolutions III favor of
the industries and laborinS men and
women of the country, declaring that the
legal tender currency, under a decision Of
the Supreme Court, was now the cOnstitu-
tional currency of the country; that ali
monopoies, as they tend to make two
classes-the very rich and the very poor
are hurtful TO the people of the republic;
declaring the public lands to be the
heritage of the people; that the
United States should not permit ship
canal 10 be built across the Isthmus of
Panama without its consent; that there
should be frequent changes in Government
offices, to counteract the growing autocratic
tendencies Of a life office, and that the
United States should protect citizens every
where, and that no American should be
tried for any act done in this country ex-
cept under its own laws and on its own
soil These determinations of principles,
which seem to him to cover most ofthe live
questions in politics in which the people
are interested. were one after another voted
down by the Democratic committee.
THE CONVENTION CRITICISED.
General Rutlpr adds 'ThrOuph the
courtesy of the Chairman of the committee
and by personal intercession, | obtained a
boon of thirty minutes to present and dis
cuss a charter OF the peoples rights at the
hour of midnight; but before it could be
presented and laid before the Convention,
and with the refusal of the Convention to
adjourn to morning before vote was taken
upon them, so eager were the members to
get at their work of a Presidential nomina-
| ton, but one plank was presented. And
such a Convention has been called delib-
crative body. 1t is true that it spent days
! upon the unit rule, which required mans
vote to be cast against his conscience and
| Judgment. in spite of his protest and that
of others, and days in trying to settle the
internal diSsensions of the machine poll
ticians of a single State, but it would give
| thirty minutes only to discussion of prin-
| ciples for the government of the nation.
! therefore could substantially present but
one plank-the most important of all-the
| protection of the American laborer and
| producer. without which, in my iudg-
ment. there can be no prosperity
| TO this country, and this was voted
down in the Convention by 712! to 97}.
| felt it but right to warn the Convention,
| however unimportant such warning
might seem, in the course of my duty that,
| if such a vote was passed against the work
| ingmen and women of the country, for
whose welfare it was well known | had
| stood from NV earliest manhood. the work
ingmen would be heard from. The notice
was in this emphatic language. Even if
you refuse to stand by the workingrnen,
| God help you. cannot In this there was
no mistake. Mr.. Watterson, of Kentucky,
who followed me, took warning, saying the
party would look to God for help; but the
| Scripture saith, 60 The prayer Of the wicked
availcth not 1t was just to myself not To
adopt the course which certain pure minded
and upright and highly moral politicians
deem it proper to pursue-take part in the
proceedings of a Convention to its end, and
then, without giving any notice to anybody,
and without protesting, refuse to support
| its doings.
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
| NPlleTdl DullSI uuliS tildtl lOlNllIlStdiltl-
| ing the sweet phrases of the resolutions,
and the expedients to catch votes by indi-
rection. deception and illusions, and not the
declaration of those high principles which
should form the basis of united action of a
great party of the people, the country has
had no experience for nearly quarter of q
century of what the Democracy would do
if they were in power so that people are
| obliged to require the most explicit pledges
| from them of intended action before we
can put the Government in their hands.
But the farmer and the laboring man do
| know that Democratic House of Repre-
sentativeS has just appropriated more
money raised by taxation than any other
House of Representatives has ever appro-
priated in time of peace We
also know that Democratic majority
would have made free trade
tariff, containing all the odious features OF
the present war tariff, so far as regards its
monstrous inequalities, by a horizontal re-
duction of the tariff to break down very
many rising and struggling industries and
the destruction of the homes of our work
ngmen and the home markets of Ameri-
can producers. Who does not know that
the very fear of the action of the Democracy
in Congress has so paralyzed American en-
terpriscs and business that the mills are
everywhere closing, the mines shut