The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-04-26
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM.

/ bled at Nashville on this, April lIt1
1884. take advantage Of this occasion
to express our profound conviction OF
the wisdom, honesty, rightfulness
and patriotism of the political dos
triues of the National Republican par
ty and to renew our pledges of devo>
ton thereunto and our determination
to continue to battle therefor nntil
not only the State of Tennesses, hut
every county thereof, shall own the
name of RepuDlcanism and he bap-
tzed with its regenerating influences
For II statement ofour political doc
trines we proudly refer to the plat
forms Of our party from the day of
its blessed and glorious birth until the
present, and for an exposition of these
doctrines we point with patriotic
pride to reunited and regenerated
union based on the trip pie bedrock of
liberty, equality and fraternity; we
point 10 d country prospecting AS it
never prospered before. and people
happier, freer, more united. more
moral and more intelligent than ever
before; we point to present full of
all manner Of blessings, public and
private, State and National, and we
look with serene confidence to flu
ture so bright, so glorious and so hes
nign that all the nations of the earth
will rise up and call us blessed.
H. ,1 e
Chester A. Arthur, because of his
prudence impartiality and patriotism
rs Republican, and because his con:
servatism, honesty, wisdom and states.
manship has given peace, progress
and prosperity to our common coun-
try. But, with reluctance, we turn
from this sublime picture of national
happiness painted and realized by the
Republican party, to behold the con.
dtion of affairs III our State of lens
nes.ee, and with grief and Indignation
we are forced by truth and candor to
say that our own State is prospecting
only in so far rs she absorbs prosper
ity from the Republican prosperity Of
the nation, aud our people are happy
only in so far as the blessed influences
of Republicanism, like rays of warmth
and light, penetrates the clouds, mist
and fogs of Democracy and cheer orr
hearts and comfort our souls.
We hold up to the condemnation
of all patriotic and honest-minded
men the political wickeduess Of the
Democratic party since its advent to
power in this State in 1869. Elected
OH pledge to open the 'allot-box to
rob nearly one>half of our people of
the right to vote, and would have
done SO had it not been for their fear
of the Republican Government of the
nation; coming into power under II
promise to pay the bonds issued be-
fore the war, and to repudiate those
issued sincs the war, it has fulfilled
That promise by paying nearly all of
those issued since the war And repudi
ating more than half Of thuse issued
before the war.
Under preteuse If reducing the
debt Of the State they sold our rails
roads at wickedfy low prices for bonds
they had previousy branded as fraud
ulent, and heaped the remainder of
our bonded debt on the shoulders of
our people; and iinling the people
sensitive under this burden, uuder>
took to rid them of it Ivy repudlatlng
large proportion of the very bonds
they once called sacred, most of these
repudiated bonds being signed 10y An,
drew Johnson aud Isham q. Harris,
the last of whom has long been the
chief saint in the Democratic calen,
dar. Pretending in the last election
to he in favor of lower taxes and few
er officers, the Democratic party sig
nuIized its success by making our tax
Is higher aud our officers more, until
Our people are being literally devour.
ed by the I Collectors, and the
Tax Collectors are being devoured by
the vast horde of tax eatars begotten
by the last low tax Legislature.
While on the stump, III their
newspapers aud in cong ess, abusing
the Republican party for boarding
gold III Treasury whence it is never
stolen, the Democrats of Tennessee
are now unnecessarily boarding in the
Treasury and Snb>Treasu'ies Of Ien~
heSsee hundreds Of thousands Of the
peoples sweat coined money, thereby
tempting our Treasury otfi ioIs IT, ca
gage in schemes Of further speculation S
with the people's m Iney. Under pr
tense of bepetiling the people, but res
ally in order To create moIe big offs
ces for more of the big men, the Dem
ocratic patty created It Railroad Com