Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-08-28

the Republican State Convention on Thurs
day, Hon. John F. Swift thus spoke:
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Con-
,entioa have read your platform as care
fully as possible in the brief time [ have
he'd to devote TO it, and as l construe its
meaning am satisfied to accept it as the
deliberate judgment of the Republican
party and to stand upon it, and to 90 before
the people as cordially indorsing its terms
If | were not fully convinced that this Con-
vention is endeayoring in good faith to Sc
lcct citizen who will not only support the
principles of the Republican party, but who
possesses such character for honesty, ca
pacity and courage, ana will not only COM
mand the respect and confidence of the
people of this State of both parties, and of
every class, interest and calling, | would
not come before you as candidate for the
nomination for Governor But DO believe
they are trying to find such q man, and
hope you will find him in me. We need
at this time an administration of our State
Government that, while agreeing with the
Republican party On all national questions,
such as the necessity and duty ofpreserving
by wisely-adjusted system of customs du-
ties the American markets and American
labor from foreign competition, and Of re-
habilitating and restoring silver to its
ancient ard time-honored place in the
coinage of the earth, will at the same time
take such position upon those great lead
ing important local and commercial ques-
| tons so important 10 the people of this
State, irrespective Of party, as will be salts
| factory to both Republicans and Democrats,
| and to the best citizens of the State oil every
shade and quality of opinion.
| Il is q fact obvious to the most casual OBJ
server that while we have here in Califor-
MIA the most charming and agreeable
| climate, and the richest soil on the globe,
with terrestrial area extensive enough TO
accommodate 100000 of people-that is
| to say, twenty times as many as we now
| have in the State-yet, in spite of all this,
in consequence of the inadequacy of the
rainfall, we have already reached very
nearly, if not quite, the maximum of pro-
| duction and of population without resort
| ing to artificial methods of collecting, stor
| ing and distributing the scanty waters that
| do fall from the clouds. Indeed, it has be-
come indispensable to our further progress
| that, by system of laws adapted to our
peculiar climate and condition, we should
gather together and save up to the last drop
| the water that falls. and carefully and
| economically and equitably and fairly be
| tween men spread it out over the soil as far
none may waste and none may want. Yet,
at the same time, it is fact equally appar-
ent that the best citizens of the State are
| divided in opinion as to the best method of
| doing this thing, and the consequent dis
putes and dissensions keep the community
| in ferment and seriously jeopardize and
retard progress and improvement; but,
notwithstanding the confusion engendered
| by this fierce conflict of interest and opin-
ion, it is clear to me that the line of justice,
| of right and sound public policy is dis
| tinctly perceptible between the two ex-
| tremes, and that it only wants an intelli-
| gent mind, backed by courage and dlslnter-
| ested integrity, to harmonic and reconcile
| the great mass of the people upon plan
| that will satisfy and rebound to the public
welfare.
There are other important local questions
almost too numerous and too complex to
attempt to intelligently discuss at this time,
| which seem to divide the community and
| to set locality against locality and interest
and class against one another, which, in
my opinion, only want souhd, cultivated
common sense and common honesty to
! deal with and adjust and reconcile to the
| satisfaction of all concerned. Indeed, if
we are the intelligent. law abiding people
we claim to be, and are willing to deal
| WIFI our ltllOW-ClllLtuS do lltlSllDOlS ONiS III
! to deal with each other, and TO be willing
! to live and let live, these contentious can
| all be reconciled, and it is for this COnven-
| ton to find men capable of forming an adj
ministraton equal to doing dill that the
| Executive Department can lawfully do in
| that direction. 1t follows that this Con-
vention is in search of q candidate for Gov
ernor intelligent enough and broad-minded
enough to include and comprehend i'll his
administrative career the entire State, town
and county, mountain and valley, land and
| water, and to protect by all lawful means
every citizen and every inhabitant OF the
State, no matter what be his class or con-
iition, his politics, his nationality or his
religion, or any other quality or character
which he may lawfully have, TO the end
| that we may all do well together in peace,
and that prosperity may dwell with US.
While it is not becoming in candidate
| for the exalted office of Governor to try to
| commend himself to the favor of the shall
| low and thoughtless by making wanton
| and unnecessary and demagogical attacks
upon railroad corporations. yet it should
not be forgotten that corporations are but
mere aggregations of individual men,
| moved like the rest of us by ordinary
human instincts and human impulses, be-
| ing neither better nor worse than their
fellow-citizens and quite as anxious TO pro-
mote their personal fortunes as others are
| to promote theirs; that while the corpora
| tons are endowed with exceptional power
and privileges, all such exceptional powers
were conferred by the State solely for the
public benefit, and not for the purpose of
| giving those who exercise them an adj
vantage over their fellow citizens in push
ing private interests but such exceptional
powers they certainly do possess. 1t is GER
tain they are capable of abuse, and that
their abuse at any time is a serious public
injury, and il follows that these great pub
lie instrumentalities should be watched at
all times with jealous care, and the rights
and interests of the people scrupulously
and anxiously and fearlessly protected, and
this is one of the duties of the Executive
Department
l trust this Convention is not in search of
a mere vote seeking demagogue to present
to the people for their sutlIages. 1t is GER
tainly true that the people want Gov
ernor who sympathiZes with every portion
of the community and especially with the
| poor, who are always the most in need of
sympathy, but they do not, in my opinion,
want a candidate who will go about seeking
for votes by making promises that he never
intends to fulfill and that he could not
| lawfully perform were he so disposed. 1t
is my opinion that the people, having, as
they have in this country, the power tc
make the law, want an administration that
will enforce the law as they have made it,
and maintain public order and protect life
and property as the law directs, at all
hazards and at any cost, and that they
want candidates to say so just the same
before election as afterward. It is also my
| opinion that the people want Governor
who, when a man has been lawfully and
| justly convicted of murder and condemned
( to death for it, will allow the Sheriff 10
take rope and hang him by the neck till
| he is dead and leave the disposition of his
| soul to Almighty God. where it belongs.
The Republicans of this State, as a
| party, hope and expect, as the result of the
work Of this Convention, to carry the No
| vember election and recover possession of
| the State Government, and to secure Sem
| ator and full set of Republican Repre-
sentatives in Congress. There are many
Republicans in California, and among them
| confess | am one, who believe that this is
naturally Republican State by q good,
substantial working majority, and that by
proper management it could and ought to
be kept so all the time There are great
many good men in the party who would
like to see one Republican Administration
elected that would repeat, and they think
that If this Convention will do its duty and
put up good ticket of the right kind of
men, and the local Conventions will do the
same, that this is as good time to COM
l Ill, Y u = a