Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1888-07-06
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM.
It's Full Text as Adopted by the
Chicago National Convention.

ventiOn pause on the threshold of their pro-
ceedings to honor the memory of their first
great leader, the immortal champion of lib
erty and the rights of the people-Abraham
Lincoln-and to cover also with wreaths or
imperishable remembrance and gratitude the
heroic names Of our later leaders who have
more recently been called away from our
councils-Grant, Garfield, Arthur, Logan,
COnkling. May their memories be faithfully
cherished, We also recall, with our greet
ings and with prayer for his safe recovery,
the name Of one of our living heroes whose
memory will be treasured in the history both
Of Republicans and of the Republic-the
name of that noble soldier and favorite child
of victory, Philip II. Sheridan.
In the spirit of those great leaders, and of
our own devotion to human liberty. and with
that hostility to all forms of depotsm and
oppression which is the fundamental idea of
the Republican party, we send fraternal con-
graduation to our fellow-Americans of Bra
I'll upon their great act of emancipation,
which completed the abolition of slavery
throughout the Two American continents.
We earnestly hope that we may soon con-
graduate our fellow-citizens of Irish birth
upon the peaceful recovery Of home rule for
Ireland.
We reaffirm our answering devotion to
the national Constitution and to the indissO-
luble union of the States; to the autonomy
reserved to the States under the Constitution,
to the personal rights and liberties of citizens
IN all the States and Territories in the Union,
right of every lawful citizen, rich or poor,
native or foreign born, white or black to
cast one free ballot in public elections, and
to have that ballot duly counted. We hold
the free and honest popular ballot, and the
just and equal representation of all the peO-
pie to be the foundation of our Republican
Government, and demand effective iegisla-
ton to secure the integrity and purity of
elections which are the fountains of all public
authority. We charge that the present Adj
ministration and the Democratic majority
in Congress- owe their existence to the sup
pr esSiOn of the ballot by a criminal nullitica-
ton Of the Constitution and laws of the
United States.
We are uncompromfsingly in favor of the
American system of protection; we protest
against it's destruction as proposed by the
President and his party. They serve the
interests of Europe; we will support the in
tereStS of America. We accept the ISSUE
and confidently appeal to the people for their
judgment. The protective system must be
maintained. Its abandonment has always
been followed by general disaster to all in
terests except those of the Treasurer and the
Sheriff. We denounce the Mills b / as de-
structive to the general business, the labor
and the farming interests Of the country, and
we heartily endorse the consistent and
patriotic action of the Republican repre-
sentatives in Congress in opposing its pass
age.
We condemn the proposition of the Demo
cratic party to place wool on the free list,
and we insist that the duties thereon shall
full and adequate protection to that industry
The Republican party would effect ali
needed reduction of the national revenue by
repeating the taxes upon tobacco, which are
an annoyance and burden TO agriculture and
the tax upon spirits used In the arts and for
mechanical purposes, and by sucn revision Of
the tariff laws will tend to check imports
of such articles as are produced by our peo-
pie, the production of which gives employ
ment to our labor and release from import
duties those articles of foreign production
except luxuries) the like Of which cannot be
produced at home If there shall still remain
a larger revenue than is requisite for the
wants of the Government, we favor the en-
tire repeal of internal taxes, rather than the
surrender of any part of our protective sys-
tenn at the joint behest of the whisky trusts
and the agents of foreign manufacturers.
We declare OH hostility to the introduce
ton into this country of foreign contract
labor, and of Chinese labor, alien to our
civilization and our Constitution; and we
demand the rigid enforcement of the existing
laws against it, and favor such immediate
legislation as will exclude such labor from
our shores.
We declare our opposition to all -combina
tiOns of capital, organized in trusts or other
wise, to control arbitrarily the condition of
trade among our citizens, and we recommend
to Congress and the State Legislatures in their
respective Jurisdictions such legislation as
will prevent the execution of all schemes to
Cypress the people by undue charges on their
supplies, or by uni ust rates for the trans
portation of their products to market. We
approve the legislation by Congress to pre-
vent alike unjust burdens and unfair dis
elimination between the States.
We reaffirm the policy of appropriating
the public lands of the United States to be
hOmeSteads for American citizens and set
tiers not aliens which the Republican party
established in 1852 against the persistent OPP
position of the Democrats in Congress-, and
which has brought our great Western do
main into such magnificent development.
'ba rafi of II1aa mod
grants to the public domain for the use of
actual settlers which was begun under the
Administration of President Arthur should
be continued. We deny that the Democratic
party has ever restored one acre to the peO
pie but declare that by the joint action Of
Republicans and Democrats about 30, 600, 600
of acres of unearned lands orr ginally granted
for the construction of railroads have been
restored to the public domain, in pursuance
of the conditions inserted by the Republican
party in the original grants. We charge the
Democratic Administration with failure to
execute the laws securing to settlers titles to
their hOn1esteads and with using appropria-
tons made for that purpose to harrass in
nocent settlers with spies and prosecutions
under the false pretence of exposing frauds
and indicating the law.
The government by Congress of the Terri
tories is based upon necessity only, to the end
that they become States in the Union; there
fore, whenever the conditions of population.
material resources, public Intelligence and
morality are such as to insure a stable local
government therein, the people of such Ter
ritOrieS should be permitted, as a right in
herent in them. the right to form for them
selves constitutions and State Governments