The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-06-28
[Continued From First Page J

ably consider these bills is willful viola
ton of the sacred American principles of
local self-government, and merits the con
domination of all just men. The pending
bills in the senate TO enable the people of
Washington, North Dakota and Montana
territories to form constitutions and es-
tablish state governments, should be
passed without unnecessary delay. The
republican party pledges itself to do all
in its power to facilitate the admission of
the Territories of New Mexico, Wyoming,
Idaho and Arizona to the enjoyment of
self-goyernment as states; such of them
as are now qualified, as soon as possible,
and others as soon as they may become So.
The political power of the Mormon
church In the territories, as exercised Is
the past, is a menace TO free Institution
too dangerous longer to be suffered.
Therefore, we pledge the republican party
to appropriate legislation asserting the
sovereignty of the nation in all territories
when the same is questioned, and, in
furtherance of that eLd, to place upon
the statute books legislation stringent
enough to divorce the political from the
eccles iastictl power and thus stamp o1t
the attendant wickedness of polygamy.
The republican party is in favor of the
use of both gold and silver as money, and
condemns the policy of democratic ad-
ministration in its efforts to demonetize
silver.
We demand the reduction of letter post
age to cent an ounce.
In a republic like ours, where the citizen
is the sovereign and the official the
servant; where no power is exercised ex-
cept by the will of the people, it is i'm
portant that sovereign people should
possess intelligence, and the free school is
the promoter of that intelligence which is
to preserve us as a free nation. Therefore,
the state or nation, or both combined,
should SUPPORT free institutions of learn
ing sufficient to afford to every child
growing up in the land the opportunity of
a good common school education.
We earnestly recommend that prompt
action be taken by congress in the enact
ment of such legislation as will best secure
the rehabilitation of our American mer
chant marine, and We protest against the
passage by congr, IS of the free ship bill
as calculated to work injustice to labor by
ltsseAing the wages of those engaged in
preparing materials as well as those
directly employed in our ship yards. We
demand appropriations for the early re-
building of our navy, for the construction
of coast Notifications and modern ord
nance, and other approved modern means
of defense for the protection of
our defenseless harbors and cities;
for the payment of just pensions
to our soldiers; for ntc ssary works
of mt =, nj i'm, inn
ment OF harbors and channels of internal,
coastwise and foreign commerce.; for the
encouragement of the shipping interests
of the Atlantic, gulf aud Pacific states as
vel as for the payment of the maturing
debt. This policy will give employment
to our laborers, activity to our various in
dustries, increase the security of our coun
try, promote trade, open new and direct
markets for our produce and cheaper the
cost Of transp ortation. We affirm this to
be far better for our country than the
democratic policy of loaning government
money without interest to pet banks"
The conduct of foreign affairs by the
present administration has been distin
guished by its iueflicienoy and cowardice,
having Withdrawn from senate all pending
treaties enacted by a republican adniuis-
tration for the removal of foreign burdens
and restrictions upon our commerce. and
for It's extension into better markets; it
has neither effected nor proposed any
Others in their stead. Protesting adher-
ence to the Monroe doctrine, it has seer,
with lille omplacency, the extension of
foreign influence in Central America, and
of foreign trade everywhere among our
neighbors. 1t has refused to charter,
sanction or encourage any
American organization for con
structing the Nicaragua canal,
work OF vital Importance to the mainte
nance of the Monroe doctrine, and of
our national influence in Central and
South America, and necessary for the de-
velopment of trade with our Pacific terri
tory, with South America and with the
islands and coasts of the Pacific oc, an.
We arraign the present democratic ad-
ministration for its weak and unpatriotic
treatment of the fisheries question, and
its pusillanimous surrender of the essen
tal privileges to which our fishing vessels
are entitled in Canadian ports under the
treaty of 1918, the reciprocity maritime
legislation of 1880 aud the comfy of
nations, and which the Canadian fishing
vessels receive in the ports of
the United States. We condemn
the policy of the present administration
and the democratic majority IN congress
towards the fisheries as unfriendly and |
conspicuously unpatriotic, and as tending
TO destroy a valuable national industry
and indispensable resource of defense
against u foreign enemy.
The name of an American, TO citizens |
of the republic, impresses upon all alike |
the same obligation of obedience to the |
laws. At the same time that citizenship |
is and must be the panophy and safeguard |
of him who wears 1t, and protects him, |
whether high or low, rich or poor, in all |
his rights; it should and must afford him |
protection at home and follow and pro-
tect him abroad, in whatever land he may |
be on a lawful errand.
The men who abandoned the republi- |
can party in 1854, and continued to adhere !
to the democratic party, have deserted not
only the cause of honest government and
sound finance, and the freedom and pur-
ity of the ballot, but especially have
deserted the cause of reform in the civil
service. We will not fail to keep our
pledges, because they have broken theirs,
or because their candidate has broken
his. We, therefore, repeat our declara-
ton of 1884. to-wit: "rhe reform in
civil service suspiciously begun under a