Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-03
REPUBLICAN, PLATFORM.

ADOPTED ny the National republican Con-
vention at Chicago, June FL, 1883.
The Republicans of the United States, as
sembled by their delegates in national con-
%vention, pause on the threshold of their pro-
ceedings to honor the memory of their first
great leader, the immortal champion of
liberty and the rights of the people-Abra-
ham Lincoln; and to cover also with wreaths
of imperishable remembrance and gratitude
the heroic names of our later leaders who
have more recently been called away from
our councils-Grant, Garfield, Arthur, Lo-
gan, Conkling. May their memories be
faithfully cherished. We also recall with
our greetings, and with prayer for his recov-
cry, the name of one of our living heroes,
whose memory will be treasured in the his
tory both of Republicans and the Republic
the name of that noble soldier and favorite
child of victory, Philip H. Sheridan.
In the spirit of those great leaders, and of
our own devotion to human liberty, and with
that h stility to all forms of despotism and
oppression which is the fundamental idea of
the Republican party, we send fraternal con-
graduation to our fellow Americans of Brazil
upon their great act of emancipation, which
completed the abolition of slavery through
out the two American continents. We ear
utotlN uppe tlldU we may SDOl COnEratulato
our fellow citizens of Irish birth upon the
peaceful recovery of nome rule for Ireland.
We reaffirm our answering devotion to
the national constitution and to the indis-
solubie union of states; to the autonomy re-
served TO the states under the constitution: to
the personal rights and liberties of citizens
in ali the states and territories in the Union,
and especially to the supreme and sovereign
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 people to
be the foundation of our republican govern
ment, and demand effective legislation to Sc
cure the integrity and purity of elections,
which are the fountains of all public author
lty. We charge that the present administra-
ton and the Democratic majority in con-
gress owe their existence to the suppression
of the ballot by a criminal notification of
the constitution and laws of the United
States.
We are uncompromisingly in favor of the
American system of protection; we protest
against its destruction as proposed by the
president and his party. They serve the in
terests of Europe; we will support the inter-
ests 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 usurer and the
sheriff. We denounce the Mills bill as de-
structive to the general business, the labor
and the farming interests of the country,
and we heartily indorse the consistent and
patriotic action Of the Republican repre-
sentatiyes in congress in opposing its passage.
We condemn the proposition of the Demo-
cratic party to place wool on the free list,
and we insist that the duties thereon shall be
adjusted and maintained SO as to furnish full
and adequate protection to that industry.
The Republican party would effect all
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 such revision
of the tariff laws as 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 l~uxuriesD 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 entire
repeal of internal taxes rather than the sur
render Of any part of our protective system,
at the joint behests of the whisky trusts and
the agents Of foreign manufacturers.
We declare our hostility to the introduc-
ton into this country of foreign contract
labor and of Chinese labor, alien to our civil
~izations and our constitution, and we demand
the rigid enforcement of the existing laws
against it, and favor such immediate legisla-
ton 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 tine people by undue charges ON their
supplies or by unjust rates for the transpor-
tation of their products to market, We APP
prove the legislation by congress to prevent