The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-06-27

SOhpioob bOOo WHO uiLOiu w bhO
paltering tariff plank of the st. Louis
convention! An explicit declaration
against the Mills bill and against free
trade in wool was adopted without a
word of dissent, notwithstanding the
democrats have claimed that republic
cans in the Northwest would not sup
port this position. The assurance is
added that, if power is intrusted to
republicans, all needed reduction of the
national revenue will be effected by re-
pealing internal taxes upon tobacco
and upon spirits used in the arts, by
more effective protection of industries
now exposed to excessive foreign COM
petition, by repeal of duties upon for
eign articles which can not be produced
in this country-and, if there is still oc-
casion, by the repeal of all internal
taxes.
The platform goes on to demand the
enforcement of the law against Chinese
and foreign contract labor; opposes
trusts and other devices to Cypress
the people; indorses the interstate COM
merce legislation; reaflirms the public
land policy begun by President Arthur's
administration; favors the admission
of South Dakota; denounces the politi-
cal power of the Mormon church;
favors the use of both gold and silver
as money; argues for the right and
duty of the state or nation to support
free institutions of learning sufficient
to insure a good common school educa-
ton to every child in the land; protests
against free ship bill, as calculated to
lessen the wages of those engaged in
preparing materials as well as those di-
rectly employed in our ship-yards; de-
mands rebuilding of the navy, the con-
struction of coast defences, the pay
ment of just pensions to our soldiers,
the encouragement of our shipping in
terests of the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific
states, and the payment of the matur-
ing public debt. The present admin
istration is arraigned for its inefliciency
and cowardice in the conduct of our
foreign affairs, as shown in permitting
the extension of foreign influence in
Central America and of foreign trade
everywhere among our neighbors, and
in refusing encouragement to the Mic
aragua canal project. The course of
the administration in the fisheries mat
ter is characterized as pusillanimous
surrender of the essential privileges to
which our fishing vessels are entitled
in Canadian ports under the treaty of
1918, the reciprocal maritime legisla-
ton of 1880 and the comfy of nations"
Its conduct is plainly called Gun
friendly and conspicuously unpatriotic,
as tending to destroy valuable national
industry and an indispensable resource
of defence against foreign enemy"
In regard to civil service reform, the
republican record is to be maintained
Referring to President Cleveland's prac-
tical abandonment of this reform and
to the mugwumps who condone his
apostasy to his reform pledges, the
platform says: "The men who aban-
doned the republican party in 1884 and
continue to adhere to the democratic
party have deserted not only the cause
of honest government, of sound finance,
of freedom, of purity 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, nor because
their candidate has broken his"
Some disappointment is expressed by
strong temperance people because of
the omission from the platform of an
anti-saloon plank. 1t may be true that
the republican party contains nine
tenths of the temperance elements of
the country, but it is question whether
temperance should be presented as an
issue in national platform. Perhaps,
in view of all the circumstances, the
convention has acted with wisdom and
discretion. 1t undoubtedly was the
belief of many good temperance men in
the convention that the temperance
question had better be left to the states
as local issue, as many states have
met the question by legislation in one
form or another. 1t is certain that
nearly all that has ever been accom-
plished, at least in the Northern States
for the control and restriction of the
liquor traffic, has been done under the
auspices of the republican party, and
republicans are none the less obligated
to continue this work because the party
as whole regards the question as prop
erly one for state rather than for
national action.
Notes and Opinions.
Tim Roobaetar yaroIJ rap,in1S tba