The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-06-28

pOlI uulltS luOSG ulllClto VI lOltlG
production Except luXuries) the like o
, which cannot be produced at home. |
there shall still remain larger revenu,
than is requisite for the wants of tht
government, we favor the entire repea
of the internal taxes, rather than tht
surrender of any part of our protective
system at the joint behest of the whis
key trusts and the agents of foreign
manufacturers.
We declare our hostility to the intro
ductiOn into this country of foreign
contract labor, and of Chinese labor
alien to our civilization and our con,
stitution; and we demand the rigid en-.
tOrcement 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 COM
binatiOns Of capital organized in trusts
OF otherwise, 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 all schemes to oppress the peo-
pie by undue charges on their supplies
or by unjust rates for the transportation
of their products to market. We ap-
prove the legislation by Congress to
prevent alike unjust burdens and un-
fairs discrimination between the states.
| We reailirm the policy of apprOpriat-
ing the public lands of the United States
to be hOmesteads for American citizens
and settlers, not aliens, which the Re-
publican party established in 1862,
against the opposition of the Democrats
in Congress and which has brought our
great western domain into such magni-
ticent development The restoration of
unearned railroad land grants to the
public domain for the use Of actual set
tiers, which was begun under the ad
ministratiOn of President Arthur, should
be continued. We deny that the Dem
oCratic party has ever restored one
acre to the people, but declare that by
the joint action of Republicans and
Democrats 50,00O,O00 acres of unearned
lands, originally granted for the con-
struction of railroads, have been re-
stored TO the public domain in pursu-
ance of the conditions inserted by the
Republican party in the original grants.
We charge the Democratic administra-
ton with failure to execute the laws
securing to settlers title to their home
steads and with using appropriations
made for that purpose to harass inno-
cent settlers with spies and prosecutions
under the false pretense of exposing
frauds and vindicating the law.
The government by Congress of the
territories is based upon necessity only,
to the end that they may become states
in the Union: therefore, whenever the
conditions of population, material re-
sources, public intelligence and morality
are such as to insure stable local gov
ernment therein, the people of such
territories should be permitted rs a
right inherent in them, the right to
form for themselves constitutions and
State governments and be admitted
into the Union. Pending the prepara-
ton for statehood, all officers thereof
should be selected from the bona .fde
residents and citizens of the territory
wherein they are to serve. South Da-
kota should of right be Immediately
admitted as State in the Union under
the constitution framed and adopted by
the people, and we heartily endorse
the action of the Republican Senate in
twice passing bills for her admission
The refusal of the Democratic House OF
Representatives for partisan purposes,
to favorably consider these bills is q
willful violation of the sacred American
principle of local self-governmeut and
merits the condemnation of all lust
men. The pending bills in the Senate
for acts to enable the people of Wash
ington, North Dakota and Montana
territories to form constitutions and es-
tablish State governments should be
lpassed without unnecessary delay The
Republican party pledges itself to dc
all in its power to facilitate the admis.
sion of the territories of New Mexico
Wyoming, Idaho and Arizona to the en-.
IjOyment of self-government as States
such of them rs are qualified as soon as
possible and the others as soon as they
may become so.
The political power OF the Mormon
church in the territories as exercised in
the past is q menace to free institutions
a danger no longer to be suffered
Therefore, we pledge the Republican
party to appropriate legislation assert
ing the sovereignty of the nation in all
territories where the same is questioned
and in furtherance of that end to place
upon the statute books legislation strin-
gent enough to divorce the political
from the ecclesiastical power, and thus
stamp out 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 the Demo
cratic administration in its efforts to de-
monetize silver.
We demand the reduction of letter
postage to one cent per ounce.
In a republic like ours where the cit
izen is the sovereign and the official the
servant, where no power is exercised
except by the will of the people, it is
important that the sovereign, the peo-
pie, should possess intelligence. The
free school is the promoter of that in
telligence which is to preserve us a free
nation; therefore the State or nation, or
both combined, should support free
institutions of learning sufficient to
afford to every child growing up in the
land the opportunity Of good common
school edacation.
We earnestly recommend that prompt
action be taken by Congress in the en-
actment of such legislation as will best
secure the rehabilitation of our Ameri-
can merchant marine and we protest
against the passage by Congress of a
free ship bill as calculated to work in
justice to labor by lessening the wages
of those engaged in preparing materials
rs well as those directly employed in
our ship yards.
We demand appropriations for the
early rebuilding of our navy; for the
construction of coast Notifications and
modern ordnance and other approved
modern means of defense for the pro-
lection of our defenseless harbors and
cities; for the payment of jutt pensions
TO our soldiers; for the necessary works
of national Importance in the improve
ment of harbors and the channels of in
ternal, ,coastwise and foreign commerce /;
for the encouragement of the shipping
interests of Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific
States. as well as for the payment of the
maturing of the public debt. This poll
cy will give employment to our labor,
activity to our various industries, in
crease the security of our country, pro-
mote trade, open new and direct mar
kets for our produce and cheaper the
cost of transportation. We affirm this
TO be far better for our country than the
Democratic policy of loaning the gov
ernment's money without interest to
pet banks"
The conduct of foreign affairs by the
present administration has been distin-
guished by its ineiliciency and its cow
ardice. Having withdrawn from the
Senate all pending treaties effected by a
Republican administration for the re-
moval of foreign burdens and restric-
tions upon our commerce and for the
extensions into better markets, it has
neither effected nor proposed any 9TH
ers in their stead. Protesting adher-
ence to the Monroe doctrine, it has seen