Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-06-29
The REPUBLICAN, PLATFORM


ADOPTED AT CHICAGO LAST THURSDAY.
The Republicans of the United States,
assembled by their delegates in national
convention, pause on the threshold of
their proceedings to honor the memory
of their first great leader, the immortal
champion of liberty and the rights of the
people, Abraham Liucoln, and to cover
also with wreaths of imperishable re-
membrance and gratitude the heroic
names of our later leaders who have
more recently been called away from our
councils-Grant, Garfield, Arthur, Logan
and Conkling. May their memories be
faithfully cherished.
We also recall, with our greetings and
with prayer for his recovery, the name
of one of our living heroes, whose MEM
Dry will be treasured in the history both
of Republicans and of the Republic-the
name of that noble soldier and favorte
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
despotism and oppression which is the
fundamental idea of the Republican party
we send fraternal congratulations to
Americans of Brazil upon their great act
of emancipation, which completed the
abolition of slavery throughout the two
American continents.
We earnestly hope that we may soon
congratulate 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 in
dissoluble 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. and espec-
tally to the supreme and sovereign right
of every lawful citizen, rich or poor, ma
tive or foreign born, white or black, to
cast free ballot in public elections and
to have that ballot duly counted.
ballot and the just and equal representa-
ton of all the people is the foundation of
our republican government, and demand
effective legislation to secure the integ-
rity and purity of elections, which are
the fountains of public authority.
We charge that the present administra-
ton and the Democratic majority in Con-
gress owe their existence to the suppress
sion of the ballot by criminal nulliiica-
ton 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 pro-
posed by the President and his party.
They serve the interests of Europe. We
will support the interests of America.
We accept the issue and confidently ap-
peal to the people for their judgment.
The protective system must be main
tanned. Its abandonment has always
been followed by general disaster to all
interests except those of the usurer and
the sheriff.
We denounce the Mills bill as destruc-
tive 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
representatives in Congress in opposing
its passage.
We condemn the proposition of the
Democrats 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 pur-
poses, 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 EN-
ployment to our laborer, and release
from import duties those articles of for.
eign production Except luxuries) the
like of which cannot be produced al
home.
If there shall still remain larger rev.
enue than is requisite for the wants OF
the government we favor the entire re-
peal of internal taxes rather than the
surrender of any part of our protective
system at the joint behest of the whiskey
ring and the arguments of foreign man
ufacturers.
We declare our hostility to the intro
duction into this country of foreign con
tract labor and of Chinese labor alien t
our civilization and to our constitution
and we demand the rigid enforcement o
the existing law against it, and favo
such immediate legislation as will ex
clude such labor from our shores.
We declare our opposition to all com
hinations Of canital oroa nized i'm firms +