Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-09-20
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN, PLATFORM.

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN, PLATFORM
The Republicans of the United States assembled
by their delegates in National COny cntion pause OF
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 Lincoln, and to cover also with wreathS
of mperishable remembrance and gratitude the
heroic names of our later leaders who have more
recently been called away from our council-Grant
Garfield Arthur, Logan, COnlling May then
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 memory
will be treasured in the history both of the Repub
licanS and the Tepublic-the name of that noble
soldier and fayOrite child of victory, Philip II.
In the spirit of those great leaders, and of om
own devotion to human liberty, with that hostility
to all form of deSpOtiSm and oppression which is
the fundamental idea of the Republican party. we
| send fraternal congratulations to our fellow Amer
leans of Brazil, upon their great act Of emancipa
ton, which completed the abolition of slavery
throughout the two American continents. We
earnestly hope that we may soon congratulate our
fellOwcitiZenS of Irish birth upon the peaceful re-
cOyery of home rule for Ireland
| We reaffirm our unSwerving devotion to the Ma
tiOnal Constitution and to the indiSSOlube 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
of the Union, and especially to the supreme and
sovereign right of every lawful citizen, rich or
poor native or foreign born, white black to east
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 representa-
tiOn of all the people, to be the foundation of our
republican government, and demand effective legis-
aiOn to secure the integrity and purity of elections,
which are the fountains of all public authority We
| charge that the present Administration and the
| Democratic majority in Congress owe their eNis-
tence to the suppression of the ballot by criminal
nulfcatiOn of the Constitution and laws OF the
| United States
/
can system of protection; we protest against its
destruction as proposed by the President and hi s
party. They serve the interests of Europe; will
! support the interests of America. We accept the
issue, and confidently appeal to the people for their
! judgment. The protective system must be main
| tanned. Its abandonment has always been follow
ed by general disaster to all interests except those
| of the uSureT and the sheriff. We denOunce the
Mills bill as destructive to the general interests of
the country, and We heartily indOrse the consistent
| and patriotic action of the Republican Representa-
| tiyes in Congress in opposing its passage.
| We condemn the proposition OF the Democratic
party to place wool on the free list, and we insist
that the duties thereon shall be adjusted and MAIN
tanned as to furnish full and adequate protec-
| tOn to that industry.
The Republican party would effect all needed re-
ductiOn of the national revenue by repeating the
| taxes upon tobacco which are an annoyance ard
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 people, the production of which gives employ
ment to our labor, and releases from import duties
those articles of foreign production Except lux
urieS), the like of which cannot be produced at
home. If there shall still remain larger revenue
than is requisite for the wants of the Government
we favor the entire repeal of internal taxes rather
than the surrender of any part of the protective
system at the joint behest Of the whisky trusts and
the agents OF foreign manufacturers.
We declare our hostility to the Introduction into
this country OF foreign contract labor, and of
Chinese labor, alien to our civilization and Con-
SttutiOn, and We demand the rigid enforcement of
the existing laws against it, and favar such im
GNK1 sltrHa ll1N
our shores.
We declare our opposition to all combinations of
capital, organized in trusts or otherwise to control
arbitrarily the condition of trade among citizens,
and we recommend to Congress, and the State
Legislatures in their respective Jurisdictions, such
legislation as VIII prevent the execution of all
schemes to OppreSS the people by undue charges
on their supplies or by unjust rates for the tranSpOr
tation OF their products to market. We approve
the legislation by Congress to prevent like unjust
burdens and unfair Determinations between the
States.
We reaflirm the policy of apprOpriatng the public
lands of the United States to be hOmeSteadS for
American citizens and settlers, not aliens, which
the Republican party established in 1862, against
the persistent opposition of the Democrats i'm Con
greSS, and which has brought great Western
domain into such magnificent development. The
restoration of unearned railroad land grants to the
public domain for the of actual settlers, which
was begun under the Administration of President
Arthur, should be continued. We deny that the
Democratic party has ever restored one acre to the
people, but declare that by the joint action of Re
puDllcanS and Democrats about fifty millions of
acres OF unearned lands originally granted for the
construction of railroads have been restored to the
public domain in pursuance of the conditions in
serted by the Republican party in the original
grants. We charge the Democratic AdminiStr;i-
ton with failure TO execute the laws securing to
settlers titles to their hOmesteadS and with using
appropriations made for that purpose to harass in
nOcent settlers With spies and prosecutions Under
the false preense of exposing frauds and vindicat
ing the law.
The Government by Congress of the Territories is
passed upon necessity Ony to the end that they may
become States in the Union; therefore, whenever
the condition of population, material resources,
public intelligence and morality are such to in
sure stable local government therein the people
OF such territories should be permitted, a right
inherent IN them, to form for themselves COnStitu-
tlOnS ana state governments and be admitted into
the Union. Pending the preparation for Statehood
all officers thereof should be selected from the bona
tide residents and citizens Of the Territory wherein
they are to serve. South Dakota should Of right
be Immediately admmtted as State in the Union, |
under the Constitution framed and adopted by her
people, and we heartily ndOrSe the action of the
Republican Senate in twice passing bills for her
admission. The refusal of the Democratic House |
OF kepreSentltves for partisan purposes to favor
ably consider these bills is wifu violation of the
American principle of local selfgOveFnment, and |
merits the condemnation of all Just men. The pen
ding bills in the Senate for acts to enable the people
OF washington, North Dakota and Montana Ter |
ritOrieS to form Constitutions and establish State
governments should be passed without mneees-
Sary 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-gOvernment as |
possible, and the others as soon as they become
The political power of the Mormon Church in the |
Territories as exercised in the past is menace to
tree Institutions too dangerous longer to be suffer-
ed. Therefore we pledge the Republican party to |
appropriate legislation asserting the sovereignty |
of the Nation in all Territories where the same is
questioned, and in furherance of that end 10 place
upon the statute book legislation stringent enough
to divorce the political from the eccleSiaStic power
and thus stamp out the attendant wickedneSS of |
pOlygamy.
The Republican party is in favor of the use of /
DOth gold ana silver as money, and condemns the /
policy of the Democratic Administration in its eff
forts to demOnetiZe silver.
We demand the reduction of letter postage TO
one cent per ounce.
In a Republic like ours where the citizen is the
sovereign and the official Is the servant, where no
power Is exercised except by the will of the people,
should possess intelligence. The free school is the
promoter of that intelligence which is tO preserve
US iree Nation; therefore, the state OF Nation, or
Doth combined, should support free institutions of
learning, sufficient to afford to every child growing
up in the land the opportunity of good common
school education.
We earnestly recommend that prompt action be
taken by Congress in the enactment of such legiSla
tiOn as will best secure the rehabilitation of our
American merchant marine, and We protest against
the passage by Congress of free ship bill, cal
cuated to work injustice to labor by leSSening the
wages of those engaged in preparing materials, as
web those directly employed in our ShipyardS.
We demand appropriations for the early rebuild
ing of our navy for the construction of coast forti
hatiunS and modern ordnance and other approved
modern means of defense for the protection Of our
defenseesS harbOrs and cities: for the payment of
just pensions to our soldiers; for necessary wGrks
of national Importance in the improvement of bar
bOTS and channels of Internal, cOaStWlSe and for
egn commerce; for the encouragement OF the
shipping interests of the Atlantic Gulf and Pacific
States, well as for the payment OF the maturing
public debt. This policy will give employment TO
our labor, activity 10 our various Industries, in
crease the security of our country, promote trade,
open new and direct markets for our produce and
cheaper the cost Of transportation. We affirm this
to be far better for our country than the Demo
cratic policy of lOaning the Governments money
without interest to pet banks
The conduct of foreign affairs by the present Ad-
has been distinguished by its nef
lciency and its cowArdice. Having withdrawn
from the Senate all pending treaties effected by
Republican administration for the removal Of for
eign burdens and restrictions upon our commerce
and for its extension into better markets, Il has
neither effected nor proposed any others IN their
stead Processing adherence to the MunrOe doc
rine, Il has seen, with idle complacenry, the eS,