Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-09-13
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN, PLATFORM.


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 imperishabIe remembrance and gratitude the
heroic names of our later leaders who have more
recently been called away from our eouncil-Grant,
Garfield, Arthur, Logan, Conkling May their
memories he 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 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, 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-
tiOn, which completed the abolition OF slavery
throughout the two American continents: We
earnestly hope that we may soon congratulate our
felOW-ctiZenS of Irish birth upon the peaceful re
covery of home rule for Ireland;
We reafirm our unSwerving devotion to the Ma
tional Constitution and to the ndisSoublc 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 or black, to east
one free ballot in public elections and to have that
popular ballot, and the just and equal representa-
tOn of all the people, to be the foundation of our
republican government, and demand effective legiS-
lafon 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 eNlS-
tence to the suppression of the ballot by criminal
notification of the Constitution and laws OF the
United States.
We are uncOmpromisingly in favor of the Ameri-
can system of protection; we protest against its
destruction as proposed by the President and hi 5
party. They serve the interests OF Europe we VIII
info nf n fInG
ISSUE and confidently appeal to the people Tor their
Judgment. The protective system must be main
tanned. Its abandonment has always been follow
ed by general disaster to l interests except those
of the usuTer and the sheriff. We denounce the
Mills bill destructive to the general interests of
the country and we heartily indOrSe the consistent
and patriotic action of the Republican Representa-
tiVeS 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 so 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 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 viii tend 10
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
ureS), the Ike 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 our Con
StitutOn, and we demand the rigid enforcement of
the existing laws against il, and favar such im-
mediate legislation as viii exclude such labor fr0m
our shores.
We declare our opposition to all combinations Of
capital Organized in trusts or 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 the execution OF all
schemes to Oppress the people by undue charges
on their supplies or by unjust rates for the transpOr
tatOn Of their products to market We approve
the legislation by Congress to prevent like unjust
burdens and unfair determinations between the
States.
Wereaffirm the policy of apprOpriating 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 in Con
gress, and which has brought our 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 tllat tle
Democratic party has ever restored one acre TO the
people, but declare that by the joint action OF Re
publicanS 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
Se.Icu DE Ine RCpuDiCdn party IN Ele OTSillti
grants. We charge the Democratic AdminiStTa-
ton with failure to execute the laws securing TO
settlers titles to their hOmesteadS, and with using
appropriations made for that purpose to har;lSS IN
nOcent settlers with spies and prosecutions under
the false pretense of exposing frauds and vndieat-
ing the law.
The Government by Congress of the Territories is
based upon necessity only to the end that they ma!
become States in the Union; therefore, whenever
the condition OF population, material resources,
public intelligence and morality are such as to in
sure stable local government therein, the people
OF such territories should be permitted rs right
inherent in them. to form for themselves COnStitu-
tons and State governments, and be admitted into
the Union. Pending the preparation for Statehood
all officers thereof should be selected from the bona
hde residents and citizens of the Territory wherein
they are to serve. South Dakota should of right
be Immediately admmitted as a State in the Union.
under the Constitution framed and adopted by her
people, and we heartily indOrSe the action OF the
Republican Senate i'm twice passing bills for her
admission. The refusal of the Democratic House
OF Representatives. for partisan purposes. to favor
ably consider these bills is wlful violation of the
American principle of local Self-gOvernment, 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
TitOrieS to form Constitutions and establish State
governments, should be passed without unneceS-
Sary delay. The Republican party pledges itself TO
do all in its power to facilitate tie admission of the
Territories OF New Mexico, Wyoming idaho and
Arizona to the enjoyment of seif-goyeTnment as
states; such OF them as are now qualified, as soon as
possible, and the others as as they become So
The political power of the Mormon Church in the
Territories as exercised in the past is menace to
free institutions too dangerous longer 10 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 fuTheranee of that end to place
upon the statute book legislation stringent enough
to divorce the political from the ecceSiaStc power
and thus stamp out the attendant wiekedness OF
pOlyganly.
The Republican party is in favor of the use of
both gold and silver as money, ami condemns the
policy of the Democratic Administration in its eff
forts to denOnptlZe 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,
II Is important that the Soyerelgn-the people
should possess Intelligence The free school Is the
promoter of that intelligence which is tO preserve
us 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 Il good common |
school education.
taken by Congress in the enactment of such legSla
ton as will best secure the rehabilitation of our |
American merchant marine, and we protest against |
the passage by Congress Of free ship bill, rs cal
culated to work injustice to labor by eSSening the
wages of those engaged in preparing materials as /
well as those directly employed in our ShipyardS |
We demand appropriations for the early rebuild /
ing of our navy for the construction OF coast tOrtl
hatiOnS and modern ordnance and other approved /
modern means of defense for the protection OF our
efenseeSS harborS and cities; for the payment of /
Just pensions to our soldiers: for necessary works
Of national Importance in the Improvement of har-
bors and channels of INTERNAL cOaStwiSe and for
aign commerce; for the encouragement OF the |
shipping Interests of the Atlantic Gull and Pacific
states, aS well as for the payment of the maturing
public debt. This policy will give employment to |
)ur labor, activity to our various industries, in-
'reaSe the security of our country, promote trade,
lpen new and direct markets for our produce and !
'hcapen the cost of transportation We affirm this
% be far better for our country than the Demo
'ratic policy of loaning the Governments money /
without interest To pet banks"
The conduct of foreign Affairs by the present Ad-
nniStration has been distinguished by its inef-
iciency and its cOwardice. Having withdrawn
rom the Senate all pending treaties effected by q
fepuhlican administration for the removal of for
ign burdens and restrictions upon our commerce
md for its extension into better markets, IL has
neither Effected nor proposed any others in their
tead. Processing adherence to the Monroe doc
rine 10 has seen, with idle cOmpGccncy, the eN-
enSon of foreign influence In Central America and
II foreign trade everywhere among our neighhorS.
q has refused to charter, sanction or encourage
my American organization for constructing the
Nicaragua Canal, u work of vital Importance To the
maintenance of the Monroe doctrine and our ma
ional influence i'm Central and South America, ana
necessary for the NelOpmpnt Of trade with