The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1890-09-27
Democratic State Platform.

The democratic party of Idaho in State
convention assembled, return their CRATE
| full thanks to the members of the demo
cratic party of the Fiftieth Congress fol
preserving the unity Of Idaho, and inau
gurating the measure which has resulted
in securing the admission of our com
mOnwealth to the Union of States. VIZ
regret that in consequence of the oppo
sition of the republican party, the rights
of our sister territories of New Mexico
and Arizona to admission were denied
solely on the ground that they are demo
cratic territories. This action of the re.
publican party, in furtherance of its fixed
purpose to perpetuate its control of the
National government, we denounce as q
denial of right and justice to those terri
tories purely for partisan purposes, and
as violative of the express pledge made
to the country in its last National plat.
form that the republican party would dc
all in its power to facilitate the admission
Of New Mexico and Arizona to the Union
We hereby renew our pledges to the
political principles set forth in the Ma
tional democratic platform of 1888.
We believe in equal rights to all and
exclusive privileges to none.
We are opposed to all taxation, direct
or indirect, except for the purpose of de-
fraying the legitimate expenses of the
government, economically administered
We demand that the present tariff laws
shall be so amended by Congress as to
remove the unjust discrimination made
in favor of the rich and against the poor.
We favor a tariff bearing heaviest on
articles of luxury and lightest on articles
Of necessity.
We deuounce the Mckinley tariff bill
now pending in Congress as an aggrava-
tion of existing evils, and we deny that
it is either just or right to compel the
farmers, miners or other laboring men of
Idaho to pay tribute to the manufacture
ers of the East.
We deplore the impoverished condition
Of our agricultural interests, which is the
result OF long continued, excessive and
unnecessary taxation, and we favor the
repeal of customs duties on raw material
entering into the manufacture of farm
machinery, household utensils and all
uecessaries of life.
We tender our gratitude to the demo
Gratis in Congress for their almost unan
muus votes in both houses, for the free
and unlimited coinage of silver, and
congratulate the people of our new State
that there is one great political organlza-
ton in the country committed by its votes
in Congress to measure so essential to
the prosperity Of Idaho; and we condemn
the arbitrary and despotic course of
Speaker Reed in strangling in the House
the bill for the free coinage Of silver as
passed by the Senate.
The silver bill as enacted by the re-
publican Congress, is compromise in
the interests of Wall street, clothes the
Secretary of the treasury with power to
refuse to purchase bullion on the pretext
that the bullion is not offered at the mar
ket price and enables him to Bear the
market by refusing to purchase except at
his discretion and ut such prices as he
may determine.
We denouuce the provisions of the bill
allowing parties to stipulate against pay
ment in silver or silver certificates, thus
setting one standard of value for the
creditor and another for the debtor, one
for the poor man and another for the
rich man.
We denouncc that provision Of the bill
which substantially stops the coinage of
the silver dollar after one year, and we
earnestly demand free and unlimited
coinage Of silver, the leading product of
the mines Of Idaho, and that it be made
a legal tender for all debts public and
private.
We recognize the association Of lead
with silver and that our silver and lead
industries are of such great importance
as to demand our fostering care; we
therefore demand that our lead indus
tries shall be so protected as to obviate
the danger Of our mines having to com
pete with the peon and servile labor OF
Mexico and Spain, and we demand OF the
officers of the Treasury Department that
no discrimination shall be made in favor
of the importation of foreign lead ore.
That we renew our faith in the success
Of this great country through the encour-
agement of labor, and urge upon our rep
reseutatiye5, both state and national, the
speedy enactment of all legislation neces
sary to encourage and protect the labor-
ing classes of the people.
We favor an eight-hour system OF labor.
We demand that the legislature shall
make immediate provision carrying into
effect Ssc. 6, Art. IA, of the Constitution
Of Idaho, 30 that Pinkerton detectives
and other hired assassins shall never be
used as posse commitatus to murder the
innocent and unoffending under the pre-
text of guarding corporate property or
suppressing riot
We insist that the laws which prohibit
the immigration of servie class, with
no intention of acquiring citizenship, tn
compete with American labor aud bring
with them and retain habits and customs
repuynant to our civilization, be rigidly
enforced.
We favor the enactment and stringent
enforcement of stripgently excluding
Chinese labor from the State of Idaho:
we oppose the employment of Cinnamon
by corporate companies, and demand
such legislation as will prevent the en-
ployment of Chinese and foreign contract
labor upon public works to the exclusion
of American citizens; we favor the de
portation of all Chinese and foreign con
tract labor.
The public land, the heritage of the
people, should be held by actual settlers
only and not another acre should be given
to corporations or speculators; and all
lands now held for speculative purposes
should be taxed at their full value.
We demand the forfeiture of all lands
granted to corporations which they have