Daily Texarkana Democrat. (Texarkana, Ark.) 1890-1894, 1892-07-25
DEMOCRATIC STATE PLATFORM
Adopted by the Democratic State Con-
YentIOn at Little Rock,
June 14th, 1892.
THE PLATFORM,

THE PLATFORM.
{ We, the delegates of the Democrrtlc party
of the State OF Arkansas, assembled in con
, vention at Little Rock, declare that the SUI
preme issue of the day is the reform OF the
administration of the Government; and that
the people can safely trust the party founded
by Jefferson, and whose principles were en-
phasized in the splendid, patriotic and nom
sectional administration of Grover Q eve
land.
We denounce the Republican party for
its fragrant abuse and prostitution. of power
during the last four years. Coming into full
control of all branches of the Government
in 1888 by the use of unprecedented corrup-
ton fund; largely levied upon Government
fayorites by those before and since, close,
personally and officially, 10 the chief bone-
ficiary, that party Immediately entered upoa
crusade of tyrany, fraud and prohigste
extravaganza never before ventured upon by
any party In times of peace.
1t found the treasury with large and
daily increasing surplus, and in times OF
great depression, accompanied by the uni
versal demand for relief from the burdens
of taxation, it dIssipated the surplus by
making annual appropriations If $50O,000,-
defersible purposes, and thereby failed to
meet and discharge the maturing bonded in
debtedposs of the Government, and now finds
itself confronted with an imminent defcien-
CIV. Moreover, it made many of its appro-
priations permanent, for no other purpose,
than to prevent the people from correcting
the evils done, so long as the Republican
party retained control of either the Senate
| n 20 -, Nff bo
1t transcribed all precedents in vicious
class legislation, in the enactment of the Nc
Kin!ey bill, and finally, frightened by the
extremities to which it had gone, sought to
appcase the pubic discomfort by reciprocity
fraud, the adoption of which was a confess
sion of the iniquity it had perpetrated
1t deprived States of their just representa-
ton by ia Sc census.
| 1t deprived, in the most insolent and ar
bitrary manner, and practically without an
opportunity to be heard, representatives OF
the people of their seats in the lower House
| of Congress.
And, finally drunk with its own excuses,
it sought to perpetuate the wrongs it had
done by depriving the people of the right 10
hold their own ections and choose their
own servants by the enactment of the in
lannon's and execrable force bill.
1t treated with utter contempt all ideas of
economy and honesty, both in its pension
legislation and in its administration Of that
bureau.
1t rejected Democratic territories and adj
mitted Republican territories in order TO re-
tain party supremacy.
This regime of tyranny, extravaganza and
wrong doing, contrasted with the clean,
honest, prudent and wise administration of
Grover Cleveland, brought upon the Rerub-
lican party the most stupend0us defeat that
ever befell any party in this country, and
inspired anew with confidence and hope all
the people in the possibility of preserving
free government for mankind.
We declare our abiding fidelity to the
Constitution ofthe United States in its let
ter and spirit.
We declare our faith in the capacity Of
the people for selt-government, and in their
inherent right to enjoy it, free from all Fed
eral interference,
We denounce the Republican party be-
cause it turned its back upon the interests
of the great masses of society, and sound,
stable government for all, and allied its for
tunes with corporate wealth, squander ng
millions of the public domain upon railroads
fostering legislation, the legitimate offspring
OF which has been combinations and trusts,
expressing the labor it protested TO protect
and fastening ever increasing burdens on
agriculture, until the homes of the people in
great sections of the country are covered
with mortgages, and the markets of the
world closed to the fruits of honest toll.
We denounce the Mckinley tariff as
crime against honest government and q flee
/ people, not only because it lavies an unnec-
essary tax and thereby imposes wanton and
cruel burdens on the people, but because it
destroys the markets for their Surplus pro-
duct.
Ne denounce it because it is class leglsla-
ton, enacted in the interest of the favored
few, who are wealthy, and at the expense
and Tor the oppression Of the greet mass of
the people.
We denounce it because it does not in
crease wsges, but surrenders the taxing pow
er of the Government to the manufacturers,
and leaves it to the employers to determine
whether they will divide the immense boun-
ty it yields With those they employ.
We denounce it because it is an abuse
and perversion of the taxing power of the
Constitution, which was intended to be
used to raise necessary revenue for the sup
port of the Government, into the means of
pundering all for the benefit of class.
We denounce it because it inaugurated
| for the first time in free Government, the
practice of taking from the public treasury
the money collected for public purposes
from all the people, and with it, pay boun-
! ties to select industries.
We denounce it because it destroys the in
! dependence and self.reliance of the people,
which is a National characteristic, and
and teaches them to iely upon government
tai favoritsm.
We denounce it because the inevitable
tendency OF this system is the destruction of
popular government, in the debauchment of
the ballot, by tribute extorted from favored
classes, whose enormous bounties depend
upon the continuance of the system Itself.
| We declare that the mission Of the Demo-
cratic party is 10 so reform the tariff by
reduction Of taxation as to limit the revenues
of the Government to its absolute necessi.
ties when economically administered, and to
so frame its tariff schedules as to place the
burdens of government upon the luxuries
and not npon the necessrries of life.
We favor q safe and sufficient currency,
composed of gold and silver and legal tender
paper, convertible into coin on demand, and
maintained at par with each other
We declare 1t to be the duty ofthe Demo-
cratic party to preserve the parity IL value
of gold and silver, and 10 provide the means
by the equal and fair treatment of both met
ais.
We denounce the Sherman Silver bill as
an obstruction to the fair treatment of silver
and as sham and pretense, intended to
postpone honest honest legislation and to
appease the silver producers while giving no
relief to the people.
We declare our purpose to continue to
maintain, support and develop our public
schools in the interest of general intelligence