Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1892-08-03
DEMOCRATIC STATE PLATFORM
Adopted by the Democratic State Con-
YcntIOn at Little Rock,
Jane 14th, 1892.
THE PLATFORM.

! We, the delegates of the DemocrTtic party
OF the State OF Arkansas, assembled IN con
Venton at Little Rock, clare that the su
preme issue OF the day is tae re Orm of tEt
administration OF the Government; and this
the people can safely trust the party founded
by jefferson, and whose principles were em
phssized in the splendid, patriotic and non
sectional administration of Grover Ceye
land.
We denounce- the Republican party fol
| its fragrant abuse and prostitution of power
during the last four years. Coming into iul
control of all branches of the Goyernmcnt
in 1888 by the use of unprecedented corrup-
ton fund; largely levied upon Govern ent
fayorites by those before and since, close,
personally and officially, to the chief beno-
fciary, that purity Immediately entered upo
d crusade of tyrany, fraud and pretligate
extravaganza never before ventured upon by
any party IN times OF peace.
1t found the treasury with a 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 dlssipated the surplus by
making annual appropriations IF S500,O00,-
| 900, largely for unnecessary and utterly in
defeLsible purposes, and thereby failed to
meet and discharge the maturing bonded in
debtedross Of the Government, and now finds
itself confronted with an imminent detcien-
cy. More1 II, it made many of its appro-
priatons permanent, for 10 other purpose,
than to prevent the people from correcting
the evils done, so long as the Republican
party retained control OF either the Senate
or Chief Magistracy of the nation.
1t transce1ded all precedents in vicious
class legislation, in the enactment of the Nc
kinney bill, and finally, frightened by the
9xtremities to which it had gone, sought to
appease the pubic discomfort by reciprocity
fraud, the adoption Of which was comics.
sion of the iniquity it had perpetratcd.
1t deprived States of their just representa-
ZION by n ia Sc census.
1t deprived, in the most insoent 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 excesses
it sought 10 perpetuate the wrongs it had
lone by depriving the people of the right 10
hold their own ections and choose theiI
own servants by the enactment Of the in
lannon's and exccrable 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 ard ad.
mitted Republican territories in order to re-
tain party supremacy.
This regime of tyranny, extravaganza and
wrong doing, contrasted with the ceon
honest, prudent and wise administration Of
Irovel Cleveland, brought upon the Rel ub-
iican party the most stupendOus defeat that
,ver befell any party in this country, and
inspired anew with confidence and hope all
the people in the possibility Of preserving
tree government for mankind.
We declare our abiding fidelity 10 the
Constitution ofthe United States in its let
.er and sp it.
We declare our faith in the capacity Of
the people for selt-government, and in then
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,
table government for all, and allied its for
tunes with corporate we,!th, squander ug
millions of the public domain upon railroad:
fostering legislation, the legitimate offspring
)t which has been combinations and trusts,
| expressing the labor it professeo 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 G
crime against honest government and flet
| people, not only because it levies an unnec
9ssary tax and thereby imposes wantoD anc
| cruel burdens on the people, but because ii
| destroys the markets fer their Surplus pro.
ducts.
We denounce it because it is class leglsla
| ton, enacted in the interest of the favored
! few, who are wealthy, and at the expense
and for the oppression o! the greet mass o
the people.
We denounce it because it does not in.
crease wsges, but surrenders the taxing pow
| or Of the Government to the manufacture rs
and leaves it to the employers to cetermint
whether they will divide the immense boun
| Jy 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 10 be
used to raise necessary revenue for the sup
| port of th9 Government, into the means o.
plunderng all for the benefit of class.
We denounce it because it lnauguratcC
| for the first time in free Government, the
practice of taking from the public treasury
The = oney collected for public purpose
from ali the people, and with 1t, pay boun
ties to select Industries.
| We denounce it because it DESTROYS the in
dependence and sef.reliance of the people
which is a National characteristic, anC
and teaches them to ely upon governmen
tal favorltsm.
We denounce it because the inevitable
endency OF this system is the destruction o
| popular government, in the debauchment o.
the ballot, by tribute eXtorted from favored
| classes, whose enormous bounties depent
upon the continu6lce OF the system self.
! We declare that the mission Uf the Demo
cratic party is so reform the tariff by 1
reduc ion of taxation as to limit the revenues
Of the Government to its absolute necessi
ties when economically administered, and tC
50 frame its tariff schedules as to place the
burdens OF government upon the luXurie
| dill NV Hppl bllS IONNSslllOH VI lllO'
We favor Il sato aud sufficient currency
composed OF gold and silver and legal tende
paper, convertible into coin on dem md, anc
maintained at par with each other.
" declare 1t to be the duty the Demo
cratic party to preserve the parity iE value
OF gold and silver, and TO provide the meani
by the equal and fair treatment of both met
ais.
We denounce the Sherman Silver bill a
an obstruction to the fair treatment of silve
md as a sham ana preLense, intended t
postpone honest honest legislation and t
appease the silver producers while giving ne
relief TO the people.
We declare our purpose to continue tc
maintain, support and develop our public
schools in the interest of general intelligenc,
and sound and stable government.