Daily Texarkana Democrat. (Texarkana, Ark.) 1890-1894, 1892-09-01
DEMOCRATIC STATE PLATFORM
Adopted by the Democratic state Con-
Tenti0n at l.Ilile Rock,
jane 18th, 1892.
THE PLATFORM.


preme issue OF the day is tae re'orm OF the
administration OF the Government and that
the people can safely trust the party iounceo
by Jefferson, and whose principles were EN-
phasized in the splendid, patriotic and non
sectional administration of Grover Ceve-
land.
We denounce the Republican party foI
its fragrant abus and prostitution of power
during the last four years. Coming into full
control of all branches of the Government
in 1888 by the u-e Of unprecedented corrup-
ton fund; largely WED upon Government
faYorites by those before and since, close,
personally and officially, TO The chief bene-
iciary, that party Immediately enter d upo
Il crusade OF tyrany, fraud and prehigate
extravaganza nevr betoe yentured 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
versaI demand Tor relief from the burdens
of taxation, it dissipated the surplus by
making annual appropriations f S500,000,-
900. largely for unnecessary and utterly in
defeIsible purposes, and thereby failed to
meet and discharge the maturing bonded in
dehtedooss of the Government, and now finds
itself confronted With an imminent deficient
cy. 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
or Chief Magistracy of the nation.
1t transcribed all precedents in vicious
class legislation, in the enactment of the Nc.
Kinley bill, and finally, frightened by the
extremities to which it had gone, sought to
appeaso the pubic discomfort by reciprocity
fraud, the adoption of which was q confes-
sion of the iniquity it had perpetrated.
1t deprived States of their just represents
ton by a Ease census.
1t deprived, in the most nsolent 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 TO
hold their own elections and choose their
own servants by the enactment of the in
lannon's and execrabo 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 adj
mitted Republican territories in order to re-
tain party supremacy.
This regime of tyranny, extravaganza and
wrong doing, contrasted with the c.ean,
honest, prudent and wise administration of
Grover Cleveland, brought upon the Rel ub.
lican party The most stupendous defeat that
ever befell my 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 to the
i Constitution Of tho United States in its let
ter and spi it.
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 derounce 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 We It'll, squander ug
millions of the public domaia upon raj roads
fostering legislation, the legitimate offspring
o which has been combinations ana trusts,
expressing the labor it professeo 70 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 q
crime against honest government and free
people, not only because it lavies an unncc-
essary tax and thereby imposes wantoD and
cruel burdens on the people, but because it
destroys the markets ter their Surplus pro-
ducts.
We denounce it because it is class leglsa-
ton, enacted in the interest of the favored
few, who are wealthy, ard at the expense
and for the oppression OF the great mass OF
the people.
We denounce it because it docs not in
crease wages, but surrenders the taxing pow
er OF the Government to the manufacture rs,
aud leaves 1t 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 tn Government, into the means Of
plundeling all for the benefit of class.
We denounce it because it lnaugurated
for the first time in free Government, the
practice of taking from the public treasury
the p'oney collected for public purposes
from all the people, and with it, pay boun-
ties to select industries
We denounce it because il destroys the in
dependence and sef-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 TO SO reform the tariff by a
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 necessities Of lite.
We favor 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 declareit to be the duty ofthe Demo-
cratic party to preserve the parity ir value
of gold and silver, and TO 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 q sham anu 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
and sound and stable government
We declare it to be the sense OF this con-
ycdtion that the Penelentiary lease system
should DO abolished, and system adopted