Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1892-09-05
DEMOCRATIC STATE PLATFORM
Adopted by the Democratic State Con.
rentlon at Little Rock,
June 14th, 1899.
THE PLATFORM.

administration of the Government; and ths
the people can safely trust the party founde
by Jefferson, and whose principles were en-
phssized in the splendid, patriotic and non
sectional administration of Grover Ceve
land.
We denounce the Republican party fo
its fragrant abuss and prostitution of powe
during the last four years. Coming into fui
control of all branches Uf the Goyernmen
in 1888 by the use of unprecedented corrup
ton fund; largely l'vied upon Government
fayorites by those before and since, close
personally and officially, 10 the chief bene
ficiary, that party Immediately entered upos
a crusade of tyrany, fraud and prehigatt
extraYagance 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 reliet from the burdens
of taxation, it dlssipsted the surplus by
making annual appropriations IF S500,00O,.
900, largely for unnecessary and utterly in
defensible purposes, and thereby failed to
meet and discharge the maturing bonded in.
debtedpsss of the Government, and now finds
itself confronted with an imminent defcien-
cy. Morever, 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 trsnscended all precedents in viciou;
class legislation, in the enactment of the Nc
kinney bill, and finally, frightened by the
extremities to which it had gone, sought tc
sppcase the pubic discomfort by reciprocity
fraud, the adoption of which was confes
sion of the iniquity it had perpetratcd.
1t deprived States of their just representa-.
ton by false 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 excesses
it fought to perpetuate the wrongs it had
done by depriving the people of the right &c
hold their own e'ections and choose their
own servants by the enactment of the in.
lannon's and oxecrable force bill.
1t treated with utter contempt all ideas Of
economy and honesty, both in its pension
legislation and 10 its administration of that
bureau.
1t rejected Democratic territories and ad.
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 wlse administration OF
Grover Cleveland, brought upon the Repub-
ever befell any party in this country, and
| oil
the people in the possibility of preserving
free government for mankind.
We declare our abiding fidelity 10 the
Constitution of the United States in its let
ter and split.
We declare our faith in the capacity OF
the people for self-government, and in their
inherent right to enjoy it. free from all Fed
ersl 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 professed 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 o
crime against honest government and free
people, not only because it levies an unnec-
essary tax and thereby imposes wanton and
cruel burdens on the people, but because it
| DESTROYS the markets for their Surplus pro-
| ducts.
We denounce it because it is class legisla-
ton, enacted in the interest Of the favored
few, who are wealthy, and at the expense
and tor the oppression of the great mass of
the people.
| We denounce 1t because il does not in
crease wages, but surrenders the taxing pow
or of the Government to the manufacturers,
and leaves it 10 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 ths Government, into the means of
plundering 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.reiance of the people,
which is National characteristic, and
and teaches them to rely 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 tho system itself.
| We declare that the mission of the Demo-
cratic party is 10 so reform the tariff by a
reduction of taxation as to limit the revenues
of the Government to It's 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 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 declare 1t to be the duty ofthe Demo-
cratic party to preserve the parity iE value
OF gold and silver, and 10 provide the means
by tho equal and fair treatment Of both met
afs.
We denounce the Sherman Silver bill as
an obstruction to the fair treatment of silver
and as sham and a pretense Intended to
postpone honest honest legislation and to
appcase 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 1t to be the sense OF this con-
vontion that the Penetentiary lease system
should be abolished, and system adopted
for the treatment OF convicts more consistent
with tho better instincts and moro improved