The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-07-22
THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.
Full Text of the Resolutions Adopted by
the National Convention.


We, the Democrats of the q nited States. il
National Convention assembled, do reaf1rn
| our allegiance to those great essential prin
| cipies Of justice and liberty upon which ou
| institutions are founded, and which tn,
| Democratic party has advocated from Jeffer
sons time to our own-freedom of speech
| freedom Of the press, freedom Of conscience
| the preservation of personal rights, tn,
equality of all citizens before the law and tn,
| faithful observance OF constitutional limita
| tions.
Capitalization of Power Resisted.
During all these years the Democratic
party has resisted tho tendency Of selfish in
| terests to the Capitalization of Governmental
power. and steadfastly maintained the integ
| rity Of the dual scheme system of fgovernmen
| established by the founders Of this Republic
| of Republics. Under its guidance and teach
ment has found its lest expression In tht
maintenance Of the rights OF the States anc
| in its assertion of the necessity OF conanine
| the general government to the exercise o
powers granted by the Constitution Of the
United States.
"Civil and ReligIo Us Liberty"
The Constitution of the United State:
| guarantees to every citizen the rights of ciyi
and religious liberty. The Democratic party
has always been the exponent OF politica
liberty and religious freedom. and II renews
| Its obligations and reaf1rms its devotion tc
these fundamental principles of the Consti.
tuition.
Silver Once tho Unit of Value.
Recognizing that the money question Is
paramount to all others at this time. we In.
vite attention to the fact that the Federal
Constitution names silver and gold together
as the money metals of the United States,
and that the first coinage law passed by Con.
gress under the Constitution made the silver
dollar the money unit and admitted gold to
free coinage at ratio based upon the silver
dollar unit.
s"The Crime of 49,"
We declare that the act of 1S73 demonetiz-
ing silver without the knowledge or ap-
pro val Of the American people, has resulted
In the appreciation OF gold and "a correspond
ing fall in the prices Of commodities pro-
duced By the people; heavy increase IN the
burden Of taxation and of all debts, public
and private; the enrichment OF the money
lending class at home and abroad; the pros
tration ofindustrY and impoverishment Of the
people.
Monometallism Denounced.
We are unalterably opposed to monometat
llsm which has locked fast the prosperity Of
an industrial people In the paralysis of hard
times. Gold monometsllism Is British
policy, and its adoption has brought other
Nations into financial servltude to London.
It Is not only un-Amerlcan, but antl-Ameri-
can, and 1t can be fastened on the United
States only by the sitting OF that spirit and
love of liberty which proclaimed our politi-
cal independence in 1776 and won 1t In the
War Of the Revolution.
Free Coinage at 16 to I.
We demand the free and unlimited coin
age OF both silver and gold at the present
legal ratio of 16 to /, without waiting for the
aid or consent OF any other Nation. We de-
mand that the standard silver dollar shall be
full legal tender, equally with gold, for all
debts, public and private, and We favor such
legislation as will prevent for the future the
decentralization Of any kind Of iegal-tender
money by private contract.
Bond Issue Denounced.
We are opposed to the policy and practice
Of surrendering to the holders Of the obliga-
tons Of the United States the option reserved
by law to the Government OF redeeming such
obligations in either silver coin or gold coin.
We are opposed to the issuing Of interest
bearing bonds Of the United States in time Of
peace, and condemn thetraflcing with bank
Ing syndicates which, in exchange for bonds
and at an enormous profit to themselves,
supply the Federal Treasury with gold to
Opposed to National Banks.
Congress alone has power to coin and issue
money, and President Jackson declared that
this power could not be delegated to corpor.
ations or individuals. We therefore de-
nounce the issuance of notes intended to cir
culate as money by National banks as in
derpgation Of the Constitution, and we de-
mard that all paper which Is made legal
tender for public and private debts or which
Is receivable for duties to the United States
shall be issued by the Government OF the
United States and shall be redeemnble in
coin.
Tariff for Revenue Only.
We hold that tariff duties should be levied
for purposes OF revenue, such daties to be
30 adjusted as to operate equally throughout
the country and not discriminate between
class or section, and that taxation should be
limited by the needs of the Government hon
estly aud economically administered
Mckinley Law Denounced.
We denounce rs disturbing to- business the
Republican threat to restore the Mckinley
law, which has twice teen condemned by the
people in National elections, and which, en-
acted under the false plea OF protection to
home industry. proved prolific breedei OF
trusts and monopolies, enriched the few at
the expense Of the many, restricted trade
and deprived the producers OF the great
American staples of access to their natural
markets.
Income Tax Law Repeal.
Until the money question is settled we are
opposed to any agitation for further changes
In our tariff laws, except such as are nec-
essary to meet the deficit In revenue
caused by the adverse decision OF the Su-
preme Court on the Income tax But Tor
this decision by the Supreme Court there
would be no deficit in the revenue under the
law passed by a Democratic Congress. In
strict pursuance of the uniform decisions OF
that court for nearly one hundred years.
that court having in that decision sustained
constitutional objections to its enactment,
which had previously been overruled by the
ablest Judges who haveever sat on that bench.
We declare that it Is the duty OF Congress
to use all the constitutional power which
remains after that decision. or which may
come from its reversal by the court as It may
hereafter be constituted, so that the our'
dens Of taxation may be equally and impair
tally laid to the end that wealth may bear
its due proportion Of the eSpensu OF the
Government
For Restricted Immigration.
We hold that the most efficient way OF pro-
tectins American labor is to prevent the i'm
portatioa of foreign pauper labor to compete
with 1t in the home market, and that the
value of the home market to our American