Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1896-10-09
THE PLATFORM.
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES ON
WHICH THE PEOPLE WILL WIN,

WHICH THE PEOPLE WILL WIN.
The Democratic Party, ShOrn of Its
Fungus Growth, Is again the
Party of the Peopie-A Plain and
Explicit Statement OF It's Princi-
pies.
We, the Democrats of the United States
in national convention assem- bled do re-
affirm our allegiance to those great es-
sential principles of justice and liberty
upon which our institutions are founded,
and which the Democratic party has
advocated from Jefferson's time to our
own: Freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of conscience, the preSer-
vation of personal rights, the equality of
all citizens before the law, and the faith
full observance of constitutional limita-
tons. During all these years the Demo-
cratic party has resisted the tendency of
selfish interests to the Capitalization of
governmental power and steadfastly
scheme of government as established
by the founders of this repub
lie OF republics. Under its guild
ance and teachings the great princi-
pie of local self-government has found its
best expressions in the maintenance OF
tIlt ol tuc sJldttS anu ITO dSoCltlOu
of the necessity of combining the general
government to the exercise of the powers
granted by the constitution OF the United
States.
Recognizing that the money question is
paramount to all others at this time, we
invite attention to the fact that the Fed
eral constitution names silver and gold
together AS the money metals of the
United States, and that the first coinage
law passed 10y congress under the con-
stitution made tho silver dollar the
monetary unit and admitted gold to free
coinage at a ratio based upon the silver
dollar unit. We declare that the act of
1873 demOnetiZing silver without the
knowledge or approval ofthe American
people has resulted in the appreciation of
gold and corresponding fall in the
prices of commodities produced by the
people, heavy increase in the burden of
taxation and of all debts, public ana
private, the enrichment of the money
lending class at home and abroad, prostra-
ton OF industry and impOvershment of
the people. We are unalterably opposed
to monO-metalliSm, which has locked
fast the prosperity of an Industrious peo-
pie in the paralysis OF hard times. Gold
mono-metallism is a British policy, ana
its adoption has brought other nations
into financial servitude to London. 1t IS
not only un-American, but anti-Ameri-
can, and it can be fastened upon the
United States only by the sitting of that
spirit and love of liberty which pro-
claimed our political Independence in
l776 and won it i'll the war of the revolu-
ton.
We demand the free and unlimited
coinage of both gold and silver at the
present legal ratio of l6 to l, without
waiting for the aid or consent of any
other nation. We demand that the
standard silver dollar shall be full
laUaI fapdar auualIv with polH for ALI
debts, public and private, and we favor
such legislation as will prevent the
decentralization of any kind of legal
tender money by private contract.
We are opposed to the policy and prac-
tice of surrendering to the holders of OBJ
legations of the United States the option
reserved by law to the government OF re-
deeming such obligations in silver.
We are opposed to the issuing of in
terest- bearing bonds of the United States
in times of peace, and condemn the traf-
ticking with banking syndicates which in
exchange for bonds at an enormous profit
to themselves supply the Federal treas
ury with gold to maintain the policy OF
gold mOnO-metallism.
Congress alone has the power to coin
and issue money, and President Jackson
declared that this power could not be
delegated to corporations or individuals.
We therefore denOunce the issue of notes
as money by national banks as in deroga-
ton of the constitution, and we demand
that all paper which is made legal tender
tor public and private debts or which is
receivable for dues to the United States
shall be issued by the government of the
United States and be redeemable in coin.
We hold that tariff duties should be
levied for the purpose OF revenue, such
duties to be readjusted so as to operate
equally throughout the country and not
discriminate between class or section, and
that taxation should be limited by the
needs Ofs the government honestly
and economically administered. We
denounce as disturbing to business
the Republican threat to restore the
Mckinley law, which has been twice
condemned by the people in national
elections, and which, enacted under
industry, proved a prolific breeder OF
trusts and monopOlies. enriching 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. Until the money ques.
ton is settled we areopposed toany agita-
ton for further changes in our tariff laws
except such as are necessary to make w
the deficit in revenue caused by the adj
verse decision of the supreme court on
the income tax.
But for this decision by the supreme
court there would be no deficit In the
revenue under the law passed by a Dem.
ocratic Congress-, in strict pursuance OF
the uniform decisions of that court fol
nearly 100 years, that court having under
that decision sustained constitutional OBJ
| jectionS to its enactment which had been
overruled by the ablest judges who have
ever sat on that bench. We declare thai
| 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 here
after be constituted, SO that the burdens
OF taxation may equally and impartially
| be levied, to the end that wealth may
bear its due proportion of the expenses u
| the government
We hold that the most efficient way Of
protecting American labor is to prevent
the importation of foreign pauper labor
| to complete with it in the home market
and that the value of the home marke
! to our American farmers and artisans is
greatly reduced by vicious monetary
| system which depresses the prices OF
their products below the cost of produc
| ton and thus depriveS them of the means
of purchasing the products OF our home
manufactures.
The absorption of wealth by the few
the consolidation OF our leading railway
systems and the formation of trusts and
pools require stricter control ty the
Federal government of those arteries OF
commerce. We demand the enlarge
ment of the powers OF the interstate com
merce commission, and such restrictions
and guara ntees in the control of railroads
AS will project the people from robbery