Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-10
REPUBLICAN PLATFORM.

l. We believe in an adjustment of the
tariff duties, for the two-fold purpose of
meeting the requirements of the govern
ment and of furnishing reasona BILE and
| adequate protection to American indus
| tries to the end that every willing worker
| throughout this broad land may receive
fair days wages for fair days work.
2 We also renew our allegiance to the
great doctrine fostered by that eminent
| statesman, James G.. Blalne-the doctrine
| OF reciprocity. We therefore favor as a
logical and beneficial result of protective
| tariff laws mutual trade arrangements
| with foreign countries that will provide
! for our farms and workshops a market
| for their surplus products, and at the
same time enable us to buy from them
under advantageous conditions such arti-
cles rs they produce and we must have.
| g. We are unalterably opposed to any
| scheme that Will give to this country a
| deprecated and debased currency. We
| favor the use of silver as currency, but
| to the extent only that its parity with
| quence are opposed to free and unlimit-
| ed and independent coinage of silver at
| the ratio of 16 to 1. We believe that ev-
Ferry American dollar should be an honest
| 100-cent dollar, always and everywhere,
| whether gold, silver or paper
| 4. We condemn the administration of
| Grover Cleveland and the policy of the
national democratic party, which has
| demonstrated the utter unfitnesS of both
to govern the interests of the American
people, which has spread idleness and
| poverty throughout the land, turned
back the wheels of progress, paraly1ed
| industry and deprecated the value of la
/ Dor. increased the national debt, created
a deficiency in the treasury, caused the
| issuance of more than $3.50, 900, 900 of bonds
| in time of profound peace, necessitated
| the opening in large cities of free soup
| houses and turned thousands of happy
| homes into novels of penury and want:
| 5. We believe the construction of the
| Nicaragua canal which is to shorten
the great commercial highways of the
| world by the distance of 10000 miles, is
an enterprise of such transcendent in
| ternational Importance as to invite its
| completion at the earliest practical Pc
| riod, and that it's control should be per-
manently vested in the United States.
| Z. We condemn the action of the demo-
| cratic party of Alabama in cheating and
| defrauding the people out of their legally
| cast ballots. sau
s. We condemn the policy of the demo-
| cratic party in Alabama, which has re-
| suited in discouraging the investment of
capital from abroad and driven away
that which was already in our midst
| burdening us with debt and taxes, Gre
| ated a horde of unnecessary offcehold-
ers to fatten and become rich off the peo-
| pie.
| 8. We believe that the long lease of
| power granted the democratic party of
| this state has resulted in the machinery
and offices falling into the hands of a cor
rupt element of the party, and that 1t Is
asking too much of human nature to be-
| lieve that corruption will purify itself.
| We therefore appeal to our fellow citi-
| zens, irrespective of party utilization,
who are in favor of reform in state mat
| ters, reform of the fee system, the aboli-
! ton of useless and expensive offices, the
4 radttofinp nf tc iy, hn pd c,.in,
nal litigation. the adopting of cheaper
and more effective mode of collecting
| taxes. the application of rigid economy
| in the administration of domestic affairs,
| and the abolition of the convict lease
system and the working of the convicts
! in the construction of a public free pike
| system throughout the state, to i6in us
| to the end that a change of party may
| be brought about, these needed reforms
| carried out, and that the stain upon the