Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-07-13
THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.

We, the Democrats of the United
States, in national convention as
sembled, do reaffirm our allegiance to
those great essential principles of
Justice and liberty upon which our
institutions are founded and which
the Democratic party has maintained
from Jefferson's time to our own
freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, freedom of conscience, the
preservation of personal rights, the
equality of all citizens before the law
and the faithful observance of con-
stitutional limitations.
Recognizing that the money ques-
ton is paramount to all others at this
time, we invite 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 unit of value and
admitted gold to free coinage at
ratio measured by the silver dollar
unit.
We declare that the act of 1873 de-
monetizing silver without the
knowledge or approval of the Ameri-
can people has resulted in the appre-
citation of gold and a corresponding
fall in the prices of commodities pro-
duced by the people, a heavy in
crease in the burden of taxation and
of all debts public and private, the
enrichment of the money lending
class at home and abroad, paralysis
of industry and impoverishment of
the people.
We are unaiterably opposed to the
single gold standard, which has lock-
ed fast the prosperity of an industri-
Gus people in the paralysis of hard
times. Gold monemetallism is
British policy, founded upon British
greed for gain and power, and it's
general adoption has brought other
nations to financial servitude to Lon
don. 1t is not only un- American, but
anti American, and it can be fastened
sitting of that indomitable spirit and
love of liberty which proclaimed ur
political independence in 1776 and
won it in in the war of Revolution.
We demand the immediate restora
ton of the free and unlimited coinage
of gold and silver at the present legal
ratio of Is to 1, without waiting for
the aid or consent of any other ma
ton. We demand that the standard
silver dollar shall be full legal ten
der equally with gold for all d ebts,
public and private, and we favor such
legislation as will prevent the de-
monetization of any kind of legal
tender money by private contract.
We are opposed to the issuing of
interest bearing bonds of the Uuited
States in times of peace and condemn
the trafficking with banking syndi-
Gates, which, in exchange for bonds
and at an enormous profit to them
selves, supply the federal treasury
with gold to maintain the policy of
gold monometallism.
Congress alone has the power to
coin and issue money, and President
Jackson declared that this power
could dot be delegated to corpora
tions or individuals. We therefore
demand that the power to issue notes
to circulate as money be taken n from
the banks and that all paper money
shall be issued directly by the treas
ury department.
We hold that tariff dnties should be
levied solely for purposes of revenue
and that taxation should be limited
by the needs of the government,
honestly and economically admins
tered. We denounce as disturbing to
business the Republican threat to re-
store the Mckinley law, which has
been twice codemned by the people
in national elections and which. en-
acted under the false plea of protec-
ton to home industry, proved a pro-
life breeder of trusts and monopolies,
enriches the few at the expense of
the many, restricted trade and de-
prived the producers of the great
American staples of access to their
natural markets.. Until the money
question is settled we are opposed to
any agitation fors further changes in
our tariff laws except such as are
necessary to make up the deficit in
revenue caused by the adverse de-
cision of the supreme court on the in
come tax.
There would be no deficit in the