The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1896-07-16
THE PARTY POLICIES.
What Democrats Will Make
Their Campaign On.
THE PLATFORM AS COMPLETED.
Changes Made and Planks Added to the
Final Report, Before Submitted and
Adppted--Free silver Is Made the
Issuc--,Tariff For Revenue Only.

Issue---Tariff For Revenue Only.
CHICAGO. Snly 1.-THE platform
adopted by the Democratic national
convention was findny submitted and
passed after many changes had been
made, the language being changed in
some respects, planks added, ~ Is, as
complevea, as follows,
We, the Democrats Of the United States
in national convention assembled, do re-
affirm our allegiance to those great es-
essential principles of justice and liberty
upon which our institutions are founded,
and which the Democratic party has advo-
Gated 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 citi-
zens before the law and the faithful OBJ
servance of constitutional limitations.
During all these years the Democratic
party has resisted the tendency of selfish
interests to the Capitalization of govern
mental power, and steadfastly maintained
the integrity of the dual scheme of gov
ernment established by the founders of
this republic of republics. Under its
guidance the great principle of self
government has found its best expression
in the maintenance of the rights of the
states and in its assertion of the necessity
of confining the general government to
the exercises of the powers granted by the
constitution of the United States.
The constitution of the United States
guarantees to every citizen the rights Of
civil and religious liberty. The Demo
cratic party has always been the exponent
of political liberty and religious freedom
and A. rpnpxvc ita Obl n nd ,na M
the devotion to these fundamental princi-
Piles of the constitution.
Recognizing that the financial question Ia
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 congress under the constitu-
tion made the silver dollar the monetary
unit of value and admitted gold to free
coinage at ratio based upon the silver
dollar unit.
We declare that the act Of 1873 demon
etizing silver without the knowledge or
approval of the American people has re-
suited in the appreciation of gold and a
corresponding fall in the prices Of commo-
dities produced by the people; a heavy in
crease in the burden of taxation and of
all debts, public and private; the enrich
ment of the money lending class at home
and abroad prostration of industry and
impovensliment of the people.
We are unalterably opposed to the mono
metallism, which has locked fast the
prosperity of an industrial people in
metallism is British policy, and
Its adoption has brought other na-
tions into financial servitude to
London. 1t is not only un-American, but
anti-American, and 1t can be fastened
on the United States, only by the
T.E ..,A -
which proclaimed our Independence in
1776 and won 1t in the War of the Revo-
luton.
We demand the free and unlimited
coinage of both gold and silver at the
present legal ratio of 10 to /, without
waiting for the aid or consent, of any
other nation. We demand 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 demonstration of any kind of
legal tender money by private contract.
We are opposed to the issuing OF inter-
est-bearing bonds of the United States in
time of peace, and condemn the traffic
ing with banking syndicates which, in ex-
change for bonds and at an enormous
profit to themselves, supply the federal
treasury with gold TO maintain the policy
of gold monometallism.
Congress alone has power to coin and
issue money, and President jackson de-
clared that this power could not be dele
gated to corporations or to individuals.
We, therefore, denounce the issuance of
notes as money for national banks as in
derogation of the constitution, and we
demand that all paper which is made legal
tender for 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 shall be redeema-
BILE in coin.
We hold that tariff duties should be
| levied for purposes of revenue, such duties
to be so adjusted as TO operate equally
throughout the country, and not dis
criminately between class or section, and
that taxation should be limited by the
needs OF the government, honestly and
economically administered. Wedenounce
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 the false plea of protection to home
industry proved a prolific breeder of trusts
and monopolies, enriched the few at the
expense OF the many, restricted trade and
deprived the producers of the great Amer
lean staples of access to their natural
markets, Until the money question is
| settled we are opposed to any agitation
| for further changes in our tariff laws, ex-
cept such as are necessary to meet the
ue1clt In revenue caused by the adverse
decision of the supreme court on the in
come tax. But for this decision by
the supreme court there would be no
deficit in the revenue under the law passed
| by a Democratic congress in strict pursu-
ance OF the uniform decisions of that court
for nearly 100 years, that court having
In that decision sustained constitutional
objections to its enactment which had pre-
viously been overruled by tho ablest Judges
who have ever sat on that bench. We de
clare that 1t is the duty Of congress to use
all the constitutional power which re-
mains after that decision, or which may
come from its reversal by the court, as 1t
may hereafter be constituted, so that the
| burdens OF taxation may be equally and
tmpartially laid to the end that wealth
may bear its due proportion of the ex-
| penses OF the government.
| We hold that the most efficient way to
| protect American labor Is to prevent
the importation of foreign pauper labor to
compete with 1t in the home market, and
| that the value of the home market to our
| American farmers and artisans Is greatly
reduced by y vicious monetary system,
which depresses the prices of their prod.
ucts below the cost of production and
thus deprives them OF the means of pur-
chasing the products OF our home manu-
| factures.
The absorption OF wealth by the few
the consolidation of our leading railroad
systems and the formation of trusts and
pools require stricter control by the
federal government of those arteries oil
commerce. We demand the enlargement
of the powers of the Interstate commercs
commission and such restrictions anC
| guarantees in the control of railroads "a.