Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-07-13
A SILVER PLATFORM.
The Democrats Declare for Free
Coinage.
Vote on the Adoption of the Resolutions
was 628 to 301.

Chicago, ILL.,, July 9-Following is the
platform adopted by the Democratic ma
tional convention today:
The Platform.
We, the Democrats of the United States,
/ in national convention assembled do reaf-
! firm our allegiance to those great essential
principles of justice and liberty upon which
our institutions are founded and which the
! Democratic party has advocated from Jeffer-
sons time and 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 constitutional
| limitations.
During all these years the Democratic
! party has resisted the tendency of selfish
interest toward the. centralization of gov,
ornamental power and steadfastly maintained
| the integrity of the dual scheme of govern
ment established by the founders of this
republic of republics. Under its guidance
| and teachings the great principle of local
i self-goyernment has found its best express
sion in the maintenance of the rights OF the
| states and in the assertion of the necessity
/ of combining the general government to the
/ exercise of the powers granted by the con-
/ stitution of the United States.
! The constitution of the United states
| guarantees to every citizen the right OF civil
| and religious liberty The Democratic party
! has always been the exponent of political
liberty and religious freedom and it renew vs.
! these fundamental principles of the constl-
! tuition.
| Declare for Free Silver.
Recognizing that the money system is par
! amount to all others at this time, we invite
! attention to the Federal constitution, which
names silver and gold together as the money
metals of the United States, and that the
first coinage law passed by Congress under
! the constitution made the silver dollar the
unit of value and admitted gold to free coin
age at ratio measured by the silver ID dollar
unit. We declare that the act of 1873 de-
/ monetiZing silver without the knowledge
/ approval of the American people has re-
suited in the appreciation Of gold and cor OF
| ties produced by the people; heavy m
! crease in the burden of taxation and of all
the Notwithstanding class at home and abroad !;
| paralysis of industry and lmpoverlshment OF
| the people
| We are unalterably opposed to the single
gold standard which has locked fast the
prosperity and industry of the ain the
! paralysis of hard times. Gold monometal-
has brought other nations into financial
! Seryitude to London. 1t is not only un-
| American, but anti-American, and it can be
| fastened on the United States only by the
! sitting of that indomitabe spirit and love
| of liberty which proclaimed our political in
| dependence in 1176 and won it in the War OF
! the Revolution
| We demand the free and unlimited coin
| age of both gold and silver at the present le-
| gal ratio Of 16 to l without waiting for the
| aid or consent of any other nation. we de-
! mand that the standard silver dollar shall
be a full legal tender, equally with gold for
ali debts, public and private, and we favor
| such legislation will prevent the demone-
| tiZation of any kind of legal tender money
| by private contract.
We are opposed to the policy and practice
| of surrendering to the holders of obligations
| of the United States the option served by
| law to the government of redeeming such
obligations in either silver coin or gold
! coin. We are opposed to the issuing of I'M
| terest- bearing bonds of the United States in
time of peace and condemn the trafficklng
| with banking syndicates which. ID exceange
| for bonds and at an enormous proht to
| themselves, supply the Federal treasury
with gold to maintain the policy of gold
| recommendation.
| Congress alone has the power to coin and
issue money and President Jackson declared
| that this power could not be delegated to
! corpora tons or individuals. We therefore
| demand that the power to issue notes to
| circulate as money be taken from the ma
! tonal banks and that all paper money shall
! be issued directly by the treasury depart
| ment
The Tariff Plank.
We hold that the tariff duties should be
| levied for purposes OF revenue ana that tax
! alton should be limited by the needs of the
| government honestly and economically adj
ministered. We denounce as disturbing to
business the Republican threat to restore
| the Mckinley law. which has been twice
| condemned by the people in national 7lec-
| lions and which. enacted un>Ser the false
| plea Of protection to home industry, proved
! prolific breeder of trusts and monopOlieS,
| enriched the few at the expense of the
many, restricted trade and deprived the pro
| ducers of the great American staples of ac-
| cess of their natural markets Until the
| money question is settled we are opposed to
any agitation for further changes i'll our
| tariff laws except such as are necessary to
| make the deficit in revenue caused by the
| adverse decision of the Supreme court
! the income tax. There would be no deficit
| in the revenue but for the annulment by the
| Supreme court of the income tax law which
was passed by Democratic Congress i'll
| strict pursuance of the uniform decisions of
| that court for nearly 100 years: that court
| having sustained constitutional objections
| to its enactment which has been overruled
| by the ablest judges who had ever sat on
| that bencha We declare that 1t 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 burdens of taxation may be equally
| and impartially 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 of
| protecting American labor is to prevent the
| Importation of foreign pauper labor to com
| pete' with it in the home market and that
| the value of the home market to our Ameri-
| can farmer and artisans is greatly reduced
! by vicious monetary system which de-
| presses the price of their product below the
| cost of production 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 forma-
ton of trusts and pools, require stricter
| control by, the federal government OF those
| arteries of commerce
We demand the enlargement Of the powers
| of the interstate commerce commission, and
such restriction and guarantees in the con-
| troll of railroads as will protect the people
| from robbery and oppression.
We denounce the profigate waste of mon
ey wrung from the people by oppressive tax
| alton and. the lavish appropriations of re-
cent Republican Congresses, which have
them is unemployed, that the products of
the peoples toll are depressed in price till
| they no longer pay the cost of production.
| We demand a return to that simplicity and
| economy which BELTS Democratic govern
ment and reduction in the number Of use
| less offices, the salaries of which drain the
| substance of the people.
We denouncc the prohigated waste of
money running from the peoDle by oppres
| sive taxation and the lavish appropriations
of recent Republican Congresses which have
kept taxes high while the labor that pays
| them is unemployed and the products of the
peoples toll are depressed in price till they
| no longer repay the cost of production. We
| demand a return to that simplicity and
economy which best BELTS a Democratic
| government and reduction in the number
| of useless Offices. the salaries of which