Evening star., 1896-07-10
ACTION ON TEE ISSUES OF TEE DAY
The Money Question is Pro-
nounced Paramount.
A TARIFF FOR REVENU

which the democratic party has advocated
from Jefferson's Tins to our own-fr,eiom
of speech, freedom of the press. freed nm Of
conscience. the preservation Of pers )nal
rights, the equality of all citizens before
the law and the faithful observance OF
constitutional limitations.
State Rights.
During all these years the democratic
party has resisted the tendency of selfish
interests to the GENERALIZATION Of govern
mental power and steadfastly maintained
the integrity of the dual scheme of gov
eminent established by the founders of
this republic Of republics. Under Its guild
ance and teachings the great principle Of
local self-government has found its best
expression in the maintenance OF the rights
of the states and it's assertion Of the neces-
sity of confining the general government to
the exercise of the powers granted by the
Constitution Of the United States.
Civil and Religious Liberty.
The Constitution Of the United States
guarantees to every citizen the rights of
civil and religious liberty. Tho democratic
party has always been the exponent of
political liberty and religious freedom. and
1t renews it's obligations ard reaftirms the
devotion to these fundamental principles
OF the Constitution.
Money Question.
Recognizing that the money question is
paramount to all others at this time, We
i:.vite attention to the fact that the fed
elal Constitution names silver and gold to-
gether as the money metals of the United
States. and that the first coinage law pass
ed by Congress under the Constitution
made the silver dollar the monetary unit
ard admitted gold to free coinage at a
ratio based upon the silver unit.
Free Silver Coinage.
We declare that the act of 1873 demone-
tizng silver without the knowledge or ap-
proval Of the American people has resulted
in the appreciation of gold and CORE
spending fall in the prices of comm odirics
produced by the people.
We are unalterably opposed to monomet-
allism, which has locked fast the pr )sper-
ity of an industrial people in the paralysis
of hard times. Gold monometallsm is a
British policy, and its adoption had brought
other nations into financial servitude to
London. 1t is not only un-American, but
aEti-American, and 1t can be fastened on
the United States only by the sitting of
that spirit and love of liberty which pro-
claimed our political independence in 1916
and won in the war of the revolution.
We demand the free and unlimited coin
age of both gold and silver at he present
legal ratio OF IL to l, 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
geld for all debts public and private, and
We favor such legislation as will prevent
for the future the characterization Of any
kind of legal tender money by private con-
tract.
We are opposed to the policy and prac-
tice Of surrendering to the holders of the
obligations of the United States the option
reserved by law to the government Of re-
deeming such obligation in either silver
coin or gold coin.
We are opposed to the issuing of interest
be airing bonds of the United States in
times of peace, and condemn the traff1cking
with banking syndicates which, in ex-
themselves, supply the federal treasury
With gold to maintain the policy of gold
monometallism.
National Bank Notes Opposed.
Congress alone has power 10 coin and
issue money, and President jackson de-
clared that this power could rot 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-
bic in coin.
- Tariff for Revenue.
We hold that tariff duties should oe
levied for purposes of revenue, such duties
to be SO adjusted as to operate equally
throughout the country. and not discrim-
mate between class Or section, and that
taxation should be limited by the needs of
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 elcc-
tic ms, and which, enacted under false pleas
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 American 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, except such as are necessary to
meet the deficit in revenue caused by the
adverse decision of the Supreme Court on
the income tax. But for this decision by
the Supreme Court there would be no defi-
cit in the revenues under the law passed
by democratic Congress, In strict pur-
court for nearly one hundred years, that
court having in that decision sustained
constitutional objections to its enactment
which had previously been overruled by
bench.
We declare that it is the duty of Con-
gress 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.
Pauper immigration.
We hold that the most efficient way of
protecting 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 q vicious monetary system
which depresses the prices of their pro-
ducts below the cost of production, and
thus deprives them of the means of pur-
chasing the products Of our home manu-
factories.
The absorption Of wealth by the few.
the consolidation of our leading railroad
systems, and the formation of trusts and
pools require q strfcter control by the fed
,eral government of those arteries of com
merce. We demand the enlargement of the
powers of the interstate commerce commits
sion, and such restrictions and guarantees
in the control Of railroads as will protect
the people from robbery and oppression
Republican ExtravaEance.
We denounce the profligate waste of the
money wrung from the people by oppres-
sive taxation, and the lavish appropria-