The record-union., 1896-08-18

trade and industry compatible with the
necessity to obtain by legislative meas
| ures an adequate revenue for the sup
port of the Government. He believed in
| a simple, economical, honest and effi-
cient administration of the affairs of
the nation, to the end that the prime OBJ
ject of government, the liberty of the
| people, should be preserved with the
least possible resulting burden and the
greatest possible certainty.
with such a record and such a creed,
the President, moreover, being a Dem
ocrat reelected on platform reaffirm-
ing the sound principles of Democracy,
| the Democratic party was called upon
to select delegates to a national con-
vention.
1.-The delegates to the convention held
| at Chicago We're authorized and had
the power to proclaim a platform en-
| bodying their views of the true solution
of the particular problems of the Gov
ernment now agitating the nation but
upon the condition that such platform
should be consistent with the cardinal
principles held by the party through
cut it's existence. These principles con-
stitute the essential element of the
party's life. They distinguish it from
all other political organizations. If
they are abandoned the party ceases to
exist. 1t was therefore not within the
power of any majority of the delegates
assembled at Chicago to bind the Dem
ocrats of the United States to plat
form inconsistent with the party's prin-
| ciples or to any platform that would
result in their surrender.
In violation of tbe trl1St commit pd
to them a majority of the delegates
assembled in that convention, ignoring
| the rights of the minority, unseated reg
ularly elected delegates to make places
for others in sympathy with themselves.
They proclaimed a sectional combina-
ton of the South and West against the
North and East. They impeached the
honesty and patriotism of President
Cleveland who, under exceptional en-
barrassments produced by past errors
of legislation. has heroically maintained
the honor and integrity of the Republic
Against the protest of one-third of the
delegates they promulgated a platform
at variance with the essential princi-
pies of the Democratic party
This platform is in it's policies dan
eerous to the welfare and life of free
government. 1t is mischievous in it's
tendencies. But even more threatening
and mischievous was the spirit of the
convention that adopted it, a spirit man
ifested not alone by its affirmative
action, but as we'll by its reckless re-
lection of every proposition tending to
temper the declaration of the conven-
ton with conservatism and justice.
The platform proposes to degrade
the coin of the United States by means
of the free, unlimited and independent
coinage of silver by our Government
and by the exercise of the power of the
nation to compel the acceptance of de-
preciated coins at their nominal value
thereby working an injustice to cred
itOrs, thereby defrauding the laborer of
large part of his earnings and savings,
robbing perisioned soldiers of a part of
their pensions, contracting the cur
rency by the expulsion of gold coin
from circulation, injuring if not destroy
ing domestic trade and foreign COM
merce.
While processing 10 asseverate a
policy of bimetallism it censures the
present Democratic Administration for
maintaining the parity of gold and sill
Yer. 1t proposes to reduce this country
HlOHOfneIdlI1Sfn
with it's vacillating and unreliable
standard of values, ard tends to bring
the farmer, the wage Garner and the
salaried man to the wretched condition
Of the same classes in countries in
which the silver standard prevails, and
where the rewards Of agriculture and
labor are lower than anywhere else in
the world.
with what seems to be a deliberate
attempt to mislead the people, it as
serts that by the Coinage Act of 1873
the United States abandoned the use
Of silver as money, and that gold has
appreciated and commodities fallen in
price solely by reason of this legisla-
ton. It ignores the fact that the prices
OF commodities have fallen because Of
the enlarged use of labor saving ma
chinery, increased production and re-
sulting competition. 1t suppresses the
fact that a potent reason for the de-
Cline in the price Of silver has been the
discovery Of new and cheaply worked
mines, resulting in an enormous in
crease in its production. Instead Of
recognizing these facts it appeals to the
prejudice of the people.
1T demands the free coinage of sill
Yer at the arbitrary and fictitious ratio
Of 16 to /, although the ratio estab-
lished in the worlds market is about
- to /, and although neither expert
ence nor reason warrants the belief
that the commercial ratio between the
metals can be reduced by the action
of this Government to any ratio even
approximating that proposed
1T threatens in certain contingencies
to increase to an unlimited extent the
volume of legal tenders issued by the
Federal Government. the ultimate eff
feet of which would be to force the
withdrawal of all coin from circulation
and to compel public and private busi-
ness to be transacted in deprecated
paper currency, constantly huctuating
in value, and to invite the ruin and
confusion that have always followed
the adoption of such policy
Its declarations invite and have al
most produced a financial panic, and
many of its proponents announce that
to accomplish this purpose they are
prepared to involve their country in a
disaster comparable 70 nothin,, in its
history save the calamity of civil war
1T assails the independence of the
judiciary by a covert threat to reor-
ganize the courts whenever their de-
cisions contravene the DEGREES Of the
party caucus.
1T seeks to allure office seekers and
spoismen to its support by attacking
the existing civil service laws, which
good men of all parties have labored
/ q lnYaSv fn acfe oh 10
departments of the public service