The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1896-07-16
PLATFORM ADOPTED
BY THE DEMOCRATS
a Ringing Declaration For the
Free Coinage of Silver.
THE GOLD STANDARD DENOUNCED
Opposed to the Issuing of Bonds
In Time of Peace.
AGAINST CHANGES IN.THE TARIFF

The Republican Threat to Restore the Me.
kiniey Law Is Denounced as Disturbing
TO business-Sympathy For Cuba-The
Admission of Territories Favored-Mon-
roe Doctrine Must BE Maintained.
PREAMBLE-We, the Democrats Of
the United States, in national conven.
ton assembled, DO reafirm our allegi.
ance to the essential principles Of justice
and liberty upon which our institutions
are founded. and which the Democratic
party has advocated from Jefferson's
time to our own-freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, freedom of con.
science, the preservation of personal
rights, the equality of all citizens before
the law, and the faithful observance of
the constitutional Limitations. During
all these years the Democratic party has
resisted the tendency of selfish interests
to the Capitalization of government
power, and steadfastly maintained the
integrity Of the dual scheme of govern
ment 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
rights Of the states and its assertion of
the necessity of combining the general
government to the exercise of the pow
ers granted by the constitution of the
United States. The constitution of the
United States guarantees to every citi-
zen the rights Of civil and religious lib
erty. The Democratic party has always
been the exponent of political liberty
and religious freedom, and it renews its
obligations and reaffirms its devotion to
these fundamental principles of the con-
stitution.
MONEY QUESTION - Recognizing
that the money question is paramount
to all others at this time, we invite at
tention to the fact that the federal con-
stitution 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 monetary unit and
admitted gold to free coinage at ratio
based upon the silver dollar unit.
We declare that the act of 1873, de-
monetizing silver without the knowledge
or the approval of the American people.
has resulted in the appreciation of gold
and corresponding fall in the prices of
commodities produced by the people; q
! heavy increase in the burden of taxation
and of all debts, public and private; the
enrichment of the money-lending class
at home and abroad; the prostration of
industry and impoverishment of the
people.
AGAINST GOLD STANDARD-We
are unalterably opposed to monomet-
allism, which has locked fast the pros
perity of an industrial people in the
paralysis of hard times. Gold mono
metallism is a British policy, and its
adoption has brought other nations into
financial servitude to London. It is
not only un. American but anti-Ameri-
can, and it can be fastened on the
United States only by the sitting of
that spirit and love of liberty which
proclaimed our political independence
in 1776 and won it in the war of the rev.
olution.
FREE COINAGE DEMANDED-We
demand the free and unlimited coinage
of both silver and gold at the present
legal ratio of 16 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 tender,
equally with gold, for all debts, public
and private and we favor such litiga-
ton as will prevent for the future the
decentralization of any kind of legal ten
der money by private contract.
We are opposed to the policy and
practice of surrendering to the holders
of the obligations of the United States
the option reserved by the law to the
government of redeeming such obliga-
tons in either silver coin or gold coin.
AGAINST BOND ISSUES-We are
opposed to the issuing of interest bear
ing bonds of the United States in time
of peace and condemn the trafficking
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 pol.
icy of gold monometallism.
Congress alone has the power to coin
and issue money, and President jackson
declared that this power could not be
delegated to corporations or individuals.