The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-09-16

public interest and public honor demands that
this proposition should be rejected by the
American people.
This country cannot afford to give its sane
tion TO wholesale spoliation. It must hold fast
TO its integrity. II must still encourage thrift
in all proper ways 1t must not only educate
It's children TO honor aad respect the flag, but
IL should inculcate fidelity to the obligations of
personal and national honor as we'll Both
these great principles should hereafter be
taught In the common schools Of the land, and
the lesson impressed upon those who are the
voters OF to-day and those who are to become
the inheritors OF sovereign power in this re-
public, that 1t Is neither wise, patriotic nor
safe to make political platforms tho mediums
Of assault upon property. the peace of society
and upon civilization itself
Until these lessons have been learned by our
children, and by those who have reached the
voting age, 1t can only be surmised what en-
lightened statesmen and political economists
will record as to the action OF party conven-
tion which oi1ers an inducemeLt to national
dishonesty by premium of n cents for every
81 cents worth OF silver that can be extracted
from the bowels OF the whole earth with cor
dial invitation TO all to produce it at our mints
and accept for 1t full silver legal tender dol
lar Of 100 cents rated value, 10 be coined free
Of charge and unlimited In quantity for pri-
vate account
But vastly more than n mere assertion OF a
purpose to reconstruct the national currency
IS suggested by the Chicago platform. 1t as
sumes In fact, the form of revolutionary
propaganda. Il eInbodies q menace OF national
dsntegration and destruction This spirit
manifested itself in deliberate proposition 10
repudiate the plighted public faith, TO impair
the sanotity Of the Obligation Of private con-
tracts, to cripple the credit Of the nation by
stripping the government o. the power to bor-
row money as the urgent exigencies Of the
treasury may require, and, in word, TO over
throw all the foundations Of financial and in
dustrial stability.
Nor Is this all. Not content with G PROPOSE
tion 10 thus debauch the currency ana TO un-
settle all conditions OF trade andd commerce,
the party responsible for this platform denies
the competency of the government to protect
the lives and property Of its citizens against
informal disorder and violence.
1t asSails the judicial muniments reared by
the constitution for the defense Of Individual
rights and the public welfare, and II even
threatens to destroy the integrity and tnde-
pendence OF the supreme court, which has been
considered the last refuge OF the citizen against
every form Of outrage and injustice
In the face of the serious peril which these
propositions cmbody, It would seem that there
could be but one sentiment among right-think-
ing citizcrs as to the duty OF tie hour All
men, o. whatever party, who believe In law
and have soLe regard for the sacredness ot
individual and institutional rights, must unite
In defense of the endangered interests OF the
nation.
While the financial issue which has been
thus considered, and which has come, as the
result Of the agitation OF recent years, to oc-
cupy peculiar conSpicuOuSness, is admittedly
of primary Importance, there Is another qCeS-
tion which must command careful and serious
attention. Our financial and business condi-
tion Is at this moment one OF almost unprece-
dented depression. Our great industrial sys-
TEN is seriously paralyzod Production in
many important branches OF manufacture has
altogether ceased Capital is without re-
munerative employment Labor Is idle.
| The revenues of the government are in
! sufficient 10 meet its ordinary ard reces-
sary expenses. These conditions are not the
result Of accident They are the outcome of
mistaken economic policy deliberately enacted
| and applied. 1t would not be difficult and
| would not involve any violent disturbance OF
| our existing commercial system to enact neces-
| sary tariff notifications along the lines OF eX-
| perience. For the first two fiscal years OF the
! so-called Mckinley tariff the receipts from
| customs were 1880 607 $50 At this writing the
| Wilson tariff act has been In foTce for nearly
| two fiscal years; but the total receipts actual
and eStimated, cannot exceed S3l:, al 947
steady deficit, constantly depicting the re-
| sources of the government und trenchlng even
| upon its gold reserve, has brought about
| public disrust anG business disaster. II
| has too necessitated the sale of 1852, 900 OF
| bonds, thereby increasing 10 that extent the
nutgEaI debt 1t viii be remembered that In
| no year OF the moro than quarter OF CEN
| tury Of continuous republican administration
succeeding the Civil War, when our industries
| were disintegrated and all the conditions Of
| business were more or less disturbed, was the
| national debt increased by n single dollar; 1t
| was. on the contrary, steadily and rapidly die
| nainished. Ia such condition Of affairs as
this 1t is idle TO arg1e against the necessity Of
| some sort of u change In our fiscal laws. The
| democratic party declares for remedy by di-
rect taxation upon selected class OF citizens
| 1t opposes any application OF the protective
\ principle.
Our party holds that by wise adjustment
| Of the tariff conceived in moderation and with
! % view TO stability, we may secure all needed
! revenue and ID declares that In the event Of
it's rest Grafton to power it will seek to accom-
! plish thGt result Ii holds, too, that 1t is the
/ duty of the government to protect and en-
\ courage In all practicable ways the develop
ment of domestic industries the elevation Of
! home labor and the enlargement OF the pros
/ perty. of the people. 1t does not favor any
/ form Of legislation which would lodge in the
, government the power to do wha: the peop.e
| ought to DO for themselves but II believes that
! II is both wise end patriotic to discriminate In
\ favor OF our own material resources and the
| utilization, under the best attainnble condi-
\ tions, of our own capital and our own available
4 skill and industry
The words of the republican national plat
| form on this subject are at once temperate and
! emphatic. In says of the policy Of projections:
\ In its reasonable application 1t Is just, fair
/ and impartial equally opposed to foreign con-
\ troll and domestic monopoly to sectional dis
| elimination and individual favoritism,'
"We demand such an equitable
| tariff on foreign imports which come into CON-
4 petition with American products as will not
! only furnish adequate revenue for the neces-
\ sary expenses OF the government but will pro-
| teet American labor from degredation to the
wage level OF other lands We are not pledged
10 any particular schedules. The question Of
rates is practical question to be governed by
the conditions Of the time and OF production;
the ruling and uncompromising principle is the
protection and development OF American labor
and industry, The country demands a right
settlement and then it wants rest
The republican party, in its first successful
national contest, under Abraham Lincoln de-
nlared in favor "ot that policy OF national ex-
changes which secures TO the workingman liv-
ing wages, TO agriculture remunerative prices,
70 mechanics and manufacturers an adequate
reward for their SKILL labor and enterprise,
aud to the nation commercial prosperity and
independence, The principle thus enunciated
has never been abandoned. In the crisis now
upon us, 1t must be tenaciously adhered to.
While we must insist that our monetary stand
ard shall be maintained in harmony with that
Of the civilized world, that our currency shall
be sound and honest; we must also remember
that unless we make 1t possible for capital to