Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-09-10
DEMOCRATIC STATE PLATFORM.

portion of the national platform Of the
democratic party on the financial ques-
ton, believing that the very existence OK
the farming laboring and commercial IN
terests of this country depends upon
change of our financial policy. and we en-
ter into the first campaign after the great
battle of tho people against the combined
corporate and money power, IN which that
peerless statesman and patriot w. J.
Bryan, was our leader, with the reasser-
ton that we demand the free and I'M
limited coinage of both gold and silver at
the present legal ratio of is to ]. without
| waiting for the aid or consent OF any other
| nation"
We declare that the methods resorted to
by the leaders Of the republican party IN
the late national campaign have justly
alarmed the country. Their fragrant
acts of bribery. intimidation. colonization
and deception ovsrawed, and were IN
tended to ovsrawe, the electorate, ana
thus prevented q free and an honest ex-
preston of public opinion. We affarm this
to be q direct attack upon popular gov
eminent and declaration of war against
free institutions. II submitted to without
rebuke the presidential Office will be per-
manently under the domination OF money
and Of the corrupt Influences which money
controls.
The purpose Of these high-handed and
criminal methods 10 evident from the re-
suits following their success. Tho trusts,
tho combines, the syndicates, the corpora
lions. all united to make the government
an agency for the promotion of their spe-
cial interests and welfare. They contrib.
uted millions upon millions to Mark
Hanna's campaign fund, and having tri-
umphed by the corrupt use Of these vast
sums they are about to recoup themselves
from the pockets of the people. The no
torious, almost avowed, purpose Of the
| tariff bill now under consideration in the
| senate Is to repay the trusts. the NINE
the MILL and the factory barons for their
pecuniary aid to Mckinley; the railroads
are to be compensated by pooling law;
and 1t is on the program, as announced
by Secretary Gage, to requite the bank
ing corporations by retiring the green
backs and Sherman treasury notes, and
increasing the interest bearing debt $780,
000, 900 for their exclusive benefit. The
prosperity which was promised was pros
psrity to these special interests, and not
to the people at large. The people have
not realized 1t, and while legislation Is for
the classes instead of the masses, they
never will. 1t is to further the ends of
those who do not produce but absorb
wealth, and legislation in whose behalf
IL rapidly segregatinE society into the few
very rich and the very many poor, that
Speaker Reed arbitrarily refuses to permit
the national house of representatives to
| legislate, and denies to the American peo-
pie the representation in the government
to which they are entitled by the funda-
mental law.
We point to the fact that the claims Of
the democratic party in the last campaign
have proven true, and that the claims
made by the republican party have proven
false. and not one of the pledges made
by that party has been fulfilled. The cit
lien was urged to vote for Mckinley and
prosperity; confidence was to be restored;
the mills were to open up: unemployed
men would find work; the farmer would
md profitable market for his products.
All these and more were promised to take
| place as soon as it should be known that
| Mckinley was elected. Months have
passed since that event. and instead of the
| fulfillment of these promises, prosperity
! has not made Its appearance; the mills
, and shops are closing down; the army of
unemployed is growing larger, and the
| farmers of Iowa since his election are
| marketing their products at a less price
| than ever before.
| We demand that the statute In operation
in Iowa for more than generation hold
| ing railroad corporations to q strict ac-
countability for negligent injury to their
employees shall be restored, by proper
amendment, to its original scope and In
tent. We hold that the clause of said
law which provides that mo contract
which restricts such liability shall be
legal and binding" is eminently fair and
Just; that contracts In contravention OF
the spirit Of this provision are against
public policy and should be void; and we
demand that the protection to life and
limb. embodied in this provision, shall be
fully restored, in order that corporations
engaged In the operation of railways shall
not be allowed by insurance contracts or
otherwise to escape liability for their acts
Of negligence, or shift this just RESPONSE
bility upon the shoulders of their en-
ployes; We hold that any other rule is
premium on wrong-doing.
We reafhrm the position of the DEM
ocratic party In this state in demanding
a nonpartisan board Of control, which can
intelligently comprehend their relative
wants and economically and justly appor-
just needs demand, thus doing away with
the expensive and disgraceful scramble
for appropriations and contests for prefer
ment carried on by the officials of the
several institutions before each leRisla-
ture.
We denounce the scandalous footing of
the the. state a.sot treasury recently brought to
and overpaid employees have been saddlad
upon the state. and other extravagances
sns Of tanat ion.
81 100000 has been incurred, while the
ability Of the people to pay taxes has been
Iowa for resorting to the last refuge Of
tho enemy OF popular government. In
passing PASS 3, the ne antiofusaon act denying the
We denounce the republican party of
iowa tor enactins and maintaining law
: that permits the state printer and state
work done, thus robbing the peo Die
I through unjust taxation. popte
We demand that no state officer whose
duty 1t is to pass upon questions pertain
. ing to the insurance, building and loan.
banking or other corporate business shall
hold any official position or own any stock
In any such corporation.
, We favor such legislation as will re1io,,a
the people OF Iowa from the extortions
practiced by school book monopoiies.
n We point to the defeat of measure IN
reform the taxation laws applying 10 mn
3 lie corporations in such manner az N
| place upon them fair proportion Of the
fact that the execution of the present in'
adequate taxation laws by republican on
Gals has tended constantly toward min
den borne by these interests. while ths
!, taxes Of the rest of the people have con-
stantly increased. We demand the passage
by the next general assembly of laws to
the purview of the tax gatherers intanai
, BILE as well as tangible values
We 80 before the people of this state
with the conviction that the interests of
e the whole people demand a change in the
, policy and management Of our state az