Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-10-20
THE PLATFORM.

| Hudson, chairman of the committee on
resolutions. then put in an appearance
and he was heartily cheered. Three
| cheers for Edwards" shouted one en-
| thusastic delegate as the senator took
the platform. Mr.. Edwards then read
the resolution, which was as follows:
| We, the representatives of the Demo-
| cratic party in state convention as
sembled, reaffirming our devotion to all
| the great and vital principles of the
| Democratic party on national issues,
| and believing, however, that the COM
| ing state campaign should be fought
out on state issues, and for the re-
demption of the state from Republican
| extravaganza, corruption and misrule
declare the paramount issues in the
campaign to be:
| Equal taxation, home rule, honest
state and municipal government, the
| adjustment of useless and expensive
state commissions the reduction of the
! large present expenses of the state gov
eminent to the economical standard
maintained for years under Democratic
rule the reduction of official salaries,
| the adjustment of the fee system and
the placing of all officials on salary
basis the enactment of laws in the in
|
| protection of the wage workers of the
state, the repeal of all laws that abridge
| the rights of juries to fix the amount
| of damages in cases where the death of
a person is caused by wrongful act
and the release of the administration
of state affairs from the control of cor
| porations and their restoration to the
authority of the people.
| Al. l. ~
state be amended to provide for the
equal taxation of all property, real and
personal, not used for religious, charit-
able or educational purposes, in ac-
cordance with the mandate of the con-
stitution, which says:
Property shall be assessed for taxes
under general laws, and by uniform
| sules, according to it's true value"
We charge the Republican party,
| which had complete control of all
! branches of the state government dur
ng the past three years, with having
violated the pledges it made to the
| people before being entrusted with
| power.
REPUBLICAN EXTRAvAGANCE
We charge the Republican party with
having created useless and needless
state commissions at the expense of
thousands of dollars to the people of
this state, and pledge the Democratic
party to the enactment of laws that
will secure their adjustment.
! We charge that the Republican party
has been guilty. of gross extravaganza
| in the administration of state affairs
and that the expenses of the state gov
eminent under Republican rule have
been increased nearly half million
| dollars annually and are now largely
| in excess of what they should be for an
honest and economical administration
| of the government, and beyond the
! annual revenues of the state by thou
sands of dollars. We pledge the Demo-
] cratic party to reduction of expenses
/ and an economical and business like
administration of the affairs of state.
We charge that the salaries of pub
| lie officials are far in excess of what
they should be, and pledge the Demo-
| cratic party to the enactment of laws
| that will secure the reduction of the
same.
We gleedgs the pemqeratis , narty to
| the fee system in all state and county
offices, and place all such public Of
ficials on a salary basis, thereby saving
to the people of this state thousands of
| dollars, which will revert to the pub
! lie treasury instead of the pocket of the
| officeholder.
! We condemn the action of the recent
Republican legislatures which refused
| almost every request made for legisla-
ton in the interest of organized labor
and repealed acts passed by Demo-
cratic legislatures for the protection of
| the wage workers of New Jersey; and
we pledge our party to give proper con-
sideration to the views adopted by the
councils of organized labor.
/ VOORHEES, LABOR'S ENEMY.
We charge Foster NJ Voorhees,, the
| Republican candidate for governor.
with being an enemy of organized labor,
| and that he has proved his hostility by
| his official acts while acting as gov
ernor of the state.
We favor the repeal of all laws
abridging the right of juries to fix the
amount of damages in cases where the
| death of person is caused by wrongful
act, and condemn the brutal opinions
filed by Republican judges in constru-
| ing such laws.
] We favor an amendment to the laws
| of the state providing severe penalties
| for discrimination in he fixing of rates
| for transportation of freight in any wise
| injurious to the farmers or other people
| of this state.
| We charge that the Republican party
is under the domination and control of
the corporations and trusts of this
state and refer the voters to the numer-
GUS acts passed by recent Republican
legislatures for the benefit of corpora
| lions, foreign and domestic, at the ex-
| pense of the people; and to the rail-
road acts passed ostensibly in the in
terests of the boroughs and villages,
but really in the interests of the cor
| porations; and also call attention to
| the silence of the platform adopted by
| the recent Republican convention upon
| all questions In anywise affecting the
| interests of trusts and corporations
| We declare that the state of New
Jersey owes to every child within its
borders an education unsurpassed by
any other state. We demand for our
school children ample and suitable ac-
commodation in every city, town and
village, so that every child may attend
school the whole of every school day;
the establishment of thorough kinder
garten system for the younger children
and compulsory education law which
will require attendance by every
healthy child of school age
THE TEACHERS FUND.
We advocate the passage of a law
which will require the state treasurer
to become the custodian of the teach
crs' retirement fund, without expense
to the fund. We congratulate the teach
ers upon their successful effort to care
for the members of their profession in
old age or sickness out of their own
funds We favor the construction OF
good roads and Of proper state aid
! therefor
We declare that the thanks of the
people of the state and nation are due
to the soldiers and sailors of the army
and navy of the United States, who
have ilnperiled their lives in defense of
their country and In vindtcation Of the