Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-10-20
THE CHICAGO PLATFORM
Democrats Still Insist on In
dorsing 1t.
LAWLESS, DISHONEST.
A1tge1d's "New Declaration of indie
pendence" Bit of PoIit-
ical Infamy.

There was a Democratic mass meeting
at Alton on last Saturday, the principal
speech being made by ex-Gov. Altgeld.
He did not dwell on state issues and did
however, OF what he called the deplor-
able industrial condition Of the country,
and eulOgized the Chicago platform as
a new Declaration of Independence"
While speaking of that platform in such
Hattering terms and denOuncing the
"plutocrats" and money oligarchs'' who
do not accept its doctrines, he had not
the courage to state openly and courage
0usly what those doctrines are and why
they were enunciated.
The Democratic national convention of
1872 adopted platform the Presidential
candidate on which was elected by a
heavy majority. On that platform the
Democrats got control of both houses of
Congress. But four years later the Dem
ocrats, in national convention assem-
bled. discarded that platform on which
they had been victorious and adopted an
other. differing radically from it, on
which they were defeated. Neverthe-
less, that production of 1896 is called by
Altgeld "a second Declaration Of indie
pendence."
1t has two main distinguishing features
The first of them is a demand for a
change of the nations money standard,
accompanied by retroactive legislation, TO
make that change apply to eight or ten
billions of existing obligations contracted
on the gold basis. This is a proposition
scoundrelly in morals and unprecedented
in time of peace. If adopted almost uni
versal calamity would ensue. The none
tary and business institutions of the coun-
try would go to the wall with hardly an
exception. Billions of capital would be
destroyed and millions of wage workers
suffer.
ha fao - -, n1,+
was the Endorsement of Debsism,, which
sought to set aside the decision of the
United States Supreme court upholding
the power of the executive branch of the
government to protect interstate COM
merce against mobs and lawless obstruc-
ton, and to protect against interference
the transportation Of the United States
mails. These are two vital functions Of
government. The Debsites with Altgeld
at their head denounced the United
States circuit court for ordering the reck-
less law breakers to get off the railroad
tracks and cease stopping trains carry
ing interstate freight and the mails. They
abused the President for needing the ap-
peal of that court for assistance when its
orders wer disobeyed The ringleaders
among the Debsites were arrested and
were punished by light fines and mild inn
prisonment by the court whose injunction
they had trampied under foot. The Debs-
lies ABUSED 1t LOT ILLS also.
Altgeld picked out these two worst, most
lawless and dishonest features of the
new Declaration of independence" for
special defense and eui0gy. He went
back and forth in Illinois two years ago
urging the voters TO mark their ballots
for him and Bryan because they stood on
a platform which contained those two
monstrous doctrines. He denounced the
Democratic President for having enforced
national laws. He abused the Supreme
court for sustaining what he called gov
ernment by injunction is for order
ing DebS u Co. not to violate the laws
by stopping the movement of interstate
freight and the mails, and for furnishing
them because they refused to obey and
stop obstructing public highways. Alt
geld showed himself then an Anarchist in
principle, an evil-minded, EpWh0iesome
man.
At the same time Altgeld advocated the
violation of existing contracts. He de-
clared on the stump that every dollar of
the currency was worth two dollars; that
it should have only half the purchasing
power it possessed, and that while debtors
had received these dodbie-value dollars
they should be entitled to a receipt if
they paid their creditors dollars worth only
half as much as those they had borrowed.
Thus the creditor would get half what
was due him. while the debtor kept the
coinage law he demanded should be made
to work retroactively, so that the men
who had loaned money or sold goods or
real estate on time could be reached and
plundered. If this is not grossly dis
honest proposition, worthy of man who
has the instincts of a highwayman or
footpad, but who lacks the courage to
''hold up men by brute force, what is it?
Yet in 1898 Altgeld takes the stump
again to defend both confiscation by law
by a change of the money standard and
Debsism. He informs the Alton Democ-
racy that the platform which contains
those nefarious doctrines is "a second
Declaration of Independence" That is
bad enough, but the assembled crowd of
Democrats applauded him. That is even
worse and more shameful. Those men
have had two years in which TO mediate
over and repent of the Infamous propo-
sitions they supported in 1896, when the
eX-judge and then governor, Altgeld. as
sured them those propositions were right
And yet those Democrats are still wal
lowing in the mire Of rascaHy repudia-
ton and Debsism.-C Chicago Tribune.