The true Democrat., 1900-07-14

piy suthclent IN time OF peace. The
republic has no place for a vast mill
tary service and conscription. When
the nation is in danger the volunteer
soldier is his country's best defender.
The national guard of the United
States should ever be cherished in the
patriotic hearts of free people. Such
organizations are ever an element of
strength and safety. For the first time
IN our history and Co-eVil with the
philippine conquest has there been
Wholesale departure from our time
hnnored and approved system Of vol
unteer organization. We denounce it
as unAmelican, uD-Demorratic and
un-Repuhlican and as subversion of
ancient and fixed principles of FREQ
people.
THE TRUST EVIL.
Private monopolies are indefensible
aud intolerable. They destroy compe~
tition, control the price of all material
and of t1e finished products, thus rcb-
bing both producer and consumer.
They lessen the employment of labor,
and arbitrarily fix the terms and con-
ditIoDs thereof and deprive individual
energy and small capital of their op.
portunity for retirement.
They are the most efficient means
yet devised for appropriating the
fruits of industry to the benefits of
the few at the expense of the many
and unless their insatiats greed is
checked all wealth will be aggregated
in few hands and the republic de.
stroyBd.
Tho dishonest paltering With the
trust evil by the Republican party in
state and national platforms is con-
elusive proof of the truth of the
charge that trusts are the legitimate
product of Republican policies, that
they are fostered by Republican laws
and that they are protected by the he
publican administration in return for
campaign subscriptions and political
support.
We pledge the Democratic party to
an unceasing warfare 10 nation, state
and city against private monopoly in
every form. Existing laws agaipst
trusts must be enforced aud mere
stringent ones must be enacted rro-
viding for publicity as to the affairs
OF corporations engaged in interstate
commerce and requiring all corpora.
lions to sbow before doing business
outside Of the state in which they
originate that they have no water 10
their stock and that they have not at
tempted and are not attempting to
monopolize any branch of business or
be production Of any articles of mer.
chandise, and tha whole constitutional
power of congress over Interstate com.
merce shall be exercised by the enact
ment of comprehensive laws upon thu
subject of trusts. Tariff laws should
be amended by putting tie products
of trusts upon the free list to prevent
monopoly under the plea Of protection.
The failure OF the present Republi
can administration, with an absolute
cLntrol of all the branches of the ma
tional gOrernment, to enact any legis.
lation designed to prevent or even cur
tail Gbe absorbing power Of trusts and
illegal combinations or to enforce the
antitrust laws already on the statute
books, prove the insincerity of the
high sounding phrases Of the RepubIi-
can platform.
Corporations should be protected in
all their rights and their legitimate
interests should be respected, but any
attempt by corporations tn Interfere
with the public affairs of the people
or to control the sovereignty which
created them. should be forbidden un.
der such penalties as will make such
attempts impossible.
DINGLEY TARIFF.
We condemn the Dingley tariff law
as trust breeding measure, skilfully
devised to give the few favors, which
they do not deserve, and to place upon
the many burdens which thsy should
not bear. We favor such an enlarge.
ment of the scope OF the interstate
commerce law as will enable the COM
mission to protect individuals and
communities from discl limitations and
the public from unjust and unfair
transportation rates.
FOR 16 TOT.
We reaffirm and endorse the princl-
pies of tbe national Democratic plat
form adopted in 1896 in Chicago, and
We reiterate the demand of that plat
form for an American financial system
made by the American people for
themselves which shall restore and
maintain a bimetallic price level and
as part of such system the immediate
restoration of the free and unlimited
coinage of silver and gold at the pres
ent legal ratio of l6 to l without wait.
ing for the aid or consent of any other
nation.
We denounce the currency bill ell
acted in the last session Of congress
as a step forward in the Republican
policy which aims to discredi5 the
sovereign right of the national govern
ment to issue all money, whether coin
or paper, and to bestow upon national
banks the power to issue and control
the vulume Of paper money for their
own benefit. A permanent national
bank currency secured by government
bonds must have permanent debt to
rest upon and if the bank currency is
to increase with population and bust
ness the debt must also increase. The
Republican currency scheme is the
reform scheme for fastening upon the
tax payers a perpetual and growing
debt for the benefit of the banks.
We are opposed to this private, corpo-
ration paper circulated as money but
without legal tender qualities, and de.
mand the retirement OF the national
hank notes as fast ns government pa.
rer or silver CERTIFICATES can Ee sub
sttuted for them.
We favor an amendment to the fed
eral constitution providing for the
election of United States senators by
direct vote OF the people and We favor
direct legislation wherever practicable
We are opposed to government ny
injunction; we denounce the black
list, and favor arbitration as means
of settling disputes between corpora
tions and their employees.
In the interest of American labor
and the uplifting of the workingman