The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-09-21

Dingley tarif law when 1t condemns Vt
as trust breeding measure, skillfully
devised to give to the few favors which
they do not deserve, and to place upon
the many burdens which they should
not bear" Under its operation trusts
can plunder the people of the United
States, while they successfully compete
in foreign markets with manufacturers
of other countries. Even those who
justify the general policy of protection
will find it difficult to defend a tariff
which enables a trust to exact an ex-
orbitant toll from the citizen.
CORPORATIONS IN POLITICS.
The Democratic party makes no war
upon honestly acquired wealth; neither
does 1t seek to embarrass corporations
engaged in legitimate business, but 1t
does protest against corporations en-
tering politics, and attempting to as
sumo control of the instrumentalities Of
government.
A corporation is not organized for
political purposes and should be COM
PEELED to confine itself to the business
described in it's charter. Honest cor
porations, engaged in an honest busi-
ness, will find 1t to their advantage to
aid in the enactment of such legislation
as will protect them from the undeserv-
ed odium which will be brought upon
them by those corporations which enter
the political arena.
INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
The Republican party has persistently
refused to comply with the urgent re-
Of he i,,fa -eto 60
mission for such an enlargement of the
scope of the Interstate commerce law
as will enable the commission to realize
the hopes aroused by its creation.
The Democratic party Is pledged to
legislation which will empower the COM
mission to protect individuals and COM
munities from discrimination, and the
public at large from unjust and unfair
transportation rates.
THE FINANCIAL PLANK.
The platform reiterates the demand
contained in the Chicago platform for
an American financial system made by
the American people for themselves.
The purpose of such a system is to re-
store and maintain bimetallic level of
prices, and in order that there may be
storing bimetallism, the specific decla-
ration in favor of free and unlimited
coinage at the existing ratio of 16 to 1.
independent of the action Of other ma
tions, is repeated.
In 1896 the Republican party recogniz-
ed the necessity for bimetallism by
pledging the party to an earnest effort
to secure an international agreement
for the free coinage of silver, and the
president, Immediately after his inaugu-
ration, by authority of congress, ap-
pointed a commission composed Of dis
tinguished citizens to visit Europe and
solicit foreign aid. Secretary Hay, in a
letter written to Lord Aldenham, in
November, 1898, and afterwards publish
ed in England, declared that at that
time the president and a majority of
his cabinet still believed in the great
of an international agree
ment for the restoration Of the double
standard, but that it did not seem op-
perfume to reopen the negotiations just
then.
ABANDON DOUBLE
STANDARD.
The financial laws enacted less than a
year ago contains a concluding section
declaring that the measure was not in
tended to stand in the way of the res
toration of bimetalIism, whenever II
could be done by cooperation with
)ther nations. The platform submitted
TO the last Republican convention with
the Endorsement of the administration
again suggested the possibility of secur-
ing foreign aid in restoring silver.
Now the Republican party, for the
first time, openly abandons is advocacy
Of the double standard, and indorses the
system which it has so often
and so emphatically condemned. The
party, on the contrary, re-
mains the steadfast advocate of the gold
and silver coinage of the constitution,
and is not willing that other nations
shall determine for us the time and
of restoring silver to it's ancient
place as standard money. The ratio
of 16 to 1 is not only the ratio now ex-
listing between all the gold and silver
dollars in circulation in this country,
a ratio which even the Republican ad-
has not attempted 10
change, but it is the only ratio advocat-
ed by those who are seeking to reopen
the mines. Whether the senate, now
hostile to bimetallism, can be changed
during this campaign or the campaign
of 1902 can only be determined after
the votes are counted, but neither the
present nor the future political complex
ion of congress has prevented or should
prevent an announcement Of the party's
position upon this subject IN unequivocal
terms.
INCREASING DEBT INVOLVED.
The currency bill, which received the
sanction of the executive and the Re-
publican members of the house and
senate, justifies the warning given by
the Democratic party In 1896. 1t was
then predicted that the Republican
party would attempt to retire the green
backs although the party and its lead
ers studiously concealed their inten-
tions. That purpose is now plain and
the people must choose between the
retention of the greenbacks, issued and
controlled I'm volume by the government