Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1900-08-04


monopoly.
We direct attention to the stock
yards act, the insurance and banking
laws, the corporation law, the laws
regulating the salaries of county Off
GERS and the compensation of the state
printer. the scrip and the screen laws
and other acts passed by the Peoples
party which have proved of great ben
eft to the people of our state; and we
legislation along these lines as may be
demanded by the interests of our citi-
zens.
We call the attention of the farmers
of Kansas to the combination of grain
buyers extending from Chicago
throughout the West, which, by means
of pools, secret freight rates and other
trust methods sppropriates to its MEM
bers the profits of the great wheat
crop which has blessed our land. This
ombination, to which the local millers
and grain dealers are certain to fail
victims, exists in violation of the anti
trust law in our statutes, and we
pledge the nominees of this convention,
if elected, to do all in their power to
suppress it.
The state authorizes banking corpo-
rations and individual bankers to per-
form public function by the receipt
of the money of the citizen for safe
keeping, and at the same time permits
such corporations and individuals to
loan all but small percentage of
these funds for their own profit; the
national banking law protects the
bank note holder from possible loss, in
case the bank issuing the note becomes
insolvent-a security which has been,
however, diminished by the gold stand
ard law enacted by the last congress.
To supplement this protection and in
sure funds of the depositor whose money
is in the bank, as well as the note
holder, which is in most cases another
bank, we demand an amendment to
our state banking law which will pro-
vide for taxing the banks to create a
fund, to be under the control of the
state bank commissioner, and to be
used to reimburse depositors in banks
which become insolvent.
The scandalouS conduct of Governor
Stanley in illegally expelling regents
of the State Agricultural college, and
the frequent unsavory condition of our
state institution under all parties,
condemn the practice of bestowing
positions in these institutions for par
ty service. We therefore favor a
civil service that will put these institu-
tionS upon a business basis. alike free
from the spokesman and from the dan
ger that employees may become careless
and Indifferent or untitled for other
vocations in life and permanent charg-
es upon the state.
The fragrant violation by wealthy
corporations of our present tax law i'm
pels us to demand that it's provisions
be more rigidly enforced. To accom-
plish this we urge that additional pen
alties be enacted for its violation.
We favor the graduated taxation OF
property, incomes and inheritances.
During the last decade the power OF
federal judges has grown to an alarm
ing extent, and that power has been
used especially to destroy liberty OF
speech and to destroy or render in
effective the organization of labor. By
the use of the writ of injunction work
| ingmen have been deprived of their
liberty and sentenced to terms of i'm.
prisonment by the arbitrary action OF
federal judges, although guilty of nc
crime whatsoever but simply doing
what they had under the constitution
perfect right to do. Therefore, we
condemn the arbitrary exercise of pow
er and the abuse of the writ of injunc.
| ton by federal judges, SO universally
practiced in the interest of the capital
istic class against labor. We favor
such laws, state and national, as will
prevent this abuse of power for al
| time to come and demand that the
right of trial by jury remain inviolate
and its safeguards be preserved tc
every citizen so that, no matter with
what offense or misdemeanor man
may be charged, he will at all times be
assured a fair and impartial trial.
| Not as partisans, but as citizens anG
lovers of justice we emphatically con
denim the outrageous and disgracefu
state of affairs existing in Doniphar
county, where the tribunals of justice
and the forms of law have been prosti
tuted and used as instruments for the
suppression of a free press and of fires
| speech, and by which innocent persons
have been fined and imprisoned FOL
months for exercising the rights o.
! American citizenship.