Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930, 1900-07-12
SAID BY RICHARDSON.
THE PERMANENT CHAIRMAN RE-
VIEWS ISSUES.
Finance the Leader-Trusts and Inn
perialism Are Warmly Denounced
ADMINISTRATOR Attitude in Cuba,

/, The speech of J. D. Richardson o
Tennessee, permanent chairman Of tn
+ national Democratic convention, was a
, follows:
| 1 am deeply sensible of the great homo
you have bestowed upon me in calling me t
! preside over this great Democratic conVen
ton. We have been clothed with the au
thority to name formally the candidates VIII
al the next election are to be chosen Presl
dent and Vice President of the United
states, and to lay down platform OF prin
| clpleS upon which the battle is to be fough
and the victory won. With your permis
sion VIII address myself TO some OF the
issues or the impending campaign.
Inc last great national contest for su
premacy was fought mainly upon one issue
that is to say, one issue was paramount
in the struggle. That issue was familiarly
called '16 to L. 1t involved the. e.question OF
the free coinage of gold and silver at ratio
I OF sixteen parts of silver to one part of gold
with which all of us are familiar.
The momentOus issue this year is again 1t
10 L, but the sixteen parts to the one part OF
this campaign, which l will briefly discuss,
are wholly different from those of 1896.
VIII refer to the sixteen parts ard then to
1 the one part. These sixteen parts are:
| l. We have the issue fraught with indie
| scriDable Importance to our people native
born, and those who have for patriotic rea-
sons cast their fortunes with us-namely,
| tnat or the republic against the empire. On
this part alone of the sixteen, if there were
no other, we confidently expect to win a
sweeping victory in November. The Re-
publican party stands for empire. The Dem
| Ocratlc party stands for the republic, for
the declaration of independence, and the
| Constitution Of our country.
Trusts a Leading Issue.
Z. The paternal and fostering care given
| by those with whom we contend to the com
| b1nations of corporations and companies into
| powerful organizations familiarly known as
trusts Under three years of Republican
! rule, while they controlled the Presidency,
| the Senate, and the House of Representa-
tiyeS-that is, the law-making power of the
| goyernment-trusts have been propagated
and fOstered by legislation until they not
| only dominate all markets, both the buying
and selling, but defy the very power Of the
| government itself. The farcical efforts put
forth by the Republican party in an alleged
attempt to restrain them in the dying hours
OF the late session of Congress only excited
rldlcule and contempt and served to en-
phaslZe their Inability and disinclinatiOn to
grapple with the monsters and regulate their
conduct and actions No matter what their
excuses may be, the fact is their policies
have created them, and, though clothed with
all power, they refuse to enact legislation
to control them.
8. Called to power March 4, 1897, under a
pledge to reform the currency, they seized
the first opportunity to faSten upon the land
the highest protective tariff law ever put
upon the statute books of any country. This
law was enacted, not to raise revenue, but
to give protection to favored manufacturers.
1t failed to raise sufficient revenue for the
government, but answered the purpose of
enriching the favored few, while it robbed
the many, and at the same time brought
forth trusts to plague us as numerous as
the lice and lOcustS of Egypt. Their high
protective tariff is the mother Of trusts.
4. This administration came into power
with solemn declaration in favor of BIZ
metall1sm and q pledge to promote 1t. 1t
has failed to keep that pledge. 1t has erect
ed in its stead the single standard of gold,
and has endeavOred to destroy all hope of BIZ
metallism. In doing this it has built up a
powerful national bank trust and has given
US currency based upon the debts and liza
bilities of the government. We stand for BIZ
metalliSm and not for mOnOmetallic stand
ard Of either one or the other metal
Attitude Toward Monroe Doctrine,
3. The dominant party has recently
made the fraudulent declaration that it IA
vored the Monroe doctrine and yet their
President and Secretary Of State have done
all in their power to nuIlify and abrogate
that famous and much-revered Democratic
doctrine. In the name of its Democratic au-
thor, James Monroe, | denOunce their yaunt-
ed advocacy of this truly American doctrine
as false and hypOcritical. We stand for this
doctrine in its essence and form, and de-
mand its rigid enforcement.
6. In order to obtain place and power they
pledged themselves, in the interest of an |
expanding commerce, to construct a water
way to connect the two great oceans They
negotiated the -Pauncefote treaty |
which, while it virtually abrOgates the Mon |
roe doctrine, renders it impossible to build |
an American canal. Under the terms and |
provisions of this treaty, which is English |
and not American, the canal can never be |
constructed. We stand for an American |
canal, owned, constructed, operated and |
fortified by America.
Z. They declared in their platform that !
their party was responsible for the merit |
system, that it was their creature and that |
4 1s,-sIr I,r,, i
its operations extended. Their protection
of this law has been such as the wolf gives
the lamb. They did not dare openly repeal |
the law or to modify it by an act of Con-
gress but they have insidiously, by an or
der from the President, eXtOrted from him
to aid them to obtain and hold political
power, greatly impaired the efficiency of the
law. By the Presidents order many thou
sand LUCRATIVE offices regularly covered by
the civil service law were taken from under !
its protection, and these places turned over
to his partisan followers in vain effort to
satisfy their political greed.
8. They declared in their platform in favor
Of the admission of the territories of Ari-
zona, New Mexico and Oklahoma as States
Of the Union, yet, after nearly four years of
full power, they are still Territories. Under
the wicked rule of law as now applied by the
Republican party to some of our Territories
they may at an early date find erected be-
tween themselves and the balance of the
Union q tariff wall which will serve to pau
oerize them while it enriches others.
"P1ain Duty" in Porto Rico.
9. When Congress last assembled the
President, in his first utterance addressed to
he representatives fresh from the people
olemnly urged upon them that it was their
,lain duty to give free trade to Porto Rico
Ills party leaders, quick to obey his injunc-
ion, made ready to comply with his recon-
nendationS- But in Il night-almost in the 3
of an eye-the mighty magnates Of | ,
he trusts swept down upon Washington and
their StrGng arm, and plain duty )
aniShed like mist before the rising sun. The
PRESIDENT wheeled into line. the Republican |
arty reversed its policy, and set up a tariff
vail between the island of Porto Rico and | t
he remainder of the United States. 1t is
ot at all surprising that in the recent some
That lengthy declarations of principles 7
inundated by the party in convention as i,
embed, while they enlarge upon almost h
very political question, they could not find Z
be space to point with pride to the achieve .
lents of their party in its dealings with that J
nhappy island. The Democratic party 7
tands for equal taxation, equal rights and 6
opportunities to all who come under the L
OldS of the flag. i
10. They wholly failed by their legislation =,
nd by the cheaper method of platform dec d
lration to tell the country what their policy C
in respect to the Philippine Islands. For :,
To years, by their, equiYocating policy and L
o policy at all, they have continued in that t,
a war, expensive in human | 7,
lOod as we'll as in money. Incompetent to l.
cal with this question, and too cOwardly | c
avow their real purpose of Imperialism q
nd militarism in dealing with these and
onln fol i - | q