The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1902-09-12
TOM JOHNSON, DEMocRAT.
His Talk Before the Ohio Demo.
cratic Convention.

His Talk Before the Ohio Demo
cratic Convention.
Tom aJohnson, mayor OF Cleveland
and at present the most probable candi-
date for the presidency on the demo-
cratic ticket in 1904, made the follow
ing speech before the Ohio state demo-
cratic convention last week.
"The principles of Democracy. al
ways old, but never obsolete, confront
us to-day, both in local and insnational.
questions.
Some of these national questions re-
lates to trusts. For this evil our ad.
versaries advise publicity as the re-.
medy. Publicity! That might pro.
tect ps against fraud: but how could it
protec. the public against monopoly,
which is the basis of trusts,
s'Men who Incomes have increased
but little or not at all, but whose liv-
ing expenses have increased enormous
~ly--why should they care for publicisyp
What 10 needed is not examinations Of
the account books Of the trusts; it Ia
the sweeping Of monopolies from the
statute books Of the people.
THE money question is also nation
al. And let me tell you this is no dead
issue. as some would have US believe.
Dead thought it may be III one form, it
Is alive ino other and more radical forms.
$50 long as Wall street interests die
tate our financial policies, the money
question cannot die.
lyon know that / have never accept
ed the doctrine commonly known Us
"16 to IL
II have worked with those who do
accept 1t because I have believed, and
yet believe, that the free silver fight
was the first great protest Of the Am
~erican people against monopoly-the
first great struggle here of the masses
against the privileged classes.
ut was not free silver that fright
ened the 3plutocratic leaders. What
they feared was free msn!
"We have in national politics also
the yitalquestions Of self-government.
Shall we continue to govern distant
colonies from Washington as distant
provinces were governed by imperial
Rome before her fall, and as crown col
onies are governed by the British EN-.
pire today? That question is also al
the bottom of a monopoly question.
There would be no subject colonies. II
colonies could give M monopoly fran.
chises.
But national questions are not for
US to deal with in this state conven.
ton. Great as is Ohio in territory and
population and wealth, Important as
she is in the sisterhood OF states, infns
entail as her democracy is capable Of
being in the councils OF the rational
party, she is not great enough nor i'm.
portant enough, nor is her democracy
influential enough to warrant this con.
vention in debating national policies
or r%emodeling national platforms.
1.-THE function OF revision OF national
platforms belongs to conventions chos.
en- fer national purposes. Our func.
tion, so far as national questions are
concerned. begins and ends with an I'm.
~mistakable Identification of the demo-
CtdUic parry SuiO WIFI LIE demo-
cratic party Of this republic.
THAT can be 5done in good faith only
by acknowledging the authority of the
latest national platform expression OF
party doctrine on national questions.
In my Judgment therefore, this on
vention ought@to recognize the Kansas
City platform.
1T ought also to pay the tribute OF
its respect to the great democrat who
mas In TWO: national campaigns bril-.
~liantly led US against the republican
party and its allied hosts Of non-parti-
san monopolies.H
To the Public.
The. beg to@annnnnca that we have