New-York tribune., 1904-10-31
PARKER'S UTrERANCE SHOW ASTOUNDING IGNORANCE
SIARILLNG PARIANCE' BETWEEN HIS MISLEADING
STATEMENTS AND THE FACTS COMPILED FROM
SOURCES OF UNIMPEACHABLE AccURAcY
rrRox THE TRIBUNE puHnAu.l


candidate Of any party has ever been guilty OF
such egregious blunders as have character
ired practically every political utterancs of
Alton B. Parker since his nomination. The
untrustworthiness OF his figures the reckless
ness OF HIS charges and his stupendous igno-
rance are amply shown by the following COM
parsons:
Parker IN his gold telegram" which so
nearly disrupted the Democratic convention.
declared that Il regard the gold standard as
hrnaly and irrevocably established"
Tho gold standard is no moro IrrevoeabIy
established than il was in the panic Of 1893 or
the campaign of 1896. The gold dollar has
bsen the unit of value ever since 1873. While
the act of March a. 1900, declares that all
forms of United States money shall be main
tained at a parity with gold, there is nothing
10 prevent Democratic Congress from re-
pealine that law; and there is provision by
which Democratic Secretary of the Treasury
could be compelled to redeem silver dollars
with soId.
The decisions Of the Supreme Court OF the
United States. the Court of Appeals OF this
State and the court Of last resort in many other
States warrant the assertion that the common
Law as developed affords a complete legal
remedy against monopolies."-Parker. in his
speech OF acceptance. August 10. 1904.
Every lawyer of ordinary intelligence knows
that the federal government. which derives all
it's powers from the written Constitution, could
not have its powers added to or decreased by
the common law Of England, and that substtu-
tien Of tl1e1Eommon law for the federal statutes
would mean immunity for the trusts. Three
Democratic members of the Supreme Court de-
MED its power TO afford relief from the Northern
Securities monopoly, while only Republican
judges affirmed il.
while. therefore unable TO give as
surances of relief OF the people from such ex-
cessive duties burden them. Il is due to them
that we state position in favor of a reason
able reduction of the tariff."-Parker, in his
speech Of acceptance.
Seventy per cent of the revenue raised under
the Dingiey law came from taxes on Iuxuries
Taxes on liquor paid the entire cost of army
navy and coast defences. Taxes on tobacco
silks, diamonds, pearls. jewsIry and sugar offset
the entire cost of pensions.
You are entirely right in assuming that as
employed the phrase self government it was
intended TO be identical with Independence po-
litical and territorial. . I am still unable
10 understand how It can be said that a people
in any degree whatever control their action.
ann heartily in accord with that plank
in the Democratic platform which advocates
treating the Filipinos precisely as we did the
Cubans Parker in letter to John G. Milburn
Apparently Mr.. Parker, when he wrote this
had never heard of the "PIatt Amendment"
which provides that Cuba shall make no treaty
with foreign nation inpairins her independ-
eeding her territory; that Cuba shall
contract no debt beyond her means; that Cuba
shall recognize the right of the United States
at any time to intervene to preserve Cuban
sovereignty; that Cuba shall observe sanitary
precautions prescribed by the United States;
and that Cuba shall grant to the United States
certain territory for naval coaIing stations This
law, now a part of the Cuban Constitution Mr.
Parker ignores. implying that we have made
the cubans free that no nation may in any
degree whatever control their action"
In support Of his assertion that the common
law afforded a complete legal remedy against
moaopolies. Mr.. Parker. in his lette- OF accept
ance, said: The determination of this ques-
tioE was left by the people in framing the Con-
Ftitution 10 the judiciary. . . The Supreme
Court Of The United States has recently consid-
eTed This question and. in the case of the West
ern Union Telegraph Company the Call Pub
lShlnG Company it decided that COM
Incn law principles could be applied by the
United States courts in cases involving inter
state commerce, in the absence of United States
statutes specifically covering the case"
The familiar Western Union case had no
more to do with the powers of the federal gov
ernment than the inner workings of Tammany
Hall. No Parker supporter has ever been able
20 explain the extraordinary legal blunder of
which Parker guilty in thus citing an en-
tirely irrelevant case
NJ Parker. n his letter of acceptarce de-
Fcended to a garbed quotation Of President Nc
hinley's Buffalo speech Of : -te-nber ; 1901
Pretending 10 quote Mr. McE<i- y, he declared
that President Mckinley said: we must make
sensible trade arrangements if we shall extend
fhe outlets for oar increasing surplus"
What Mr. Mckinley did say was: "By SEN
e'ble trade arrangements, WHICH WILL NOT
INTERRUPT OUR HOME PRODUCTION, we
SHALL extend the outlets of our increasing
surpas." Mr.. Parker omitted entirely MIR. Nc
kinicy's statement, I'VE should take from our
WITHOUT HARM TO OUR INDUSTRIES AND
LABOR" and By doing distorted his entire
meaning.
IN his letter Of acceptance Judge Parker de- /
maEds the immediate abandonment Of extraya- T!
CANT government expenditures and declares |
that teir increase is OF all proportion to the
increase IN the population
Ths condition Of the national Treasury is /
shown by the difference between the principal /
Of the debt and the available cash on hand. On |
January I, 1897, after four years of Democratic !