The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-08
Documents Conservative in EicfY. Line and Recites Essential
 Principles of Party's FaiIh
PLANK ON REGULATION OF
 TRUSTS ESPECIALLY STRONGI
Favors Wise, Conservative and BusI- ness-like Revision and Gradual Re- duction of the Tariff By
 Friends of the Masses.

St. Louis. July 7-The sub committees
 of the committee on resolutions spent the
 entire day until o'clock in perfecting
 the details of the democratic platform., i concluding at that hour with the adop-
 ton of a gold standard plank. The plank
 was voted in during the absence of Mr. | Bryan and Congressman Williams. and /, the ballot stood to 3, the affirmative votes being cast by Messrs. Daniel Hin, Pattison, Hamlin, Cable, Poe and Davis,3 and the negative votes by Messrs. Dubois. Y Shively and Newlands. The understand- ing was that if Messrs. Bryan and Wil-, Hams had been present, they would haves cast their vote in the negative, thus
 bringing the opposition vote to five. Asl agreed upon by the subcommittee the1 text of the platform follows:
 We, the delegates of the democratic
 party of the United States in national convention assembled. declare our devo-s tion to the essential principles of thes democratic faith which bring us together. in party communion.
 Under them local self government ands national unity and prosperity were alike established. They undrelad our inde- pendence, the structure of our free repub-
 lie, and every democratic extension from Louisiana to California and Texas to Oregon, which preserves faithfully In alE
 the states the tie between taxation andl representation. They yet inspire It, theH masses of our people guarding jealously their rights and liberties and cherishing- their fraternity. peace and orderly de- velopment. They remind us of our duties and responsibilities as citizens and inn press upon us particularly at this time the necessity of reform and the rescue of the administration of government from ] the headstrong, arbitrary and spasmodie l mo oda xrbfCh ot Inn ar
 tainty. and pervade the public mind with ,
 dread distrust and perturbation.
 Applied to Living Issues. ~
 "The application of these fundamental principles to the living issues of the day | institutes the first step towards assured l peace, safety and progress of our na- l tion. Freedom oE the press, of conscience l and of speech; equality before the law of all citizens; the right of trial by jury.
 freedom of the person defended by the writ of habeas corpus; liberty of personal contract untrammelled by sumptuary laws; the supremacy of the civil over mii-
 tary law; a well disciplined military the separation of church and state; economy in expenditures; low taxes that labor might not be burdened; the prompt sacred fulillment of public and private obliga- tions; fidelity to treaties; peace and friendship with all nations; entangling al- dances with none; absolute acquiesence in the will of the majority; the vital prinei- pie of republics-these are doctrines which democracy has established as proverbs of the nation. and they should be constantly | nvokes. preached, resorted to and en- | forced
 Should Be Constantly Enforced. | l. Large reductions can readily be made
 in the annual expenditures of the govern-
 ment without impairing the efficiency on | any branch of the public service. and l of any branch of the public service, and
 we shall insist upon the strictest economy
 and frugalty compatible with vigorous
 and effcent civil, military and naval ad-' minstration as a right of the people. too clear to deny, or withhold.
 Q The enforcement of honesty in the public service and to that end thor ough legislative investigation of those ex- ecutive departments of the government already known to teem with corruption as well as other departments suspected of harborng corruption and the punish ment of ascertained eorruptonists with out fear of favor, or regard to persons. The persistent and deliberate refusal of both the senate and house of represen- tatives to permit such investigation to be made by either branch of congress demonstrates that only by a change in the executive and in the house of repre- sentatlyes can complete exposure, pun lshment and conviction be obtained Ini 
 eral government should not permit itself to be robbed by entering into contracts with convicted trusts, or unlawful com binatlons in restraint of, Interstate trade. existing in violation of 7aw. We believe that one of the best methods of procur- ing economy and honesty in the public service Is to have public officials, from the occuDant of the White House down to the lowest of them return as nearly as may be to Jeffersonian simplicity of living.
 3. We favor the nomination and elec- tion of President trained in the ways of the constitution who shall set his face sternly against active usurpation of legislative and judicial functions, whether that usurpation be ruled under the gulse of executive construction of existing laws, or whether it take refuge in the tyrants plea of necessity or su- perior wisdom.
 Perverson of Opportunities.
 4 The democratic party has been and
 will continue to be the consistent oppo- nent of that class of tariff legislation by which certain interests have been per- mltted through congressional favor to draw heavy tribute from the American people, This monstrous perversion of those equal opportunities which our polls tlcal institutions were established to se- cure. was caused what may have onca been infant industries to become tha greatest combinations of capital that tha world has ever known. These publicly favored enterprises have through trust methods been converted into monopolies, thus bringing to an end domestic com- petition which was the only check upon the extravagant profits made possible by the protective system These industrial combinations, by the financial assistance they can give, now control the policy of the republican party. We favor a wise. conservative and business-like revision and a gradual reduction of the tarin by the friends of the masses, and for the commonwealth and not by the friends of it's abuses, its extortions and It's discrim- nations, keeping in view the ultimate