The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1904-07-08
THE REPUBLICAN PLATFORM
BoastfuI, But Neither Truthful Nor
CourageOus,..Mr, Bryan Points Out
Some Of Its Weaknesses and
Inaccuracies.

Some one has described the re-
publican party as like the potato
vine-"the best part of it being |
under ground" The platform
adopted last week at Chicago by |
the republican national convention
seems to justify this description.
II is devoted to Renaissance and
CLOVIS with funeral phrases. The
eulogy pronounced in the platform
would seem immodest if it de-
scribcd the work of those present
in the convention, and as the re-
publican leaders are nothing If not
modest, their. language must be
construed as referring to the dead
or the absent. The pledges for
the future are 80 meager, as com
pared with the praise OF past
achievements, that the partys at
titudc resembles the attitude OF a
prisoner at the bar who refuses to
testify and relies for acquittal upon
the testimony of friends rs to for
mrr good character.
The most emphatic part of the
platform, so far rs it deals with
pending issues, is that devoted to
the tariff question, and the language
Oh this subject seems intended rs II
rrbukc to the tariff revislonists in
the republican party
Republican leaders seem to 90 on
the theory that their platforms sup.
ply the only authentic history OF
the country and that instead of be
ing under obligation to recite facts
they can by their simple statement
create facts. Witness the gross
misrepresentation contained in one
sentence. The platform says: y
democratic tariff has always been
| followed by business adversely, n
republican tariff 10y business pros.
pprity." Now what are the facts !
| The democratic tariff of lS4G was
/ followed by an era of prosperity so
widespread that when the republic.
IAN party wrote its first national
platform in lSjG the platform did
not mention protective tariff.
| Here. then, isa historical fact which
shows that adversely does not al
ways follow Il democratic tariff
| How about the paulcs Of 1873 and
/ 1892 Did they follow democratic
tariffs When the panic of 1913
occurred the republican purity was
in power in all the branches of the
federal government aud the coun.
try was in the undisturbed posses
sion of republican high tariff
Not only that, but the panic came
Just after the overwhelming repuh.
hran victory of 1872 that put the
party in position to make the tariff
still higher if that was deemed nee
essary Did the republican leaders
forget the panic of 1873, or were
they simply indifferent to the TRUTH
Here, then, is an historical fact
which proves conclusively that
prosperity does not always follow
a republican tariff But what of
. the panic of 1892 1t came while
the Mckinley tariff was still in
forcc-u year before the Wilson
law went into effect. They may
reply that the panic was caused by
the threat of the repeal Of the Me.
| kiulcy law involved in the election
of Mr.. Cleveland, but there is no
force in that argument, for if the
people were pleased with the Me
/ kinley law why did the democrats
win sweeping victory in 1890 and
two years later defeat by nearly
400, 600 the republican candidate
who us president signed the Me
| kinlcy bill?
The republican platform claims
too much. 1t boastfully asserts
! that the republican party has con
trollcd the government during
nearly all of the forty.four years
since 1850 1t declares that the
democrats had undisputed control
during but two years of the forty
four land it might have added that
the So called democrat who occu-
pied the White house during those
two years helped to elect Il repub.
lcan sSuccessor,) Why, then,
does it try to escape responsibility
for the two disastrous panics
which have occurred since 1902
The platform says: When the
only free trade country among the
great nations agitates return to
protection the chief protection
country should not falter in main.
tanning it," II the writers of that
platform had been entirely frank
they would have said that the poll
cy of protection in the United
States has raised tariff barriers
against this country in most of
the countries of Europe and that
retaliation against the United
States is the main argument of
those who advocate protection in
England. So much for the tariff
plank of the platform.
In discussing the trust question
also the platform appeals to mem
DRY rather than inspires hope. 1t
claims credit for republican anti
trust laws "whichithe democratic
party failed to enforce" and de-
clares that they have been fear.
lessly enforced by republican
president" Here again Mr.
Cleveland is charged up to.the dem
ocratic party. The odious record
of his plutocratic administration
still hangs like a milestone about
the democratic party's neck. 1t is
base inpratitude- on the Dart of the