Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-04-28
THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.

Indications are already beginning to
multiply to show that our democratic
friends may experience some consider
able degree of difficulty in formulating
various planks in their national platform
that will be acceptable to the multidinous
wings of their party The declaration
Of. principles adopted by the New York
State democratic convention has received
more than an ordinary degree of attcn-
ton throughout the country owing to the
general belief that Judge Parker, who
is regarded as the probable candidate of
his party for the presidency, had some
thing to do with shaping the Albany plat
form; and the manner in which some
of the planks of that platform have been
received can hardly be reassuring for its
Trainer or trainers.
Word comes from Washington that
some of the democratic leaders are look
ing askance at the plank suggesting that
corporations "chartered by the States
shall be subject to just regulation by
the States on the ground that it may
mean Hill and Parker stand for such OPP
position to the trusts as can be made
effective through state legislation. In
other words there is apprehension that
if the same influences that formulated
tho Albany platform were to shape the
national declaration of democratic prin-
ciples, the way would be left open to al
low the sherman antitrust law to become
a dead letter. Indeed this is the deliberate
intention charged against the IIll-Parker-
Belmont aggregation by Candidate Will
lam Randolph Hearst
The democratic leaders seem to feel
that it will be useless for them to at
tempt TO make an appeal TO the country
on a platform which does not outdo the
Roosevelt antitrust programme: and they
are naturally eager that their national
platform shall not go to the opposite cx-
IRENE by squirting toward State control
Of trusts which has already been demon
strated to be Intellectual. on the other
hand the opponents of Mr.. Roosevelt have
cndcavorcd to show that he would be
unsafe on account of his disposition to
execute the laws against unlawful mon
opolios, and if the democratic candidate
rs placed on Il programme which commits
him to still more drastic policy. they
realize they will lay their own candidate
open to the charge they themselves raised
Another issue which is freighted with
trouble for the democratic platform build
ers is the tariff question. Democratic
leaders in Washington are said to be
dissatisfied with the Albany tariff plank.
which ombodics the phrase reasonable
revision of the tariff: nor do they take
vocate taking needless duties off from
free raw materials There is said to be
pronounced sentiment among democrats
in Congress against singing out free
raw materials for n campaign slogan,
ms was the case in 1892 1t is urged that
free raw materials would work in favor
Of Northern manufacturers to tho dis
advantage of the South, and inasmuch as
the democrats must work for a solid
South in the z-ming presidential cam
paign, nothing OF this sort could be safely
attempted.
There is n disposition on the part of
certain democratic leaders to insist upon
tariff plank that will call for horizon
tai reduction, but inasmuch as the coun-
try has hardly forgotten "Horizontal
Eill,' it is safe to say that not a few
democratic leaders will oppose any CON
crete project Of this character. These are
only some Of the important issues that the
democratic national platform must en-
body, but it is easy to see that even
these two planks will require consider
al If bou-ip,,