The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1908-07-17

while the message was being read
while over in the house OF representa-
tives they refused to suspend the roll
call of the house to receive the COM
munication which had been sent there
from the White House.
The Chicago platform points with
pride to the passage of the child-labor
law for the District of Columbia. Let
the Republican party go further than
the enactment Of penal laws and in
the name of humanity use its vast en-
ergies for the removal of the condi-
tons that are forcing our children into
| the labor market.
1t is the reign Of monopoly that is
| emptying our schoolhouses and fill
ing the sweat shops with child labor
and this same system of monopoly Is
fast limiting the opportunities for in
dependent livelihood among those
who are forced into the Industrial
field, and thus 1t Is doubly blighting
that hope of youth which in former
stages of our national growth opened
an avenue of honor and independence
to every child reared upon our soil.
The most palpable instance of the
insincerity Of the Chicago platform is
found in its declaration respecting the
issuance of injunctions. 1t would
have been entitled to more respect if
it had omitted all mention of 1t. At
session after session of congress labor
has pleaded for relief from the abuses
OF in1unctions, but appeals have fallen
on deaf ars and there has been no
indication that remedial legislation of
any character would be enacted. The
oligarchy in house and senate has de-
cided that nothing shall be done to
weaken any advantage that corpora
tons have gained in labor disputes.
The fact is that all our citizens,
without respect to station or occupa-
ton in life, have a genuine respect for
the courts and desire to maintain their
integrity.
The charge that the courts are being
assailed is simply made for the pur-
pose of diverting attention from the
real issue. Heretofore 1t has not been
considered treason or an unwarrant-
able attack upon the honor of the
courts to define their Jurisdiction, pre-
scribe their procedure, restrict their
processes and generally to fix the
bounds within which judicial functions
shall be exercised.
1t makes no difference whether the
courts are acting in excess of their
jurisdiction or strictly within their
delegated powers. In either case the
people have a right to throw addition
al safeguards around human liberty.
There can be no reflection upon the
honesty Of the courts in the passage
of measure that will confine the
equity powers OF the federal judiciary
within such bounds as the people OF
the United States, through the legisla-
lative branches Of their government.
may determine. This Democratic con-
vention must formally and unequivoc-
ally pledge itself to such legislation as |
will prevent the writ of injunction |
from being converted into an instru- |
ment of oppression.
We have something to do In this |
convention besides pointing out evils |
and taking the Republican party to
task for the part 1t has played In |
creating and perpetrating abuses. De-
mocracy is once more called to the
front to battle for the sacred princi-
pies of self-government. 1t must wage |
an incorporating war for the return
of the government to the hands Of the
people, and this means that the
phalanx of special interest must be
broken. The triumph Of the people
can come only through the Democratic
party, for the life Of its chief political
opponent is so absorbed into the ar
tif1cial life of the monopolies and
trusts that 1t excludes the hope that
the Republican party will ever be able
or willing to regain separate exist
ence where 1t can honestly discharge
its duty to the people.
With the power and opportunity to
carry out Democratic principles. we
will be called upon to revise our tariff
laws in the interests of the whole peo-
pie. This issue cannot be disposed Of
by the assertion that the Republican
party also stands for tariff reform.
revision and Democratic
revision are two different things.
The Democratic idea Is that where
the tariff enables the trusts to main
tain system of extortion the duty
should be removed from all trust-made
goods, so that competition from abroad
may compel reasonable prices to our
own people. There is vast difference
between the protection of American
and the protection Of Grim
inal monopolies.
The expenses Of our government,
even when most economically admins
tered, will always require substantial