The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1908-07-17
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM
ADOPTED AT DENVER, COLO, JULY 9, 1908

government responsive TO the pubic
will.
"The House of Representatives as
controlled In recent years by the Re
publican party. has ceased to be a de-
Lucrative and legislative body respon-
sive to the will of the majority of its
members, but has come under the alb
Solute domination of The Speaker, who
has entire control Of its deliberation
and power of legislation.
f'We have observed with amazement
the popular branch of our Federal Gov
ernment helpless TO obtain either the
consideration or enactment of meas
ures desired by a majority of its mem
bers. Legislative government te-
comes failure when one member in
the person of the Speaker is more pow
erfu than the entire body.
"We demand that the House of
Representatives shall again become a
dellberative body, controlled by ma
jority of the peoples representatives
and not by the Speaker, and we pledge
ourselves to adopt such rules and req
ulations to govern the House of Repre-
sentatiVss as will give a majority Of
its membership the power to direct its
deliberations and control legislation.
MISUSE OF PATRONAGE.
We'condemn, as violation Of the
spirit of our institutions, the actionof
the present Chic, Executive in using
the patronage of his high Office to Sc
cure the nomination of one of his Cab
met officers. A forced succession in
The Presidency is scarcely less repag-
nant to public sentiment than is life
tenure in that office. No good inten-
5ion on he part of the Executive and
no yirture in the one selected caNds-
Jify the establishment of dynasty.
The right of the people to freely select
heir officials is inalienable and cannot |
De delegated.
PUBLICITY OF CAMPAIGN CoNTIBU-
TIONS.
"We demand Federal legislation for
ver terminating the partnership
Which has existed between corpora
ions of the country and the Republic
an party under the expressed or i'm
lied agreement that iQ.return for the
Of great sums of money
herewith TO purchase elections, they
hould be allowed to continue substan-
ially unmolested in their efforts to
ncroach upon the rights of the peo-
le. |
Amy reasonable doubt as the exist
ace of this relation has been forever |
spelled by the sworn testimony of |
illnesses examined in the insurance c
vestigation in New York and the I
ven admission, unchallenged by the t
epublican National Committee, of a t
ngle individual that he himself at t
e personal request of the Republican p
ndidate for the Presidency, raised a
er a quarter of million of dollars e
be used in a single State during the n
'sing hours of the last campaign. In b
Ter that the practice shall be stopp- Il
for all time, we demand the pas ct
ge OF statute Furnishing with i'm u
any officer of a corporation pC
10 shall either contribute on behalf ia
or consent to the contribution by &C
orporation of any money or thing IN
value to be used in furthering the
etion of a President or Vice-Presi- ia
1T of the United States or of any til
mber of Congress thereof. til
We denOunce the action of the Re- sh
olican party, having complete con- an
| of the Federal Government, for m;
failure to pass the bill, introduced rie
the last Congress, to compel the COZ
1licatiOn of the names of contribu- faC
and the amounts contributed to- CHI
I'd campaign funds and point to the rec