Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1912-07-18
Platform as Adopted Demands
Taxation for Revenue
Only.
THE HIGH COST OF LIVING
Republican Party Held Responsible for
Present Serious Condton-Antl-
Trust Law-Popular Election
Of Senators by the People
Favored - Work Of
Democratic Con-
gress Praised.

Baltimore.-Following is the plat
form in full as adopted by the Demo
cratic national convention:
We, the Representatives of the Dem
ocratic party of the United States, in
national convention assembled, re-
affirm our devotion to the principles
Of Democratic government formulated
by Thomas Jefferson and enforced by
a long and illustrious line of Demo
cratic presidents.
Tariff Reform.
We declare it to be a funda-
mental principle Of the Democrat
ic party that the federal govern
ment under the constitution has no
right or power to impose or collect
tariff duties, except for the purpose of
revenue, and we demand that the col
lection of such taxes shall be limited
to the necessities of government hon
estly and economically administered.
The high Republican tariff is the
principal cause Of the unequal dis
tribution OF wealth; it is a system Of
taxation which makes the rich richer
and the poor poorer; under it's opera
lions the American farmer and labor
ing man are the chief sufferers; it
raises the cost of the necessaries OF
life to them, but does not protect their
product or wages. The farmer sells
largely in free markets and buys al
most entirely in the protected mar
kets. In the most highly protected
industries, such as cotton and wool,
steel and iron, the wages of the labor
ers are the lowest paid in any of
our industries. We denounce the Re-
publican pretense on that subject and
assert that American wages are es-
tablished by competitive conditions
and not by the tariff.
We favor the immediate downward
revision Of the existing high and in
many cases prohibitive tariff duties,
insisting that material reductions be
speedily made upon the necessaries of
life. Articles entering into competi-
ton with trust controlled products
and articles of American manufacture
which are sold abroad more cheaply
than at home should be put upon the
free list.
We recognize that our system of
tariff taxation is intimately connected
with the business Of the country, and
we favor the ultimate attainment of
the principles we advocate by legis-
lation that will not injure or destroy
legitimate industry.
We denounce the action of Presi-
dent Taft in vetoing the bills to re-
duce the tariff in the cotton, wooden,
metals and chemicals schedules and
the farmers free list bill, all of which
were designed to give immediate re-
lief to the masses from the exactions
of the trusts.
The Republican party, while prom
Using tariff revision, has shown by
it's tariff legislation that such revision
is not to be in the peoples interest
and, having been faithless to its
pledges of 1908, it SHOULD not longer
enjoy the confidence Of the nation.
We appeal to the American people
to support us in our demand for
tariff for revenue only.
High Cost Of Living.
The high cost Of living is a Sc
rious problem in every American
home. The Republican party, in
it's platform, attempts to escape
from responsibility for present con-
ditions by denying that they are
due to protective tariff. We take is
sue with them on this subject and
charge that excessive prices result in
large measure from the high tariff
laws enacted and maintained by the
Republican party and from trusts and
commercial conspiracies fostered and
encouraged by such laws, and we as
sert that no substantial relief can be
secured for the people until import
duties on the necessaries of life are
materially reduced and these criminal
conspiracies broken up
Antitrust Law.
A private monopoly is indefensi-
BILE and intolerable We therefore
favor the vigorous enforcement of
the criminal as we'll as the civil
law against trust and trust officials
and demand the enactment of such
additional legislation as may be neces-
sary to make it impossible for pri-
vate monopoly to exist in the United
States.
We favor the declaration by law
Of the conditions upon which corpora
tions shall be permitted TO engage in
interstate trade, including, among
others, the prevention of holding com
panies, OF interlocking directors, of
stock watering. of discrimination in
price, and the control by any one cor
poration Of so large a proportion of
any industry as to make it a menace
10 competitive conditions.
We condemn the action of the Re-
publican administration in compromis-
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