Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-02-29
DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM

The Democracy of Missouri. by its
representatives in convention
greets the Democracy OF the United
States.
The spirit manifested in this conven-
tion is a splendid augury of victory for
our party.
The history of the Republican party is
a tale of broken promises. violated faith
nj betrayal Of trust.
1t destroyed popular government in
the house Of representatives by a system
of rules which vested arbitrary power
in the speaker. This power it employed
In the services Of the great special in
~terests.
1t i~naugurated a system Of wasteful
e-xtravagances unparalleled in history.
1t created a tariff law which imposes a
tax upon the necessities of life for the
benefit Of favored Institutions. 1t all
lowed the agents Of those interests to
dictate the very terms of the statute
under which they plundered the people.
II not only permitted the establish
ment of monopoly, but gay executive
sanction to the destruction by the great
est trust on earth of its last potential
rival. 1t promised In advance legal i'm
munity to those who contaminated the
criminal conspiracy.
1t is responsible for the existence of
that vast system of combination which
Expresses the people, taxes their ener-
giles. limits their opportunitie, and which.
at the same time, lave raised the prices
Of living to a point where the cost Of
the very necessities of life is almost be-
yond the reach of the great Industrial
classes.
The Republican party came before the
people at the last national election apol-
ogizing for its errors. and promising to
reform its own iniquities. 1t especially
promised a reduction of the tariE taxa
ton. In violation of the pledge it en-
acted the Payne-Aldrich iniquity.
Declaring the most important schedule
OF this bill to be utterly indefensible, the
| president. nevertheless. signed the meas
ure and gave 1t the force of law.
In this, as in all other matters, the
Republican party utterly failed to fulfill
its promises, or keep faith with the
people.
The Democratic party. under the
splendid leadership. of Champ Clark.
overthrow "Cannonism.'' Inc restored
the representative government Of the
popular branch of congress.
This great victory, won under Clarks'
guidance, challenged the attention of the
country to existing abuses. and SO
aroused the American people that in the
election of 1910 the Democrats gained
control of the house of representatives
and reduced the Republican majority in
the senate from thirty to eight.
Because OF his eminent efficiency and
long party service, Champ Clark was
ltih Ebtdht vi Nv u Gllib VIZ Vial
lenge attention to the splendid record
subsequently made.
A bill was passed reducing the tariff
tax upon wooden goods. thus a~brogating
the injustices Of schedule K, which
President Taft had admitted to be inde-
fensible. Bills reducing taxes upon steel.
cotton. chemicals and other prime neces-
stiles of life also were passed, and. in
very substantial form, forced through
the senate by the aid of the insurgent
votes.
In response to the demands Of the
m~onopolies and other great protected in
dustries. President Taft vetoed all these
measures of reform.
We commend and indorse the splendid
work done by the Democrats of the
house and senate.
We particularly express our admiration
for the leadership Of Speaker Clark,
Commentator is due and is hereby
given to our United States senators and
to our representatives in congress for
their faithful, courageous and conscien-
tious discharge Of their duties to all the
people of our state.
We, congratulate the Democrats of Mis-
souri, upon the splendid record and faith
full services of our Democratic state Off
cials.
We commend the vigorous and intelli-
gent work being performed by the State
Committee and its chairman.
We call upon all Democrats to organ
lie and make victory in the coming
certain.
The Interests Of our state demand
that our great waterways should be i'm
proved so that commerce shoul be re-
stored to our rivers. We insist that
these improvements should be so as to
protect the rich bottom lands contiguous
to those naVigable streams from the raw
ages of destructive floods, and we favor
early action by our government looking
to the reclamation of millions of acres of
swamps and overlooked lands in this
country.
We are opposed to any system which
brings into competition with honest la
Dor the products manufactured by con-
victs.
We declare that the people of large
cities of our state should be permitted
to manage their own affairs without in
reference or dictation. We therefore IA
,vor home rule for the cities and conn.,
munities of the state.
The doctrine that all governments de-
rive their Just powers from the consent
Of the governed, and that the people are
capable of managing and controlling
their own affairs. is mo- only the cardi-
nal principle Of this nation. but is being
accepted throughout the world.
We congratulate the people of Ireland
upon the fact that the struggle for self
ly maintained for a century, is about to
rOsch a triumphal contamination.
In presenting to the Democracy of the
United States the name of Champ Clark
as candidate for President. we challenge
attention to the fact that for twenty
years he has been a commanding figure
in the great battles for all those princi-
Piles which are the cardinal doctrines Of
the Democratic faith.
He never has $wavered in his allegi-
ance. His courage never has faltered.
He always has been a champion Of the
rights of the masses. In him is person.
flied the issues upon which Democracy
must win the coming contest.
We therefore. in presenting the name
Of the great and progressive Democrat,
Champ Clark, hereby direct and spe-
officially instruct the delegates elected by
this convention to the National Demo-
cratic Convention. to be held In Balti-
more. Md. June %. 1912, to work and
vote for Champ Clark as a unit. contin-
uonsly, to the end. that he may be made
the nominee of said Democratic National
Convention for President of the United
States, and the delegates are instructed
to use all proper and honorable means to
his nomination by the National
Convention, and to this end we earnestly,
cordially invite the cooperation of the
Democrats of the United States.
Nj H. - a.