The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1912-08-16


labor products.
We pledge our party to establish de-
partment OF labor.
Country Life.
The development and prosperity of coun-
try life are as important to the people
who live in the cities as they are to the
! farmers.
We pledge our party to foster the de-
velopment of agricultural credit and CO.
operation, the teaching of agriculture in
schools, agricultural college extension. the
use of mechanical power on the farm and
| to re-establish the country life commits
sion.
Tho high cost of living is due partly to
| worldwide and partly to local causes,
partly to natural and partly to artificial
causes.
To remedy these conditions requires the
fullest information and based on this in
| formation, effective government supervi-
sion and control to remove all the arti-
fetal causes We pledge ourselves to such
full and immediate inquiry and to imme-
diate action to deal with every need such
| inquiry discloses.
We favor the union Of all the existing
agencies OF the federal government deal
ing with the public health into a single
national health service without discrimi-
nation against or for any one set of
therapeutic methods, schools of medicine
or SCHOOLS OF meaning.
Business.
We demand that the test of true pros
perity shall be the benefits, conferred
thereby on all the citizens, not confined to
individuals or classes, and that the test
of corporate efficiency shall be the ability
better to serve the public.
We therefore demand a strong national
regulation of interstate corporations. We
do not fear commercial power, but we In
sist that it shall be exercised openly I'M
der publicity, supervision and regulation
of the most efficient sort, which will pre-
serve its good while Graduating and pre-
| venting its i'll.
To that end we urge the establishment
Of strong federal administrative COM
mission of high standing. which shall
| maintain permanent active supervision
over Industrial corporations engaged in
interstate commerce or such of them as
are of public Importance, doing for them
what the government now does for the
national banks and what is now done for
the railroads by the interstate commerce
commission. Such a commission must en-
force the complete publicity of those cor
| porate transactions which are of public
interest; must attack unfair competition.
false capitalization and special privilege,
and by continuous trained watchfulness
| guard and keep open equally to all the
highways of American commerce.
We pledge our party to secure to the
interstate commerce commission the pow
er to value the physical property of rail-
roads. We demand the abolition of the
| commerce court.
Currency.
We believe there exists imperative need
for prompt legislation for the improve
ment of our national currency system. We
believe the present method of issuing notes
through private agencies is harmful and
unscientif1c. The issue of currency is fun
damentally a government function, and
the system should have as basic principles
soundness and elasticity. The control
should be lodged with the government and
should be protected from domination or
manipulation by Wall street or any spe-
cial interests.
We are opposed to the so called Aldrich
currency bill because its provisions would
place our currency and credit system in
private hands. not subject to effective
public control.
Conservation.
We heartily favor the policy of conser-
walton, and we pledge our party to protect
the national forests without hindering
their legitimate use for the benefit of all
the people Agricultural lands In the ma
tional forests are and should remain open
to the genuine settler. Conservation will
not retard legitimate development
We recognize the vital Importance of
good roads, and we pledge our party to
foster their extension in every proper
way. and we favor the early construction
of national highways. We also favor the
extension of the rural free delivery serv-
ice.
The coal and other natural resources of
Alaska should be opened to development
at once. We demand that they shall nei-
| 10 fri,,a
der the homestead law. but while held In
government ownership shall be opened to
use promptly upon liberal terms requiring
immediate development.
Waterways.
The rivers of the United States are the
natural arteries of this continent. We de-
mand that they shall be opened to traffic
as indispensable parts of a great nation
wide system of transportation In which
the Panama canal will be the central
link, thus enabling the whole interior OF
the United States to share with the At
| lanttc and Pacific seaboards in the bene-
fit derived from the canals. 1t is ma
tional obligation to develop our rivers and
especially the Mississippi and its tribu-
taries without delay under a comprehen-
sive general plan.
The Panama canal, built and paid for
by the American people, must be used
|
that the canal shall be so operated as to
break the transportation monopoly now
held and misused by the transcontinental
railroads by maintaining sea competition
with them; that ships directly or indi-
rectly owned or controlled by American
railroad corporations shall not be permit
ted to use the canal and that American
ships engaged in coastwise trade shall
pay no tolls.
Tariff.
We demand tariff revision. Primarily the
benefit of any tariff should be disclosed
in the pay envelopes of the laborer. We
declare that no industry deserves protec-
! ton which is unfair to labor or which Is
operating in violation of federal law. Fair
dealing toward the people requires an i'm
mediate downward revision of those
| schedules wherein duties are shown to be
unjust or excessive.
| We pledge ourselves to the establish
ment of a nonpartisan scientific tariff
commission, reporting both to the presi-
| dent and to either branch of congress.
We believe that this commission should
have plenary power to elicit information
and for this purpose to prescibe a uni
| form system of accounting for the great
protected industries. The work of the
commission should not prevent the imme-
/ diate adoption of acts reducing these
schedules generally recognized as excess
| sive.