The Green Forest tribune., 1912-07-12

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 long and illustrious line of Demo cratic presidents.
 Tariff Reform.
 We declare 1t to be 8 funda- mental principle of the Democrat 10 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 /trfbution of wealth; it is a system of taxation which makes the rich richer and the poor poorer; under it's opera tions 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 CTS are the lowest paid in any of our industries. We denounce the Re publican pretens5 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 made1ppon the necessaries of life. Articles bntering into competi- tion with trIst 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
  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, woolen. metals and chemicals schedules and the farmers free list bill, all of which vera designed to give immediate re- lief tc the masses from the exactions of the trusts.
 The Republican party, while prom ising 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 it's 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 a tariff for revenue only.
 High Cost of Living.
 The high cost of living Is a se- rious problem in every American home. The Republican party, in Its 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- Bert 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- ble~and irtolerable. 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 1t impossible for a 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 1t a menace to competitive conditions.
 We condemn the action of the Re publican administration in compromis. ing with the Standard Oil Company and the Tobacco Trust and it's failure to invoke the criminal provisions of the antitrust law against the officers of those corporations after the court had declared that from the undisputed facts in the record they had violated the criminal provisions of the law
 We regret that the Sherman anti trust law has received Judicial construction depriving it of much oi its efficacy and favor the enactment of legislation which will restore tc the statute the strength of which il has been deprived by such interpre tation.
 RIghts of the States.
 We believe in the preservation and maintenance in their full strength end integrity of the three