Year: 1879

Democratic and Greenback Plat
forms.


The events in Ohio last week are
the first of a long list of State move
ments which will eventually shape
the strategy Of the Democratic par
ty in the Presidential election of
1880. That they may be thorough
ly understood by our readers, we
here give the platforms of the Dem
ocratic and Greenback conventions,
recently held in that State:


DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.


Resolved, That the Democracy of
Ohio demand free and fair elections,
and to that end denOunce all inter-
ference with elections by military
power; that the experience of this
and other countries has abundantly
proved that the presence of troops
at the polls is destructive of the
freedom of elections and incompat-
ible with the existence of free insti-
tutions; that the laws enacted by
Congress which, under the pretense
of regulating the manner of Con-
gressional elections, interfere with
the election of State officers and
overthrow the laws of the States
governing the choice of such Off
GERS, are unconstitutional and for
that reason ought to be repealed;
that they are also instrumentalitie
of fraud, force and corruption by
hi iah n s.fx 10
money of the people to corrupt, and
thousands of irresponsible officers
to haraSs and coerce the voters, and
especially by force and fraud to de-
priVe our naturalized citizens of the
right to vote, and for these reasons,
also, said laws ought to be immedi-
ately repealed.


Resolved, That impartial juries
are essential to the administration
of justice, and thereby to the pre-
servation of liberty; that no man
can be secure in his person or prop
erty when the juries are packed and
controlled by the Government for
despotic and partisan purposes; that
under the Federal jury laws now in
existence juries may be and have
been so packed and controlled and
that the highest interests of justice
and free government require that
these laws be changed so as to Sc
cure fair, impartial and indepen-
dent juries in the Federal courts.


Resolved, That the Republican
minority in Congress, by refusing
to vote supplies to maintain the
Government unless the majority
would agree to the use of the troops
at the polls, and also to the main
tenance of the unconstitutional, cor
rupting, violent and unjust election
laws aforesaid, and the President of
the United States by his unprece-
dented use of the veto power in or
der to perpetuate said laws and the
use of armed troops at the polls,
have shown spirit of faction and
devotion to party success instead of
the welfare of the country and the
preservation of its Constitution and
liberties that demand the cQndem-
nation of the whole American peO-
pie.


Resolved, That President Hayes,
by his frequent interposition of the
veto power in order to defeat legis-
lation that was plainly constitution
al, that in no way interfered with
the independence of any other de-
partment of the Government and
had received the mature considera-
tiOn of Congress, has shown an ut
ter disregard Of the consideration
and principles that induced the in
sertion of the veto power in the
RI Of
the wishes and welfare of the peo-
pie.


Resolved, That we declare it as
the sense of the Democracy of Ohio
that not a dollar should be appro-
priated by Congress to pay soldiers,
marshals, deputy marshals or SUI
pervisors of election to interfere
with or control elections.


Resolved, That the efforts of the
Republican party to open and keep
alive the war feeling between the
North and the South are to be con-
demned by every lover of his coun-
try.


Resolved, That we reafirm the
financial principles heretofore advo-
Gated by the Democratic party of
Ohio, that the issue of money in any
form and the regulation thereof be-
long to the General Government
alone and ought not to be delega-
ted or intrusted to individuals or
corporations that we therefore OPP
pose the perpetuation of the present
national banking system as a means
of control over the currency of the
country and demand the gradual
substitution of Treasury notes for