Year: 1874

| sembied, hereby declare our abiding faith
in the Republican party. Its history
has shown, and its opponents have tardi-
" recognized, it to be pre- eminently the
| party of progress and reform It has ex-
tended liberty and equality through the
Union. and raised our country from the
verge of ruin to the first in rank among
the nations. and brought it to such con-
dltion of peace and prosperity that no
one is now reckless enough to assail the
leading measures Of the party, and can
only urge against it those minor imper-
fections of administration which have
been incident to partial rule in every ad.
mlnlstration since the government was
| framed


Proud of the past record of the party,
we are confident of it further. Its mis-.
sion has not been fulfilled. The fruits of
Its patriotic toll cannot be trusted in the
| hands OF those who, at every stage of it's
eventful career, have been the impla-
cable foes of its principles. We do not
rest content upon the past record of the
| party, but declare it to be its duty and
| purpose TO improve and, as far as pos
sible, perfect in every detail the machin-
cry of the government which it mas saw
| ed, reformed and strengthened. For the
past we do not claim infallibility, but we
refer proudly to the fact that all it's meas.
ures have been salutary, that the
wrongs and errors for which it is held re-
sponsible and which now furnish the on
| ly arguments urged against it, have been
the mistakes Or misdeeds of individuals
and not OF the organization. We affirm
it to be the steadfass determination of the
| party:


| l. To continue to maintain the in
tegrity Of the Union. to secure perpetual
ly to every class and condition the full
protection of their rights of person and
| to seek to remove all the bitterness
and sectional hostility engendered in the
| past.


2. To eradicate every known abuse in
the administration of the government, to
guard against every evil tendency and,
In Its simplicity, purity and efficiency. to
reach the grand ideal of it's founders.
! 3. To favor, as far as can be done by
government policy. state and national,
such measures as shall tend to diversity
the pursuits of industry, harmonic each
| with the other, and secure to each its
| just rewards. To that end we favor the
| improvement, at the expense Of the gen
| eral government OF the Fox and Wiscon-
sin and all other navigable inland lakes
and rivers. and we insist that the great
railway and other corporations engaged
In the transportation Of the products of
the country shall not be permitted, by
unjust Determinations and unreasonable
exactlons, to interfere with the natural
operation of the laws Of trade; that COM
merce in each of the states, and between
the states should be wisely and carefully
regulated SO that justice may be done to
producer, carrier and consumer. We
affirm there can be no surrender of the
| right CT legislative control over corpora
tlons. There must be no authority high
er than the constitution and the laws, and
none to defy the power in sacred reserve
to prevent eAtortion, shield and not a
sword. Under it we will do no injustice,
but the Republican party does forbid the
invasion Of legislative halls, resistance to
the laws, the attempt to intimIdate or
corrupt officials, to suborn or shackle the
press, and at the same moment invites
the co operation of all railway companies
to frame legislation to ensure these erds
and secure fair and liberal return upon
honest investments and to receive these
vast and benefcent enterprises to the
end that justice may be done to the peo-
pie and themselves.


4. The system of currency founded by
the Republican party, having proved
safe, sound and convenient, and we'll
adapted to the ends of commerce, we be-
lieve it should not be radically changed,
and we are In favor of making all forms
of currency, whether of national bank
notes or greenbacks, equivalent In value
to specie at the earliest possible practic-
able day, and we believe that if our re-
venue shall continue to be kept in excess
of expenditures, that fact alone will, in a
reasonable time. bring our circulating
medium to par with gold. We also de-
clare that IT 1t be necessary to contract
our volume OF currency to secure a re.
sumption of specie payment, we demand
that the contraction shall take place In
the national currency leaving the volume
OF non-lnterest bearing greenbacks un-
| impaired, and if it be necessary to in
crease the volume of currency to meet
the requirements of commerce and trade,
we demand that the increase shall be in
the form OF greenbacks or through the
medium of free national banking sys.
tenn under laws so framed as to provide
| NoiSA oi PSi folODs C'iOiI6CiC dlStllUu.
ton, and the utmost security of circulation
and deposits-such system to provide
suitable guards to prevent combinations
of capital from disturbing the national
course of circulation in order to make
unjust profits out of the necessities of
commerce.


5. We commend the courage of the
Republican party in instituting investiga-
tion OF all alleged corruptions in Office,
/ sparing neither partisans nor enemies,
and we demand constant vigilance to
prevent frauds upon the government,
and most careful legislation TO prevent
and to punish peculation and enbezzle-
ment by public officials.


6. The action of Congress in reducing
the estimate of expenditures and appro-
prlatlons meets our commentator. Agri-
culture IN our present state of develop
ment being necessarily the principal pur-
suite of the people of the Western states.
and subject to all the disadvantages re-