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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1908)
The Commoner. WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR Anfov VOL. 8, NO. 9 Lincoln, Nebraska, March 13, 1908 Whole Number 373 THE NEBRASKA DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM The platform adopted by the Nebraska dem ocrats assembled in stale convention at Omaha, March 5, 1908, is as follows: We, the representatives of the democracy of Nebraska, in delegate convention assembled, re affirm our faith in, and pledge our loyalty to, the principles of our party. We rejoice at the increasing signs of an awakening in the United States. The various investigations have traced graft and political corruption to the representatives of predatory wealth and laid bare the unscrupulous methods by which they have debauched elections and preyed upon a defenseless public through the subservient officials whom they have raised to place and power. The conscience of the nation is now aroused and will, if honestly appealed to, free the government from the grip of those who have made it a business asset of the favor-seeking corporations; it must become again "a govern ment of the people, by the people and lor the people;" and be administered in all its departments according to the Jcffersouian maxim, "equal rights to all and special privileges to none." This is the overshadowing issue at this time; it manifests itself in all the questions now under discussion and demands immediate con sideration. We heartily approve of the laws prohibiting the pass and the rebate, and insist upon further legislation, state and national, making it un lawful for any corporation to contribute to cam paign funds, and providing for publication, be fore the election, of all individual contributions above a reasonable minimum. Believing, with Jefferson, in "the support of the state governments in all their rights as the most competent administrations for our do mestic concerns and the surest bulwark against anti-republican tendencies;" and in "the preser vation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad," we are op posed to the centralization implied in the sug gestions, now frequently made, that the powers of the general government should be extended by judicial construction. While we favor the exercise by the general government of all its constitutional authority forthe prevention of monopoly and for the ri:Qgulation of interstate commerce, we insist .Tat federal remedies shall be added to, andyot substituted for, state remedies. We insist upon the recognition of the dis tinction between the natural man and the artifi cial person, called a corporation, and we favor the enactment of such laws as may be necessary CONTENTS NEBRASKA DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM KENTUCKY'S SHAME ANARCHY , "THE FULL DINNER PAIL" WILLIAMS' CURRENCY BILL MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS THE VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION NEBRASKA DEMOCRATIC STATE CON VENTION WASHINGTON LETTER COMMENT ON CURRENT TOPICS HOME DEPARTMENT WHETHER COMMON OR NOT NEWS OF THE WEEK Adopted by the State Con vention Held at Omaha, March 5, 1908 to compel foreign corporations to submit their legal disputes to the courts of the states in which they do business, and thus place them selves upon the same footing as domestic cor porations. We favor the election of United States sen ators by direct vote of the people, and regard this reform as the gateway to all other national reforms. A private monopoly is Indefensible and In tolerable. We, therefore, favor tho vigorous enforcement of the criminal law against trusts and trust magnates, and demand the enactment of such additional legislation as may bo neces sary to make It impossible for a private monop oly to exist in tho United States. Among tho additional remedies we specify three: First, a law preventing the duplication of directors among competing corporations; second, a license system which will, without abridging tho right of each state to create corporations, or its right to regJlaTe a'slfT will "TdfeigiT corporations doing business within its limits, make it necessary for a manufacturing or trading corporation engaged in interstate commerce to take out a federal license before it shall bo permitted to control as much as twenty-five per cent of tho product in which it deals, tho license to protect tho public from watered stock and to prohibit the control by such corporation of moro than fifty per cent of tho total amount of any product consumed in tho United States; and, third, a law compelling such licensed corporations to sell to all purchasers in all parts of the country on the same terms, after making due allowance for cost of transportation. We welcome the belated promise of tariff reform, now offered by a part of tho republican party, as a tardy recognition of the righteous ness of the democratic position on this question, but the people can not safely entrust tho execu tion of this important work to a party which is so obligated to the highly protected interests that it postpones relief until after the election. And we call attention to the significant fact that the promise now made by those republi cans who favor tariff revision is wholly vitiated by the use of the very qualifying words under which the present tariff iniquities have grown up. We favor an immediate revision of tho tariff by the reduction of import duties. Art icles entering into competition with articles controlled by trusts should be placed upon tho free list; material reductions should be made in the tariff upon tho necessaries of life, and reductions should be made in such other sched ules as may be necessary to restore the tariff to a revenue basis. We favor an income tax as part of our revenue system, and we urge the submission of a constitutional amendment specifically authoriz ing congress to levy and collect a tax upon in dividual and corporate incomes, to the end that wealth may bear its proportionate share of the burdens of tho federal government. We favor a national inheritance tax to reach the "swollen fortunes" already in existence, but we believe that it is- better to permanently prevent "swollen fortunes" by abolishing the privileges and favor itism upon which they are based. We assert the right of congress to exercise complete control over Int rstate commerce, and we assert the right of each state to exercise just as complete control over commerce within its borders. Wo demand such an enlargement of the powers of national and state railway com missions us may bo necessary td givo full pro tection to persona and places from dlscrlmina tion and extortion. Wo believe that both tho nation and tho various states, should, first, as certain the present value of the railroads, meas ured by the coHt of reproduction; second, pro hibit tho Issue of any more waterod stock or fictitious capitalization; third, prohibit tho rail roads from enaRiiiK in any business which brings them Int; competition with their shippers; and fourth, reduce transportation rates until they reach a point whore they will yield only a reasonable return on the present value of tho roads - such reasonable return being defined an a return sufficient to keep the stock of the roads at liar when such roads are honestly capitalized. Tho injury done by issues of watered stock is more clearly seen and better understood slnco tho shrinkage in tho market value of such stock has precipitated a widespread panic and brought enormous loss to the country. Tho panic has also emphasized tho necessity for legislation protecting the wealth producers from spoliation at the hands of tho stock gamblers and the gamblers in farm products. Tho present financial stringency furnishes additional proof that the republican leaders aro either unwilling or incompetent to protect the interests of the gonoral public. They have so linked us to Wall Street that-tho-Blns-of tho speculators are visited upon tho entire country. Wo favor the postal savings bank and, In addition thereto, insist upon the passage of laws, state and national, for the better regula tion of banks and for tho protection of bank deposits. Tho government demands security when it deposits public money in a bank, and wo believe that tho security of tho Individual depositor who Intrusts his earnings to a bank should be as perfect as tho government's security. Wo oppose both the Aldrlch bill and tho Fowler bill, and believe that, insofar as tho needs of commerce require an emergency cur rency, such currency should be Issued and con trolled by the federal government, and that it should be loaned upon adequate security and at a rate of interest which will compel its retire ment when the emergency Is passed. We demand, further, that favoritism In tho deposit of treasury funds shall be abolished and that surplus revenues shall be deposited at com petitive rates upon sufficient security and fairly distributed throughout tho country. We favor the eight hour day. We believe in the conciliation of capital and labor and favor every legitimate means for the adjustment of disputes between corporate employers and their employes, to the end that justice may be done to those who toil and that society may bo relieved from the embarrassment occasioned by prolonged strikes and lockouts. We favor such a modification of tho law relating to injunctions as will, first, prevent tho Issuing of the writ In industrial disputes except after notice to defendants and full hearing; second, permit trial before a judge other than the one who issued tho writ, and, third, allow a jury to be summoned in all cases where tho alleged contempt is committed outside tho pres ence of the court. We favor ai. employer's liability law, ap plicable to both private and public employers. We favor full protection, by both national and state governments within their respective spheres, of all foreigners residing in the United States under treaty, but we are opposed to the admission of Asiatic emigrants who can not bo amalgamated with our population, or whose presence among us would raise a race issue and involve us in diplomatic controversies with oriental powers, and we demand a stricter en forcement of the immigration laws against any iw diiitfcr ..! . t tf tr-kmihmiA '- -j r . -4 -rfi, I ifcrf")" .. kNirj