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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1908)
tf Semi -Weekly t V: f V i I II; 1 1 i I- t fi 1 X f ( i l.i H 11ID NEBRASKAN NAMED FOR PRESI DENT BY DENVER CONVENTION. DUNN STIRS VOLCANIC UPROAR Delegates Go Wild When Omaha Man Concludes His Speech Putting Bry an in Nomination Intensity of Dem onstration Threatened Panic. Denver, July 10. William Jennings Bryan was this morning nominated fur president of the United States by the Democratic national convention. The nomination was made at 3:40 o'clock amid scenes of tumultuous enthuRlasm, the vast assemblage breaking en masse Into a frenzied demonstration of intensely dramatic tribute to the Democratic leader. - The first and only ballot gave Bryan the commanding and decisive total of &92 votes, or 221 more htan enough to nominate, with Gray, 5914, Johnson 46. The announcement was greeted with a perfect pandemonium of sound and motion, floor and galleries joining in deafening, long continued tumult. The decisive ballot was followed with motions from the Gray and John son leaders to make the nomination unanimous and by acclamation, which was carried with an echoing choru3 of approval in which every state joined its voice, with but one dissent ing vote from the state of Georgia. The convention adjourned at 3:50 until o'clock this afternoon, when the candidate for . .ce president will be nominated. Whirlwind of Demonstration. The speech placing William J. Bry an in nomination awakened a whirl wind of demonstration, rivaling in in tensity and duration the record break ing tribute of Wednesday. The WILLIAM J. BRYAN, names of George Gray of Delaware and Governor Johnson of Minnesota were also placed fn nomination, with demonstrations of approval from their limited followings. The speech placing William J. Bry an in nomination was made by Igna tius J. Dunn of Nebraska, a youthful orator of fire and eloquence, whose closing phrase stirred' the vast assem bly into wild demonstration. "I nominate," he exclaimed, "as the standard bearer of our party the man who, in the thrilling days of '96 and 1900, bore the battle-scarred banner of Democracy with fame as untar nished as the crusaders of old Amer ica's great commoner, Nebraska's gifted son, William Jennings Bryan." Immediately perfect pandemonium of sound and motion was unloosened, as delegates and spectators rose en masse and joined' in the reverberating chorus of tribute to the Nebraska can didate. The standards of the states were wrenched from their places and borne through the hall to the plat form, while banners bearing the por trait of the Nebraskan were waved aloft, and the multitude joined in long continued tribute. At times the in tensity of the demonstration threat ened a panic. One woman was borne out fainting. The platform was adopted unani mously. Text of the Resolutions. "We, the representatives of the Democracy of the United States, in national convention assembled, re affirm our faith in and pledge our loy alty to the principles of our party. "We rejo'ce at the increasing signs of an awakening throughout the coun try. 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 de bauched elections and' preyed upon the defenseless public through the sub servient odcials whom they have raised to place and power. The con science of the nation is now aroused science of the nation is now aroused to free . the govern ment from the grip of those who ernment from the grip of those who have made it a business asset of the favor-seeking corporations; it must become again a people's government and be administered in all its depart ments according to the Jeffersonian maxim. 'Equal rights to all and special privileges to none.' Shall the people rule? 13 the overshadowing issue which manifests itself In all the ques tions now under discussion. Officeholders. "Coincident with the enormous in crease In expenditures la a like addi tion tJ the number of ottlcLolders. Luring tho past year 23.784 were add 9l, costln; $16,150,000. and in the past tlx years of the It.'yubllcan admin istration the total number cf new of fices created, aside from many com missions, has been 9K.318, entailing an additional expenditure of nearly $70. 000,000, as against only 10,279 new of fices creuted-under the Cleveland and McKlnley administrations, which In volved an expenditure of only $.000. 000. We denounce this great and growing Increase in the number of of ficeholders as not only unne .ary and wasteful, but also as clearly indi cating a deliberate purpose on the part of the administration to keep the Republican party in power at public expense by thus Increasing the num ber of Its retainers and dependents. Such procedure we declare to be no less dangerous and corrupt than t'.ie open purchase of voters at the polls. Economy in Administration. - "The Republican congress in the session just ended has made appropri ations amounting to $1,008,000,000, ex ceeding the total expenditures of the past fiscal year by $90,000,000, and leaving a deficit of more than $60,000, 000 for the fiscal year. We denounce the heedless wa3te of the people's money, which has resulted in this ap palling increase, as a shameful viola tion of all prudent conditions of gov ernment as no less than a crime against the millions of workingmen and women, from whose earnings the great proportion of these colossal sums must be extorted through exces sive tariff exactions and other indi rect methods. It is not surprising that in the face of this shocking rec ord the Republican platform contains no reference to economical administra tion or promise thereof in the future. We demand that a stop be put to this frightful extravagance and insist upon the strictest economy In every depart ment compatible with frugal and ef ficient administration. House of Representatives. "The house of representatives was designed by the fathers of the consti tution to be the popular branch of our government, responsive to the public will. The house of representatives, as controlled in recent years by the Re publican party, has ceased to be a deliberative and legislative body, re sponsive to the will of a majority of its members, but has come under the absolute domination of the speaker, who has entire control of its delibera tions and powers of legislation. We Lave observed with amazement the popular branch of our federal govern ment helpless to obtain either the con sideration or enactment of measures desired by a majority of its members. Legislative government becomes a failure when one member, in the per son of the speaker, is more powerful than the entire body. "We demand that the house of rep resentatives shall again become a deliberative body, controlled by a ma jority of the people's representatives and not by the speaker, and wa pledge ourselves to adopt such rules and reg ulations to govern the house of repre sentatives as will enable a majority of its members to direct its deliberations and control legislation. Misuse of Patronage. "We condemn, as a violation of the spirit of our institutions, the action of the present chief executive in using the patronage of his high office to se cure the nomination of one of his cab inet officers. A forced succession in the presidency is scarcely less repug nant to public sentiment than is life tenure in that office. No good inten tion on the part of the executive and no virtue in the one selected can just ify the establishment of a dynasty. The right of the people to freely se lect their officials is inalienable and cannot be delegated. Publicity of Campaign Contributions. "We demand federal legislation for ever terminating the partnership which his existed between corpora tions of the country and the Republic an party under the expressed or im plied agreement that in return for the contribution of great sums of money wherewith to purchase elections they should be allowed to continue sub stantially unmolested in their efforts to encroach upon the rights of the people. "Any reasonable doubt as to the existence of this relation has been for ever dispelled by the sworn testimony of witnesses examined in the insur ance investigation in New York, and the open admission unchallenged by the Republican national committee of a single individual, that he himself, at the personal request of the Repub lican candidate for the presidency, raised' over a quarter of a million of dollars to be used in a single state during the closing hours of the last campaign. In order that this practice shall be stopped for all time, we de mand the passage of a statute punish ing with imprisonment any officer of a corporation who shall either contrib ute on behalf of, or consent to the contribution by, a corporation of any money or thing of value to be used in furthering the election of a president or vice president of the United States or of any member of the congress thereof. "We denounce the action of the Re publican party having complete con trol of the federal government for its failure to pass the bill, introduced in the last congress, to compel the publi cation of the names of contributors and the amounts contributed toward campaign funds, and point to the evi dence of their insincerity when they sought by an absolutely irrelevant and impossible amendment to defeat the passage of the hill. As a further evi dence of their intention to conduct their campaign in the coming contest with vast sums of money wrested from favor-seeking corporations, we call attention to the fact that the re cent Republican national convention at Chicago refused, when the issue was presented to it, to declare against such practices. "We pledge the Democratic party to the enactment of a law prohibiting any corporation from contributing to a campaign fund and any individual from contributing an amount above a reasonable minimum and providing for the publication before election of all such contributions above a reasonable minimum. Rights of the States. "Believing with Jefferson in the support of the state government in all their rights as the most competent administration for our domestic con cerns and' the surest bulwark against anti-republican tendencies, and in the preservation of the general govern ment 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 suggestions, now frequently made, that the powers of the general govern ment should be extended by executive and legislative action ail by judicial construction. There is no twilight zone between the nation and the state in which exploiting interests can take refuge from both, and it is as neces sary that the federal government shall exercise the powers delegated to it as it is that the state govern ment shall use the authority reserved to them, but we insist that the fed eral remedies for the regulation of interstate commerce and for the pre vention of private monopoly shall be added to, not substituted for, state remedies. Tariff. "We welcome the belated promise of tariff reform now offered' by the Republican party in tardy recog nition of the righteousness of the Democratic position on this question, but the people cannot safely entrust the execution of this important work to a party which is so deeply obligated to the highly protected interests as is the Republican party. We call atten tion to the significant fact that the promised relief was postponed until after the coming election an election to succeed in which the Republican party must have that same suppor from the beneficiaries of the high protective tariff as it has always here tofore receiver from them; and to the further fact that during years of unin terrupted power, no action whatever has been taken by the Republican congress to correct the admittedly ex isting tariff iniquities. "We favor an immediate revision of the tariff by the reduction of import duties. Articles entering into compe tition with trust-controlled products should be placed upon the free list, and material reductions should be made in the tariff upon the necessar ies of life, especially upon articles com peting with such American manufact ures as are sold abroad more cheaply than at home; and graduate reductions should be made in such other sched ules as may be necessary to restore the tariff to a revenue basis. "Existing duties have given to paper manufacturers a shelter behind which they have organized combinations to raise the price of pulp and of paper, thus imposing a tax upon the spread of knowledge. "We demand the immediate repeal of the tariff on wood pulp, print paper, lumber, timber and logs and that these articles be placed upon the free list. Trusts. "A private monopoly Is indefensible and intolerable. We, therefore, favor the vigorous enforcement of the crim inal law against guilty trust magnates and officials, and demand the enact ment of such additional legislation as rnaybe necessary to make it impossi ble for a private monopoly to exist in the United States. Among the addi tional remedies, we specify three: First, a law preventing a duplication of directors among competing corpora tions; second, a license system which will, without abridging the right of each state to create corporations, or its right to regulate as it will foreign 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 be permitted to control as much as 25 per cent of the product in which it deals, the license to protect the pub lie from watered stock and to prohibit the control by. such corporation cf more than 50 per cent of the total amount of any product consumed in the United States, and third, a lav 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. Railroad Regulation. "We assert the right of congress to exercise complete control over inter state commerce and the right of each state to exercise like control over commerce within its borders. "We demand such enlargement of the powers of the interstate commerce commission as may be necessary to compel railroads to perform their duties as common carriers and pre vent discrimination and extort con fidence. "We favor the efficient supervision and rate regulation of railroads en gaged in interstate commerce. To this end we recommend the valuation of railroads by the interstate com merce commission, such valuation to take into consideration the physical value of the property, the original cost and the cost of reproduction and all elements of value that will render the valuation fair and just. "We favor such legislation as will prevent the railroads from engaging in business which brings them into competition with their shippers, also legislation which will assure such re duction In transpoi tatiou rates as con d.ii.o will pei:iit. are be:;;? taken to avoid reduction that would compel a reluction of wages, prevent ade quate service cr do injustice to legiti mate investments. "We heartily approve the laws pro hibiting the pas and the rebate and we lavor any further necessary legis lation to restrain, correct and prevent abuses. "We favor such legislation as wil increase the power of the interstate commerce commission, giving to it the Initiative with reference to rates and transportation charges put into effect by the railroad companies, and per mitting the interstate commerce com mission, on its own initiative, to de clare a rate illegal and as being more than should be charged for such ser vice. That the present law relating thereto Is inadequate, by reason of the fact that the interstate commerce commission is without power to fix or Investigate a rate until complaint has been made to it by the shipper. "We further declare that all agree ments of traffic or other associations of railway agents affecting interstate rates, service or classification, shall be unlawful unless filed with and ap proved by the interstate commerce commission. "We favor the enactment of a law giving to the interstate commerce commission the power to inspect pro posed railroad tariff rates or sched ules before they shall take effect and, if they be found to be unreasonable, to initiate an adjustment thereof. Banking. "The panic of 1907, coming without any legitimate excuse, when the Re publican party had for a decade been in complete control of the federal government, furnishes additional proof that it Is either unwilling or incom petent to protect the interests of the general public. It has so linked the country to Wall street that the sins of the speculators are visited upon the whole people. While refusing to rescue the wealth producers from spoliation at the hands of the stock gamblers and speculators in farm products, it has deposited treasury funds, without interest and without competition, in favorite banks. It has used an emergency for which it is largely responsible to force through congress a bill changing the basis of bank currency and' inviting market manipulation, and has failed to give to the 15,000,000 depositors of the coun try protection in their savings. "We believe that insofar as the needs of commerce require an emer gency currency, such currency should be issued, controlled by the federal government and loaned on adequate security to national and state banks. We pledge ourselves to legislation un der which the national banks shall be required to establish a guarantee fund for the prompt payment of the depositors of any insolvent national bank, under an equitable system which sliall be available tb all state banking institutions wishing to use it. "We favor a postal savings bank, ii the guaranteed bank cannot be se cured, and that it be constituted so a3 to keep the deposited money in the communities where it is established. But we condemn the policy of the Re publican party in providing postal savings banks under a plan of conduct by which they will aggregate the de posits of rural communities and re deposit the same while under govern ment charge in the banks of Wall street, thus depleting the circulating medium of the producing regions and unjustly favoring the speculative mar kets. Income Tax. "We favor an income tax as part of our revenue system and we urge the submission of a constitutional amend ment specifically authorizing congress to levy and collect a tax upon individ ual and corporate incomes, to the end that wealth may bear its proportionate share of the burdens of the federal government. Labor and Injunctions. "The courts of justice are the bul wark of our liberties and we yield to none in our purpose to maintain their dignity. .Our party has given to tha bench a long line of distinguished judges who have added to the respect and confidence in which this depart ment must be zealously maintained. We resent the attempt of the Repub lican party to raise a false issue re specting the judiciary. It is an unjust reflection upon a great body of our citizens to assume that they lack re spect for the courts. It is the func tion of the courts to interpret the laws which the people create, and if the laws appear to work economical, social or political injustice, it is our duty to change them. The only basis upon which the integrity of our courts can stand is that of unswerving jus tice and protection of life, personal liberty and property. If judicial proc esses may be abused, we should guard them against abuse. "Experience has proven the neces sity of a modification of the present law relating to Injunctions and we re iterate the pledges of our national platforms of 1896 and 1904 in favor of the measure which passed the United States senate In 1896, but which a Re publican congress has ever since re fused to enact, relating to contempts in federal courts and providing for trial by jury in cases of indirect con tempt. "Questions of judicial practice have arisen, especially in connection with industrial disputes. We deem that the parties to all Judicial proceedings should be treated with rigid impartial ity and that Injunctions should not be issued in any case in which injunc tions would not issue if no industrial dispute were involved. "The expanding organization of in dustry makes it essential that there should be no abridgement of the right oi wage earners and producers to organize for the protection of wages and the Improvement of labor conditions, to the end that such labor organizations and their members should not be regarded as illegal com binations in restraint of trade. "We favor the eight-hour day on all government work. "We pledge the Democratic party to the enactment of a law by con gress, as far as the federal Jurisdic tion extends, for a general employers' liability act, covering injury to body or loss of life of employes. "We pledge the Democratic party to the enactment of a law creating a department of labor, represented sep arately in the president's cabinet, which department shall Include the subject of mines and mining. Merchant Marine. "We believe in the upbuilding of the American and merchant marine without new or additional burdens up on the people and without bounties from the public treasury. The Navy. "The constitutional provision that a navy shall be provided and main tained means an adequate navy, and we believe that the Interests of this country would best be served by hav ing a navy sufficient to defend the coasts of this country and protect American citizens wherever their rights may be In Jeopardy. Protection of American Citizens. "We pledge ourselves to insist upon the just and lawful protection of our citizens at home and abroad, and to use all proper methods to secure for them, whether native born or natural ized, without distinction of race or creed, the equal protection of law and the enjoyment of all rights and privileges open to them under our treaty; and if, under existing treaties, the right of travel and sojourn is de nied to American citizens, or recog nition is withheld from American passports by any countries on the ground of race or creed, we favor prompt negotiations with the govern ments of s ;h countries to secure the removal of these unjust discrimina tions. "We demand that all over the world a duly authenticated passport issued by the government of the United States to an American citizen shall be proof of the fact that he is an American citizen, and shall entitle him to the treatment due him as such. Civil Service. "The laws pertaining to the civil service should be honestly and rigidly enforced, to the end that merit ami ability shall be the standard of ap pointment and promotion rather thtia services rendered to the political party. Pensions. "We favor a generous pension pol icy, both as a matter of justice to th ? surviving veterans and their depe:..l ents and because it tends to relieve the country of the necessity of main taining a large standing army. Health Bureau. "We advocate the organization of all existing national public health agen cies into a national bureau of public health, with such power over sanitary conditions connected' with factories, mines, tenements, child labor and such other subjects as are properly with in the jurisdiction of the federal gov ernment and do not interfere with the power of the states controlling public health agencies. Agricultural and Mechanical Education "The Democratic party favors the extension of agricultural, mechanical and educational industry. We, there fore, favor the establishment of dis trict agricultural experiment stations, the secondary agricultural and me chanical colleges in the several states. Popular Election of Senators. "We favor the election of United States senators by direct vote of the people and regard this reform as the gateway to other national reforms. Oklahoma. "We welcome Oklahoma to the sis terhood of states and heartily con gratulate her on the auspicious begin ning of a great career. Arizona and New Mexico. "The national Democratic party has for the last sixteen years labored for the admission of Arizona and New Mexico as separate states of the union and recognizing that each possesses every qualification to successfully maintain separate state governments, we favor the immediate admission of these territories as states separate. Grazing Lands. "The establishment of rules and reg ulation, if any such are necessary, in relation to free grazing on public lands outside of forest or other res ervations until the same shall eventu ally be disposed of, should be left to the people of the states respectively in which such lands may be situated. Waterways. "Water furnishes the cheapest means of transportation and the na tional government, having the control of navigable waters, should improve them to their fullest capacity. We earnestly favor the immediate adop tion of a liberal and comprehensive plan for improving every water course in the union which is justified by the needs of commerce, and to secure that end we favor when practicable the connection of the great lakes with the navigable rivers and with the gulf through the Mississippi river, and the navigable rivers with each other, and the rivers, bays and sounds of our coasts with each other by artificial canals, with a view to perfecting a system of inland waterways to he navigated by vessels of standard draught. , - "We favor the co-ordination of the various services of the government connected' with waterways in one ser vice, for the purpose'of aiding in the completion of such a system of In land waterways, and we favor the we ut.ou of u fund amnle for continuous work, which shall be conduc ted under the dlrectljii of a commission of ex perts, to be authorized by law. Post Roads. "We favor federal aid to utate and, local authorities in the construction, a lid maintenance of post roads. Telegraph and Telephone. "We pledge the Democratic party to the enactment of a law to regulat-a the rates and services of telegraph and telephone companies engaged la the transmission of meatuses between the states under the Jurisdiction of the interstate commerce commission. Natural Resources. "We repeat the demand for internal development, and for the conservation of our natural resources, contained In previous platforms, the enforcement of which Mr. Roosevelt has vainly sought from a reluctant party; and to that end we Insist upon the preser vation, protection and replacement of needed forests, the preservation of the public domain for homeseekers, the protection of the national resources la. timber, coal, Iron and oil against mo nopolistic control, the development of our waterways for navigation and every other useful purpose, including the irrigation of arid lands, the recla mation of swamp lands, the clarifica tion of streams, the development of water power, and the preservation of electric power generated by thl3 nat ural force, from the control of monop oly, and to such end we urge the exer cise of all powers, national, statu an 1 municipal, both separately and iu co operation. "We insist upon a policy of admini stration of our forest reserves which shall relieve it of the abuses which have arisen thereunder, and which, shall, as far as practicable, conform to the police regulations. Hawaii. "We favor the-application of prin ciples of the land laws of the Unlteii States to our newly acquired territory, Hawaii, to the end that the public lands of that territory may be hell nd utilized for the benefit of bon fide homesteaders. Philippines. "We condemn the experiment la imperialism as an inexcusable blunder which has involved us in an enorrnou expense, brought us weakness instead! of strength and laid our nation open to the charge of abandoning a funda mental doctiine of self government. We favor an immediate declaration of the nation's purpose to recog; ze th independence of the Philippine island as soon as a stable government can be established, such independence to ba guaranteed by us as we guarantee the independence of Cuba until the neu tralization of the islands can be se cured by treaty with other powers. In recognizing the independence cf the Philippines our government should retain such land as may be necessary for coaling .stations and naval bases. Alaska and Porto Rico. "We demand for the people of Alaska and Porto Rico the full en joyment of the rights and privileges of a territorial form of government and the officials appointed to adminis ter the government of all our terri tories and the District of Columbia should be thoroughly qualified by pre vious bona fide residence. Panama Canal. "We believe the Panama canal will prove of great value to our country, and favor its speedy completion. Pan-American Relations. "The Democratic party recognizes the importance and advantage of de veloping closer ties of pan-American friendship and commerce between the United Stales and her sister nationa of Latin-America and favors the tak ing of such steps, consistent with Democratic policies, for better ac quaintance, greater mutual confidence and larger exchange of trade, as will bring lasting benefits not only to the United' States, but to this group of American republics having constitu tions, forms of government, ambitions and interests akin to our own. Asiatic Immigration. "We favor full protection, by both national and state governments with in their respective spheres, of all for eigners residing in the United States under treaty, but we are opposed to the admission of Asiatic immigrants who cannot be amalgamated with our population or whose presence among us would raise a race issue and in folve us in diplomatic controversies with Oriental powers. Foreign Patents. "We believe that where an Amer ican citizen holding a patent In a for eign country is compelled to manu facture under his patent within a cer tain time, similar restrictions should be applied in thi3 country to the citi zen or subjects of Euch a country. Conclusion. "The Democratic party stands for democracy; the Republican party has drawn to P.self all that Is aristocratic and plutocratic. "The Democratic party is the cham pion of equal rights and opportunities to all; the Republican party is the party of privilege and private monop oly. The Democratic party listens to. the voice of the whole people and guages progress by the prosperity and advancement of the average man; the Republican party is subservient to the comparatively few, who are the bene ficiaries of governmental favoritism. We Invite the co-operation cf all, re gardless of previous political affilia tions or past differences, who desire to preserve a government of the peo ple, by the people and' for the people, and who favor such an adminlstratloa of government as wi'l Insure, as well as human wisdom can, that each citi zen shall draw from society a reward, commensurate with his contrlbutlea. to the welfare of society." i r r 1 i J 1 z V,