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JANUARY IB, 1904.
The Commoner.
MR. BRYAN ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Mr. Bryan lias written for the Encyclopedia
Americana, now being published by the Americana
company of New York, an article on the demo
cratic party. This article gives in condensed form
the history of the democratic party together with
a discussion of some of the more important issues
advocated by that organization, and it is re
produced in The Commoner by courtesy of the pub
lishers. Papers quoting from this article will
please give credit td the Encyclopedia Americana.
The concluding chapter is given in this issue.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
In May, 1872, a convention known as the lib
eral republican- convention was held at Cincin
nati, O., and nominated Horace Greeley of New
York for president and Benjamin Gratz Brown of
.Missouri for vice president. The platform de
manded the recognition of the. doctrines of equal
ity of all men before the law, and pledged the
party's support of articles 13, 14 and 15 of our
amended national constitution. It favored the
sacred maintenance of the public, credit, opposed
repudiation and insisted- upon, the return to specie
payments.
The democrats met on Juiy 9 at Baltimore and
nominated the same ticket and adopted a Plat
form substantially like the one adopted by the
liberal republicans.
Those members of the democratic party de
scribing themselves as "straight-out" democrats
met September 3 following, and nominattd
Charles O'Connor of New York for president and
John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts for vice
president; although both declined, nearly 30,000
votes were cast for the head of the ticket. The
platform declared that the Baltimore convention
had betrayed the rarty into a false creed and
false leadership, and' proclaimed that the mem
bers of the "straight-out" democratic party pre
ferred principle to power, and would not surren
der those principles in exchange for offices which
presidents confer. The election resulted in an
overwhelming victory for the republican ticket,
Grant and, Wilson receiving 28G electoral votes
out -of 317, and a popular plurality of more than
750,000.
The nomination of Horace Greeley Drought to
his party a large number of influential republi
cans and alienated many democrats, yet the par
ty's vote was only about 125,000 more than the
democratic vote of 1868; while the republican vote
of 1872 was nearly 600,000 greater than the vote
of four years before.
The democrats entered the campaign of 1876
with courage and confidence. The discovery of
corruption in several of the departments, and the
conviction of officials nigh in authoiity, together
with the panic of 1873, had broken the prestige
of the republican party and caused a wide-spread
demand for reform. The democratic party took
advantage of the situation, and nominated as its
candidates Samuel J. Tilden of New York, who
had become conspicuous in reform in his state,
and Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana, who rep
resented all that was highest, purest and best in
democratic principle and purpose. The platform
described the abuses of power and demanded re
form in every department. Among other tnings,
it demanded reform ,in the tariff, ana condemned
the resumption clause of 1875.
- The campaign resulted in a popular plurality
of 250,000 for Tilden and Hendricks. The result,
however, was disputed, and charges of fraud were
made in the election of several states. The situa
tion grew so serious that congress created an elec
toral commission to which the whole matter was
referred. This commission was composed of five
senators selected by that body, five members of
congress selected by that body, and the five
senior members of the supreme court.
The senate being republican selected 3 repub
licans and 2 democrats; the house being demo
cratic selected 3 democrats and 2 republicans, and
of the judges 3 were republicans and 2 democrats.
The electoral commission thus contained 8 ropub
. anJ democrats, and on every contested
?hS2?n X 8t00d 8 to 7' each member
throwing his vote so that it would aid his party.
The democrats of 1880 indorsed the principles
embodied in the platform of 186, protested against
centralization as dangerous to the government
and denounced the "great fraud of 1876 and 1877
by which upon a false count of the olcctoral votes
of two states the candidato defeated at tho polls
was declared to be president, and for uio first
time in American aistory tno will of tho pcoplo
was set aside under a threat of military violence."
The righting of tho wrong of 18f6 was declared
to bo the paramount issue. Gen. Winllold Scott
Hancock, the democratic nominee, weakened his
campaign by putting the tariff question aside as "a
local issue." He was defeated, however, by a pop
ular vote of less than 10,000, and only by 50 votes
in the electoral college.
In 1884 the democrats met at Chicago and
nominated Grover Cleveland of New York for
president and Thomas A. Hendrlcus of Indiana
for vice president. A platform of great length
was adopted; the tariff question being the ono .
discussed at most length. Tho platform contained
the following plank on the money question: "Wo
believe in honest money, the gold and silver coin
age of the constitution, and a circulating medium
convertible into such money without loss." ibis
platform also contained a plank reaffirming tnat
portion of the democratic platform of 1856, which
indorsed the liberal principles of Jefferson.
Tho republican ticket, headed by James G.
Blaine and John A. Logan, received a plurality of
a little more than 20,000 in tho popular vote, but
Mr. Cleveland had 37 majority in the electoral col
lege. Tho democratic platform of 1888 reaffirmed tho
platform adopted in 1884, and indorsed the presi
dent's view on the tariff question as expressed in
the tariff message which ho sent to congress in
December, 1887. The tariff question was mado
the paramount issue, and the campaign waged on
this question, and resulted in tho election of vtho
republican ticket, and its candidates, Benjamin
Harrison and Levi P. Morton, that ticket hav
ing a majority of 65 in the electoral college, al
though tho democratic ticket had a popular plu
rality of aliout 100,000.
During the Cleveland administration an at
tempt was made to reduce tho tariff, and tho
Mills bill received the support of the democratic
members of the senate and house. The republi
cans, however, took advantage of the republican
victory of 1888 to propose and enact a high tariff
law, known as the McKinley act, taking its name
from the chairman of tho ways and means com
mittee of the house. The passage of this law was
followed by an increase in prices of commodities,
and it became the paramount Issue in the follow
ing campaign of 1892. The democratic party that
year nominated Grover Cleveland for a third
time, and named Adlal E. Stevenson of Illinois as
his running mate.
There was a fight in the convention over the
tariff plank, and as finally adopted it declared that
the federal government had no constitutional
power to impose and collect tariff duties except
for revenue only. The trusts were denounced, and
the party pledged to the enactment of laws made
to prevent and control them.
The money plank of the platform was as fol
lows: "Wo denounce the republican legislation
known as the Sherman act of 1890 as a cowardly
makeshift, fraught with possibilities of danger in
the future which should make all of its support
ers, as well as Its author, anxious for its speedy
repeal. We hold to the use of both gold and silver
as the standard money of tho country, and to the
coinage of both gold and silver without discrim
ination against either metal or charge for mint
age, but the dollar unit of coinage of both metals
must be of equal Intrinsic and exchangeable value
or be adjusted through international agreement,
or by such safeguards of legislation as shall en
sure the maintenance of the parity of the two
metals, and the equal power of every dollar at all
times in the markets and in the payment of debts;
and we demand that all paper currency shall be
kept at par with and redeemable in such coin.
We insist upon this policy as especially necessary
for tho protection of the farmers and laboring
classes, the first and most defenseless victims of
unstable money and a fluctuating currency.
President Harrison was renominated by the
renublicans and Whitelaw Reld was placed upon
tKiket T with him. In the election the democratic
ticket polled J ? plurality of W2 in the electoral col-
logo nnd a popular plurality of about 380,000. Tho
people's party nominated Jomea li. Weaver of
Iowa for prcaldont and Jamos G. Klold of Vir
ginia for vlco president, and pollod a little moro
than 1,000,000 votes.
During President Cleveland's second term,
two questions occupied public nttontlon, tho money
question nnd tho tariff quoatlon. Congress wan
called together in extraordinary session In Aug
ust, 1893, and tho president rocommonded tho
unconditional repeal of tho Shorrnan law. By
roferonco to tho domocrntlc platform of 1892 it
wlll.be seen that tho monoy plank contained a
statement of tho party's faith In tho double stand
ard, as well as its desire for tho repeal of tho
Shorman act, and an effort to repeal tho make
shift without restoring tho doublo standard
caused a division In tho ranks of tho party, but
the president succeeded in securing tho legislation
which he desired; doing this, ho'vevor he had
tho support of a larger percentage of the repub
lican senators and members than ho had of tho
democrats.
Congressman Wilson, fhalrman of tho ways
and means committee, reported a moasurc which
bears his name,. and tho bill as it passed tho
house was satisfactory to tho friends of tariff re
form, but It was emasculated by tho senate, whoro
a coterie of democratic senators refused to sup
port It until tho rates of several schedules wcro
raised. Tho president refused to sign tho bill, but
allowed It to becomo a law without his signature.
This bill contained an income tax, but this clause
was declared unconstitutional by tho supremo
court, the voto standing 5 to 4. Tho decision was
rendered at tho second hearing; at tho first hear
ing tho voto stood 4 to 4, nnd us tho ninth judgo
who was not present until the second hearing
favored the tax, it required a change of opinion on
tho part of ono of the judges to render the income
tax inoperative
After tho passage of the tariff law tho cur
rency question again occupied the attention of
congress and became tho paramount issue in tho
campaign of 1896. Tho monoy Issue was fought
out In the party and tho delegates to tho Chicago
convention were Instructed to carry out the finan
cial policy indorsed by the members of the state
convention selecting them, who in turn had boon
instructed by county conventions. As a result of
this inter-party contest, the advocates of bimetal
lism won a decisive victory having moro than
two-thirds of tho national delegates.
The following platform was adopted:
"We, the democrats of tho United States in
national convention assembled, do reaffirm our al
legiance to those great essential principles of jus
tice and liberty, upon which our institutions are
founded, and which tho democratic party has ad
vocated from Jefferson's tlm$ to our own freedom
of speech, freedom of press, freedom of consclenco,
the preservation of personal rights, the equality of
all citizens before tho law, and the faithful ob
servance of constitutional limitations.
"During all these years tho democratic party
has resisted tho tendency of selfish Interests to
the centralization of governmental power, and
steadfastly maintained the integrity of the duaf,
scheme of government established hy the founds
ers of this republic of republics. Under its guld
ings and teachings the great principle of local
self-government has found its best expression in
tho maintenance of tho rights of the states and in
its assertion of the necessity of confining the gen
eral government to the exercise of the powers
granted by the constitution of the United States
"The constitution of the United States guar
antees to every citizen the rights of civil and re
ligious liberty. Tho democratic party has always
been the exponent of political liberty and rellgioud
freedom, and It renews its obligations and reaf-
firms its devotions to these fundamental principles
of the constitution.
"Recognizing tnat the money question Is para
mount to all others at this time, we Invite atten
tion to the fact that the federal constitution
named silver and gold together as the money
metals of the United States, and that the firs
coinage law passed by congress under the consti
tution made the silver dollar the monetary unit,
and admitted gold to free coinage at a ratio based
upon the silver-dollar unit.
"We declare that tho act o'. 1&73 demonetizing
silver without the knowledge or approval gl thii,
American people has resulted in the appreciation
of gold and a corresponding fall in the prices ol
commodities produced by the people; a heavy in4
crease in the burden of taxation and of all debtar,
public and private; tho enrichment of the money
(Continued on Page 11.)
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