The Commoner.
JULY 10; 1908
&.
&
?
THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL PLATFORM
Tho democratic national platform Is as
follows:
We rejoice at the increasing signs of an
awakening throughout the country. 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 to free the government from
the grip of those who have made It a business
asset for seeking corporations; it must become
again a people's government, and be adminis
tered in all its departments according to the
Jeffersonlan maxim of ' 'equal rights to all and
special privileges to none.
Shall tho people rule? Is the overshadow
ing issue which manifests itself in all the ques
tions now under consideration.
LABOR AND INJUNCTIONS
The courts of justice are the bulwark of
our liberties and we yield to none in our pur
pose to maintain their dignity. Our party has
given to the bench a long line of distinguished
judges who have added to the respect and con
fidence in which this department must be jeal
ously maintained. We resent the attempt of
the republican party to raise a false issue re
epecting the judiciary. It Is an unjust reflec
tion upon a great body of our citizens to as
sume that they lack respect for the courts. It
is the function of the courts to Interpret the
laws which the people create, and if the laws
appear to work economic, social or political in
justice, it is our duty to change them. The only
basis upon which the integrity of our courts
can stand is that of unswerving justice and pro
tection of life, personal liberty and property.
If judicial processes may be abused, we should
guard them against abuse.
Experience has proven the necessity of a
modification of the present law, relating to in
junctions and we reiterate 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 republican congress
has ever since refused to enact, relating to con
tempts in federal courts and providing for triaL
hy jury in cases of indirect contempt.
Questions of judicial practice hav arisen
especially in connection with industrial dis
putes. We deem that the parties to all judicial
proceedings should be treated with rigid im
partiality and that injunctions should not be
issued in any cases in which injunctions would
not issue if no industrial dispute were involved.
The expanding organization of industry
makes it essential that there should be no
no abridgement of the right of wage earners
and producers to organize for tie 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
combinations in restraint of trade.
We favor the eight hour day on all govern
ment work. . ,,
We pledge the democratic party to the en
actment of a law by congress -- far as the fed
eral jurisdiction extends for general employ
ers' liability act covering injury to body or loss
of life of employes.
We pledge the democratic party to the en
actment of a law creating a department of labor,
represented separately in the president's cabi
net, which department shall include the subject
of mines and mining.
TARIFF
We welcome the belated promise of tariff
reform now offered by the republican party in
tardy recognition of the righteousness of the
democratic position on this question. But the
people can not 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 attention to
the significant fact that the promised relief is
postponed until after the coming election an
election to succeed in which the republican party
must have that same support from the beneficiar
ies of the high protective tariff as it has always
heretofore received from them; and to the
further fact that during years of uninterrupted
power no action whatever has been taken by
the republican congress to correct the admitted
ly existing tariff iniquities. .
We favor immediate revision of the tariff
by the reduction of import duties, articles en
tering Into competition' with trust controlled
products should be placed upon the freo list, and
material reductions should be made in the tariff
upon the necessaries of life and especially upon
articles competing with such American manufac
tures as are sold abroad more cheaply than at
home, and a gradual reduction should be made
in such other schedules as may be necessary
to restore the tariff to a revenue basis.
Existing duties have given to the manu
facturers of paper a shelter behind which they
have organized combinations to raise tho price
of pulp and of paper, thus imposing a tax upon
the spread of knowledge. We demand tho im
mediate repeal of the tariff on wood pulp, print
paper, lumber, timber and logs and that these
articles be placed upon the free list.
ARBITRARY RULE OF SPEAKER
The house of representatives was designed
by the fathers of the constitution to be the pop
ular branch of our government responsive to tho
public will.
The house of representatives, as controlled
in recent years by the republican partv has
ceased to be a deliberative and legislative body,
responsive to the will of a majority of It -. mem
bers, but has come under the absolute c'omina
tlon of the speaker who has entire control of
its deliberations and powers of legislation.
We have observed with amazement the
popular branch of our federal government help
less to obtain either the consideration or en
actment of measures desired by a majority of
its members.
Legislative government becomes a failure
when one member In the person of the speaker
is more powerful than the entire body.
We demand that the house of representa
tives shall again become a deliberative body,
controlled by a majority of the peoples' repre
sentatives and not by the speaker and wo pledge
ourselves to adopt such rules and regulations
to govern the house of representatives as will
enable a majority of Its members to direct Its
deliberations and control legislation.
PUBLICITY OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
We demand federal legislation, forever ter
minating tho partnership which existed between
corporations of the country and the republican
party under the expressed or implied agreement
that the receipt of large sums of money whereby
to purchase elections they should be allowed
to continue In their efforts to encroach upon the
rights of the people.
Any reasonable doubt as to the existence
of this relation has been forever dispelled by
the sworn testimony of witnesses examined in
the insurance investigation In New York and
the open admission, unchallenged by the repub
lican national committee of a single Individual
that he himself at the personal request of the
republican candidate for the presidency raised
over a quarter of a million dollars to be used
in, a single state during the closing hours of
the last convention and campaign. In order
that this practice shall be stopped for all time
we demand the passage of a statute punishing
with imprisonment any officer of a corporation
who shall either contribute on behalf of or con
sent to the contribution by a corporation of any
money or anything of value to be used in further
ing the election of a president or vice president
of the United States or any member of congress
thereof. We denounce the action of the repub
lican party having compete control of tho
federal government for Its failure to pass the
bill, introduced in the last congress, to compel
the publication of the names of contributors and
the amounts contributed toward campaign funds
and point to the evidence of their insincerity,
when they sought by an absolutely irrelevant
and impossible amendment to defeat the passage
of the bill, as a further evidence of their in
tention 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 recent republican national con
vention at Chicago refused, when the issue was
presented to it, to declare against such practices.
We pledge the democratic party to the en
actment of a law prohibiting any corporation
from contributing to a campaign fund and any
individual from contributing an amount above
a reasonable amount and providing for the pub
lication before election of dl contribution above
a reasdh'ablo minimum.
RAILROAD REGULATION
Wo nssort tho right of congress to oxcrclse
complete control over interstate commerce and
tho right of each state to exercise liko control
over commerco within its borders.
Wo demand such enlargement of tho pow
ers of the Interstate commerco commission as
may be necessary to compel railroads to per
form their duties as common carriers and pre
vent discrimination and restoro confidence.
Wo favor tho efllclont supervision and reg
ulation of railroads engaged In intorstato com
merce. To this end we recommend tho valua
tion of railroads by the intorstato commerco
commission, such valuation to take into con
sideration tho physical valuo of the property tho
original cost and tho cost of reproduction arid
elements of valuo that will render tho valuation
fair and just.
Wo favor such legislation as will prevent
the railroads from engaging In business which
brings them Into competition wli'i their ship
pers; also legislation which will assure such re
duction In transportation rates ns conditions will
permit, care being taken to avoid reduction that
would compel a reduction of wages, provont In
adequate service or do Injustice to legitimate in
vestments. Wo heartily approve tho laws prohibiting
tho pass and the rebate and we favor any farther
necessary legislation to restrain and correct such
abuses.
Wo favor such legislation as will Incroaso
tho power of tho interstate dommorco commis
sion, giving to it tho Initiative with reference to
rates and transportation charges put Into effect
by the railroad companies, and permitting tho
intorstato commerco commission on Its own In
itiative to declare a rate illegal and as being
moro than should bo charged for such service.
Tho present law relating thereto Is inadequate
by reason of tho fact that the Interstate com
merce commission is without power to fix or in
vestigate a rate until complaint has been made
to It by tho shipper.
Wo further declare that all agreements of
traffic or other associations of railway agents
affecting intorstato rates, service or classifica
tion should bo unlawful unless filed with and
approved by the interstate commerce commis
sion. We favor tho enactment of a law giving to
the Interstate commerco commission tho power
to inspect proposed railway tariff rates or schodf.
ulos before they shall take effect and if they,,
be found to be unreasonable to Initiate an ad-,
justment thereof.
ECONOMY IN ADMINISTRATION
The republican congress In the session just
ended has made appropriations amounting to
$1,008,000,000, exceeding the total expenditures
of the past fiscal year by $90,000,000, and leav
ing a deficit of moro than $00,000,000 for the
fiscal year. Wo denounce tho heedless waste of
the peoples' money which has resulted in this
appalling increase as a shameful violation of
all prudent conditions of government as no less
than a crime against tho millions of working
men and women from whoso earnings the great
proportion of these collosal sums must be ex
torted through excessive tariff exactions and
other Indirect methods, tl Is not surprising
that In the face of this shocking record the re
publican platform contains no reference to
economical administration or promise thereof
in the future. Wo demand that a stop be put
to this frightful extravagance and insist upon
the strictest economy in every department com
patible with a frugal and efficient administra
tion. BANKING
The panic of 1907, coming without any
legitimate excuse when tho republican party had
for a decade been in complete control of tho fed
eral government furnishes additional proof that
it is either unwilling or Incompetent to protect
the interests of the general public. It lias 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 spolliatlon at the hands of the
stock gamblers, and speculators In farm pro
ducts, 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
m
H
M
m
fl'
fcMmmrtmttffimwiifc .
l . ... ,!,;.' ' .Z . .'... . - ., !.,. ., - - --, fm I Milan ini fin t pi
iitfctM
MMMJWM"MMM-MIMftlltftflii1ftif "TiltltfifflirrtwTfifirr l.fT-" """- !-"' ii i i(iipiiii in i . ,-,-.,. , ,.
t-- 1 i - "4 4
