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' would compol a reduction of wages, prevent
adoqunto service or do injUstico to legitimate in
vestments. Wo heartily" approvo the laws prohibiting
the pass and the rebate and wo favor any f irther
necessary legislation to restrain, correct and
prevent such abuses.
We favor such legislation as will increase
the powor of tho interstate commerce commis
sion, giving to it tho initiative with reference to
rates and transportation charges put into effect
by tho railroad companies, and permitting tho
interstate commerce commission on its own in
itiative to declare a rate illegal and as being
more than should bo charged for such service.
The present law relating thereto is inadequate
by reason of tho fact that tho interstate com
merco commission is without power to fix or in
vestigate a rate until complaint has been mado
to it by tho shipper.
Wo further declaro in favor of a law pro
viding that all agreements of trafllc or other as
sociations of railway agents affecting interstate
rates, service or classification shall be unlawful
unless filed with and approved by the intorstato
commerce commission.
Wo favor tho enactment of a law giving to
tho intorstato commerce commission the power
to inspect proposed railroad tariff rates or sched
ules before they shall take offect and if they
bo found to bo unreasonable to initiate an ad
justment thereof.
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE
Wo pledge the democratic party to the en
actment of a law to regulate, under f1 jurisdic
tion of the interstate commerce commission, the
rates and services of telegraph and telephone
companies engaged in tho transmission of mes
sages betweon tho states. ..-,
BANKING
The panic of 1907, coming without-any
logitlmate excuso when the republican party had
for a decade beqn in complete control of the fed
eral government furnishes additional proof that
It is either unwilling or incompetent to protect
tho interests of the general public. It has so
linked tho 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 tho
stock gamblers, and speculators In farm pro
ducts, it has deposited treasury funds, without
Interest and without competition in favorite
banks. It has used on omergency 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 fifteen million depositors of the
country protection in their savings.
We believe that insofar as the needs of
commerce require an emergency currency, such
currency should, be issued and controlled by tho
federal government and loaned oh adequate se-
curlty to national and state banks. We pledge
" ourselves to legislation under which the national
bankB shall bo required to establish a guarrntee
fund for tho prompt paymont of the depositors
of any insolvent national bank, under an equi
table system which shall be available to all state
banking institutions wishing to use it.
We favor a postal savings bank if the guar
anteed bank can not be secured and believe that
it should be so constituted as to keep the depos
ited money in the communities where the depos
itors live. But wo condemn the policy of tho re
publican pnrty in proposing postal savings banks
under a plan of conduct by which they will
aggregate tho deposits of the rural communities
and redeposit the same while under government
charge in tho banks of Wall Street, thus deplet
ing the circulating medium of tho producing
regions and unjustly favoring the speculative
markets.
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 tho 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
specting the judiciary. It is a'- unjust reflec
tion upon a great body of cw citizens to as
sume that they lack respect for the courts It
is the function of the courts to interpret the
laws which tho people create, and if the laws
appear to work economic, soda' or political in
justice, It is our duty to change them. The only
basis upon which the integrity cf our courts
can stand is that of unswerving justice and pro-
The Commoner.
tection of life, personal liberty and property.
If judicial processes may bo abused, wo should
guard them against abuse.
Experience has proved tho necessity of a
modification of the present law, relating to in
junctions and wo reiterate the pledge of our
national platforms of 1896 and 1904 in favor
of the measuro which passed tho 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
by jury in cases of indirect contempt.
Questions of judicial practice hav arisen
especially In connection with industrial dis
putes. Wo believe that the parties to all judicial
proceedings should be -treated with rigid im
partiality and that Injunctions should not bo
issued in any cases in which injunctions would
not issue if no industrial disput" were involved.
The expanding organisation of industry
makes it essential that there should be no
abridgement of tho right of 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
combinations in restraint of trade.
We favor the eight hour dar on all govern
ment work.
Wo pledge the democratic party to th en
actment of a law by congress as far as tho fed
eral jurisdiction extends for a 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, in which department shall be included the
subject of mines and mining.
THE PHILIPPINES
We condemn the experiment in imperialism
as an Inexcusable blunder which has involved ,
us in enormous expense, brought us weak-,
ness instead of strength, an'd laid our nation
open to the charge of abandoning a fundamental
doctrine of "self-government. Wo favor an im
mediate declaration of the nation's purpose to
recognize tho independence of the Philippine
islands as soon as a stable government can be
established, such independence to be guaranteed
by us as we guarantee the independence of Cuba
until the, neutralization of tb,e islands can be
secured by treaty with other powers. In recog
nizing the independence of the Philippines our
government should retain such land as may be
necessary for coaling stations and naval bas'".
WATERWAYS
t
Water . furnishes tho cheaper means of :
transportation and tho national government hav
ing the control of navigable waters should im
prove them to their fullest capacity. We earn
estly favor tho immediato adoption of a liberal
and comprehensive plan for improving every
water course in the union which U justified
by the needs of commerce and to secure that
end we favor, when practicable, tho connection
of the Great Lakes with the navigable rivers
and with the Gulf through the Mississippi river
and the navigable rivers with each other by
artificial canals, with a view to perfecting a
system of inland waterways to be navigated by
vessels of standard draught.
Wo favor tho co-ordination of the various
services of .the government connected with water
ways in one service for tho purpose of aiding in
tho completion of such a system of inland wa
terways; and wo favor the creation of a fund
ample for continuous work, which shall be con
ducted under the direction of a commission of
exports to bo authorized by law.
MERCHANT MARINE
Wo believe in the upbuilding of the Ameri
can merchant marine without new or additional
burdens upon the people and without bounties
from the public treasury.
THE NAVY
The constitutional provision that a navy
shall be provided and maintained means an ad
equate navy, and we believe that tho interests
of this country would be best served by having
a navy sufficient to defend the coasts of this
country and protect American citizens wherever
their rights may be in jeopardy.
PROTECTION OP 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 method's to
. secure for them whether native born or natural
ized and without distinction of race or creed'
VOLUME 8, NUMBER. 81
tho equal projection of the law and tho enjoy
ment of all rights and privileges open to them
under our treaties; and if, under existing treaties
the right of travel and sojourn is denied to
American citizens or recognition is withheld
from American passport's by any countries on tho
ground of race or creed we favor prompt nego
tiations with the governments of such countries
to secure the removal of these unjust discrim
inations. We demand that all over the world a duly
authenticated passport issued by the govern
ment of the United States to an American citizen
shall be proof of tho fact that he is an American
citizen and shall entitle him to the treatment
duo him as such.
FOREIGN PATENTS
We believe that where an American citizen
holding a patent in a foreign country is com
pelled to manufacture under his patent within
a certain time, similar restrictions should be
applied in this country to the citizens or sub
jects of such a country.
CIVIL SERVICE
The law pertaining to the civil service
should be honestly and rigidly enforced to the
end that merit and ability shall be the standard
of appointment and promotion rather than ser
vices rendered to a political party.
PENSIONS
We favor a generous pension policy, both
as a matter of justice to the surviving veterans
and their dependents, and because it tends to
relieve tho country of the necessity of maintain
ing a largo standing army.
HEALTH BUREAU
We advocate the organization of all exist
ing national public health agencies into a na
tional bureau of public health with such
power over sanitary conditions connected with
factories, mines, tenements, child labor, and
such other subjects as are properly within the
jurisdiction of the federal government and do
not interfere with the power of the states con
trolling public health agencies.
AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL EDUCA
TION Tho democratic party favors the extension
of agricultural, mechanical and industrial edu
cation. We therefore favor the establishment
of district agricultural experiment stations and
secondary agricultural and mechanical colleges
in the several states.
OKLAHOMA
We welcome Oklahoma to the sisterhood of
states and heartily congratulate her upon the
auspicious beginning of a great career.
ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO
The national democratic party has for the
last sixteen years labored for tho. admission
of Arizona and New Mexico as separate states
of the federal union, and recognizing that each
possesses every qualification successfully to
maintain separate state governments, we favor
the immediate admission of these territories as
separato states.
ALASKA AND PORTO RICO
We demand for the people of Alaska and
Porto Rico the full enjoyment of the rights and
privileges of a territorial form of government
and that the officials appointed to administer tho
government of all our territories 'and the Dis
trict of Columbia should bo thoroughly qualified
by previous bona fide residence.
HAWAII
We favor the application of tho principles
of the land laws of the United States to our
newly acquired territory, Hawaii, to the end that
the public, lands of that territory may bo held
and utilized for the benefit of bona fide home
steaders. POST RCADS
We favor federal aid to state and local
authorities in the construction and maintenance
of post roads.
NATURAL RESOURCES
We repeat the demand for intt.nal develop
ment, and for tho conservation of our natural
resources, contained in previous platforms, tho
enforcement of which Mr. Roosovelt has vainly
sought from a reluctant party; 'nd to that end
we insist upon the preservation, protection and
replacement , of needed forests, tho preservation
of tho public domain for homeseekers, tho, pro-
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