: fv I Adopted by the National Convention f in Saint Louis. f * * H'4 HX I-H' H K-iM5 * The Democratic party of the United States , in national convention assembled , declares Us devotion to the essential prin ciples of the Democratic faith which brings us together in party communion. Under them l > cal self-government and na tional unity nud prosperity were alike es tablished. They underlaid our independ ence , the structure of our free republic and every Democratic extension from Louisiana to California and Texas to Oregon , which preserved faithfully In all the States the tie betvreen taxation and representation. Thev yet inspire the masses of our people , guarding Jealously their rights and liberties and cherishing their fraternity , peace and orderly development. They remind us of our duties and respon sibilities as citizens and impress upon us , particularly at this time , the necessity of reform and the rescue of the administra tion or government from the headstrong , arbitrary and spasmodic methods which dis tract business by uncertainty and pervade the public mind with dread , distrust and perturbation. Fundamental Principles. The application of these fundamental principles to the living Issues of the day Is the first step toward the assured peace , safety and progress of our nation. 1-ree- doni ef the press , of conscience and of speech equality before the law of all citi zens ; right of trial by jury ; Ireedom of the person defended by the writ of habeas corpus ; liberty of personal contract untrammeled - trammeled by sumptuary law. : ? ; supremacy of the civil over military authority ; a well- disciplined militia ; the separation of church and State ; economy in expenditures ; low taxes , that labor may be lightly burdened ; prompt and sacred fulfillment of public and private obligations ; fidelity to treaties ; peace and friendship with all nations ; en tangling alliances with none ; absolute ac quiescence in the will of the majority , the vital principle of republics these are doc trines which Democracy has established approved by the nation , and they should be constantly invoked and enforced. Capital and "Labor. We favor the enactment and administra tion of laws giving labor and capital Im partially their Just rights. Capital and labor ought not to be enemies. Each is necessary to the other. Each has its rights , but the rights of labor are certainly no less "vested , " no less "sacred" and no le&s "Inalienable" than the rights of capital. Constitutional Guarantees. Constitutional guarantees are violated whenever any citizen is denied the right to labor , acquire and enjoy property or reside where Interest or inclination may deter mine. Any denial thereof by individuals , organizations or governments should be Bummarily rebuked and punished. We deny the right of any executive to ilsregard or suspend any constitutional priv ilege or limitation. Obedience to the laws and respect for their requirements are alike the supreme duty of the citizen and the official. The military should be used only to sup port and to maintain the law. We un qualifiedly condemn its employment for the summarv banishment of citizens without trial or "for the control of elections. We approve the measure which passed the United States Senate In 1S96 , but which a Republican Congress has ever since re fused to enact , relating to contempts in Federal courts and providing for trial by Jury in cases of indirect contempt. Water Ways. We favor liberal appropriations for the care and improvement of the water ways of the country. When any water way like the Mississippi River is of sulScient im portance to demand special aid of the gov ernment such aid should be extended , with a definite plan of continuous work until permanent Improvement Is secured. We oppose the Republican policy of starv ing home development In order to feed the greed for conquest and the appetite f&r national "prestige" and display of strength. Economy of Administration. Lar e reductions can easily be made in the annual expenditures of the government without Impairing the efliciency of any branch of the public service , and we shall insist "upon tue strictest economy and fru gality compatible with vigorous and effi cient" civil , military and naval administra tion as a right of the people too clear to be denied or withheld. We favor honesty in the public service and the enforcement of honesty in the pub lic service , and to that end a thorough leg islative Investigation of those executive de partments of the government already known to teem with corruption , as well as other departments suspected of harboring corruption , and the punishment of ascer tained corruptionists without fear or favorer or regard to persons. The persistent and deliberate refusal of both the Senate and the House of Repre sentatives to penult such Investigation to be made demonstrates that only by a change in the executive and in the legis lative departments can complete exposure , punishment and correction be obtained. Contract -vvith Trusts. We condemn the action of the Republican party in Congress in refusing to prohibit an executive department from entering into contracts with convicted trusts or un lawful combinations In restraint of Inter state trade. We believe that one of the best methods of procuring economy and honesty in the public sen-ice is to have public officials , from the occupant of the White House down to the lowest of them , return as nearly as may be to Jeffersonlan simplicity of living. Executive Usurpation. We favor the nomination and election of a President , imbued with the principles of the constitution , who will set his face sternly against executive usurpation of leg islative and Judicial functions , whether that usurpation be veiled under the guise of ex ecutive construction of existing laws or whether it take refuge In the tyrant's pleas of necessity or superior wisdom. . . Imperialism. We favor -preservation , so far as we can , of an open door for the world's com merce In the Orient without an unneces sary entanglement in Oriental and Euro pean affairs and without arbitrary , unlim ited. Irresponsible and absolute government anywhere within our jurisdiction. We op pose , as fervently as did George Washing ton himself , aa indefinite , irresponsible , dis cretionary and vague absolutism and a pol icy of colonial exploitation , no matter where or by whom Invoked or exercised ; we believe with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams that no government has a right to make one set of laws for those "at home" and another and a different set of laws , absolute In their character , for those "in the colonies. " All men under the American flag are en titled tos the protection of the Institutions whose emblem the flag is : If they are Inher ently unfit for those institutions then they are inherently unfit to be members of the American body politic. Wherever there may exist a people Incapable of being gov erned under American laws in consonance with the American constitution that people oupht not to be part of the American do main. Independence for Philippines. We insist that we ought to do for the ? UIpinos what we have already done for the Cubans , and it is our duty to make that promise now and upon sultablu guar antees cf protection to citizens of our own and other countries resident there at the time of our withdrawal , set the Filipino people upon their feet , free and Independ ent , to work out their own destiny. The endeavor of the Secretary of War , by pledging the government's indorsement for "promoters" In the Philippine Islands , to make the United /States / a partner in speculative legislation of the archipelago , which was only temporarily held up by the opposition of the Democratic Senators , in the last session , will. If successful , lead to entanglements from which it will be difficult to escape. Revision of Tariff. The-Democratic party has been , and will continue to bethe consistent opponent of that < P.SS of tarlSt legislation by which certain * interests have been permitted , through congressional favor , to draw a heavy tributs-from the American people. This nioustrcns perversion of those equal opportunities , which our political Institu tions were established to secure , has caused what may once have been infant Industries to become the greatest combinations of cap ital that the world has ever known. These especial favorites of the government have through trust methods been converted into monopolies , thus briniring to an end domes tic competition , which was the only alleged check upon the extravagant profits made possible by the protective system. These industrial combinations by the fi nancial assistance they can give now control the policy of the Republican party. Denounce Protection. We denounce protection as a robbery of the many to enrich the few and we favor a tariff limited to the needs of the govern ment economically administered and &o levied as not to discriminate against any In dustry , class or section , to the end that the burdens of taxation shall be distributed as equally as possible. We favor a revision and a gradual reduc tion of the tariff by the friends of the masses and for the common weal , nnd not by the friends of Its abuses , its extortions and its discriminations , keeping in view the ultimate ends of "equality of burdens and equality of opportunities. " and the consti tutional purpose of raising a revenue by taxation to-wlt , the support of the Fed eral government In all Its integrity and virility , but In simplicity. Trusts and Combinations. We recognize that the gigantic trusts and combinations designed to enable capi tal to secure more than its just s hare of the Joint products of capital and labor and which have been festered and promoted un der Republican rule are u menace to bene ficlal competition and an obstacle to per manent business prosperity. A private monopoly is indefensible and intolerable. Individual equality of oppor tunity and free competition are esseut ate to a healthy and permanent commercial prosperity , and any trust , combination or monopoly tending to destroy these by con trolling production , restricting competition or fixing prices shoild be prohibited and punished by law. We especially denounce rebates ami discrimination by transporta tion companies as the most potent agency in promoting and strengthening these un lawful conspiracies against trade. Interstate Commerce. We demand an enlargement of the pow ers of the Interstate Commerce Commis sion , to the end that the traveling public end shippers of this country may have prompt and adequate relief for the abuses to which they are subjected in the matter of transportation. We demand a strict enforcement of existing civil and criminal statutes against all such trusts , combina tions and monopolies , and we demand the enactment of such further legislation as may be necessary to effectually suppress them. Any trust or unlawful combination en gaged In Interstate commerce which is mo nopolizing any branch of business or pro duction should not be permitted to trans act business outside of the State of its origin. Whenever it shall be established in any court of competent Jurisdiction that such monopolization exists such pro hibition should be enforced through com prehensive laws to be enacted on the sub ject. Domes tic Development. We congratulate our Western citizens upon the passing of the law known as the Newlands Irrigation act for the irriga tion and reclamation of the arid lands of the West ; a measure framed by a Demo crat , passed In the Senate by a nonpartl- san vote and passed In the House against the opposition of almost all the Republican leaders by a vote , the majority of which was Democratic. We call attention to this great Demo cratic measure broad and comprehensive as it is. working automatically throughout all time without further action of Con gress , until the reclamation of all the lands in the arid West capable of recla mation is accomplished , reserving the land5 : rrc.ain'ed ft r komespel.f-r * 5 FBI ! ! trac's and rigidly guarding nsralnst land monopoly as nn evidence of the policy of domestic development contemplated by the Democratic party should it be placed In power. Isthmian Canal. The Democracy when Intrusted with p wer will construct the Panama Canal speedily , honestly and economically , there by giving to our people what Democrats have always contended for a great Inter- oceanic canal , furnishing shorter and cheaper line of transportation and broader and less trammeled trade relations with the other peoples of the world. American Citizenship. We pledge ourselves to insist upon the Just nnd lawful protection of our citizens at home and abroad and to use all proper measures to secure for them , whether na tive born or naturalized and without dis tinction of race or creed , the eqaal protec tion of laws and the enjoyment of all rights and privileges open to them under the covenants of our treaties of friendship and commerce ; and if under existing treat ies the right of travel and sojourn is de nied to American citizens or recognition Is withheld from American passports by anv countries on the ground of race or creed , we favor the beginning of negotiations with the governments of such countries to se cure by treaties the removal of these un just discriminations. 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 thr treatment due him as such. Election of Senators. We favor the election of United States Senators by the direct vote of the people. Statehood for Territories. We favor the admission of the territo ries of Oklahoma and Inalan Territory. We also favor the admission of Arizona and New Mexico as separate States and a territorial government for Alaska and Porto to Rico. We hold that the officials appointed to administer the government of any terri tory , as well as with the district of Alas ka , should be bona fide res dents at the time of their appointment of the territory or district In which their duties are to be performed. Condemnation of Polygamy. We demand the extermination of polyg amy within the Jurisdiction of the United States and the complete separation of church and state in political affairs. Merchant > Iarine. We denounce the ship subsidy bill re cently passed by the United States Senate as an Iniquitous appropriation of public funds for private purposes and a waste ful. Illogical and useless attempt to ov iv come by subsidy the obstruct- ! raised by Republican legislation to the growth and development of American commerce on the sea. sea.We favor the upbuilding of a merchant marine without new or additional burdens upon the people and without bounties from the public treasury. Reciprocity. We favor liberal trade arrangements with Canada and with peoples of other countries where they can be entered Into with benefit to American agriculture , man ufactures , mining or commerce. Monroe Doctrine. We favor the maintenance of tbe 35on- roe doctrine In its full Integrity. We favor the reduction of the army and of army expenditure to the pohrt historic ally demonstrated to be safe and suffi cient. Pensions. The Democracy would secure to thy SUF- vlving soldiers and sailors and their de- | pendents generous pensions , not by an ar bitrary executive order , but by legislation which a grateful people stands ready to enact. i Our soldiers , and sailors who defend with - their lives the constitution and the laws have u tacred interest In their Just ad ministration. They must therefore share with us the humiliation with which we have witnessed the exaltation of court fa vorites without distinguished service over the scarred heroes of many Battles or ag grandized by executive appropriations out of the treasuries of n prostrate people in violation of the act of Congress which fix ed the compensation and allowances of the military ofliceris. Civil Service. The Democratic party stands committed to the principles of civil service reform , and we demand their honest , just and Im partial enforcement. We denounce the Republican party foi Its continuous and sinister encroachments upon the spirit and operation of civil ser vice rules whereby it has arbitrarily dls pensed with examinations fnr office lu tht interest of favorites and employed all man ner of devices to overreach and set asid1 the principles upon which the civil sex vice was established. School and Race Questions. The race question has brought counties ) woes to this country. The calm wisdom 01 the American people should see to it tha ; It brings no more. To revive the dead and hateful race and sectional animosities in any part of oui "common country means confusion , distrac tion of business and the reopening ol wounds now happily healed. North , South , East and West have but recently stood to gether In Hue of battle , frcin the walls of Pekln to the hills of Santiago , end as sharers of a common glory and a common destiny we should share fn ternally the common burdens. We therefore deprecate and condemn the bourbonllke selfish and narrow spirit of the recent Republican convention at Chicago , which bought to kindle anew the embers of racial and sectional strife , and we ap peal from It to the sober common sense and patriotic spirit of the American pee ple. Republican Administration. The existing Republican administration has been spasmodic , erratic , sensational , spectacular and arbitrary , it has made It self a satire upon Congress , the courts and upon the settled practices and usages of national and international law. It summoned Congress into hasty and futile extra session and virtually adjourn ed it , leaving behind its flight from Wash ington uncalled calendars and unaccom plished tasks. It made war , which Is the sole power of Congress , without Its authority , thereby usurping one of its fundamental preroga tives. It violated a plain statute of the United States as well as plain treaty obli gations , international usages and constitu tional law , and has done so under pre tense of executing a great public policy which could have been more easily effect ed lawfully , constitutionally and with honor. It forced strained and unnatural con structions upon statutes , usurping judicial interpretation and substituting Congres sional enactment decree. Congress in Background , It withdrew from Congress customary duties iof investigation which have hereto fore made the representatives of the people ple and the States the terror of evildoers. It conducted a secretive Investigation ol Its own dnd lymsted of a few sample con victs , while itf threw a broad coverlet over the bureaus which had been their chosen field of operative abuses and kept In power the superior officers under whose adminis tration the crimes had been committed. It ordered assault upon some monopolies , but , paralyzed by Its first victory , it flung out the flag of truce and cried out that It would not "run amuck. " leaving its future purposes beclouded by Its vacillations. Conducting the campaign upon this dec laration of our principles and purposes , we Invoke for our candidates the support , not only of our great and tlme-honered organi zation , but also the active assistance of all of our fellow citizens , who , disregarding past differences upon questions no longer In Issue , desire the perpetuation of our con stitutional government as framed and es tablished by the fathers of this republic. HOTTEST SPOT ON EARTH. Found on the Shore of the Persian Gulf at nnd Around Bahrin. "Death Valley , in Southern Califor nia , is usually referred to as the hot test spot on earth , but it isn't quite that , " Ralph Erling tolls us. "This rather unpleasant distinctions belongs to a portion of the shore of the Persian j Gulf at and in the vicinity of Bah- rln. ' "Statistics prove that the mean an- i mini temperature of the Persian Gulf j furnace is 11 degrees higher than that of Death Valley , and the aridness of both places is about on a par , though I am inclined to believe , if my recol lection of the records is not blunted , that a little brackish water has been found in a few isolated springs on the alkali surface of Death Valley , where as there is no water at all to be found on the shore of the gulf any where within a radius of nearly 200 miles. "Yet while Death Valley is inhabit ed by practically none and permanent life there Is deemed well-nigh impossi ble , Bahrin has a population of sev eral thousand people and has had an existence as a village for many ceu- turies. Of course , the people are stunted mentally and to a slightly less extent physically , a fact due to the fearful conditions under which they live ; but they do live there , and are probably the nearest approach to sala manders In the human family. What do they do for water and food ? Why the latter is brought to them In boats and sold in exchange for the fertilizer they dig from the desert , and the lat ter they have in fairly good abundance near them. You thought I said there was no water within several hundred miles of the place. Well , so I did on the land but there are a number of fresh-water springs on the bed of the saline gulf within a few hundred yards from the shore. "It is probably the only place on earth where fresh drinking water is secured from a salty sea. The water gushes up in considerable volume from these springs and is secured by divers. The gulf is only about 30 feet deep at this point The divers plunge to the bottom with empty goatskins and place the orifice of the skin bag di rectly over the mouth of the spring. It fills in a few seconds , and the diver closes the orifice and is pulled back to the boat by a rope. That is the way the water supply for the community on shore is secured. The springs are supposed to be due to underground streams which have their origin in the green hills of Osman , over 500 miles inland. " St Louis Globe-Democrat The Japanese are encouraging the growth of "real" pearls by forcing a grain of sand into oysters and plant- ng them until the pearl is formed by a deposit around -the foreign substance of .the material from which the shell lining Is formed. WARDUHINGA WEEK RUSSIANS AND JAPS FIGHTMANY MINOR ENGAGEMENTS. Knroki's Army Takes Some Important Places in Its Advance , but It Has Met with Plenty of Fighting Rainy Season Retards Campaign. At the beginning of last week , ac cording to the Chicago Tribune's war strategist , Gen. Oku , with 80,000 men , was moving north on both sides of the Port Arthur railway. Simultaneously Kurokl had advanced from his bases at Siuyen and Fengwangcheng and was proceeding over three roads to Kaichou , Tatchekiao , and Haicheng , with the hope of striking the Russians on their left and rear. In the course of its advance Kuroki's army met plenty of fighting before it managed to take the three important passes situated one on each of the three roads along which he is advanc ing. ing.The The fighting for Fenshui pass was severe , the Japanese , by their own re port , having suffered 1,170 casualties. The Japanese troops engaged in tills operation were part of the Takush.in division , concerning whose composi tion so little information has leaked out of Tokio. The official report , as Still another Japanese success red on June 27. The army besieging Port Arthur is of unknown size and under an unknown commander. Little has been heard of it lately , but It start ed an engagement on the 2Gth , some ten miles east of Port Arthur. As a result the Russians were driven from heigb'is 331 and 120 to Lounvantlan heights , eight and two-thirds miles east of Port Arthur. In these engage ments the Russians lost 200 men and 7 officers. Fifty Japanese were kiHed by the explosion of a mine over which they were passing. The following day , again June 27 , the Japs took Lou.ivantian , driving the Russians off. No more details of this action. The Japanese are now mount ing siege guns on Lounvantlan height , and have already begun to cast their shells from the land side into Port Arthur. Meantime the northern section of the second army had not been particularly busy. It did not carry on its advance vigorously enough to get into a severe light. It was engaged in one two day skirmish for the possession of Senu- chen , which object it achieved on Juno 27. The Russian losses were fifty ; Japanese losses not stated. It is a most significant thing that these five engagements were concluded on June 27. It must have been more than a coincidence. Oku's army occu pied Senuchen on the 27th , and took Lounvantian on the same day. Kuro- MAP OF THE THEATER OF WAR. &WS8HHEZ &U3 & ? CD Star No. 1 marks the position of the battle for Motion pass. The Japanese attacked on June 20 , with eight guns and 8,000 or 30,000 men. The pass was taken by frontal and flank on the 27th. Casualties not reported. Star No. 2 shows where severest fighting of the week took place. On June 20 the Japanese were three times repulsed in their efforts to take Genshui. The battle was resumed at midnight and continued till nearly noon of June 27 , when the Japs took the hill commanding the pass after a flanking diversion on the Rus sian rear. The Russians had about 10,000 men , thirty-six guns and two machine guns. The Japanese had 20,000 men and ample artillery. The Japs lost 1,170 men. The Russian losses are unknown. Star No. 3 shows Ta pass , which the Japanese captured on June 27 by first frontal and flank assaults. The Japanese had 20,000 men engaged. The Rus sian forces are unknown , but they report their casualties at 200. Star No. 4 marks the peak near Port Arthur upon which the Japs have mounted their siege guns. The place was taken on June 27 after a two-day battle. Star No. " 5 indicates the skirmish at Senuchen on June 27 , where the Russians , after losing eighty men , were forced to retreat. Star No. 6 shows the location of the naval battle allegedly witnessed by the captain of the German steamer Chefoo. given out to the press , does not con tain the name of the victorious gen eral , but refers to him merely as ' 'the commander of the Takushan division. " The attack on Fenshui began on the morning of the 20th. The fighting lasted until dark , the Russians main taining their positi i. At midnight the Nipponese soldierssvere quietly aroused and launched once more again at the enemy. The Japanese artillery got into a bad mess in this fight , and the loss of their guns was threatened , but the Kamada men drove the attackers off and the guns were extricated. Mean while a flanking force had been sent by an adjoining valley to the rear and left of the Russians , "causing them to lose their freedom of action. " As a result , the Russians' defense of their frontal position was weakened. The Jap infantry , assisted by the engineers , then dashed up the hill from two sides , cut the wire entanglements , destroyed the obstacles , stormed the position , and occupied the heights at 11:30 : in the morning. The Russians retreated northwestward , six of their officers and eighty-two of their men being cap- tared , while over 100 were left dead on the field. The fight at Ta pass also took place on the 27th. The position was first shaken by heavy artillery fire , and then taken by simultaneous frontal and flank assault A Russian corre- apondent reports that in this engage ment "the Japanese redemonstrated theh : reliance upon artillery. " In every fight In which they have yet been en gaged the Japanese success has been largely due to their accurate and copi ous artillery practice. The Russian losses at Ta pass were 200 ; Japanese losses not stated. ki's army took Motien pass on the 27th. "Tie commander of the Taku shan division" took Fenshui pass on the same day. The Japs also took Ta pass on the 27th. This successful sim ultaneous forward movement to fivt ; places indicates the perfect cooperation tion and system of the Japanese com manders. Probably on the night of June 2S or 29 the three Russian cruisers quitted Vladivostok again. They were accom panied by ten torpedo boats. The entire I squadron appeared off Gensan on the east coast of Korea early on the morn ing of June 30. Six of the torpedo boats went into Gensang harbor and sank a Japanese merchantman and a coasting schooner which they found there. Then , after firing 200 shells into the town , they sailed out to rejoin the cruisers. Their entire visit lasted an hour and fifty minutes. Tokio reported that the Russian ships proceeded southward to Korea Straits , where they fell in with Ad miral Kamimura's squadron and an engagement ensued. The result was not known. At the present writing the authenticity of this report has not been confirmed. The rainy season has begun. Gen. Kourapatkin reports torrential rains in the Tatchekiao district These rains have continued for four days. They have even drowned some men. Dry stream beds have become converted I into swift rivers. The miserable roads * through which the rival annles are now operating will be made impass able. If the rains do not entirely stop the campaign they will greatly retard its movements. The advantage lies with Kouropatkin , because he has the railroad to more his jjrovisions WATSON THE NOMINEE POPULISTS NAME GEORGIA MAtt FOR PRESIDENT. Tibbies of Nebraska Selected for Second end Place Former Senator Allen Re fuses to Take the Honor Platform Demands More Money. Thomas E. Watson of Georgia for President and Tkomas H. Tibbies of Nebraska for Vice President was the ticket nominated Tuesday by the Populist - " * ulist National Convention at Spring field , 111. The names of William V. Allen of Nebraska and Samuel W. Williams of Indiana were also placed before the convention for President , but before the list of States had been , completed In the roll call their names were withdrawn and Watson nomin ated by acclamation. Former Senator Allen made good his word that he would not enter into any scramble for the nomination , and while the nominations were being made he twice Instructed the chairman of the Nebraska delegation to say that his name must not go before the conven tion , but in the face of this former Senator Allen received more than 400 votes , and many believe he would have been nominated had he given his con sent to be a candidate. Features of the Platform. After reaffirming its adherence to the basic truths of the Omaha platform of 1892 and of the subsequent plat forms of 1S96 and 1900 the platform says : The issuing of money is a function of government and should never be dele gated to corporations or individuals. The constitution gives to Congress alone pow er to issue money and regulate its value. We therefore demand that all money shall be issued by the government in such quantities as shall maintain a sta bility in prices , every dollar to be a full legal tender , none of which shall be a debt redeemable in other money. We demand that postal savings banks be established by the government for the safe deposit of the savings of the people. We believe in the right of labor to or ganize for the benefit and protection of those who toil , and pledge the efforts of the people's party to preserve this right inviolate. Capital is organized and has no right to deny to labor the privilege which it claims for itself. We favor the enactment of legislation looking to the improvement of condi tions for wage earners , the abolition of child labor , the suppression of sweat shops and convict labor in competition with free labor , and the exclusion from American shores of foreign pauper labor. We favor the shorter work day , and declare that if eight hours constitutes a day's labor in government service , that eight hours should constitute a day's la bor in factories , workshops and mines. As a means of placing all public ques tions directly under the control of the people , we demand that the legal provis ions be made under which the people may exercise the initiative , referendum and proportional representation , and direct vote for all public officers with the ri ht of recall. To prevent unjust discrimination and monopoly the government should own and control the railroads , and those public utilities which , in their nature , are mon opolized ; to perfect the postal service , the government should own nnd operate the general telegraphs and telephone system aud provide a parcels post. As to those trusts anil monopolies which are not public utilities or natural monopolies , we demand that those special privileges which they now enjoy , and which alone enable them to exist , should be immediately withdrawn. We demand that Congress shall enact a general law uniformly regulating the power and duties of all incorporated com panies doing interstate business. Allen Denies an Old Story. While the convention was waiting for the Committee on Resolutions the delegates were entertained with songs and speeches. Former Senator Allen at this time took occasion to refute the story that was being circulated among the delegates that he , Allen , while pre siding officer of the St Louis coiiven- tion in 1S9G , suppressed a telegram that was sent to the convention by William J. Bryan. Mr. Allen said the story was absolutely false , that Bryan did not send such a message to the Populist convention in 189C. After the convention adjourned a meeting of the National Committee was held , and James H. Ferris , of .Toilet , 111. , was elected chairman and Charles Q. De France , of Lincoln , Neb. , secretary. The committee also appointed mem bers of the National Committee for those States that were not represented at the convention , as follows : Kentucky J. A. Parker , A , H. Car- din and Joe O. Bradburn. New Jersey J. A. Edgertoru Michigan Mrs. Marian Todd , James E. MacBride , E. J. Payne. Massachusetts George F. Washbarn , E. Gerry Brown , P. P. Field. New Hampshire D. B. Currier. Maine L. W. Smith. Watson is 48 years of age. He was elected to the Forty-second Congress , serving one term. He was formerly a Democrat. Interesting News Items. J. T. Simpson , a retired merchant ofi Holton , Kan. , and a brother of forme * Congressman Jerry Simpson , died in Hol ton. Ben Morris and Clyde Beaver , work * men on the Rock Island bridge at To * peka , fell from a scaffold and were drowned. Chester Harmon , 8 years old , whos parents reside near Cushion , O. T. , fell Into the wheat bin in the elevator at Piedmont , O. T. , and smothered to death before help arrived. The Secretary of the Interior has ap proved the application of the board oi trustees of the Columbian university of Washington to change the name.of thai usti-tution to George Washington uni * rersity.