Decatur Democrat, Volume 36, Number 15, Decatur, Adams County, 1 July 1892 — Page 2

BICAGO CONVENTION. THOUSANDS OF DEMOCRATS PRESENT. IWILSON IN THE CHAIR. lIIARMONY AND ENTHUSIASM P PREVAIL. Commodious Wlffwam Packed to Its Hhillost Capaclty-FHrhtened by Thun- ’ Er—Chairman Brice Calls the Gathfearing to Order—The Offloonu E First Day’# Proceedings. BKe°Nati'onal Democratic Convention ■Ufa called to order at 12:45 Tuesday af■Mrnoon in the wigwam on the Lake f Front by Chairman Brice of the Nation■ol Committee. , .. ■fest after noon, before many of the Bjhiegates had arrived in the hall, a tremendous thunderstorm burst over the I Blty. The interior of the wigwam grew dark as night, the canvas being let 1 down over the upper windows. ThouWmnds of people were already in the |v®ectators' seats, and as the lightning W»Bhes lit up the gloom of the hall ’ and the building shook in a heavy wind they became frightened and howled for lights. Then came a mighty fall ‘ es rain that drowned the voices of the ■people The band began to play a lively air and the music speedily allayed ;the nervousness of the audience. Chairman Brice and a bright ray of (Wnshlne entered the wigwam together

If GftJ 1 iv'Tn / L J 1 M A? 41 - & c 0 Chairman Brice, Calling the Great Convention to Order.

and both were greeted with hearty cheers. As Mr. Brice rose to request silence, he 'aced a magnificent scene. Twenty ' thousand people Ailed the immense building, gay with its fluttering bunting, • the bright colors of ladies’ dresses, and the bright badges of the delegates and their accompaniment of marching clubs. I

gw isj .raw Mt It ’Oi IM Hl® bp® fl I H® ssftfesS ®K»S» M»;«S r imSia! 1 SaU® ‘ kvreM Oi'Wwf wW I ss CLEVELAND’S NOMINATION IS ANNOUNCED TO THE CONVENTION.

S Before him sat the representative men i as a great party, the men who lead its ■Battles, rejoice in its victories and mourn ■ Ba defeats. There they spread in front Jaf him, veritably a sea of faces which S for the moment was bewildering in its ■Justness. Practiced speaker as he is, Bbnd'used as he is to facing great meetings, Mr. Brice for a second or two Kbhowed that he is not insensible to the ■motions of a supreme moment, ano was ■Visibly moved as he advanced to the ■front of the platform, after demandMfog Silence, to present Rev. John ■Bouse, who offered prayer. At the llelose of his invocation the reverend Kaentleman recited the Lord’s prayer, in sHfrhich he was audibly joined in several Htarts of the great convention hall. EpWhen prayer was concluded Chairfwian B r i ce said: “Gentlemen of the ■pH vention, by direction of the Na- | Jttonal Committee the Chair presents to fcittiis convention as its temporary officers ,»the gentlemen named in the list, which k’the secretary will read. ” * i |Hjeoretary Sheerin announced the temElaorary organization—William 0. Owens Kentucky temporary Chairman; Secf jpetary, S. P. Sheerin, of Indiana; as■tstant secretaries, W. H. Doyle, Penni|/lvania; H. Shepard, Virginia; C. TilBGy, Missouri; L. A. Howley, Michigan; ■B E. Wilson, Mississippi; C. R. DeNew York; J. C. Swayne, Illinois; ■tnoinal Reading Clerk, Nicholas M. of Missouri; Sergeant-at-arms, ■■hard J. Bright of Indiana; official

Wr I V CHICAGO AND TAMMANY.

I Mkograper, Edward Dickinson, New I I The list was adopted without opI HHl* on > fcnd the Chair appointed I (Sarles Jewett of Indiana, Thomas Of Minnesota, and Adlai I S:P- Stevenson of Illinois to attend I Rt#O wenß 10 the speaker’s chair. I EwM gentlemen assembled in front of | St. platform and then proceeded down i the side aisles to the pliice where | ifirKeatueky delegation sat. Mr. Owens

arose and walked up the aisle with the committee. When they appeared on the platform the convention applauded, and the applause was renewed when Chairman Brice announced that he had the 'honor and pleasure” of presenting to the convention Its temporary Chairman. Mr. Brice retired, leaving the space in

X.'lp A J THE WIGWAM.

front of the Chairman’s desk to Mr. Owens. After bowing to the applause with which he was greeted, Mr. Owens, in a good voice, addressed the convention. ■ Mr. Owens had a respectful and an interested hearing, and when he came to the “legions of the bread and butter brigade” the convention cheered again and again. At the conclusion of the speech the Chairman asked what the pleasure of the convention was. Mr. White, of California, got the floor, and offered a resolution providing that the roll be called to name members of the different committees, and that all resolutions relating to the platform be referred to the Committee on Resolutions without debate, and that th'e credentials of each delegate be delivered by each delegation to the Committee on Credentials. General Bragg, of Wisconsin, from the front row, offered as an amendment that the rules of the last Democratic convention govern this body until otherwise ordered. Mr. White accepted this amendment > as being first in order, and temporarily withdrew his resolution, which he aga n i offered after General Bragg’s substitute was passed. It was read by Reading ! Clerk Bell. | Mr, Rhodes, of Alabama, interposed with an amendment, which was read. It provided for a committee on rules in addition to the other committees. There i was a brief discussion of the amend- ■ ment, the explanation being made that the original resolution delegated the i work of the proposed committee to the

committee on permanent organization. The amendment was adopted, however, and the resolution as amended went through. The clerk then read the rollcall and the chairman of each delegation handed in or announced the names chosen. W. E. English, of Indiana, noticing a

L. M. Martix, lowa, a Boles Boomer.

number of vacant seats in the galleries, offered a resolution to admit ex-soldiers of the late war to theumrmupied places. Mr. Collier, of Tennessee, said that there were 25,000 Democrats at the door and he moved that the doors be opened to them. There was great applause, but the whole question was shut oft on motion of Mr. Johnson, of Kentucky, to refer the matter to the committee on resolutions. Mr. Holman, of Oregon, in the body of the hall, addressed the convention, closing by stating that he held in his hand a telegram giving the glad news that the Bepublicans of Portland, Oregon, had been defeated by a thousand majority. Great cheering greeted this announcement. Mr. Hall, of Kansas, moved that-organ-ized clubs bo admitted to the vacant seats in the but this resolution was also referred to the Besolutions Committee. Mr. Cable, of Illinois, offered a resolution of sympathy with James G. Blaine, “that this convention tender its profound sympathy to that distinguished American, James G. Blaine, in the many afflictions that have befallen him." The reading of the name-of Mr. Blaine was the signal for an outburst of i greater enthusiasm than the convention had known before. The resolution was adopted without dissent. Mr. Swett of Maine got the floor and briefly thanked the convention on behalf of the Maine delegation. I An invitation from the World’s Fair for the delegates to visit the grounds was read. ' Gen. Bragg, of Wisconsin, moved that the convention adjourn until 11 o'clock Wednesday. Before the motion could be put the delegates were In the aisles.

The Chair declared the convention adjourned, the baud struck up 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home," and the convention dispersed for the day. Wednaaday’Z Session. Precisely at 11:90 on Wednesday, Temporary Chairman Owens rapped the

convention to order, and called upon the Rev. Alfred H. Henry to offer prayer. He asked that the convention be guided to choose a report sensitive of modern progressive democracy, and prayed that the party might proceed to victory, not for the spoils of office. Just as the prayer concluded the lowa phalanx entered the hall, the big blue banner with the picture of Horace Boies borne in front of them. There were cheers from all parts of the hall and the band very inappropriately struck up “Maryland, my Maryland.” When the music ceased the temporary chairman brought his gavel down and announced that the first business of the convention would be the report of the committee on credentials. He asked if that committee was ready to report. The committee was not then ready and during the interval Senator Palmer was called upon and made a short speech. When the chairman announced that the committee on credentials was ready to report, Mr. Lamb, of Indiana, took the platform and in a clear, loud voice read the report. There was no objection to it and it Wias adopted. The report of the committee on permanent organization was presented by Mr. Fordyce, of Arkansas, and read by one of the clerks of the convention. It named W. L. Wilson, of West Virginia, lor permanent chairman and continued the other officers of the temporary organization. The announcement of Mr. Wilson’s name was met with loud applause. The report was adopted without dissent. Mr. Dickinson, of Michigan, moved that a committee of five be

appointed to notify Mr. Wilson of his appointment as Permanent Chairman. The Chairman appointed as the committee: Don M. Dickinson, of Michigan; J. F. Duncombe, Iowa; John R. Fejlows, New York; Joseph 0. Richardson, Alabama; andM. L. Clardy, Missouri. Temporary Chairman Owens shook hands with Mr. Wilson when he was escorted to the platform, and then said: "Gentlemen of the convention: It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you one of the bravest Democrats in America, William L. Wilson, of West Virginia. ” As Mr. Wilson came forward he was greeted with a storm of applause. He wore his blue delegate’s badge on the lapel of a cutaway coat, under which was prominent a white vest. Mr. Wilson looked calmly over the vast throng, during a minute’s silence, and* then addressed the convention. When Mr. Wilson concluded his speech the delegates, rising to their feet, waved their hats as they cheered again and again. The rules of the last National Democratic Convention were adopted for the government of the convention. No minority report was presented, and on motion the report presented by Mr. English was adopted without objection. Mr. Phelps of Missouri presented the Chairman with a zinc gavel and the

S. P. Fheebik, Secretary National Democratic Committee.

convention then adjourned until 5 o’clock in the afternoon. A Georgia Freak. Amdricus, Ga., has a freak in the shape of a little white puppy, born with only one eye, located in the center of the head, has no upper jawbone or nostrils, and breathes through its mouth. A Little, Brief Time. There are methods of measuring the one-millionth part of a second a

CLEVELAND GETS IT. I _ STEVENSON HIS RUNNING MATE. STORI OF THE BATTLE. HIbL AND BOIES ALSO PUT IN NOMINATION. A Pandemonium oC Enthu»la»m Fairly Raises the Root of the Wigwam — The Air Thick with Hate, Canos, Umbrellas, Coate, Handkerchief and Banners. Wednesday’s Evening Session. Chicago special: Cleveland Old Hill Il* 801e5....; Av- 1 ®? Scattering 7 * When the first taps of the gavel were heard in the Wigwam Wednesday even- i ing the great building was packed from I top to bottom. For more than an hour | the thousands of hot and Impatient people had been bombarding the barn doors or jostling each other in the tunnel entrances. Under the acre of pine roof the heat was intense. No breeze moved the muggy and stagnant atmosphere. At the announcement that the Committee on Resolutions was ready to report a wild shout went up, and Editor Jones sidled up to the front of the platform and attempted a little extemporaneous introduction to the committee’s report, which was downed out by yells of 'Louder!” The resolutions were handed to exSecretary Vilas, of Wisconsin, but before he had a chance to speak Mr. Patterson, member of the committee from Colorado, who was already on the platform, lifted up his voice and cried that

gy|El 4|| ■'Mk./W GROVEB CLEVELAND.

the minority of the committee had a report to make through him, and he should qspecj#the committee “to listen to this before ordering the previous question. This suited the convention exactly, and It roared ita assent. Heading of the Platform. Colonel Vilas stepped to the edge of the platform, resolutions in hand, and slowly and with a powerful voice he began the reading. He got on as far as the reference to the Democratic leaders who had succeeded the immortal Jefferson from Madison to Cleveland when he stopped. He had touched off the pdwder magazine. The explosion was instantaneous, and. it shook the wigwam. With one wild, shrill warwhoop of delight the greater part of the convention and the spectators jumped to their feet and waved hats, handkerchiefs, fans, and umbrellas, and uttered shout after shout, and as fast as one set of throats and arms showed signs of weariness another set took up the jubilation and carried it on with increasing volume and greater vibration of light wearing apparel and the adjuncts of hot weather. Thb reading, finished, like a tiR, whistle in a hurricane sounded the voice of the Chairman. He called for a vote on the adoption of the platform. "The platform is adopted," he cried, and then without a moment’s delay: "The next business is the call of the roll for the nomination of candidates for Presl- - dent." The great amphitheater was in disorder, commotion was everywhere.

/yr ’ ADLAI B. BTBVEXBOX.

The Tammany leaders are on their feet. Sheehan is in front He turns toward his delegation and beckons th*m to rise and come forward. He shakes his head angrily as they refuse, and pulls at his tawny mustache. Don Dickinson rubs his hands with satisfaction. The crucial moment has arrived. A curly headed clerk steps to the edge of the platform and sings out in a high nasal tone: “State of Alabama." A dozen men are standing on chairs asking for information. Fenlon, of Kansas, moves to adjourn. The chair pays no attention to him. “ Alabama, * again cries the clerk. “ Arkansas'' was the next, and at the call a tall, lank Southerner mounts his chair. “Arkansas yields her place to New Jersey,” he says. There is a great shout. The Cleveland men are smiling. Again Tammany is in turmoil. The whole convention knows that Gov. Abbett, of New Jersey, has been chosen to present the name of Grover Cleveland. Abbett Name. Cleveland. Slowly the New Jersey Governor walked down the center aisle. He is broad-shouldered, heavily bearded, dignified. He climbs the steps and Chairman Wilson meets him with outstretched hand. In slow and measured tone he I began to speak. ‘lt is the name at a i .. a.

man who has twice carried the electoral vote of my State whom I shall name,” he declared, and th • Cleveland crowds cheered. Gov. Abbott Was making a strong, thoughtful speech. Without warning, without rhetorical ornament, he mentioned the name of Cleveland. The volcano is In uproar. Up, up, all about the hall the delegates are climbing, yelling as they rise. Above the tumult floats the white banner of Michigan. On either side looks down the face of Cleveland. Up again comes the wild storm of cheers, beating in waves against the snowy ensign. From the seats of Michigan a delegate carries the banner across the aisle to the seats of New York. Gen. Sickles waves his crutch in anger. “Baokl” “Baokl” cry ‘the chiefs of Tammany. The whole body of delegates face inward about the circumference of the great floor. In the center the Tammany tiger, crouched low, growls ominously at the floating banner of Cleveland. It is like a gigantic ; prize ring. Lieut. Gov. Sheehan, blue- | eyed and smiling, leans over to Don I Dickinson. "Don’t you worry," he ! cried. “You have the noise, we the votes." From the galleries hundreds of men, in their shirt sleeves, leaned out into space and screamed. “The candidate I have named,” cries Gov. Abbott, “will carry New York." Up jumps Tammany in protest. “No," they cry, with one voice, and hisses answer them. As chance came, the speaker struggled through his speech. “I nominate that plain, blunt, honest citizen, Grover Cleveland," and so he closed. A storm of deafening applause united with the thunder of the storm outside seemed to shake the great wigwam from foundation to roof. At this point proposals to adjourn were volunteered from the galleries, but the convention took a stern view of its

duties and kept at work. ■lll anti Bole* Named. After the confusion the secretary called the State of Colorado, Which replied that it yielded its right to the floor to New York, and New York, in the person of W. C. DeWitt of Brooklyn, took the platform. In due time he said that David Bennett Hill was the candidate of the common people. Mr. DeWitt made ingenious use of Senator Hill’s reputation for partisanship, and made a clever appeal to the convention not to nominate a New York man who was not sustained by the delegation of his own State. He distributed graceful compliments to Boies and Palmer and Gorman and Pattison and Carlisle, whose friends were invited to reciprocate. John F. Duncombe, of Fort Dodge, in a speech characteristic of the brainy lowan, placed the nomination of Gov. Boies before the convention. At the mention of the Governor’s name his adherents became wildly enthusiastic, and, being joined in their applause by several of the other delegations, it was some time before the speaker could conclude. The nominations being seconded the convention proceeded to ballot, and at 3:20 o’clock Thursday morning the result of the first ballot was announced. The necessary 605 yotes had been recorded for Cleveland. The Vote in Detail* The vote by States in detail waa as follows: r s| i HU Alabama 14 11 5 Arkansas 16 California. 18 Colorado..- 3 5 .... Connecticut 12 Delaware 6 Florida 6 3 Georgia 17 6 .. 4 Illinois 48 Idaho . 6 Indiana.... .30 lowa ?. 26 Kansas 20 Kentucky 18 .. 2 6 Louisiana 3 1 11 1 Maine 9 1 2 Maryland 6 .. .. 9)4 Massachusetts ~ 24 4 11 Michigan 28 Minnesota.... .. 18 Missouri 34 Mississippi 8 8 8 4 Montana 6 Nebraska. 15 Nevada .. ..4 2 New Hamnshire 8 .. .. New Jersey 20 New York 72 .. .. North Carolina. 3)4 .. 1 16)4 North Dakota. 6 Ohio 14 6 16 10 Oregon 8 Penns vl vanla 64, Rhode Island ..... 8 South Carolina 1 3 14 South Dakota. 7 .. 1 .. Tenne55ee......... M ...... 24 .. .. Texas 23 1 6 ‘Vermont 8 .. .. .. Virginia 12 11 1 Washington 8 West Virginia 71 .. 8 Wisconsin 24 Wyoming 8 •• • Arizona 5 New Mexico I’4 11 Utah 2 ... Oklahoma ." 2 .. District'd Columbia.... 2 Indian Territory. 2 Alaska 2 Grover Cleveland’s nomination was made unanimous. The convention then adjourned until 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon. Stevenson for Vice President. The convention assembled in th® afternoon, with Gov. Gray, of Indiana, in a fairway to win the second place, but the New York delegation, by throwing Its strength to Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, succeeded in making him the victor. He was then formally declared the nominee for Vice President, and after the usual resolutions, etc., the convention adjourned sine die.

DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM HOW THE PARTY STANDS ON IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. Republican Protection Declared to Bo a Fraud on Labor to Benefit a Few—A Tariff fbr Revenue Only—The Coinage Question* Text of the Resolutions. The following is the full text of the platform adopted by the National Democratic Convention at Chicago: The representatives of the Vemooratlo party bt the United Btates, In national convention assembled, do reaffirm their allesianoe to the principles of the party as formulated by Jefferson and exemplified by the long and Illustrious line of his successors in Democratic leadership from Madison to Cleveland. We believe the nubile welfare demands that these principles be applled'to the conduct of the Federal Government, through the accession to power of the party that advocates them; and we solemnly declare that the need of a return to these fundamental principles of a free, popular government, baaed on homo rule and Individual liberty, was never more urgent than now, when the tendency to centralise all power at the Federal Capital has become a menace to the reserved rights of the btates that strikes at the very roots of our government under the constitution as framed by the fathers of the republic. Federal Control of Elections. We warn the people of our common country, jealous for the preservation of their free institutions, that the policy of Federal control of elections, to which the Republican party has committed Itself, is fraught with the gravest dangers, scarcely lets momentous than would result from a revolution, practically establishing monarchy on the ruins of the republic. It strikes at tne North as well as the Booth, and Injures the colored citlxen even more than the white; it means a horde of deputy marshals at every polling place armed with Federal power, returning boards appointed and controlled by' Federal authority, the outrage of the electoral rights of the people In the several Btates, the subjugation of the colored people to the control of the party in power and the reviving of race antagonisms now happily abated, of the utmost peril to the safety and happiness of all; a measure deliberately and justly described by a loading Republican Senator as the "most infamous bill that bver crossed the threshold of the Senate." Such a policy, If sanctioned by law, would mean the dominance of a self-perpetuating oligarchy of officeholders, and the party first intrusted with Its machinery could be dislodged from power only by an appeal to the reserved right of the people to resist oppression which is Inherent In all self-governing communities. Two years ago this revolutionary policy was emphatically condemned by the people at the polls, bnt In contempt of that verdict the Republican party has defiantly declared in Its latest authoritative utterance that its success in the coming elections will mean the enactment of the force bill and the usurpation of despotio control over elections In all the States. Believing that the preservation of republican government In the United Is dependent upon the defeat of the policy of legalized force and fraud, we Invite the support of all citizens who desire to see the constitution maintained in Its Integrity with the laws pursuant thereto which have given our country a hundred years of unexampled prosperity, and we pledge the Democratic party, if it be Intrusted with power, not only to the defeat of the force bill, but also to relentless opposition to the Republican policy of profligate expenditure, which In the short space of two years has squandered an enormous surplus and emptied an overflowing treasury, after piling new burdens of taxation upon the already overtaxed labor of the country. Declaration for Tariff Reform. We denounce Republican protection as a fraud on the labor of the great majority of the American people for the benefit of the few. We declare it to oo a fundamental principle of the Democratic party that the Federal Government has no constitutional power to impose and collect tariff duties except for the purposes of revenue only, and we demand that the collection of such taxes shall be limited to the necessities of the Government when honestly and economically administered. We denounce the McKinley tariff law enacted by the Fiftyfirst Congress as the culminating atrocity of class legislation; we indorse the efforts made by the Democrats of the present Congress to modify its most oppressive features in the direction of free raw materials and cheaper manufactured goods that enter into general consumption, and we promise its repeal as one of the beneficent results that will follow the action of the people in intrusting power to the Democratic party. Since the McKinley tariff went into operation there have been ten reductions of the wages of laboring men to one increase. We deny that there has been any inerease of to the country since that tariff went into operation, and we point to the dullness and distress, the wage reductions and strikes in the iron trade, as th4 best possible evidence that no such prosperity resulted from the MoKinley act. We call the attention of thoughtful Americans to the fact that after thirty years of restrictive taxes against the importation of foreign wealth in exchange for our agricultural surplus the homes ana farms of the country have become burdened with a real-estate mortgage debt of over t5,50r>,000,000, exclusive of all other forms of Indebtedness; that in one of the chief agricultural States of the West there appears a real-estate mortgage averaging $lO5 per capita of the total population, and that similar conditions and tendencies are shown to exist In the other agricultural exporting States. We denounce a policy which fosters no industry so much as it does that of the Sheriff. The Question of Trade Reciprocity. Trade interchange on the basis of reciprocal advantages to the countries participating js a time-honored doctrine,of the Democratic faith, but we denounce the sham reciprocity which juggles with the people’s desire for enlarged foreign markets and freer exchanges by pretending to establish closer trade relations, for a country whose articles of export are almost exclusively agricultural products, with other countries that are also agricultural, while erecting a custom-house barrier of prohibitive tariff taxes against the richest countries of the world that stand ready to take our entire surplus of products and to exchange therefor commodities which are necessaries and comforts yf life among our own people. Trusts and Combinations. We recognize in the trusts and combinations which are designed to enable capital to secure more than its just share of the joint product of capital and labor a natural consequence of the prohibitive taxes which prevent the free competition which is the life of honest trade, but we believe their worst evils can bo abated by law, and we demand the rigid enforcement of the laws made to prevent and control them, together with such further legislation in restraint of their abuses as experience may show to be necessary. Lands for Actual Settlers. The Republican party, while professing a policy of reserving the public land for small holdings by actual settlers, has given away the people's heritage, until now a few railroad and non-resident aliens, individual and corporate, possess a larger area than that of all our farms between the two seas. The last Democratic administration reversed the 1mSrovldent and unwise policy of the Repubcan party touching the public domain and reclaimed from corporations and syndicates, alien and domestic, and restored to the people nearly one hundred million acres of valuable land to be sacredly held as homesteads for our citizens, and we pledge ourselves to continue this policy until every acre of land so unlawfully held shall be reclaimed and restored to the people. Th. Coinage of Silver. We 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 supporters, as well as its author, anxious for Its speedy repeal. We hold to the use of both gold and silver gs the standard money of the country and to the coinage of both gold and silver without discriminating against either metal or charge for mintage, butthe 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 snail insure 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 ounency shall be kept at par with and redeemable! Ip such coin. We insist upon this policy as espe-i dally necessary for the protection of the fanners and laboring classes, the first and most defenseless victims of unstable money and a fluctuating currency. We recommend that the prohibitory 10 per cent, tax on State-bank Issues bo repealed. Reform of the Civil Service. Public office is a public trust. We reaffirm the declaration of the Democratic National Convention of 1878 for the reform of the civil service, and we call for the honest enforcement or all laws regulating the same. The nomination of a President, as In the recent Republican convention, by delegations composed largely of hie appointees, holding office at his pleasure, Is a scandalous satire upon free popular Institutions and a startHng illustration of the methods by which a President mav gratify his ambition. We denounce a policy under which Federal °fl| C0 L o lders usurp control of party conventions in the States, and we pledge the Democratic party,, lo reform these and all other abuses which threaten Individual liberty and local self-government. The Nicaragua Canal. In support of national defense and ths promotion of commerce between the States we recognize the early construction of the Nicaragua Canal and Its protection against foreign control as of great importance to the United Btates. - -An Honorable Foreign Polley. The Democratic party is the only party that. has ever given the country a torefini Poßcy nations, and especially with our nelghbon on

and bluster which la Hable at any time to confront ua with the alternative of humiliation or war. We favor the maintenance of a navy atrong enough for all pnrposos of national da» fenso and to properly maintain the honor ana dignity of the country abroad. Oppresalon in Russia and Ireland. Thia country haa always been the refuge of the oppresaed from every land—exiles for conscience sake—and in the spirit of the found* era of our government ws condemn the oppression practiced by the Russian Government upon Its Russian and Jewish subjects, and we call upon our national government, tn the Interests of justice and humanity, by all right and proper means, to use ita prompt and best efforts to bring about a cessation of these crus] persecutions tn the dominion of the Czar, ana to secure to the oppressed equal rights. Wo tender our profound and earneet sympathy to those lovers of freedom who are struggling fog home rule and the groat cause of local selA government In Ireland. ’ Restriction of Immigration. We heartily approve all legitimate efforts to prevent the United States from being used as the dumping ground for the known criminate and professional paupers of Eurom, and we demand the rigid enforcement of thfflaws against Chinese immigration and the Importation of foreign workmen under contract to degrade American labor and lessen Its wages, but wo condemn and denounce any and all attempts v to restrict the Immigration of the Industrious and worthy of foreign lands. Pensions for Soldiers and Bailors. This convention hereby renews the expression of appreciation of the patriotism of the soldiers and sailors of the Union In the war for its preservation, and we favor just and liberal pensions for all disabled Union soldiers, their widows and dependents, but we demand that the work of the pension office shall be done Industriously, Impartially, and honestly. Wo • denounce the present administration as Incompetent, corrupt, disgraceful, and dishonest. Waterway Improvements. The Federal Government shonld care for and Improve the Mississippi River and other groat waterways of the republic so as to secure for the interior Btates easy and cheap transportation to the tide-water. When any waterway of the republic is of sufficient importance to demand the aid of the Government, snoh aid should be extended upon a definite plan of continuous work until permanent improvement is secured. The World's Fair. Recognizing the World’s Columbian Exposition as a national undertaking of vast importance, In which the General Government has invited the co-operation of all the powers of the world, and appreciating the acceptance by many of such powers of the Invitation so extended and the broad end liberal efforts being made by them to contribute to the grandeur of the undertaking, wo are of opinion that Congress should make such neoes.sarv financial provision as shall he requisite to the maintenance of the national honor and public faith. The Common Schools. Popular education being the only safe basts of popular suffrage, we recommend to the several Btates most liberal appropriation for the public schools. Free common schools are the nursery of.good government, and they have always received the fostering care of the Democratic party, which favors every means of Increasing intelligence. Freedom of education, being an essential of civil and religious liberty as well as a necessity for the development of intelligence, must not be Interfered with under any pretext whatever. We are opposed to State Interference with parental rights and rights of conscience In the education of children, as an Infringement of the fundamental Democratic doctrine that the largest individual liberty consistent with the rights of others Insures the highest type of American citizenship and the best government. Admission of the Territories. We approve the action of the present Honsa of Representatives in passing bills for the admission into the Union as States the Territories of New Mexico and Arizona, and wa favor the early admission of all the Terrltoriea having the necessary population and resources to entitle them to Statehood; and while they remain Territories we hold that the officials appointed to administer the Government of anv Territory, together with the District of Columbia and Alaska, shonld be bona-fldo residents of the Territory or district in which their duties are to be performed. The Democratic party believes in home rule and the control of their own affairs by the people of the vicinage. Protection,of Railway Employes. We favor legislation by Congress and State Legislatures to protect the lives and limbs of rail way employes and those of other hazardous transportation companies, and denounce ths inactivity of the Republican party, and particularly the Republican Senate, for cansfng the defeat of measures beneficial and protective te this class of wage-workers. The Sweating System. We are In favor of the enactment by the States* of laws for abolishing the notorious sweating system, for abolishing contract convict labor and for prohibiting the employment in factories of children under 15 years of age. Sumptuary Laws. We are opposed to all sumptuary lam as an interference with the individual rights pt the citizens. Upon this statement of principles and policies the Democratic party asks the intelligent judgment of the American people. It asks a change of administration and a change of party, in order that there maybe a change of system and a change of methods, thus assuring the maintenance, unimpaired, of institutions under which- the republic has grown great and powerful. Miles and Mlles of Salt. v One of the natural curiosities of Asia is the Great Salt Desert of Persia, which covers a large territory about seventy miles south of Teheran. 0. E. Biddulph, who recently visited this place, says that Darya-i-Namak is an extensive tract of ground, sloping on all sides toward the center, covered with an incrustation of solid salt several feet thick in most places, while in some parts it is of unknown depth. According to Goldthwaite’s Geographical Magazine, it must have taken many centuries to form. As he saw it from the mountain top it stretched away for many miles, appearing like a vast frozen lake. It extended as far as the eye could reach toward the south and west and glistened in the sun like a sheet of glass. His party finally approached the margin of the salt plain and decided to cross it. They found swampy ground for a mile or so and then entered upon the sheet of salt itself. Near the edge the incrustation was thin and the salt sheet was soft, sloppy and mixed with earth. At a distance of three or four miles from the edge the salt looked like solid ice as it is seen on any pond in northern latitudes during the winter. The surface was not quite level but resembled that of ice which had partially thawed and then frozen again after a slight fall of snow. Os the solidity of this incrustation there could be no doubt, for camels, horses and mules were traveling over it without a vibration of any kind being perceptible. 1 After marching for about eight miles upon this unusual surface the party halted to examine its composition. They tried, by means of a hammer and an iron tent peg, to break off a block of salt to carry away as a specimen. The salt, however, was so very hard that they could make no Impression up it. They managed at last in another place to chip off a lot of fragments which were of the purest white. In two or three days they had absorbed so much moisture that they became soft and slately blue in color. Thehe are few more nigged figures among the Scotch scholars of the present generation than is Prof. Blackie, of Edinburgh. Though 83, he hae never worn a pair of spectacles, and for thirty years be had no need of medical advice. He attributes the vitality of his old age to his custom of living by an unvarying system, and it Is noteworthy that Oliver Wendell Holmes, who is of about ths same age and equally well preserved, told an interviewer some time ago that his own good health was due to his habit of living strictly by rule, even to the temperature of his bath. It is interesting to know that Prof. Blackie does not go to bed until the clock strikes 12. He rises at 7:30, and always after _ _ his midday meal ho takes a nap. Eliza Sparrow, of Martha’s Vineyard, has given a large tract pt land t» the Marine Hospital. ;