Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1878 — ILLINOIS DEMOCRACY. [ARTICLE]

ILLINOIS DEMOCRACY.

Platform Adopted at the Late Springfield Convention. The Democracy of ~ihe State of UTmoie, assembled tn contention; congratulate the counSon the final settlement of the questions reting from th© late civil war, upon th© pnnciplee’tof loofcl self-gtevettunent $o long supported by the Democratic party, and reaffirm confidence in the capacity of the people to govern themselves, and their belief in the supremacy of the civil over the military power, the liberty of individual action uncontrolled by sumptuary laws, the separation Of church and state, the support of free comman.Bchools. and the duty of ail to yield to the lawfully-ex-pressed will of the majority; and we declare : 1. That reform must be made in national, State, county and municipal .Government by the reduction of tales afid expenditures, the dismissal of unnecessary and incompetent officers and employes from the public service, and the strict enforcement of official responsibility, and that the provisions of the State constitution limiting indebtedness and the rate of taxation shall be strictly observed and enforced. 2. a tariff for revere only .should be adopted, and. if discrimination be made, it should be in favor of the Accessaries of life, and, in order to remove a part of the burden from the mass of the people who are taxed too much,; a gradual tax on incomes over a reasonable sum for support ought to be adopted and placed upon the surplus profits of the wealthy, who escape their just proportion of taxation. 3. That we are in favor of United States bonds and treasury notes being subjected to taAtion, the same as other property. 4. That all contracts ought to be performed in good faith, according to the terms thereof, and the obligations of the Government discharged in lawful’ money, except when otheDwise expressly provided upon their face > nd by the law under which they were issued, and repudiation should find no favor with an honorable people. 5. That it is not our intention to make any further reduction of the principal of -the public defet-for the present, and the bonds, as they mature, or sooner if possible, should be toplaced by the issue of other bonds bearing;a lower rate of interest. It is the duty of the Federal Government to issue bonds in small denominations to be sold in this country for the accommodation of those who wish to invest savings in Safe securities. 6. That we are in favor of the immediate and unconditional repeal of the Resumption act. , / 7. That we applaud the action of Congress in the enactment of what is known as the Silver bill, and accept it as a partial measure of financial relief; but we demand such further legislation as may result in authorizing silverbullion certificates and legalizing the free coinage of the silver dollar, the demonetization of which we denounce as an act meriting the condemnation of the people. 8. That it is the exclusive prerogative of tho United States to issue all bills, to circulate all money, and. a right which ought not to be exercised by any State or corporation. 9. That no further contraction of the volume of legal-tender treasury notes ought to be allowed, and they should be received for customs, taxes and public dues as well as private debts, and reissfied'as fasbas received. 10. That the national-bank notes should be . retired, and instead thereof there should be issued by the Government an equal amount of treasury notes. 11. That subsidies in money, bonds, lands or credit ought not to be granted by tho Federal Government. • 12. That the Bankrupt law ought to be immediately repealed. *• ’ 13. That the courts should be brought as close to the homes of the litigants as economy in government will justify, and that, therefore, the judicial power of the United States should be so regulated as to prevent, in controversies between citizens of different States, the tramplei of cases from the Si ate to the Federal courts, which are so far removed'frojn tne people as to make justice therein inconvenient, expensive and tardy, and, further, that not less than $5,000 should be fixed as the minimum jurisdiction of such courts in such controversies. , 14. That the appointment by Federal courts of receivers of corporations who resist the payment of taxes, disregard the rights of the citizens, and turn the earnings of the corporations into foreign channels, is an ©yil that ought to be corrected by law, and Congress ought to enact such laws as will prohibit such evils, and prevent the interference by the Federal courts with the collection of State, county, and municipal taxes by the appointment of seceivers, the granting of injunctions, or other proceduse. 15. That the wages of employes of corporations engaged in mining, manufacturing, and transportation shall be made a first lien upon the property, receipts, and . earnings of said corporations, and that said lien should be declared, defined, and enforced by appropriate legal action. 16. That the system of leasing convict .abor ought to be immediately abolished by the Legislature, and some measure adopted to protect the manufacturers, mechanics, and laborers from unjust competition with convict labor of other States. . In addition to the above, which was submitted as a platform, the following resolutions were adopted : Hesolved, That the contract recently made by the Commissioners of the Penitentiary at Joliet with tihe Commissioners of the Eastern Insane Asylum, to build apd complete that asylum, is without the authority of law, anu the act of the Penitentiary Commissioners in sub-letting the entire work is-a like violation of law, and a flagrant wroitg to the mechanics and workingmen of this State, and the Attorney General is hereby requested to take immediate steps to have such contracts annulled, and to compel the letting of the work according to the statute. dissolved, That the acts of the leaders of the Repubhcan party th defeating the choice of the people for President and Vice President is the monster .politioal crime of the age; is a crime against free government and the elective franchise, which can only be condoned when the criminals are driven from power and conL signed to infamy by the people whom they have outraged; and we denounce the act of the President in appointing to high offices the teorrupt members of the Returning Boards as a reward for their infaixyius conduct; and we condemn the officer i of the Federal Govetnment who have attempted to interfere with the administration of justice in the courts of Louisiana. Hesolved, That it is the duty of our Legislature to enact a law for the protection of depositors in savings banks and all other banks, and for the incarceration of defaulting bank officers.