Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1890 — Platform [ARTICLE]

Platform

Adopted by tke Democratic State Convention, at Indianapolis, August 28,1890. A vigorous denunciation of Dudleyism and its abettors. We, the democracy of Indiana, In convention assembled for the first time since the memorable contest of 1888, when we went down in defeat; butlnot dishonor, overcome by the shameless methods of Dndleyism and the blocks-of-live, do solemnly declare: That the electoral vote of Indians was obtained for Harrison and Morton by the most flagrant crimes against the ballot-box ever perpetrated in an American oommonwealth;that these crimes were committed under the direct auspices of William Wade Dudley, then and now treasurer of the national republican committee, and by ths procurement and connivance of republican leaders in this state and in the nation; that the administration of Benjamin Rar. rison has made itself an accessory after the fact to these crimes by shielding the criminals from punishment and even by rewarding them for their knavery, and that the brazen prostitution of the machinery of the federal court for the district of Indiana, by its judge and attorney, to the protection of these conspirators against the suffrage, constitutes the most infamous chapter in the judicial annals of the republic The federal court of Indiana has decided that advising and organizing bribery is no crime. We appeal from thia decision to the people of Indiana, and we demand a verdict against William A. Woods and the miscreants whom he saved from legal punishment. We denounce the administration of Benjamin Harrison for its deliberate abandonment of civil service reform; for its use of cabinet positions and other high stations in payment, of financial campaign debts; for treating the public patronage as a family appendage, instead of a public trust, and quartering a host of relatives, by blood and by marriage, upon the national treasury; for dismissing honest and competent public servants, in violation of solemn pledges because of their political opinions, and fillingtheir places with men devoid of character or capacity ana whose only title to preferment rested upon disreputable partisan work; for its dalliance with questionable gift enterprises; for its complete subservience to Wall-st. and the money power, and its undisguised hostility or indifference to the rights and interests of the producing and laboring masses. We denounce the tariff monopolists for their efforts to perpetuate themselves in power by measures inconsistent with free institutions and contrary to good morals. We find in the force flection bill, the bills creatinglotton bordligh states and the McKinley tariff bill, the open manifestations of a gigantic conspiracy of the minority to oppress a groaning people with additional burdens of taxation for private benefit and to fasten it on the country in such a'way that the people can not free themselves from the galling load. We condemn the repuhlican party for , the deliberate theft of two s«ata it the senate of the Railed Staley from ih« peoll.■ • ‘ I .

I pie of Montana; for degrading the house of representatives from a deliberative body into a one-man despotism under the fals* and hypocritical pretense of expediting the public business; for unseating legally elected representatives of the people in order to strengthen a partisan majority, which was originally the product of fraud; for trampling upon the rights of the minority in disregard as well of justice and decency as of parliamentary usage and the plain requirements of the. constitution; and for reckless prodigality in appropriations, which has converted the surplus accumulated under the wise, frugal and statesmanlike administration of Grover Cleveland into a deficit of alarming dimensions, involving, in the near future, a further heavy increase of the people's burdens. We denounce the force election bill, which has passed the house, and has the active support of the administration, as revolutionary and unconstitutional. It strikes down home rule and local selfSvernment; suggests and encourages ludulent elections, and provides the machinery to accomplish dishonest returns and false certificates of election; fosters sectionalism and bayonet rule where every interest of the people invites to peace, fraternity and unity; outrages the traditions and customs of a century by giving life tenure to partisan returning boards;

makes the legislative and executive branches dependent upon the judiciary, and converts the) judiciary into an instrument oppression and corruption; involves the unnecessary expenditure of millions of the people’s money, and in Indiana nulifles the Andrews election law passed by the last legislature over the determined opposition of the republicans. We dedare that intsference of any kind by the federal government with state elections is a dangerous menace to the form of government bequeathed us by the framers of the constitution, and that the intelligence and patriotism of the American peopie may safely be trusted to remedy any evils that may exist in our elections. We denounce the McKinley tariff bill as the most outrageous measure of taxation ever proposed in the American congress. It will increase taxes upon ihe necessaries of life and reduce taxes upon the luxuries. It will make life harder for every farmer and wage-earner in the land in order that the profits of monopolies and trusts may be swelled. It affords no relief whatever to the agricultural interests of the country, already staggering under the burdens of protection; Tn the words of James G. Blaine, “it will not open a market for a single bushel of wheat or a single barrel of pork. ’’ We are opposed to legislation which compels Indiana farmers to pay bounties to the sugar planters and silk growers of other states. We are opposed to class legislation of every kind; sidies and bounties of every description and in every disguise. We are in favor of that widelmeasure of commercial freedom proposed by Grover Cleveland which would benefit the farmers aud laborers of the entire country, ineteadbf that-limited measure of so-called reciprocity offered by Mr. Blaine, which would benefit only a few eastern manufactures. So long as the government depends for support in any degree upon a tariff,- we demand that it be levied for revenue only, and so far as possible upon the luxuries of the classed, instead of the necessaries of the masses.

We denounce the silver bill, so-called, recently enacted, as an ignominious surrender to the money power. It perpetuates the demonetization of silver and the ■ingle gold standard, whereas the interest* of the people require the complete remonetization of silver and its restoration to >erfect equality with gold in our coinage. We demand the free and unrestricted coinage of silver upon the basis existing prior to 1873. We are in favor, as we always have been, of a just and liberal pension system. We denounce the republican party for making pledges to the veterans in 1888 which have not been redeemed, aad were not intended to be redeemed, and we warn them against further attempts at deception from the same quarter. We are rejoiced at the evidences of an awakening of the farmers of the country to the necessity for organized efforts to better their own condition and protect themselves against unjust legislation and oppressive administration. We invite attention to the fact that farmers are demanding, in substance, the same measures of relief which the democratic party has been advocating for years, but has not had the power to enact, and that the surest and speediest way of obtaining this relief is to restore the democracy to power in every departmens of the government.

We demand legislation prohibiting aliens from acquiring lands in America, and for the forfeitute ol titles to the 20,742,000 acres of our public landsjnow hold by them. We favor the election of U. S. senators by the people. We endorse most heartily the legislation of the general assembly of 1889. We applaud the election reform laws and pledge ourselves to their support and full enforcement. We applaca the school text-book laws by which the people are given school-books at one-half their former price. We favor such additional legislation as will give full effect to the objects of this act, and will extend its scope as far as practicable, and pledge ourselves to resist every attempt or the school-book trust to regain its old control over our public schools. We favor such simplification of the school laws affeming township trustee and county superintendents, and their duties as will increase their efficiency and decrease expenses. We applaud the bill for county fanners' institutes, and pledge ourselves to countenance and extend that valuable means of universal instruction in agricultural science. We applaud the state board of charities law, and commend the excellent work done by that board in improving the condition and methods of our benevolent and reformatory institutions. The creation of our jsplendid system of public charities, and their honest and efficient management, constitutes one of the strongest titles of the Indiana democracy to popular confidence and support. We applaud the law for funding the school debt, by which the state is saved annually $120,000 in interest, and nearly $4,000,000 has been distributed to the counties to be loaned to the people at 6 per cent interest. s We denounce the of certain republican state officials and . newspapers to destroy the slate’s credit for partisan by disseminating false statements as to her financial condition and Resources. Indiana is not bankrupt, Her

taxes are low and her debt is not oppressive, and for every dollar of it she has ’ more than value received in great public institutions—a fact which speaks volumes for democratic integrity, economy and efficiency. The state debt obligations should not be hawked over the country, but should be made a popular domestio'security, issued direct to the people of the state in bonde of small denomination, drawing a low rate of interest,*and non-taxable, that the interest paid may remain at home, andthe securities may be made a safe investment for trust funds and the people’s savings. We demand the adoption of a system of equalizating the appraisement of real and personal property in this state, to the end that an equal and proper uniformity in such assessments shall be secured, for the reason that under existing regulations many counties are compelled to pay an unjust proportion of the state’s expenses, which others as unjustly escape. We applaud the eight-hour labor law, the law to prevent “blacklisting," the law prohibiting “pluck-me" stores, the laws for the protection of coal miners, the law § reventing the importation of Pinkerton etectives; and the repeal of the republican intimidation law of 1881 as manifestations of the steadfast friendship of the democratic party to the workingmen. We point to these laws as evidence that our friendship to American labor is not confined to words alone.

We denounce the employment of the Pinkertons by a railroad corporation in the pending contest with its employes, and hold it to be the duty of state and local officials everywhere to prevent such an usurpation by capital of the police powei's ILe state. We are in favor of arbitration as the only just and fair method of settling labor controversies, and we demand of the next legislature the passage of a lawjcreating a permanent tribunal for that purpose. We insist that labor has as good a right to organize in sel-protec-tion as capital, and that labor organizations should be placed on a perfect equality before the law with organizations of capital, known as corporations. We favor the just and equitable apportionment of the school revenues of the state.

We favor the total abandonment of the system of fees and perquisites tn the payment of state and county officers; ana we demand the enactment of a law by the next legislature fixing fair salaries for all public officials, the same to go into effect as soon as possible. Judges Coffey, Berkshire and Olds, republican members of the supreme bench, deserve the contempt of the people of Indiana for their action in overturning the settled construction of the constitution, reversing all legal precedents and contradicting their owu rulings for the sake ot a few petty offices and at the dictation of unscrupulous political tricksters. i While we heartily indorse, and shall always uphold, maintain and foster, at any cost, our system of public schools for the free instruction of all who wish to make use of them, we are unalterably opposed to all attempts to regulate, by law, the course of study in any private or parochial school, and we deprecate and denounce any interference on the part of the state in the management of schools, maintained by citizens at their own expense, as an arbitrary, despotic and intolerable encroachment upon private rights. We favor legislation for establishing and preserving the township libraries of he state of Indiana as invaluable aduncts of our common school system. We heartily indorse the course of Danwl W. Voorhees and David Turpie in the U. S. senate, and commend them for their able and brilliant advocacy of democratic principles and their vigilant defense of the public interests against the assaults of plutocracy and monopoly. We also indorse the course of Indiana’s ten democratic representatives in cohgress. Senator Ewing of Decatur introduced the following resolution, which was referred to the committee on resolutions, which promptly reported it back to the convention, and it was adopted: Resolved, That it is the sense of this convention that hereafter the members of the state central committee shall be chosen on the Bth day of January et each alternate year (commencing in the year 1892) by the voters of the respective congressional districts representedjby delegates appointed by the respective counties ana such delegates shall assemble at thecall of the chairman of the state central committee. The members of the state central committee thus chosen shall hold their positions for two years or until their successors are respectively elected.

Forgiven but not forgotten;" that the Chicago Bargain Store about one year ago was licensed $lO per day, which meant they should leave town for selling goods, cheap for cash, but they are here yet with more than double the stocky double the business, larger room, loweal prices than ever. C. P. Hopkins has commenced thdpublication of a paper at Cumberland Gap, Tenn. It starts out well, and we wish our old friend success. Every dollar made do double duty in buying, at the fountain head, an endless variety of Dry Goods,* Clothing, Boots, Shoes, Rubbers, Plush Cloaks, Hats, Caps, Gloves, Underwear, Tinware, Notions, &c.,»&c. Come early. , Chicago Bargain House. Bro. Ingrim, of the Winamac Journal 1 and family, and Mrs. Arthur Bruce, visited at Rev. T. F. Drake’s, Sunday. - *'«•» I -111 I Persons anticipating buying woolen and cotton flannels in quantities, should buy a few small pieces at three different stores at -he same prices and compare quality at home. Include a few pieces from the> Chicago Bargain Store. Work on the new Christian churchiis progressing. A full line of all wool double width cloth Dress Goads, from 25 oentsta $1.45 yer yard. Chicago Bargain Store. State Fair next week. Round-trip tickets one fare. Sale of tickets begins Saturday, Sept. 20th, Gone Abroad to School.— Misses Sarah Chilcote and Mamie Williams, to ItePauw; Miss Jean Hammond, South Band; Rob Vanatta and Walter Willey to Bloomington.