6 A PEERLESS PAIR. Mckinley and Roosevelt are Chosen to Lead Re publican Hosts. Three Harmonious Sessions are Concluded with a Political Love Feast. Wild Scenes of Enthusiasm Hvoked by the Oratory of Fam ous Spellbinders. A Platform Adopted Hint Itrcatlie* l»a -triotiKin and UIMIVIII In ICtery Paragraph Senator llanna I* lie-elected t liuirinan ol National Commuter. Philadelphia, June 30.—Chairman llanna, with a rabbit's foot suspend ed from a miniature of McKinley in the lapel of his coat, surveyed an im posing' spectacle when he called the twelfth republican national conven tion to order in the Export Exposi tion building in West Philadelphia yesterday. In the valley below him were crowded the 1,800 delegates and alternates, and stretching away to the four corners of the immense hall were endless vistas of people rising in terraced seats to the walls, lie look ed into the faces of fully 15,000 men and women. Opposite, in a broad WILLIAM M'KINLEV. gallery, were massed 100 musicians, their leader a mere pigmy ill the dis The platform on which he stood jutted out like a huge rock into ati ocean of humanity. Below him and flanking the stage was an embank ment thronged with the representa tives of the press of the country. Above was a riot of Hags, bunting, eagles, shields, the whole scheme of tin- elaborate decorations culminating in a huge portrait of McKinley nest ling in the folds of the American flag. About him were the working leaders of his party and behind, among the dignitaries and honored guests of the convention, were white haired men who had been present at the party's birth in this city almost half a cen tury ago. It was not a riotous convention. There were no wild outbursts of en thusiasm from tlie frenzied partisans of rival candidates, no entrance of delegations with banners to set the multitudes cheering-, no fierce skir mishing and clashing" of candidates' managers over rulesV>f procedure and contesting delegations. The chieftain in the coining battle had already been selected by the unanimous voice of the republicans of the country. The m;in who had stood at the helm of the ship of state for four years Mas their unbroken choice. The plat form was the record of his adminis tration. The only question that, re in.lined for the convention to decide was the vice presidency. Ail OvHlioii for ItooMevell. Chairman llanna called the conven tion to order at 12:35. After the invocation by Kev. ,T. (!. Holt on, of Philadelphia, Senator Han- Da called upon the secretary of the national committee to read the call for the convention. When Mr. Dick had finished reading the document Mr. llanna stepped to the front of the platform and in a clear voice welcom ed flic visitors and said the national committee made no mistake when it brought, the convention to Philadel phia. He illluded to the city as the cradle of liberty and the birthplace of Ilie republican party. This greatly pleased the Quaker City folks anil they cheered lustily, lie spoke of the hospitality of the city and thanked everybody, including Mayor Ash bridge. Mr. Haiuia said ii was the most successful convention in the history of any political party. Then he began to touch on the work to be done, lie told the delegates that their duty here was one of delibera tion. The country, he said, was on the eve of another great national struggle and that the party was form ing its battalions under the leader ship of 'hat great patriot, William McKinley. Delegates and spectators jumped up and cheered with enthusi asm at the mention of the president. Mr. llanna waited, smiling, until the applause died away and then con tinued : "I was about to order the battalions to march when you interrupted me. In the light to come, leave everything to tlw people and follow the motto of the national com mi tt.ee in ISOfl. 'There is no such word as fail." " llanna was cheered enthusiastically as he concluded, and announced tliat the national committee presented Senator Edward (). Wolcott, of Colo rado, for temporary chairman. Sen ator Fairbanks, of Indiana, moved tiiat tin* recommendation of the com mittee be adopted. The motion car ried. Senator WiilrnlO Speech. Senator Wolcott then came forward and with a pleasant nod of acknowl edgment to Senator IliHina, addressed the convention. His speech in part follows: Since the first party convention in these United States, there was never one gathered together under such hopeful and auspicious cir cumstances us those which surround us to-day. United, proud of the achievements of the past four years, our country prosperous and happy, with nothing to regret and naught to make us ashamed, with a record spotless and clean, the republican party stands facing the dawn, confident that the ticket it shall present will command public approval, and that in the de claration of its principles and its purposes, it will voice the aspirations and hopes of the vast majority of American freemen. We need "no omen but our country's cause;" yet there is significance in the fact that the convention is assembled in this historic and beautiful city, where we first assumed terri torial responsibilities, when our fathers, a cen tury and a quarter ago. promulgated the im mortal Declaration of Independence. While we observe the law of nations and maintain that neutrality which we owe to a great and friendly government, the same spirit lives to-day in the genuine feeling of sympathy we cherish for the brave men now fighting for their homes in the veldts of South Africa It prompts us in our determination to give to the dusky races of the Philippines the blessings of good government and republican institutions, and finds voice in our indignant protest against the violent suppression of the rights of the colored man in the south. That spirit will sur vive in the breasts of patriotic men as long as the nation endures, and the event* of the past have taught us that ft can tlnd Its fair and free and full expression only in the principles and policy of the republican party. The first and pleasant duty of this (treat con vention is to send a message of affectionate greeting to our leader and our country's presi dent. William McKinley. In all that pertains to our welfare in times of peace, his genius has directed us. He has shown an unerring mastery of the economic problems which con front us. and has guided us out of the slough of financial disaster, impaired credit and com mercial stagnation, up to the high and safe ground of national prosperity and financial stability. Never in the memory of this gener ation has there stood at the head of the government a truer patriot, a wiser or more courageous leader, or a better example of the highest type of American manhood. Four years ago the republican party at St. Louis named a ticket which commanded the confidence and support of the American people. It bore the names of two eminent Americans, each endeared by years of loyal service to his country and his party, and had Garret Aug ustus Hobart been spared to us until to-day. the work of this convention would have been limited to a cordial and unanimous indorse ment of the leaders of S>6. When Mr. McKinley became president he took the reins of government after four years of democratic administration. For the flrst time in more than a generation democracy had full sway, with both houses of congress in party accord with the executive. No sum mary of the unmerciful disasters of those four years can convey an idea of a tithe of the ruin they wrought In the four years preceding Mr. Cleveland's administration we had paid '-J6O millions of the national debt: he added 230 millions to its bur dens. He found a tariff act, bearing the name of his successor and our president, fitted to meet the requirements of our necessary expen ditures, to furnish the needed protection to our farmers and manufacturers, and to insure the steady and remunerative employment of those who labor. The appalling result of his policy is still fresh in the memory of millions who suffered from it. In four years the coun try witnessed some <lO,OOO commercial failures, with liabilities aggregating more than 900 mil lions of dollars: one hundred and seventy seven railroads passed Into the hands of re ceivers, more than 170 national banks closed their doors, farm mortgages were foreclosed by thousands throughout the great west, our agricultural exports shrunk in value, nearly one-third of the laboring population of the United States were thrown out of employment and men by thousands walked the highways of the land clamoring for work or food. When President McKinley was inaugurated the country was in a state more deplorable than had existed for a generation. The industrial history of the United States for the past four years is the tribute to the wisdom of his judgment. We passed from a condition of threatened insolvency to one of national solvency. Under the wise provisions of our tariff laws and the encouragement afforded to capital by a renewal of public confidence, trade commenced to re vive. The looms were no longer silent and the mills deserted; railway earnings increased, merchants and banks resumed business, labor found employment at fair wages, our exports increased, and the sunshine of hope again illumined the land. There isn't an idle mill in the country to-day. The mortgages on western farms have been paid by the tens of thousands, and our farmers are contented and prosperous. Whenever a republican administration is in power there is constant talk of trusts. The reason isn't far to seek. Aggregations and combinations of capital find their only encour agement in prosperous days and widening commerce. Democratic administration in this country has universally meant industrial stag nation and commercial depression, when capi tal seeks a hiding place instead of investment. The republican party has always maintained that any combination having for its purpose the cornering of a market or the raising or controlling of the price of the necessaries of life was unlawful and ■hould be punished, and CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JUNE 28 1900. a commission appointed by the president under the act of c njress has made careful in vestigation and will soon present a full report of the best method of dealing with this intri cate question. For twelve years the platforms of the repub lican party have declared In favor of the use of gold and silver as money. The logic of recent events, together with the attempt of the dem ocracy to drag down the question from Its in ternational character, -to associate it with every vagary of populism and socialism, and to drive this country to an alliance with Mexico and China, as an exclusively silver-using country, has impelled our people to this settle ment of this problem, and the recent action of congress has eliminated the danger which its further agitation menaced. Through the wisdom of a republican admin istration. we have not only made stable and permaucnt our financial credit, at home and abroad, are utilizing more silver as money than ever before in our history, but we have left the populistic democracy a dead issue they can never again galvanize into life, and compelled them to seek to create new issues growing out of a war which thoy were most eager to precipitate. The coming winter will see enacted into law, legislation which shall revivify and upbuild our ocean merchant marine, and enable us to compete on fair terms with the subsidized ships of foreign nations which now so largely monopolize the carriage of American goods. And above all, we shall pass a law under which we shall build and own a ship canal con necting the Atlantic and the Pacific. Through it in time of peace the commerce of the world shall pass. If we shall be unhappily engaged in war, the canal shall carry our warships and shall exclude those of the enemy, and under conditions which shall violate no treaty stipu lations. During the weeks and months preceding the outbreak of hostilities with Spain the presi dent of the United States stood firmly upon the ground that a peaceful solution could be found. And when that awful occurrence took place In the harbor of Havana, and a hot frenzy of indignation swept over our people, he faced popular clamor and still believed that the wrongs of Cuba could be redressed without an appeal to the arbitrament of war. The folly of Spain and the indignation of the American people forbade a peaceful solution. Then the president, seconded by a republican congress, before a gun was tired, declared to the world the lofty and unselfish motives that alone actuated the nation. In August, lx« 8, a preliminary protocol was executed at Washington, followed by the ses sions of the peace commissioners of the United States and Spain, in Paris, commencing in October of that year. Public interest in this country concerning these negotiations was in tense. The Treaty of Paris was ratified by the vote of two-thirds of the senate, and the territory we acquired under it became lawful and legal possessions of the United States. The respon sibility for the war rested upon us all; the re sponsibility for the treaty rests chiefly upon the republican party, and that party avows the wisdom of the treaty and declares it to be the policy of the party to adhere to its terms and to accept the responsibilities it imposed. We assumed dominion of Porto Kico, Cuba and the Philippines for reasons differing as to each of them. We took to ourselves the little island of Porto Rico because it lay under the shadow of our own shores, and because its continued occu pancy by Spain or by any foreign government would be a constant menace to the states. There has been much discussion during the past few months in respect to the extent of the power of this country to deal with Porto Kico and our other possessions, and it has been fre quently contended by the democracy that as soon as we became the owners of any of these islands the constitution of the United States at once extended over them, or in the orator ical but misleading phrase. "The constitution follows the flag." The argument is specious, but it will not bear investigation. The same question was raised in 1803, at the time of the Louisiana purchase, and the doctrine then es tablished by congress that we could acquire foreign soil by purchase, that congress had the right to establish there such government as it saw tit, and that the constitution did not of its own force extend over such territory. VVe are dealing with Cuba In a spirit not only of fairness but of generosity and of ab solute unselfishness, and whenever the inhabi tants of that island evince and declare their ability to take over its government and control, that day they shall receive it. The insurrection against our legitimate au thority. which, for the time, impedes our efforts to establish a government for the Fili pinos, involves us in a sacrifice of lives and of treasure The difficulties we encounter in the island of Luzon are many, but the chief in spiration and cncoumigement of the Tagal in surrection come from the democratic head quarters in the United States. Partisanship has proved stronger than patriotism, even while our soldiers are being murdered by ma rauding bandits, and if it were not for the hope held out to Agulnaldo by American sympa thizers, the insurrection in the Philippines would long ago have ended. The wise statesmanship of the president and our able secretary ef state has brought from the countries of Europe a recognition of our rights to share in the vast commercial advan tages which will follow the opening of the Chinese empire to foreign trade, and if coun sels of fear do not prevail, this generation will see the American nation girdling half the globe with its flag. In the readjustment of world-conditions, where we must take our place with the other great nations of the earth, we shall move with caution, but not with fear. We seek only to lift up men to better things, to bless and not to destroy. The fathers of the republic accepted with courage such responsibilities as devolved upon them. The same heavens bend over us, and the same power that shielded them will guard and protect us, for what we seek is to build still more firmly, always upon founda tions of probity and of virtue, the glorious edi fice of the republic. Whatever else In the past has suffered change or decay, the republican party, which for forty years has been identified with everything en nobling and uplifting in our history, was never as vital, as virile, and as vigorous as to-day. And the heritage we shall transmit to the new century, to the coming generation and to their children, and to their children's children, shall be a record clean and untarnished, an un quenchable faith In free institutions, an un alterable belief in the patriotism of the people, and an undying love of liberty and of country. Senator Wolcott's speech was fre quently interrupted with enthusiastic applause. The convention then proceeded to ils temporary organization, the chair man naming Hon. Charles W. John son. of Minnesota, as secretary. He also named a number of assistant sec retaries, clerks, etc. The chairman then recognized Gov. Taylor, of Ken tucky. and invited him to the plat form. He was loudly cheered as he proceeded to the platform and sec onded lite nominations of the various oflicials who had been announced. The nominations were made una ur inous. Sere no Payne, of N'ew York, was recognized, lie moved that the con vention be governed by the rules of the last convention. Carried. Kewell. of New Jersey, was recog nized. He moved that the roll be called and the chairman announce the names of the men selected to serve on committees. Congressman Joseph G. Cannon at 2:55 o'clock moved that the conven tion take a recess until 1" o'clock to morrow. llefore putting the motion Chair man Wolcott introduced the liev. Dr. bevy, now white haired and feeble, who delivered the invocation at the first, republican convention in this city forty-four years ago to-day. The | convent ion arose and received hib i blesssiii' r . THEODORE KOOSEVE LT. Sl:(OM) DAY'S SKSSION. Philadelphia, June 21.—After the report of the committee on perma nent organization was adopted by the convention yesterday, Gov. Koosevelt escorted the permanent chairman. Senator Lodge, to the platform. Sen ator Lodge spoke in part as follows: Senator I.oilge Sound* a Keynote. Dominant among the issues of four years ago was that of our monetary and financial system. The republican party promised to uphold our credit, to protect our currency from revolution, and to maintain the gold standard. We have done so. We have done more. We have been better than our promise. Failing to secure, after honest effort, any encour agement for International bimetallism, we lave passed a law strengthening the gold standard and planting it more firmly than ever in our financial system, improving our banking laws, buttressing our credit, and refunding the public debt at per cent interest, the loweest rate in the world. It was a great work well done. SENATOR MARK A. HANNA. (Chairman of the National Republican Committee.) But there were still other questions in lSfwi. VVe had already thwarted the ef forts of the Cleveland administration to throw the Hawaiian islands back to their dethroned queen and to give England a foothold for her cables in the croup. We then said we would settle finally the Ha waiian question. We have done so. The traditional American policy has been car ried out. The flag of the Union floats to day over the crossroads of the Pacific. We promised to deal wttn the Cuban question. Again comes the reply, "We have done so." The long agony of the island is over. Cuba is free. But this great work brought with it events and is sues which no man had foreseen, for which no party creed had provided a policy. Was ever a war more justly entered up on, more quickly fought, more fully won, more thorough in its results? Cuba is free. Spain has been driven from the western hemisphere. Fresh glory has eutne to our arms and crowned our flag. It was the work of the American people, but the republican party was their in strument. War, however, is ever like the sword of Alexander. It cuts the knots. It is a great solvent and brings many results not to be foreseen. The world forces un chained in war perform in hours the work of years of quiet. So much for the past. We are proud of It. The living present is ours, the pres ent of prosperity and activity in busi ness, of good wages and quick payments, of labor employed and capital invested, of sunshine in the market place and the stir of abounding life in the workshop and on the farm. It is with this that we have replaced the depression, the doubts, the dull business, me low wages, the idle labor, the frightened capital, the dark clouds which overhung industry and ag riculture In 1596. This Is what we would preserve, so far as sound governmet and wise legislation can do it. This is what we brought to the country four years ago. This is what we offer now. Again we promise that the protective system shall be maintained and that out great industrial interests shall goon their way unshaken by the dire fear of tariff agitation and of changing duties. Again we declare that we will guard the na» tional credit, uphold a sound currency based on gold and keep the wages of the workingman and the enterprise of the man of business free from that most deadly of all evils, a fluctuating standard of value. The deficit which made this great country in a time of profound peace a borrower of money to meet the current expenditures has been replaced by abundant revenue, bringing a surplus, due alike to prosperity and to wise legis lation, so ample that we can now safely promise a large reduction of taxation without imperiling our credit or risking a resort to loans. We are prepared to take steps to re vive and build up our merchant marine and thus put into American pockets the money paid for carrying Americas) freights. Out of the abundant resources which our financial legislation has brought us we will build the isthmian canal and lay the cables which will help to turn the current of eastern trade to the Golden Gate. We are on good terms with all nations and mean to remain so. while we promise to insure our peace and safe ty by maintaining the Monroe doctrine, by ample coast defenses, and by building up a navy which no one can challe/ige with impunity. The new problems brought by the war we face with confidence in ourselves, and a still deeper confidence in the American people, who will deal justly and rightly with the islands which have come into their charge. The outcry against our new possessions is as empty as the cant about "militarism" and "imperialism" is devoid of sense and meaning. Regard for a moment those who are loudest In shrieking that the American people are about to enter upon a career of oppres s'on and that the republic is In danger. Have they been in the past the guardians of freedom? Is safety for liberty now to be found most surely in the party which was the defender of domestic slavery? is true freedom to be secured by the as cendancy of the party which beneath our very eyes seeks to establish through in famous laws the despotic rule of a small and unscrupulous band of usurpers in Kentucky, who trample there not upon the rights of the black men only, but of the whites, and which seeks to extend the same system to North Carolina and Missouri? Has it come suddenly to pass that the democratic party which to-day aims whenever it acquires power to con tinue in office by crushing out honest elec tions and popular rule —has it, indeed, come to pans. I say, that that party is the chosen prelector of liberty? If It were so the outlook would be black indeed. No! The party of Lincoln may best be trust*! now. as in the past, to be true, I even as he was true, to the rights of man j and to human freedom, whether within j the borders of the United States or In the | islands which have come beneath our | (lag. The liberators may be trusted to watch over the liberated. We who freed ■ Cuba will keep the pledge we made to j her and will guide her along the road to Independence and stable government until she Is ready to settle her own fu ture by the free expression of her peo ! pie's will. We will be faithful to the • trust imposed upon us, and if among those rfo whom this great work is con ! tided in Cuba, or elsewhere, wrongdoers i shall be found—men not only bad in J morals but dead to their duty as Amer j icans and false to the honor of our name we will punish these basest of criminals | to the extent of the law. ! For the islands of Hawaii and Porto | Rico the political problem has been | solved, and by republican legislation they | have been given self-government, and are I peaceful and prosperous under the rule of ! the United States. j In the Philippines we were met by re bellion, fomented by a self-seeking ad venturer and usurper. The duty of the president was to repress that rebellion, to see to it that the authority of the United States, as rightful and as right eous in Manila as In Philadelphia, was acknowledged and obeyed. That harsh and painful duty President McKinley has performed firmly and justly, eager to re sort to gentle measures wherever possi ble, unyielding when treachery and vio lence made force necessary. Unlike the opponents of expansion, we do not regard the soldiers of Otis and Lawton and Mac- Arthur "as enemy's camp." In our eyes they are the soldiers of the United States, they are our army, and we believe in them and will sustain them. | The restoration of peace and order now so nearly reached in the Philippines shall be completed. Civil government shall he established, and the people advanced as rapidly as possible along the road to en tire freedom and to self-government under our (lag. We do not mean that the Phil ippines shall come without our tariff sys tem or become part of our body politic. We do mean that they shall, under our teaching, learn to govern themselves and remain under our flag with the largest possible measure of home rule. We make no hypocritical pretense of being inter ested in the Philippines solely on ac count of others. While we regard the welfare of these people as a sacred trust, we regard the welfare of the American people first. We see our duty to our selves ,as well as to others. VVe believe in trade expansion. By every legitimate means within the province of government and legislation we mean to stimulate the expansion of our trade and to open new markets. Greatest of all markets is Coma. Our trade there is growing by leaps and bounds. Manila, the prize of war, gives us inestimable advantages in developing that trade. It is the cornerstone of our eastern policy, and the brilliant diplomacy of John Hay in securing from all naticns a guarantee of our treaty rights and of the open door in China rests upon it. We ask the Amer ican people whether they will throw away these new markets and widening oppor tunities for trade and commerce by put ting in power the democratic party, who seek under cover of a newly discovered affection for the rights of man to give up these islands it> the east and make Dewey's victory fruitless. It is 011 these facts that we shall ask for the support of the American people. What we have done is known, and about what we intend to do there is neither se crecy nor deception. What we promise we will perform. Our old policies are here alive, successful and full of vigor. Our new policies have been begun and for them we ask support. When the clouds of impending civil war hung dark over the country in 18(11 we took up the great task then laid upon us and never flinched until we had carried it through SENATOR WOLCOTT. (Temporary Chairman of the Republican Convention.) to victory. Now, at the dawn of a new century, with new policies and new op portunities opening l before us, in the bright sunshine of prosperity we again ask the American people to entrust us with their future. We have profound faith in the people. We do not distruet their capacity of meeting the new respon sibilities even as they met the old, and we shall await with confidence, under the leadership of VV illiam McKinley, the ver dict of November. Senator Lodge's address was re ceived witli long continued applause. The I'latlorm. Following' is the full text of the platform adopted: The republicans of the United States, through their chosen representatives, met in national convention, looking back upon an unsurpassed record of achieve ment and looking forward into a great field of duty and opportunity, and ap pealing to tiie judgment of their coun- I trymen, make these declarations: The expectation in which the Amer ican people, turning from the democratic party, intrusted power four years ago to a republican chief magistrate and a republican congress has been met and satisfied. When the people then assem bled at the polls, after a term of demo cratic legislation and administration, business was dead, industry paralyzed » and the national credit disastrously im paired. The country's capital was hid den and its labor distressed and unem ployed. The democrats had no other plan with which to improve the ruin ous conditions which they had them selves produced than to coin silver at the ratio of lti to 1. The republican party, denouncing this plan as sure to produce i conditions even worse than those from j which relief was sought, promised to re store prosperity by means of two legis lative measures—a protective tariff and I a law making gold the standard of value. j The people by great majorities issued j to tlie republican party a commission to' enact these laws. This commission has been executed, and 'he republican prom ise is redeemed. Prosperity more general arid more abundant than we have ever known has followed these enactments. There is no longer controversy as to the value of any government obligations. Every Ameriran dollar is a gold dollar or its assured equivalent, and American credit stands higher than that of any na tion Capital is fully employed and labor everywhere is profitably occupied. No single fact can more strikingly tell the story of what republican government means to the country than this—that While during the whole period of 107 years from 17110 to 1H97 there was an excess of exports over imports of only $3*5,028,497, there lias been in the short three years of the present republican administration . an excess of exports over imports in the ■ ' enormous sum of $1,483,537,094. And while the American people, sus ta.ned by this republican legislation, have been achieving these splendid triumphs in their business and commerce, there has been conducted and in victory con cluded a war for liberty and human rights. No thought of national aggran dizement tarnished the high purpose with which American standards were unfurled. It was a war unsought and patiently re sisted. but when it came the American government was ready. Its fleets were cleared for action Its armies were In the field and the quick and signal triumph of its forces on land and sea bore equal trib ute to the courage of American soldiers and sailors, and to the skill and fore sight of republican statesmanship. To ten millions of the human race there was given "A new birth of freedom," and to the American people a new and noble re sponsibility. We indorse the administration of Will iam McKinley. Its acts have been estab lished in wisdom and in patriotism, and at iiome and abroad It has distinctly ele vated and extended the influence of the American nation. Walking untried paths and facing unforeseen responsibilities. President McKinley has been in every situation the true American patriot and the upright statesman, clear In vision, strong in judgment, lirm in action, al ways inspiring and deserving the con fidence of his countrymen. In asking the American people to in dorse this republican record and to renew their commission to the republican party, we remind them of the fact that the menace to their prosperity has always resided in democratic principles and no less in the general incapacity of the democratic party to conduct public af fairs. The prime essential of business prosperity is public confidence in the good sense of the government and in its ability to deal intelligently with each new problem of administration and legisla tion. That confidence the democratic party has never earned. It is hopelessly inadequate, and the country's prosperity when democratic success at the polls is i announced halts and ceases in mere an ticipation of democratic blunders and failures. SENATOR LODGE. (Permanent Chairman of the Republican Convention.) We renew our allegiance to the princi ple of the gold standard and declare our confidence in the wisdom of the legis lation of the Fifty-sixth congress, by which the parity of all our money and tho stability of our currency upon a gold basis has been secured. We recognize that interest rates are a potent factor in oroduetion and business activity, and for the purpose of further equalizing and of further lowering t..e rates of Interest, we favor such monetary legislation as will enable the varying needs of the season and of all sections to bo promptly met in order that trade may be evenly sustained, labor steadily employed and commerce enlarged. The volume of money In circulation was never so great per capita as it is to-day. We declare our steadfast opposition to the free and unlirtiited coinage of silver. No measure to that end could be consid ered which was without the support of the leading commercial countries of the world. However firmly republican legis lation may seem to have secured the country against the peril of base and dis credited currency, the election of a demo cratic president could not fail to impair the country's credit and to bring once more into question the intention of the American people to maintain upon the gold standard the parity of their money circulation. The democratic party must be convinced that the American people will never tolerate the Chicago plat« form. We recognize the necessity and proprl ety of the honest co-operation of capital to meet new business conditions and es peciallv to extend our rapidly increas ing foreign trade, but we condemn all conspiracies and combinations intended to restrict business, to create monopolies, to limit production, or to control prices, and favor such legislation as will effect ively restrain and prevent all such abuses, protect and promote competition and se cure the rights of producers, laborers and all who are engaged in industry and com merce. We renew our faith in the policy of protection to American labor. In that policy our industries have been estab lished, diversified and maintained. By protecting the home market competition has been stimulated and production cheapened. Opportunity to the inventive genius of our people has been secured and wages in every department of labor maintained at high rates, higher now than ever before, and always distinguish ing our working people In their better conditions of life from those of any com peting country. Enjoying the blessings of the American common school, secure in the right of self-government and pro tected in the occupancy of their own markets. their constantly increasing knowledge and skill have enabled them finally to enter the markets of the world. We favor the associated policy of reci procity, so directed as to open our markets on favorable terms for what we do not ourselves produce in return for free for eign markets. In the further interest of American workmen we favor a more effective re striction of the immigration of cheap la bor from foreign lands, the extension of opportunities of education for working c 't l !! c ! r ? n : the raising of the age limit for child labor, the protection of free labor as against contract convict labor and ai» effective system of labor insurance. Our present dependence upon foreign shipping for nine-tenths of our foreign carrying trade is a great loss to the in dustry of this country. It is also a seri ous danger to our trade, for its sudden withdrawal in the event of European war would seriously cripple our expanding foreign commerce. The national defense and naval efficiency of this country' moreover, supply a compelling reason lot legislation which will enable us to re cover our former place among the trade carrying fleets of the world. The nation owes a profound gratitude to the soldiers and sailors who have fought its battles, and it Is the govern ment's duty to provide for the survivors and for the widows and orphans of those who have fallen in the country's wars. The pension laws, founded in litis just sentiment, should be liberal and shouut be liberally administered and preference should be given, wherever practicable with respect to employment in the pub lic service, to soldiers and sailors and to their widows and orpnans. We commend the policy of the repub lican party in maintaining the efficiency of the civil service. The administration has acted wisely in its effort to secure for public service in Cuba. Porto Rico, Ha waii and the Philippine islands only those whose titness has been determined by training and experience. We believe that employment in the public service in these territories should lie confined as far a* practicable to their inhabitants. It was the plain purpose of the Fif teenth amendment to the con.-tiiution ti>
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