J K ZZ56 UC-NRLF $C Ifib flMM Party Platforms and Conventions TOGETHER WITH Votes and Proceedings of the Republican, Democratic and Progressive National Conventions of 1912 Text of the Constitutional Provisions under which the election may be thrown into the House Electoral Vote in 1912 Popular and Electoral Votes in Previous Elections, etc. Uht f ijening f a^ New York PRICE TEN CENTS Story of the Conventions THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION The Republican National Convention met at Chicago, June 18. Interest in the outcome, however, had been centred upon Chicago for about a week previous to that date, during which time the National Committee was oc- cupied in hearing and deciding 252 cases of contested delegates. A few of these were contests of one set of Taft or Roosevelt delegates against another set, a few were of Taft delegates against Roosevelt delegates ; but the great majority of them were cases in which Roosevelt delegates were contesting the claims of Taft delegates. The net result of the contests was the seat- ing of less than 20 of the Roosevelt contestants. Some of the cases were de- cided unanimously, notably those of 12 of the 1-1 delegates from Alabama, and the 4* dclcgates-at-large from Indiana, in which the Roosevelt members of the committee voted against the Roosevelt contestants. In many of the others there was no roll-call, the supporters of the Roosevelt claims not mustering enough votes to demand one. Some of the contests were with- drawn before a vote could be taken on them. In general, the Roosevelt claims were supported in the committee by from 3 to 19 votes out a total of 53. The first test vote in the convention was upon the election of the temporary chairman. Senator Root was proposed by the National Com- mittee, and Gov, McGovern, of Wisconsin, was put forward by the Roose- velt forces. The result was : Root, 558 : McGovern, 502. As 540 delegates constituted a majority of the convention, this vote showed that the Taft delegates had a narrow lead. The question was, could they hold it.'' The next test was on a motion by James E. Watson, of Indiana, to table an amendment offered by Gov. Deneen, of Illinois, which provided that none of a list of about 90 of the contested delegates should vote on the member- ship or the report of the Credentials Committee, which was to pass upon the cases that had been before the National Committee. This motion was carried by a vote of 564 to 510, and all delegates were thus left free to vote upon all casds, except that, according to custom, no delegate could vote upon his own case. Gov. Hadley, of Missouri, then offered a resolution barring a block of 72 delegates from voting on any case in which any one of the 72 was inter- ested. This resolution was defeated by a vote of 569 to 477. Gov. Hadley then moved to substitute the minority or Roosevelt report for the majority or Taft report in the case of the 2 delegates from the 9th Alabama District, the only Alabama delegates that the Roosevelt forces -r-krSkJ»j4^r-> frf 2 Party Platforms and Conventions really lioped to obtain. Against this motion the Taft supporters rallied the largest vote that they won during the entire series of contests. The figures were: For the motion, 464; against the motion, 605. The minority or Roosevelt report on the 6 delegates-at-large from Arizona was lost by a vote of 564i to 497, and the case of the 2 delegates from the 5th Arkansas District was settled for Taft without a roll-call, by a viva voce vote. The Taft forces sank to their lowest number in the vote on the bitterly contested case of the 2 delegates from the 4th California District, on which the result was : For the Taft delegates, 542 ; against, 529. The Roosevelt delegates were now making up their minds not to vote on the adoption of the platform or on nominations for President and Vice- President. The platform was accordingly adopted by a vote in favor of it of QQQ, with 343 delegates not voting. The vote by States on the nominations for President was as follows : STATES. i. Eh 4^ > 1 1 1 1-1 . a S g 1 < a o > STATES. t > — "S s ■g S 3 o < a t > o Alabama 22 6 17 2 12 14 6 12 28 1 2 20 16 2 24 20 2 2 7 76 1 26 Arizona New Mexico New York 1 8 1 Arkansas 1 24 6 California 22 Colorado 10 Connecticut Ohio 14 4 34 Delaware 1 8 2 15 Florida 2 Georgia ♦Pennsylvania Rhode Island 9 10 16 1 62 Idaho 7 Illinois 53 3 1 2 7 South Carolina 1 Indiana 5 1 5 Iowa 10 Tennessee 23 31 8 6 22 14 18 Texas 8 Kentucky 2 Utah 2 12 5 16 1 24 3 20 1 Maryland 1 20 20 9 1 Massachusetts West Virginia 16 9 26 6 2 2 6 2 2 Mississippi 17 16 8 Alaska District of Columbia. . Nebraska 2 14 Philippine Islands 6 8 Totals 563 105 41 17 6 .344 1 * Hughes, 2. For Vice-President the vote was divided as follows : Sherman 597 Borah 21 Hadley 14 Absent 71 Not voting 352 Party Platforms and Conventions THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION The Democratic Convention met at Baltimore June 26. There were few contests over delegates, but a struggle developed over the election of a temporary chairman, as had been the case in the Republican Convention at Chicago. W. J. Bryan announced his opposition to Judge Alton B. Parker for the position, but the National Committee chose Parker by a vote of 31 to 20 for Ollie James, of Kentucky, and 2 for Senator O'Gorman of New York. Mr. Bryan carried the fight to the floor of the convention, where he was himself nominated for the post, but was again defeated, the vote- stand- ing: Parker, 579; Bryan, 506. There was no particular significance in this vote, however, and Bryan was successful in defeating the attempt of the Rules Committee to sustain he unit rule in States where the party rules were not mandatory on the ubject. The question arose over a report from the committee making a unit instruction by a State Convention binding on a delegation if a majority of the delegation favored any particular candidate. Ohio was especially affected by the report, as 18 of its delegates would be released for Wilson if the report should be defeated. The report was defeated by a vote of 565 1-2 to 491 1-3, and the hopes of the Wilson delegates rose a little. A sensational feature of the Convention was Bryan's resolution and speech demanding "the withdrawal from this convention of any delegate or delegates constituting or representing the above named interests," namely, those of J. Pierpont Morgan, Thomas F. Ryan, August Belmont, "or any other member of the privilege-hunting and favor-seeking class." He finally withdrew this demand, but carried that part of his resolution putting the Convention on record as opposed to the nomination of any candidate repre- senting or under obligations to any of the men named. The voting on nominations began on Saturday, June 29, and continued until Tuesday, July 2, when the 46th ballot was taken. Speaker Clark led on the first ballot. On the 10th, New York's 90 votes swung to him under the unit rule. This was his high-water mark in the voting, although for several successive ballots he had a majority of the votes. But he was far from the necessary two-thirds, and steadily became farther. On the 24th ballot, Gov. Wilson's vote crossed the 400 line and never re-crossed it. His gains were slow even now, however, and it required no less than 15 ballots more to carry him to the 500 mark. On the 43rd ballot, he took a jump of 108 votes, and the 44th put him within 100 of the fateful two-thirds. The end was in sight, and after one more ballot. Senator Bankhead, of Alabama, Chairman Underwood's campaign manager, began the stampede by with- drawing Underwood's name from further consideration. Senator Stone, of Missouri, recognized the inevitable by releasing the Clark delegates, and the final roll-call gave the New Jersey Governor 990 of the 1,086 delegates in the Convention. Party Platforms and Coxvextioxs Another Governor, Thomas R. Marshall, of Indiana, was nominated for Vice-President on motion after the second ballot had given him 645 1-2 votes to 387 1-3 for Governor Burke, of North Dakota, and 12 1-2 for Senator Chamberlain of Oregon. Following is the series of votes on the nomination for President : -a •73 O No. of Ballot. d o CI o No. of Ballot. O o X) i ■a a 03 o % T3 e t3 1 g 1 S fe 324 440i 117J 148 31 402* 496 115i . . 30 . . Second 349§ 446J nil 141 31 Twenty-fifth. . . 405 469 108 29 30 . . Third 345 441 114J 140^ 31 Twenty-sixth. . . 407i 463 J 112^ 29 30 . . Fourth 349 J 443 112 136i 31 Twenty-seventh 406i 469 112 29 30 . . Fifth 351 443 119J 141i 31 Twenty-eighth . 437i 468^ 112i 29 . 38 Sixth 354 445 121 135 31 Twenty-ninth . . 436 468^ 112 29 . 38 Seventh 352 i 449 i 123i 129J 31 Thirtieth 460 455 12U 19 . 30 Eighth 351i 448i 123 130 31 Thirty-first 4751 446^ 116i 17 . 30 Ninth 352i 452 122^ 127 31 Thirty-second. . 477i 446J 118i 14 28 Tenth 350i 556 117i 31 31 Thirtv-third 477i 447i 103 J 29 28 Eleventh 354J 554 118i 29 30 Thirty-fourth . . 479^ 447i lOU 29 . 28 Twelfth 354 549 123 29 30 Thirtv-fif th .... 494i 433i lOU 29 . 28 Thirteenth 356 554J lloi 29 30 Thirtv-sixth 496i 434i 98i 29 28 Fourteenth 361 553 111 29 30 Thirty-seventh. 496i 432i lOOi 29 . 28 Fifteenth 362^ 552 llOi 29 30 Thirtv-eighth . . 498i 425 106 29 . 28 Sixteenth 362^ 551 112^ 29 30 Thirtv-ninth . . . 5011 422 106 29 28 Seventeenth 362^ 545 112i 29 30 Fortieth 501 i 423 106 28 28 Eighteenth 361 535 125 29 30 Forty-first 499i 424 106 27 . 28 Nineteenth 358 532 130 29 30 Forty-second. . . 494 430 104 27 28 Twentieth 388i 512 121i 29 30 Forty-third .... 602 329 98J 28 27 Twenty-first 395i 508 118J 29 30 Forty-fourth . . . 629 306 99 27 27 Twenty-second . . . 396i 500i 115 30 Fortv-fifth 633 306 97 25 27 Twenty-third 399 497i 114J 30 Forty-sixth 990 84 12 Baldwin, who started with 22 votes, dropped out after the fourth ballot. Bryan received one vote on most of the ballots, sometimes two, and seven on the nineteenth. Ksrn received one vote on the third ballot, and one or two votes on most of the succeeding ballots. He received 4i on the sixteenth ballot. Alayor Gaynor received one vote on the eighth ballot and again on the forty-first and forty-second ballots. Party Platforms and Conventions Here are the final ballots by States : forty-fourth BALLOT. FORTY-FIFTH BALLOT. FORTY-SIXTH BALLOT. STATES. Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Alaska District of Columbia. Hawaii Porto Rico 6i 58 30 18 20 Totals. 629 li 26 5 1 8i 306 24 20 27 27 27 10 5 6 3 58 30 17 20 is 11 7 9 28 24 633 li 26 5 1 8i 90 10 10 6 2 1 306 20 97 25 27 990 24 36 12 84 Party Platforms and Conventions THE PROGRESSIVE CONVENTION Immediately following the nomination of President Taft at Chicago, some 300 Roosevelt delegates, who had taken no part in the voting, met and nominated ex-President Roosevelt for President. It was decided, however, to call another National Convention for the purpose of adopting a plat- form, making nominations for President and Vice-President, and organ- izing a new party. Accordingly, delegates assembled at Chicago, August 5th, organized the National Progressive Party, nominated Theodore Roose- velt, of New York, for President, and Gov. Pliram Johnson, of California, for Vice-President, both by acclamation, and adopted a platform without a dis- senting voice. So harmonious were the proceedings, despite undercurrents of disagreement, that no roll-call was ever taken, and no one knows just how many "delegates" were present. The Convention was really a mass meeting. Nevertheless, the one serioiis- difficulty in the proceedings Avas over the question that gave so much trouble in the Republican Convention, the ques- tion of contested delegates. In the Progressive Convention, however, the bone of difficulty was racial rather than political. Seats were denied to ^Southern negroes, not because they had not been regularly elected — no one could have said what constituted regular election to the Progressive Con- vention — but because they were Southern negroes. Roosevelt's own explana- tion of the new policy was as follows : In Republican National Conventions hitherto there has been a large representation of colored men — all from non-Republican States, the virtue of Republicans of the Republican States taking only the form of ' trying to make the Democratic States be good. The colored delegates all came from the States that never cast a Republican electoral vote, that never elected a colored man to office, where, largely owing to the action persisted in for forty-five years by the Republican Party, the colored man as a matter of fact gradually has lost all his political rights, so that the old policy of attempting to impose on the Southern States from without a certain rule of conduct toward the negro has in fact broken down. And, friends, I regret to say that every man who has ever been to a National Convention knows that the character of a great majority of the colored delegates from the South was such as'to reflect discredit upon the Republican Party and upon the race itself. Now, as soon as the Progressive Party was formed I at once set about, as many other men in different States did, securing from the Northern States themselves an ample recognition of the colored man in these States, so that as a matter of fact there is in this Con- vention a representation from the Republican States of colored men such as there never has been before anything like in any convention in the country. And more than that, a representation of colored Party Platforms and Conventions men who in point of character, intelligence, and good citizenship stand on an exact equality with any of the whites among whom they sit. That is what the Progressives have finally succeeded in doing in the North. We have done it by simply encouraging the best men in the North to act squarely by the colored men, as they would by the white men. We have not done it by trying to dragoon the white men into that action. The other system of trying to force in the far Southern States conditions that we cannot make exist there has failed. I propose to take toward the Southern States the exact attitude that we take to West Virginia and Maryland. And I be- lieve that adopting that action we shall naturally and spontaneously see from those Southern States a repetition of the conditions in West Virginia and Maryland, so that in future Progressive Na- tional Conventions you will see colored delegates come from the South Atlantic and Gulf States precisely as they now come from West Virginia and from Maryland. Now, friends, I hold that the white man and the colored man who endeavor to make the colored man discontented with what we are doing are the worst for the colored race. I hold we are standing against the brutality of the Democracy and the hypocrisy of the Republicans. Party Platforms and Conventions The Three Platforms Compared THE TARIFF Republican. We reaflBrm our belief in a protective tariff. The Re- publican tariff policy has been of the greatest benefit to the country, developing our resources, diversifying our industries, and protect- ing our workmen against competition with cheaper la- bor abroad, thus establishing for our wage-earners the American standard of living. The protective tariff is so woven into the fabric of our industrial and agricultural life that to substitute for it a tariff for revenue only would destroy many indus- tries and throw millions of our people out of employ- ment. The products of the farm and of the mine should receive the same measure of protection as other products of American labor. We hold that the import duties should be high enough, while yield- ing a sufficient revenue, to protect adequately American industries and wages. Some of the existing import duties are too high and should be reduced. Readjustment would be made from time to time to conform to changed condi- tions and to reduce excessive rates, but without injury to any American industry. To accomplish this, correct in- formation is indispensable. This iilformation can best be obtained by an expert com- mission, as the large volume of useful facts contained in the recent reports of the Tariff Board has demonstrat- ed the pronounced feature of modern industrial life is its enormous diversification. To apply tariff rates justly to these changing conditions re- quires closer study and more scientific methods than ever before. The Republican party has shown by its creation of the Tariff Board, its recog- nition of this situation and its determination to be equal to it. We condemn the Democratic party for its failure either to provide funds for the continuance of this board or to make some other provision for securing the information requisite for intelligent tariff Ipgs'ation. We protest against the Demo- Democratic. We declare it to be a fun- damental principle of the Democratic party that the Federal Government under the Constitution has no right or power to impose or col- lect tariff duties, except for the purpose of revenue, and we demand that the collec- tion of such taxes shall be limited to the necessities of government honestly and economically administered. The high Republican tariff is the principal cause of the uflequal distribution of wealth ; it is a system of taxation which makes the rich richer and the poor poorer ; under its operations the American farmer and laboring man are the chief sufferers; it raises the cost of the necessaries of life to them, but does not protect their product or wages. The farmer sells largely in free markets and buys almost entirely in the protected markets. In the most highly protected industries, such as cotton and wool, steel and iron, the wages of the labor- ers are the lowest paid in any of our industries. We denounce the Republican pre- tence on that subject, and assert that American wages are established by competi- tive conditions and not by the tariff. We favor the immediate downward revision of the ex- isting high and, in many cases, prohibitive tariff du- ties, insisting that material reductions be speedily made upon the necessaries of life. Articles entering into compe- tition with trust-controlled products, and articles of American manufacture which are sold abroad more cheap- ly than at home, should be put upon the free list. We recognize that our sys- tem of tariff taxation is in- timately connected with the business of the country, and we favor the ultimate attain- ment of the principles we advocate by legislation that will not injure or destroy legitimate industry. We denounce the action of President Taft in vetoing the bills to reduce the tariff in Progressive. We believe in a protective tariff which shall equalize conditions of competition be- tween the United States and foreign countries, both for the farmer and the manufac- turer, and which shall main- tain for labor an adequate standard of living. Pri- marily the benefit of any tariff should be disclosed in the pay envelope of the la- borer. We declare that no industry deserves protection which is unfair to labor or which is operating in viola- tion of Federal law. We be- lieve that the presumption is always in favor of the con- suming public. We demand tariff revision because the present tariff is unjust to the people of the United States. Fair dealing toward the people requires an immediate downward revision of those schedules wherein duties are shown to be unjust or excessive. We pledge ourselves to the establishment of a non-par- tisan scientific tariff commis- sion, reporting both to the President and to either branch of Congress, which shall repoj-t, first, as to the costs of production, efficiency of labor, capitalization, in- dustrial organization and ef- ficiency, and the general competitive position in this country and abroad of in- dustries seeking protection from Congress ; second, as to the revenue-producing power of the tariff and its relation to the resources of govern- ment, and, thirdly, as to the effect of the tariff on prices, operations of middlemen, and on the purchasing power of the consumer. AVe believe that this commission should have plenary power to elicit information, and for this purpose to prescribe a uni- form system of accounting for the great protected in- dustries. The work of the commission should not pre- vent the innnediate adoption of acts reducing those sched- ules generally recognized as excessive. We cond'emn the Payne- Aldrich bill as unjust to the people. Party Platforms and Coxvextions Republican. cratic method of legislating on these vitally important subjects without careful in- vestigation. We condemn the Democrat- ic tariff bills passed by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-second Congress as sectional, as injurious to the public credit, and as destruc- tive of business enterprise. The steadily increasing cost of living has become a matter not only of national but of worldwide concern. The fact that it is not due to the protective tariff system is evidenced by the existence of similar conditions in countries which have a tariff policy different from our own, as well as by the fact that the cost of living has increased, while rates of duty have re- mained stationary or been re- duced. The Republican party will support a prompt scien- tific inquiry into the causes which are operative both in the United States and else- where to increase the cost of living. When the exact facts are known, it will take the neces- sary steps to remove any abuses that may be found to exist, in order that the cost of the food, clothing, and shelter of the people may in no way be unduly or arti- ficially increased. THE TARIFF (cont'd) Democratic. the cotton, woollen, metals, and chemical schedules, and the Farmers' Free List bill, all of which were designed to give immediate relief to the masses from the exactions of the trusts. The Republican party, while promising tariff revision, has shown by its tariff legisla- tion that such revision is not to be in the people's inter- est; and having been faith- less to its pledges in 1908, it should no longer enjoy the confidence of the nation. We appeal to the American peo- ple to support us in our de- mand for a tariff for rev- enue only. The high cost of living is a serious problem in every American home. The Repub- lican party, in its platform, attempts to escape from re- sponsibility for present con- ditions by denying that they are due to a protective tariff. We take issue with them on this subject and charge that excessive prices result in a large measure from the high tariff laws enacted and main- tained by the Republican party and from trusts and commercial conspiracies fos- tered and encouraged by such laws, and we assert that no substantial relief can be se- cured for the people until import duties on the neces- saries of life are materially reduced and these criminal conspiracies broken up. TRUSTS Progressive. The Republican organiza- tion is in the hands of those who have broken and cannot again be trusted to keep the promise of necessary down- ward revision. The Demo- cratic party is committed to the destruction of the pro- tective system through a tar- iff for revenue only, a policy which would inevitably pro- duce widespread industrial and commercial disaster. We demand the immediate repeal of the Canadian Reciprocity act. The high cost of living is due partly to worldwide and partly to local causes; partly to natural and partly to arti- ficial causes. The measures proposed in this platform on various subjects, such as the tariff, the trusts, and con- servation, will of themselves tend to remove the arti- ficial causes. There will remain other elements, such as the tendency to leave the country for the city, waste, extravagance, bad system of taxation, poor methods of raising crops, and bad business methods in marketing crops. To remedy these conditions requires the fullest information, and based on this information, effective Government supervision and control to remove all the ar- tificial causes. We pledge ourselves to such full and immediate inquiry and to im- mediate action to deal with every need such inquiry dis- closes. Republican. The Republican party is opposed to special privilege and monopoly. It placed on the statute books the Inter- state Commerce act of 1887 and the important amend- ments thereto, and the Anti- Trust act of 1890, and it has consistently and successfully enforced the provisions of these laws. It will take no backward step to permit the establishment in any degree of conditions which were in- tolerable. Experience makes it plain that the business of the country may be carried on without fear or without dis- turbance, and at the same time without resort to prac- tices which are abhorrent to the common sense of justice. The Republican party favors the enactment of legislation supplementary to the exist- Democratic. A private monopoly is in- defensible and intolerable. We therefore favor the vig- orous enforcement of the criminal as well as the civil law against trusts and trust officials, and demand the enactment of such additional legislation as may be neces- sary to make it impossible for a private monopoly to ex- ist in the United States. We favor the declaration by law of the conditions upon which corporations shall be permitted to engage in inter- state trade, including, among others, the pj-evention of holding companies, of inter- locking directors, of stock watering, of discrimination in price, and the control by any one corporation of. so large a proportion of any industry as to make it a menace to competitive conditions. Progressive. We believe that true popu- lar government, justice, and prosperity go hand in hand, and, so believing, it is our purpose to secure that large measure of general prosper- ity which is the fruit of le- gitimate and honest business, fostered by equal justice and by sound progressive laws. We demand that the test of true prosperity shall be the benefits conferred there- by on all the citizens, not confined to individuals or classes^ and that the test of corporate efficiency shall be the ability better to serve the public ; that those who profit by control of busi- ness affairs shall justify that profit and that control by sharing with the public the fruits thereof. We therefore demand a strong national regulation of interstate cor- 10 Party Platforms and Conventions Republican. ing Anti-Trust act which will define as criminal offenses those specific acts that uni- formly mark attempts to re- strain and to monopolize trade, to the end that those who honestly • intend to obey the law may have a guide for their action and that those who aim to violate the law may the more surely be punished. The same certainty should be given to the law prohibit- ing combinations and monop- olies that characterizes other provisions of commercial law in order that no part of the field of business opportunity may be restricted by monop- oly or combination; that business success honorably achieved may not be con- verted into crime, and that the right of every man to ac- quire commodities, and par- ticularly the necessaries of life, in an open market, un- influenced by the manipula- tion of trust or combination, may be preserved. trusts (cont'd) Democratic. We condemn the action of the Republican Administra tion in compromising with the Standard Oil Company and the Tobacco Trust, and its failure to invoke the criminal provisions of the Anti-Trust law against the ofiicers of those corporations after the court had declared that from the undisputed facts in the record they had violated the criminal pro- visions of the law. We regret that the Sher- man Anti-Trust law has re- ceived a judicial construc- tion depriving it of much of its efficacy, and we favor the enactment of legislation which will restore to the statute the strength of which it has been deprived by such interoretation. Progressive. porations. The corporation is an essential part of mod- ern business. * The con- centration of modern busi- ness in some degree is both inevitable and neces- sary for national and inter- national business efficiency. But the existing concentra- tion of vast wealth under a corporate system, unguarded and uncontrolled by the na- tion, has placed in the hands of a few men enormous, se- cret, irresponsible power over the daily life of the citizen — a power insufferable in a free government and certain of abuse. This power has been abused in monopoly of national re sources, in stock watering, in unfair competition and unfair privileges, and finally in sinister influences on the public agencies of State and national life. We do not fear commercial power, but we insist that it shall be exer- cised openly, under publicity, supervision, and regulation of the most efllcient sort, which will preserve its good, while eradicating and pre- venting its evils. To that end we urge the establishment of a strong Federal administrative com- mission of high standing which shall maintain perma- nent, active supervision over industrial corporations en- gaged in interstate com- merce or such of them as are .of public importance, doing for them what the Govern- ment now does for the na- tional banks and what is now done for the railroads by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Such a com- mission must enforce the complete publicity of those corporate transactions which are of public interest; must attack unfair competition, false capitalization and spe- ■ cial privilege, and by con- tinuous trained watchfulness guard and keep open equally to all the highways of Amer- ican commerce. Thus the business man will have cer- tain knowledge of the law and will be able to conduct his business easily in con- iformity therewith; the in- vestor will find security for his capital, dividends will be rendered more certain, and the savings of the people will be drawn naturally and safely into the channels of trade. Under such a system of constructive regulation, le- Party Platforms and Conventions 11 Republican. The Republican party has always stood for a sound cur- rency and for safe banking methods. It is responsible for the resumption of specie payments, and for the estab- lishment of the gold stan- dard. It is committed to the progressive development of our banking and currency system. Our banking ar- rangements to-day need fur- ther revision to meet the re- quirements of current condi- tions. We need measures which will prevent the recur- rence of money panics and financial disturbances, and which will promote the pros- perity of business and the welfare of labor by produc- ing constant employment. We need better currency facilities for the movement of crops in the West and South. We need banking ar- rangements under American auspices for the encourage- ment and better conduct of our foreign trade. In attain- ing these ends, the indepen- dence of individual banks, whether organized under State or national charters, must be carefully protected and our banking and cur- rency system must be safe- guarded from any possibil- ity of domination by sec- tional, financial, or politi- cal interests. It is of great importance to the social and economic wel- fare of this country that its farmers have facilities for borrowing easily and cheaply the money they need to in- crease the productivity of their land. It is as neces- sary that financial machin- ery be provided to supply the demand of farmers for cred- it as it is that the banking and currency systems be re- formed in the interest of gen- eral business. Therefore, we recommend and urge an authoritative investigation of agricultural credit societies and corporations in other countries and the passage of State and Federal laws for the establishment and capable supervision of organ- izations having for their pur- pose the loaning of funds to farmers. TRUSTS (cont'd) CURRENCY Democratic. We oppose the so-called Aldrich bill for the estab- lishment of a central bank; and we believe our country will be largely freed from panics, and consequent unem- ployment and business de- pression, by such a systemat- ic revision of our banking laws as will render tempo- rary relief in localities where such relief is needed, with protection from control or domination by what is known as the Money Trust. Banks exist for the accom- modation of the public and not for the control of busi- ness. AH legislation on the subject of banking and cur- rency should have for its purpose the securing of these accommodations on terms of absolute security to the pub- lic and of complete protec- tion from the misuse of the power that wealth gives to those who possess it. We condemn the present methods of depositing Gov- ernment funds in a few fa- vored banks largely situated in or controlled by Wall Street, in return fpr politi- cal favors, and we pledge our party to provide by law for their deposit by competitive bidding in the banking insti- tutions of the country, na- tional and State, without dis- crimination as to locality, upon approved securities, and subject to call by the Gov- ernment. Progressive. gitimate business, freed from confusion, uncertainty, and fruitless litigation, will de- velop normally in response to the energy and enterprise of the American business man. Progressive. We believe there exists imperative need for prompt legislation for the improve- ment of our national cur- rency system. We believe the present method of issu- ing notes through private agencies is harmful and un- scientific. The issue of cur- rency is fundamentally a government function, and the system should have as basic principles soundness and elas- ticity. The control should be lodged with the Govern- ment and should be protect- ed from domination or ma- nipulation by W^ll Street or any special interests. We are opposed to the so- called Aldrich Currency bill because its provisions would place our currency and credit system in private hands not subject to effective public control. 12 Party Platforms and CbxvEXTiONs For President - - WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, of Ohio For Vice-President JAMES SCHOOLCRAFT SHERMAN, of New York REPUBLICAN PLATFORM The platform adopted by the Republican National Convention at Chicago on June 22, reads as follows : Principles of Lincoln The Republican Party, assembled by its representatives in National Con- vention, declares its unchanging faith in government of the people, by the people, for the people. We renew' our allegiance to the principles of the Re- publican Party and our devotion to the cause of Republican institutions es- tablished by the fathers. It is appropriate that we should now recall with a sense of veneration and gratitude the name of our first great leader, who was nominated in this city and whose lofty principles and superb devotion to his country are an in- spiration to the party he honored — Abraham Lincoln. Li the present state of public affairs we should be inspired by his broad statesmanship and by his tolerant spirit toward men. The Republican Party looks back upon its record with pride and satis- faction, and forward to its new responsibilities with hope and confidence. Its achievements in government constitute the most luminous pages in our his- tory. Our greatest national advance has been made during the years of its ascendency in public affairs. It has been genuineh- and always a party of progress ; it has never been either stationary or reactionary. It has gone from the fulfillment of one great pledge to the fulfillment of another in re- sponse to the public need and to the popular will. We believe in our self-controlled representative democracy, which is a government of laws, not of men, and in which order is the pre-requisite of progress. The principles of constitutional government which make provision for orderly and effective expression of the popular will, for the protection of civil liberty and the rights of men, and for the interpretation of the law by an untrammelled and independent judiciary, have proved themselves capable of sustaining the structure of a government which, after more than a century of development, embraces one hundred millions of people, scattered over a wide and diverse territory, but bound by common purpose, common ideals, and common affection to the Constitution of the United States. Lender the Constitution and the principles asserted and vitalized bj' it, the United States has grown to be one of the great civilized and civilizing powers of the earth. Party Platforms and Convextioxs 13 T It oflFers a home and an opportunity to the ambitious and the industrious from other lands. Resting upon the broad basis of a people's confidence and a people's support, and managed by the people themselves, the Government of the United States will meet the problems of the future as satisfactorily as it has solved those of the past. Proposed Legislation The Republican Party is now, as always, a party of advanced and con- structive statesmanship. It is prepared to go forward with the solution of these new questions which social, economic and political development have brought into the forefront of the nation's intei'est. It will strive, not only in the nation, but in the several States, to enact the necessary legislation to safeguard the public health ; to limit effectively the labor of women and chil- dren, to protect wage-earners engaged in dangerous occupations, to enact comprehensive and generous workmen's compensation laws in place of the present wasteful and unjust system of employers' liability, and in all possible ways satisfy the just demand of the people for the study and solution of the complex and constantly changing problems of social welfare. In dealing with these questions it is important that the rights of every individual to the freest possible development of his own powers and resources, and to the control of his own justly acquired property, so far as those are compatible with the rights of others, shall not be interfered with or destroyed. The social and political structure of the United States rests upon the civil liberty of the individual, and for the protection of that liberty the people have wisely, in the National and State Constitutions, put definite limitations upon themselves and upon their governmental officers and agencies. To en- force these limitations, to secure the orderly and coherent exercise of govern- mental powers and to protect the rights of even the humblest and least favored individual, are the function of independent courts of justice. Upholding the Courts The Republican Party reaffirms its intention to uphold at all times the authority and integrity of the courts, both State and Federal, and it will ever insist that their powers to enforce their process and to protect life, liberty and property shall be preserved inviolate. An orderly method is pro- vided under our system of government by which the people may, when they choose, alter or amend the constitutional provisions which underlie that gov- ernment. Until these constitutional provisions are so altered or amended, in orderly fashion, it is the duty of the courts to see to it that when challenged they are enforced. That the courts, both Federal and State, may bear the heavy burden laid upon them to the complete satisfaction of public opinion, we favor legislation to prevent long delays and the tedious and costly appeals which have so often amounted to a denial of justice in civil cases, and to a failure to protect the public at large in criminal cases. 14 Party Platforms and Conventions Since the responsibility of the judiciary is so great, the standards of judicial action must be always and everywhere above suspicion and reproach. While we regard the recall of judges as unnecessary and unwise, we favor such action as may be necessary to simplify the process by which any judge who is found to be derelict in his duty may be removed from office. Together with peaceful and orderly development at home, the Republi- can Party earnestly favors all measures for the establishment and protection of the peace of the world, and for the development of closer relations between the various nations of the earth. It believes most earnestly in the peace- ful settlement of international disputes and in the reference of all justifiable controversies between nations to an international court of justice. The Trusts The Republican Party is opposed to special privilege and monopoly. It placed upon the statute books the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, and the important amendments thereto, and the Anti-Trust Act of 1890, and it has consistently and successfully enforced the provisions of these laws. It will take no backward step to permit the re-establishment in any degree of con- ditions which were intolerable. Experience makes it plain that the business of the country may be carried on without fear or without disturbance, and at the same time without resort to practices which are abhorrent to the common sense of justice. The Re- publican Party favors the enactment of legislation supplementary to the existing Anti-Trust Act which will define as criminal offences those specific acts that uniformly mark attempts to restrain and to monopolize trade, to the end that those who honestly intend to obey the law may have a guide for their action and that those who aim to violate the law may the more surely be punished. The same certainty should be given to the law prohibit- ing combinations and monopolies that characterizes other provisions of com- mercial law, in order that no part of the field of business opportunity may be restricted by monopoly or combination ; that business success honorably achieved may not be converted into crime, and that the right of every man to acquire commodities, and particularly the necessaries of life, in an open market uninfluenced by the manipulation of trust or combination may be preserved. Federal Trade Commission In the enforcement and administration of Federal laws governing inter- state commerce and enterprises impressed with a public use engaged therein, there is much that may be committed to a federal trade commission, thus plac- ing in the hands of an administrative board many of the functions now necessarily exercised by the courts. This will promote promptness in the ad- ministration of the law and avoid delays and technicalities incident to court procedure. Party Platforms and Coxventioxs 15 The Tariff We reaffirm our belief in a protective tariff. The Republican tariff policy has been of the greatest benefit to the country, developing our re- sources, diversifying our industries and protecting our workmen against com- petition with cheaper labor abroad, thus establishing for our wage-earners the American standard of living. The protective tariff is so woven into the fabric of our industrial and agricultural life that to substitute for it a tariff for revenue only would destroy many industries and throw millions of our people out of employment. The products of the farm and of the mine should receive the same measure of protection as other products of Ameri- can labor. We hold that the import duties should be high enough while yielding a sufficient revenue to protect adequately American industries and wages. Some of the existing import duties are too high, and should be reduced. Re- adjustment should be made from time to time to conform to changed con- ditions and to reduce excessive rates, but without injury to any American in- dustry. To accomplish this correct information is indispensable. This inform- ation can best be obtained by an expert commission, as the large volume of use- ful facts contained in the recent reports of the tariff board has demonstrated the pronounced feature of modern industrial life is its enormous diversification. To apply tariff rates justly to these changing conditions requires closer study and more scientific methods than ever before. The Republican Party has shown by its creation of the tariff board its recognition of this situation and its determination to be equal to it. We condemn the Democratic Party for its failure either to provide funds for the continuance of this board or to make some other provision for securing the information requisite for intelligent tariff legislation. We protest against the Democratic method of legislating on these vitally important subjects without careful investigation. We condemn the Democratic tariff bills passed by the House of Repre- sentatives of the Sixty-second Congress, as sectional, as injurious to the public credit and as destructive of business enterprise. Cost of Living The steadily increasing cost of living has become a matter not only of national, but of. world-wide concern. The fact that it is not due to the protective tariff system is evidenced by the existence of similar conditions in countries which have a tariff policy different from our own, as well as by the fact that the cost of living has increased, while rates of duty have re- mained stationary or been reduced. The Republican Party will support a prompt scientific inquiry into the causes which are operative both in the United States and elsewhere to in- crease the cost of living. When the exact facts are known it will take the necessary steps to remove any abuses that may be found to exist, in order that the cost of the food, clothing and shelter of the people may in no way be unduly or artificially increased. 16 Party Platforms and Coxventions Banking and Currency The Republican Part^^ has always stood for a sound currency' and for safe banking methods. It is responsible for the resumption of specie pay- ments, and for the establishment of the gold standard. It is committed to the progressive development of our banking and currency system. Our banking arrangements to-day need further revision to meet the require- ments of current conditions. We need measures which will prevent the re- currence of money panics and financial disturbances, and which will promote the prosperity of business and the welfare of labor by producing constant em- ployment. We need better currency facilities for the movement of crops in the West and South. We need banking arrangements under American auspices for the encouragement and better conduct of our foreign trade. In attaining these ends the independence of individual banks, whether organized under National or State charters, must be carefully protected, and our banking and currency system must be safeguarded from any possibility of domination by sectional, financial or political interests. It is of great importance to the social and economic welfare of this country that its farmers have facilities for borrowing easily and cheaply the money they need to increase, the productivity of their land. It is as im- portant that financial machinery be provided to supply the demand of farmers for credit, as it is that the banking and currency systems be reformed in the interest of general business. Therefore we recommend and urge an authori- tative investigation of agricultural credit societies and corporations in other countries, and the passage of State and Federal laws for the establishment and capable supervision of organizations having for their purpose the loaning of funds to farmers. ... . * The Civil Service We reaffirm our adherence to the principle of appointment to public office based on proved fitness and tenure during good behavior and efficiency. The Republican Party stands committed to the maintenance, extension and enforcement of the civil service law, and it favors the passage of legis- lation empowering the President to extend the competitive service so far as practicable. We favor legislation to make possible the equitable retirement of disabled and superannuated members of the civil service, in order that a higher standard of efficiency may be maintained. We favor the amendment of the Federal employees' liability law so as to extend its provisions to all Government employees as well as to provide a more liberal scale of compensation for injury and death. Campaign Contributions We favor such additional legislation as may be necessary more effectually to prohibit corporations from contributing funds, directly or indirectly', to campaigns for the nomination or election of the President, the Vice-President, Senators and Representatives in Congress. Party Platforms and Conventions 17 We heartily approve the recent act of Congress, requiring the fullest publicity in regard to all campaign contributions whether made in connection with primaries, conventions or elections. Conservation Policy We rejoice in the success of the distinctive Republican policy of the conservation of our national resources, for their use by the people without waste and without monopoly. We pledge ourselves to a continuance of such a polic3% We favor such fair and reasonable rules and regulations as will not dis- courage or interfere with actual bona-fide home-seekers, prospectors and miners in the acquisition of public lands under existing laws. In the interest of the general public, and particularly of the agricultural or rural communities, we favor legislation looking to the establishment, under proper regulations, of a parcels post, the postal rates to be graduated under a zone similar in proportion to the length of carriage. Protection of American Citizenship We approve the action taken by the President and the Congress to secure with Russia, as with other countries, a treaty that will recognize the absolute right of expatriation, and that will prevent all discrimination of whatever kind between American citizens, whether native born or alien, and regardless of race, religion or previous political allegiance. The right of asylum is a precious possession of the people of the United States and is to be neither sur- rendered nor restricted. The Navy We believe in the maintenance of an adequate navy for the national de- fence, and we condemn the action of the Democratic House of Representatives in refusing to authorize the construction of additional ships. Merchant Marine We believe that one of the country's most urgent needs is a revived mer- chant marine. There should be American ships, and plenty of them, to make use of the great American inter-oceanic canal now nearing completion. Mississippi Floods The Mississippi river is the nation's drainage ditch. Its flood waters, gathered from thirty-one States and the Dominion of Canada, constitute an overpowering force which breaks the levees and pours its torrents over many million acres of the richest land in the Union, stopping mails, impeding com- merce, and causing great loss of life and property. These floods are national in scope and the disasters they produce seriously affect the general welfare. The States, unaided, cannot cope with the giant problem ; hence we believe the Federal Government should assume a fair proportion of the burden of its control so as to prevent the disasters from recurring floods. 18 Party Platforms and Coxvextioxs Reclamation We favor the continuance of the policy of the Government with regard to the reclamation of arid lands, and for the encouragement of the speedy settlement and improvement of such lands we favor an amendment to the law that will reasonably extend the time within which the cost of any reclam- ation project may be repaid by the land owners under it. Rivers and Harbors We favor a liberal and systematic policy for the improvement of our rivers and harbors. Such improvements should be made upon expert in- formation and after a careful comparison of cost and prospective benefits. Alaska We favor a liberal policy toward Alaska to promote the development of the great resources of that district, with such safeguards as will prevent waste and monopoly. We favor the opening of the coal lands to development through a law leasing the lands on such terms as will invite development and provide fuel for the navy and the commerce of the Pacific ocean, while retaining title in the United States to prevent monopoly. Porto Rico We ratify in all its particulars the platform of 1908 respecting citizen- ship for the people of Porto Rico. Philippine Policy The Philippine policy of the Republican Part}' has been and is inspired by the belief that our duty toward the Filipino people is a national obligation which should remain entirely free from partisan politics. Immigration We pledge the Republican Party to the enactment of appropriate laws to give relief from the constantly growing evil of induced or undesirable immigration, which is inimical to the progress and welfare of the people of the United States. .„; .^ Safety at Sea We favor the speedy enactment of laws to provide that seamen shall not be compelled to endure involuntary servitude, and that life and prop- erty shall be safeguarded by the ample equipment of vessels with lifesaving appliances and with full complements of skilled, able-bodied seamen to operate them. Republican Accomplishment The approaching completion of the Panama Canal, the establishment of a bureau of mines, the institution of postal savings banks, the increased Party Platforms and Coxventioxs 19 provision made in 1912 for the aged and infinn soldiers and sailors of the Republic and for their widows, and the vigorous administration of the laws relating to pure food and drugs, all mark the successful progress of Republican administration, and are additional evidence of its effectiveness. Economy in Government We commend the earnest effort of the Republican administration to secure greater economy and increased efficienc}'^ in the conduct of government business. Extravagant appropriations and the creation of unnecessary offices are an injustice to the taxpayer and a bad example to the citizen. Civic Duty We call upon the people to quicken their interest in public affairs, to condemn and punish lynchings and other forms of lawlessness, and to strengthen in all possible ways a respect for law and the observance of it. Indifferent citizenship is an evil from which the law affords no adequate pro- tection, and for which legislation can provide no remedy. Arizona auid New Mexico We congratulate the people of Arizona and New Mexico upon the ad- mission of those States, thus merging in the Union in final and endirring form the last remaining portion of our continental territory. Republican Administration We challenge successful criticism of the sixteen years of Republican ad- ministration under Presidents McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft. We heartily reaffirm the endorsement of President McKinley, contained in the platforms of 1900 and of 1904, and that of President Roosevelt, contained in the plat- forms of 1904 and 1908. We invite the intelligent judgment of the American people upon the ad- ministration of William H. Taft. The country has prospered and been at peace under his presidency. During the years in which he had the co-opera- tion of a Republican Congress, an unexampled amount of constructive legisla- tion was framed and passed in the interest of the people and in obedience to their wish. That legislation is a record on which any administration might appeal with confidence to the favorable judgment of history. We appeal to the American electorate upon the record of the Republican Party and upon this declaration of its principles and purposes. We are con- fident that under the leadership of the candidates here to be nominated our appeal will not be in vain ; that the Republican Party will meet every just ex- pectation of the people whose servant it is ; that under its administration and its laws our nation will continue to advance ; that peace and pros- perity will abide with the people, and that new glory will be added to the great Republic. 20 Party Platforms and Coxvextioxs For President - - WOODROW WILSON, of New Jersey For Vice-President - THOMAS R. MARSHALL, of Indiana DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM Following is the full text of the National Demorcatic Platform, adopted at the Baltimore Convention on July 2: Principles of Jefferson We, the representatives of the Democratic party of the United States, in National Convention assembled, reaffirm our devotion to the principles of Democratic government formulated by Thomas Jefferson and enforced by a long and illustrious line of Democratic Presidents. The Tariff We declare it to be a fundamental principle of the Democratic Party that the Federal Government under the Constitution has no right or power to impose or collect tariff duties, except for the purpose of revenue, and we demand that the collection of such taxes shall be limited to the necessities of government honestly and economically administered. The high Republican tariff is the principal cause of the unequal dis- tribution of wealth; it is a system of taxation which makes the rich richer and the poor poorer; under its operations the American farmer and labor- ing man are the chief sufferers ; it raises the cost of the necessaries of life to them but decs not protect their product or wages. The farmer sells largely in free markets and buys almost entirely in the protected markets. In the most highly protected industries, such as cotton and wool, steel and iron, the wages of the laborers are the lowest paid in any of our industries. We denounce the Republican pretence on that subject and assert that Ameri- can wages are established by competitive conditions and not by the tariff. We favor the immediate downward revision of the existing high and in many cases prohibitive tariff duties, insisting that material reductions be speedily made upon the necessaries of hfe. Articles entering into com- petition with trust-controlled products and articles of American manu- facture which are sold abroad more cheaply than at home should be put upon the free list. We recognize that our system of tariff taxation is intimately connected with the business of the country and we favor the ultimate attainment of the principles we advocate by legislation that will not injure or destroy legiti- mate industry. We denounce the action of President Taft in vetoing the bills to reduce the tariff in the cotton, woollen, metals and chemical schedules and the Party Platforms axd Conventions 21 Farmers' Free List Bill, all of which were designed to give immediate relief to the masses from the exactions of the trusts. The Republican party, while promising tariff revision, has shown by its tariff legislation that such revision is not to be in the people's interest; and having been faithless to its pledges of 1908, it should no longer enjoy the confidence of the nation. We appeal to the American people to sup- port us in our demand for a tariff for revenue only. Cost of Living The high cost of living is a serious problem in every American home. Tlie Republican party, in its platform, attempts to escape from responsi- bility for present conditions by denying that they are due to a protective tariff. We take issue with them on this subject and charge that ex- cessive prices result in a large measure from the high tariff laws enacted and maintained by the Republican party and from trusts and commercial conspiracies fostered and encouraged by such laws, and we assert that no sub- stantial relief can be secured for the people until import duties on the neces- saries of life are materially reduced and these criminal conspiracies broken up. The Trusts A private monopoly is indefensible and intolerable. We therefore favor the vigorous enforcement of the criminal as well as the civil law against trusts and trust officials, and demand the enactment of such additional legislation as may be necessary to make it impossible for a private monopoly to exist in the United States. We favor the declaration by law of the conditions upon which corpora- tions shall be permitted to engage in interstate trade, including, among others, the prevention of holding companies, of interlocking directors, of stock watering, of discrin\ination in price, and the control by any one cor- poration of so large a proportion of any industry as to make it a menace to competitive conditions. We condemn the action of the Republican Administration in com- promising with the Standard Oil Compan}^ and the Tobacco Trust, and its failure to invoke the criminal provisions of the Anti-Trust Law against the officers of those corporations after the court had declared that from the undisputed facts in the record they had violated the criminal provisions of the law. We regret that the Sherman Anti-Trust Law has received a judicial con- struction depriving it of much of its efficacy, and we favor the enactment of legislation which will restore to the statute the striength of which it has been deprived by such interpretation. Rights of States We believe in the preservation and maintenance in their full strength and integrity of the three co-ordinate branches of the Federal Government — Party Platforms and Conventions the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial — each keeping within its own bounds, and not encroaching upon the just powers of either of the others. Beheving that the most efficient results under our system of government are to be attained by the full exercise by the States of their reserved sov- ereign powers, we denounce as usurpation the efforts of our opponents to deprive the States of any of the rights reserved to them, and to enlarge and magnify by indirection the powers of the Federal Government. We insist upon the full exercise of all the powers of the Government, both State and National, to protect the people from injustice at the hands of those who seek to make the Government a private asset in business. There is no twilight zone between the Nation and State in which exploiting interests can take refuge from both. It is as necessary that the Federal Government shall exercise the powers delegated to it as it is that the States shall exercise the powers reserved.to them, but we insist that Federal remedies for the regulation of interstate commerce and for the prevention of private monopoly shall be added to and not substituted for State remedies. Income Tax, Election of Senators We congratulate the country upon the triumph of two important reforms demanded in the last national platform, namely, the amendment of the Federal Constitution authorizing an income tax and the amendment pro- viding for the popular election of Senators, and we call upon the people of all the States to rally to the support of the pending propositions and secure their ratification. Campaign Publicity We note with gratification the unanimous sentiment in favor of pub- licity, before the election, of campaign contributions, a measure demanded in our national platform of 1908, and at that time opposed by the Republi- can party, and we commend the Democratic House of Representatives for extending the doctrine of publicity to recommendations, verbal and written, upon which Presidential appointments are made, to the ownership and con- trol of newspapers and to the expenditures made by aiK? in behalf of those who aspire to Presidential nominations, and we point for additional justification for this legislation to the enormous expenditures of money in behalf of the President and his predecessor in the recent contest for the Re- publican nomination for President. Presidential Primaries The movement toward more popular government should be promoted through legislation in each State which will permit the expression of the preference of the electors, for national candidates at Presidential primaries. We direct that the National Committee incorporate in the call for the next nominating convention a requirement that all expressions of preference Party Platforms and Conventions 23 for Presidential candidates shall be given and the selection of delegates and alternates be made through a primary election conducted by the party organization of each State where such expression and election are not pro- vided for by State law. Committeemen who are hereafter to constitute the membership of the Democratic National Committee and whose election is not provided for by law shall be chosen in each State at such primary elections, and the service and authority of committeemen, however chosen, shall begin immediately upon the receipt of their credentials respectively. Campaign Contributions We pledge the Democratic party to the enactment of a law prohibiting any corporation from contributing to a campaign fund and any individual from contributing any amount above a reasonable maximum. Term of President We favor a single Presidential term, and to that end urge the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution making the President of the United States ineligible for re-election, and we pledge the candidate of this conven- tion to this principle. Democratic Congress At this time, when the Republican party, after a generation of unlimited power in its control of the; Federal Government, is rent into factions, it is opportune to point to the record of accomplishment of the Democratic House of Representatives in the Sixty-second Congress. We indorse its action and we challenge comparison of its record with that of any Congress which has been controlled by our opponents. We call the attention of the patriotic citizens of our country to its record of efficiency, economy and constructive legislation. It has, among other achievements, revised the rules of the House of Representatives so as to give to the representatives of the American people freedom of speech and of action in advocating, proposing and perfecting remedial legislation. It has passed bills for the relief of the people and the development of our country ; it has endeavored to revise the tariff taxes downward in the interest of the consuming masses, and thus reduce the high cost of living. It has proposed an amendment to the Federal Constitution, providing for the election of United States Senators by the direct vote of the people. It has secured the admission of Arizona and New Mexico as two sov- ereign States. It has required the publicity of campaign expenses both before and after election and fixed a limit upon the election expenses of United States Sen- ators and Representatives. It has also passed a bill to prevent the abuse of the writ of injunction. 24 Party Platforms and Coxventiox! It has passed a laAV establishing an eight-hour day for workmen on all national public work. It has passed a resolution which forced the President to take immediate steps to abrogate the Russian treat}-. And it has passed the great supplj^ bills which lessen waste and ex- travagance and which reduce the annual expenses of the Government bv many millions of dollars. National Defense We approve the measure reported by the Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives for the creation of a Council of National Defense which will determine a definite naval programme with a view to increased efficiency and economy. The party that proclaimed and has always enforced the Monroe Doctrine and was sponsor for the new navy will continue faith- fully to observe the Constitutional requirements to provide and maintain an adequate and well proportioned navy sufficient to defend American policies, protect our citizens and uphold the honor and dignity of the nation. Republican Extravagance We denounce the profligate waste of the money wrung from the people by oppressive taxation through the lavish appropriations of recent Repub- lican Congresses, which have kept taxes high and reduced the purchasing power of the people's toil. We demand a return to that simplicity and economy which befits a democratic government and a reduction in the num- ber of useless offices, the salaries of which drain the substance of the people. Railroads, Express, Telegraph and Telephone Companies We favor the efficient supervision and rate regulation of railroads, ex- press companies, telegraph and telephone lines engaged in interstate com- merce. To this end we recommend the valuation of railroads, express companies, telegraph, and telephone lines by the Interstate Commerce Com- mission, such valuation to take into consideration the physical value of the property, the original cost, the cost of reproduction, and any element of value that will render the valuation fair and just. We favor such legislation as will effectually prohibit the railroads, ex- press, telegraph and telephone companies from engaging in business which brings them into competition with their shippers or patrons; also legislation preventing the overissue of stocks and bonds by interstate railroads, express companies, telegraph and telephone lines, and legislation whicli will assure such reduction in transportation rates as conditions will permit, care being taken to avoid reduction that would compel a reduction of wages, prevent adequate service, or do injustice to legitimate investments. Banking Legislation We oppose the so-called Aldrich Bill for the establishment of a central bank, and we believe our country will be largely freed from panics and con- Party Platforms and CoxyeN'tioxs 25 sequent unemployment and business depression by such a systematic revision of our banking laws as will render temporary relief in localities where such relief is needed, with protection from control or domination by what is known as the Money Trust. Banks exist for the accommodation of the public and not for the con- trol of business. All legislation on the subject of banking and currency should have for its purpose the securing of these accommodations on terms of absolute security to the public and of complete protection from the misuse of the power that wealth gives to those who possess it. We condemn the present methods of depositing Government funds in a few favored banks, largely situated in or controlled by Wall Street, in re- turn for political favors, and we pledge our party to provide by law for their deposit by competitive bidding in the banking institutions of the coun- try. National and State, without discrimination as to locality, upon approved securities and subject to call by the Government. Rural Credits Of equal importance with the question of currency reform is the ques- tion of rural credits or agricultural finance. Therefore we recommend that an investigation of agricultural credit societies in foreign countries be made, so that it may be ascertained whether a system of rural credits may be de- vised suitable to conditions in the United States ; and we also favor legis- lation permitting national banks to loan a reasonable proportion of their funds on real estate security. We recognize the value of vocational education and urge Federal ap- propriations for such 1:raining and extension teaching in agriculture in co- operation with the several States. Waterways We renew the declaration in our last platform relating to the conserva- tion of our natural resources and the development of our waterways. The present devastation of the Lower Mississippi Valley accentuates the move- ment for the regulation of river flow by additional bank and levee protection below, and the diversion, storage and control of the flood waters above, and their utilization for beneficial purposes in the reclamation of arid and swamp lands and the development of water power, instead of permitting the floods to continue, as heretofore, agents of destruction. We hold that the control of the Mississippi River is a national problem. The preservation of the depth of its water for the purpose of navigation, the building of levees to maintain the integrity of its channel and the pre- vention of the overflow of the land and its consequent devastation, resulting in the interruption of interstate commerce, the disorganization of the mail service and the enormous loss of life and property, impose an obligation which alone can be discharged by the general government. 26 Party Platforms and Conventioxs To maintain an adequate depth of water the entire year and thereby en- courage water transportation, is a consummation worthy of legislative at- tention and presents an issue national in its character. It calls for prompt action on the part of Congress, and the Democratic Party pledges itself to the enactment of legislation leading to that end. We favor the co-operation of the United States and the respective States in plans for the comprehensive treatment of all waterways with a view of co-ordinating plans for channel improvement with plans of drainage of swamp and overflowed lands, and to this end we favor the appropriation by the Federal Government of sufficient funds to make surveys of such lands, to develop plans for draining of the same and to supervise the work of con- struction. We favor the adoption of a liberal and comprehensive plan for the de- velopment and improvement of our inland waterways, with economy and efficienc}^ so as to permit their navigation by vessels of standard draught. Post Roads Wc favor national aid to State and local authorities in the construction and maintenance of post roads. Rights of Labor We repeat our declarations of the platfonn of 1908 as follows: "The courts of justice are the bulwarks of our liberties and we yield to none in our purpose to maintain their dignity. Our party has given to the bench a long line of distinguished justices who have added to the respect and confidence in which this department must be jealously maintained. We resent the attempt of the Republican Party to raise a false issue respecting the judiciary. It is an unjust reflection upon a great body of our citizens to assume that they lack respect for the courts. "It is the function of the courts to interpret the laws which the people enact, and if the laws appear to work economic, social or political injustice, it is our duty to change them. The only basis upon which the integrity of our courts can stand is that of unswerving justice and protection of life, personal liberty and property. As judicial processes may be abused, we should guard them against abuse. "Experience has proved the necessity of a modification of the present law relating to injunction, and we reiterate the pledges of our platforms of 1896 and 1904 in favor of a measure which passed the United States Senate in 1896, relating to contempt in Federal courts and providing for trial by jury in cases of indirect contempt. "Questions of judicial practice have arisen, especially in connection with industrial disputes. We believe that the parties to all judicial proceedings should be treated with rigid impartiality, and that injunctions should not be issued in any case in which an injunction would not issue if no industrial dispute were involved. Party Platforms and Conventions 27 "The expanding organization of industry makes it essential that there should be no abridgment of the right of the wage-eaniers and producers to organize for the protection of wages and the improvement of labor condi- tions, to the end that such labor organizations and their members should not be regarded as illegal combinations in restraint of trade. "We pledge the Democratic Party to the enactment of a law creating a Department of Labor represented separately in the President's Cabinet, in which department shall be included the subject of mines and mining. "We pledge the Democratic Party, so far as the Federal jurisdiction ex- tends, to an employees' compensation law providing adequate indemnity for injury to body or loss of life." Conservation We believe in the conservation and the development, for the use of all the people, of the natural resources of the country. Our forests, our sources of wafer supply, our arable and our mineral lands, our navigable streams and all the other material resources with which our country has been so lavishly endowed, constitute the foundation of our national wealth. Such additional legislation as may be necessary to prevent their being wasted or absorbed by special or privileged interests should be enacted and the policy of their conservation should be rigidly adhered to. The public domain should be administered and disposed of with due regard to the general welfare. Reservations should be limited to the pur- pose* which they purport to serve and not extended to include land wholly unsuited therefor. The unnecessary withdrawal from sale and settlement of enormous tracts of public land, upon which tree growth never existed and cannot be promoted, tends only to retard development, create discontent and bring reproach upon the policy of conservation. The public land laws should be administered in a spirit of the broadest liberality toward the settler exhibiting a bona-fide purpose to comply there- with, to the end that the invitation of this Government to the landless should be as attractive as possible; and the plain provisions of the Forest Reserve Act, permitting homestead entries to be made within the national forests, should not be nullified by administrative regulations which amount to a with- drawal of great areas of the same from settlement. Immediate action should be taken by Congress to make available the vast and valuable coal deposits of Alaska under conditions that will be a perfect guaranty against their falling into the hands of monopolizing cor- porations, associations or interests. Mines and Miners We rejoice in the inheritance of mineral resources unequalled in extent, variety or value, and in the development of a mining industry unequalled in its magnitude and importance. We honor the men who, in their hazardous toil underground, daily risk their lives in extracting and preparing for our 28 Party Platforms and Conventions use the products of the mine, so essential to the industries, the commerce and the comfort of the people of this country. And we pledge ourselves to the extension of the work of the Bureau of Mines in every way appropriate for national legislation, with a view of safeguarding the lives of the miners, lessening the waste of essential resources and promoting the economic de- velopment of mining, which, along with agriculture, must in the future, even more than in the past, serve as the very foundation of our national prosperity and welfare and our international commerce. Agriculture We believe in encouraging the development of a modem system of agri- culture and a systematic effort to improve the conditions of trade in farm products so as to benefit both the consumers and producers. And as an efficient means to this end we favor the enactment by Congress of legislation that will suppress the pernicious practice of gambling in agricultural pro- ducts by organized exchanges or others. Merchant Marine We believe in fostering, by constitutional regulation of commerce, the growth of a merchant marine which shall develop and strengthen the com- mercial ties which bind us to our sister republics of the South, but without imposing additional burdens upon the people and without bounties or sub- sidies from the public treasury. We urge upon Congress the speedy enactment of laws for the greater security of life and property at sea, and we favor the repeal of all laws, and the abrogation of so much of our treaties with other nations, as pro- vide for the arrest and imprisonment of seamen charged with desertion, or with violation of their contract of service. Such laws and treaties are un-American and violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the Constitution of the United States. We favor the exemption from tolls of American ships engaged in coast- wise trade passing through the Panama Canal. We also favor legislation forbidding the use of the Panama Canal by ships owned or controlled by railroad carriers engaged in transportation com- petitive with the canal. * Pure Food and Public Health We reaffirm our previous declarations advocating the union and strength- ening of the various governmental agencies relating to pure foods, quaran- tine, vital statistics and human health. Thus united and administered with- out partiality to or discrimination against any school of medicine or system of healing, they would constitute a single health service, not subordinated to any commercial or financial interests, but devoted exclusively to the con- servation of human life and efficiency. Moreover, this health service should Party Platforms and Coxventioxs 29 co-operate with the health agencies of our various States and cities, without interference with their prerogatives or with the freedom of individuals to employ such medical or hygienic aid as they may see fit. Civil Service The law pertaining to the civil service should be honestly and rigidly enforced, to the end that merit and ability should be the standard of ap- pointment and promotion rather than service rendered to a political party; and we favor a reorganization of the civil service, with adequate compensa- tion, commensurate with the class of work performed, for all officers and employees ; we also favor the extension to all classes of civil service em- ployees of the benefits of the provisions of the Employers' Liability Law; we also recognize the right of direct petition to Congress by employees for the redress of grievances. Law Reform We recognize the urgent nee^l of reform in the administration of civil and criminal law in the L^nited States, and we recommend the enactment of such legislation and the promotion of such measures as will rid the present legal system of the delays, expense and uncertainties incident to the system as now administered. The Philippines We reaffirm the position thrice announced by the Democracy in National Convention assembled against a policy of imperialism and colonial exploita- tion in the Philippines, or elsewhere. We condemn the experiment in im- perialism as an inexcusable blunder' which has involved us in enormous ex- pense, brought us weakness instead of strength and laid our nation open to the charge of abandonment of the fundamental doctrine of self-government. We favor an immediate declaration of the nation's purpose to recognize the independence of the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established, such independence to be guaranteed by us until the neutralization of the Islands can be secured by treaty with other powers. In recognizing the independence of the Philippines, our Government should retain such land as may be necessary for coaling stations and naval bases. Arizona and New Mexico We welcome Arizona and New Mexico to the sisterhood of States and heartil}" congratulate them upon their auspicious beginning of great and glorious careers. Alaska AVe demand for the people of Alaska the full enjoyment of the rights and privileges of a territorial form of government and we believe that the officials appointed to administer the government of all our Territories and the District of Columbia should be qualified by previous bona-fide residence. "30 Party Platforms axd Conventions The Russian Treaty We commend the patriotism of the Democratic members of the Senate and House of Representatives which compelled the termination of the Rus- sian treaty of 1832, and we pledge ourselves anew to preserve the sacred rights of American citizenship at home and abroad. No treaty should receive the sanction of our Government which does not recognize that equality of all of our citizens, irrespective of race or creed, and which does not expressly guarantee the fundamental right of expatriation. The constitutional rights of American citizens should protect them on our borders and go with them throughout the world, and every American citizen residing or having property in any foreign country is entitled to and must be given the full protection of the United States Government, both for himself and his property. Parcels Post We favor the establishment of a parcels post or postal express and also the extension of the rural delivery system as rapidly as practicable. Panama Canal Exposition We hereby express our deep interest in the great Panama Canal Expo- sition to be held in San Francisco in 1915, and favor such encouragement &» •can be properly given. National Uniform We commend to the several States the adoption of a law making it an offense for the proprietors of places of public amusement and entertainment to discriminate against the uniform of the United States, similar to the law passed by Congress applicable to the District of Columbia and the Terri- tories, in 1911. Pensions We renew the declaration of our last platform relating to a generous pension policy. Rule of the People We call attention to the fact that the Democratic paity demand for a return to the rule of the people, expressed in the National Platform four years ago, has now became the accepted doctrine of a large majority of the electors. We again remind the country that only by a larger exercise of the reserved power of the people can they protect themselves from the misuse of delegated power and the usurpation of governmental instrumentalities by special interests. For this reason, the National Convention insisted on the overthrow of Cannonism and the inauguration of a system by which United States Senators could be elected by direct vote. The Democratic Party offers itself to the country as an agency through which the complete overthrow and extirpation of corruption, fraud and machine rule in American politics can be effected. Party Platforms and Conventions 31 Conclusion Our platform is one of principles which we believe to be essential to our national welfare. Our pledges are made to be kept when in office as well as relied upon during the campaign, and we invite the co-operation of all citi- zens, regardless of pa,rty, who believe in maintaining unimpaired the institu- tions and traditions of our country. 62 Party Platforms and Conventions For President THEODORE ROOSEVELT, of New York For Vice-President HIRAM W. JOHNSON, of California PROGRESSIVE PLATFORM The platform adopted at the Progressive National Convention, at Chi- cago, on August 7, was termed "A Contract With the People." It is as follows : , , . , Jetrerson and Lincoln The conscience of the people, in a time of grave national problems, has called into being a new party, born of the Nation's awakened sense of justice. We of the Progressive Party here dedicate ourselves to the fulfillment of the duty, laid upon us by our fathers to maintain that government of the people, by the people, and for the people whose foundations they laid. We hold with Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln that the people are the masters of their Constitution, to fulfill its purposes and to safe- guard it from those who, by perversion of its intent, would convert it into an instrument of injustice. In accordance with the needs of each genera- tion the people must use their sovereign powers to establish and maintain equal opportunity and industrial justice, to secure which this Government was founded and without which no republic can endure. This country belongs to the people who inhabit it. Its resources, its business, its institutions and its laws should be utilized, maintained or altered in whatever manner will best promote the general interest. It is time to set the public welfare in the first place. The Old Parties Political parties exist to secure responsible government and to execute the will of the people. From these great tasks both of the old parties have turned aside. In- stead of instruments to promote tlie general welfare, they have become the tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes. Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible gov- ernment, owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibilit}' to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance be- tween corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesman- ship of the day. The deliberate betrayal of its trust by the Republican Party, and the fatal incapacity of the Democratic Party to deal with the new issues of the new time, have compelled the people to forge a new instrument of govern- ment through which to give effect to their will in laws and institutions. Party Platforms and Coxvextions 33 Unhampered by tradition, uncorrupttd by power, undismayed by the magnitude of the task, the new party offers itself as the instrument of the people to sweep away old abuses, to build a new and nobler commonwealth. This declaration is our covenant with the people, and we hereby bind the party and its candidates in State and Nation to the pledges made herein. Rule of the People The Progressive Party, committed to the principle of government by a self-controlled democracy expressing its will through representatives of the people, pledges itself to secure such alterations in the fundamental law of the several States and of the United States as shall insure the representative character of the Government. In particular, the party declares for direct primaries for the nomina- tion oi State and national officers, for nation-wide preferential primaries for candidates for the Presidency, for the direct election of United States Sena- tors by the people ; and we urge on the States the policy of the short ballot, with responsibility to the people secured by the initative, referendum and recall. Amendment of Constitution The Progressive Party, believing that a free people should have the power from time to time to amend their fundamental law so as to adapt it pro- gressively to the changing needs of the people, pledges itself to provide a more easA^ and expeditious method of amending the Federal Constitution. Nation and State Up to the limit of the Constitution, and later by amendment of the Constitution, if found necessary, we advocate bringing under effective Na- tional jurisdiction those problems which have expanded beyond reach of the individual States. It is as grotesque as it is intolerable that the several States should by unequal laws in matter of common concern become competing commercial agencies, barter the lives of their children, the health of their women and the safety and well-being of their working people for the profit of their financial interests. The extreme insistence on States' rights by the Democratic Party in the Baltimore platform demonstrates anew its inability to understand the world into which it has survived or to administer the affairs of a union of States which have in all essential respects become one people. Industrial Justice The supreme duty of the Nation is the conservation of human resources through an enlightened measure of social and industrial justice. We pledge ourselves to work unceasingly in State and Nation for : ^4 Party Platforms axd Conventions Effective legislation looking to the prevention of industrial accidents, occupational diseases, overwork, involuntary unemploj'ment, and other in- jurious effects incident to modern industry; The fixing of minimum safety and health standards for the various occu- pations, and the exercise of the public authority of State and Nation, includ- ing the Federal control over interstate commerce and the taxing power, to maintain such standards ; The prohibition of child labor ; Minimum wage standards for working women, to provide a living scale in all industrial occupations ; The prohibition of night work for women and the establishment of an eight-hour day for women and young persons ; One day's rest in seven for all wage-workers ; The eight-hour day in continuous twenty-four-hour industries ; The abolition of the convict contract labor system; substituting a sys- tem of prison production for governmental consumption onh"; and the ap- plication of prisoners' earnings to the support of their dependent families ; Publicity as to wages, hours and conditions of labor; full reports upon industrial accidents and diseases, and the opening to public inspection of all tallies, weights, measures and check systems on labor products ; Standards of compensation for death by industrial accident and injury and trade diseases which will transfer the burden of lost earnings from the families of working people to the industry, and thus to the community; The protection of home life against the hazards of sickness, irregular employment and old age through the adoption of a system of social in- surance adapted to American use ; The development of the creative labor power of America by lifting the last load of illiteracy from American youth and establishing continuation schools for industrial education under public control and encouraging agri- cultural education and demonstration in rural schools ; The establishment of industrial research laboratories to put the methods and discoveries of science at the service of American producers. We favor the organization of the workers, men and women, as a means of protecting their interests and of promoting their progress. The Trusts We believe that true popular government, justice and prosperity go hand in hand, and, so believing, it is our purpose to secure that large meas- ure of general prosperity which is the fruit of legitimate and honest busi- ness, fostered by equal justice and by sound progressive laws. We demand that the test of true prosperity shall be the benefits con- ferred thereby on all the citizens, not confined to individuals or classes, and that the test of corporate efficiency shall be the ability better to serve the Party Platforms and Conventions 35 public; that those who profit by control of business affairs shall justify that profit and that control by sharing with the public the fruits thereof. We therefore demand a strong national regulation of interstate cor- porations. The corporation is an essential part of modern business. The concentration of modern business, in some degree, is both inevitable and necessary for national and international business efficiency. But the exist- ing concentration of vast wealth under a corporate system, unguarded and uncontrolled by the Nation, has placed in the hands of a few men enormous, secret, irresponsible power over the daily life of the citizen — a power in- sufferable in a free government and certain of abuse. This power has been abused, in monopoly of national resources, in stock watering, in unfair competition and unfair privileges, and finally in sinister influences on the public agencies of State and Nation. We do not fear com- mercial power, but we insist that it shall be exercised openly, under publicity, supervision and regulation of the most efficient sort, which will preserve its good while eradicating and preventing its evils. To that end we urge the establishment of a strong Federal administrative commission of high standing, which shall maintain permanent active super- vision over industrial corporations engaged in interstate commerce, or such of them as are of public importance, doing for them what the Government now does for the national banks, and what is now done for the railroads by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Such a commission must enforce the complete publicity of those cor- poration transactions which are of public interest; must attack unfair com- petition, false capitalization and special privilege, and by continuous trained watchfulness guard and keep open equally to all the highways of American commerce. Thus the business man will have certain knowledge of the law, and will be able to conduct his business easily in conformity therewith; the investor will find security for his capital ; dividends will be rendered more certain, and the savings of the people will be drawn naturally and safely into the channels of trade. Under such a system of constructive regulation, legitimate business, freed from confusion, uncertainty and fruitless litigation, will develop normally in response to the energy and enterprise of the American business man. Commercial Development The time has come when the Federal Government should co-operate with manufacturers and producers in extending our foreign commerce. To this end we demand adequate appropriations by Congress, and the appointment of diplomatic and consular officers solely with a view to their special fitness and worth, and not in consideration of political expediency. It is imperative to the welfare of our people that we enlarge and extend our foreign commerce. We are pre-eminently fitted to do this because as a 36 Party Platforms and Coxvextioxs people we have developed high skill in the art of manufacturing; our busi- ness men are strong executives, strong organizers. In every way possible our Federal Government should co-operate in this important matter. Anyone who has had opportunity to study and observe first-hand Germany's course in this respect must realize that their policy of co-operation between govern- ment and business has in comparatively few years made them a leading com- petitor for the commerce of the world. It should be remembered that they are doing this on a national scale and with large units of business, while the Democrats would have us believe that we should do it with small units of business, which would be controlled not by the National Government but by forty-nine conflicting sovereignties. Such a policy is utterly out of keeping with the progress of the times and gives our great commercial rivals in Europe — hungry for international markets — golden opportunities of which they are rapidly taking advantage. The TariflF We believe in a protective tariff which shall equalize conditions of com- petition between the United States and foreign countries, both for the farmer and the manufacturer, and which shall maintain for labor an adequate standard of living. Primarily the benefit of any tariff should be disclosed in the pay envelope of the laborer. We declare that no industry deserves protection which is un- fair to labor or which is operating in violation of Federal law. We be- lieve that the presumption is always in favor of the consuming public. We demand tariff revision because the present tariff is unjust to the people of the United States. Fair dealing toward. the people requires an im- mediate downward revision of those schedules wherein duties are shown to be unjust or excessive. We pledge ourselves to the establishment of a non-partisan scientific tariff commission, reporting both to the President and to either branch of Congress, which shall report, first, as to the costs of production, efficiency of labor, capitalization, industrial, organization and efficiency, and the general competitive position in this country and abroad of industries seeking protec- tion from Congress ; second, as to the revenue-producing power of the tariff and its relation to the resources of Government; and, third, as to the effect of the tariff on prices, operations of middlemen, and on the purchasing power of the consumer. We believe that this commission should have plenary power to elicit in- formation, and for this purpose to prescribe a uniform system of account- ing for the great protected industries. The work of the commission should not prevent the immediate adoption of acts reducing those schedules gen- erally recognized as excessive. We condemn the Payne- Aldrich Bill as unjust to the people. The Re- publican organization is in the hands of those who have broken, and cannot Party Platforms and Conventions 37 again be trusted to keep, the promise of necessary downward revision. The Democratic party 'fs committed to the destruction of the protective system through a tariff for revenue only — a policy which would inevitably produce widespread industrial and commercial disaster. We demand the immediate repeal of the Canadian reciprocity act. Cost of Living The high cost of living is due partly to world-wide and partly to local causes ; partly to natural and partly to artificial causes. The measures ^ proposed in this platform on various subjects, such as the tariff, the trusts and conservation, will of themselves tend to remove the artificial causes. There will remain other elements, such as the tendency to leave the country for the city, waste, extravagance, bad system of taxation, poor methods of raising crops and bad business methods in marketing crops. To remedy these conditions requires the fullest information and based on this information, effective Government supervision and control to remove all the artificial causes. We pledge ourselves to such full and immediate inquiry and to immediate action to deal with every need such inquiry discloses. Currency We believe there exists imperative need for prompt legislation for the improvement of our national currency system. We believe the present method of issuing notes through private agencies is harmful and unscientific. The issue of currency is fundamentally a Government function and the system should have as basic principles soundness and elasticity. The control should be lodged with the Government and should be protected from domina- tion or manipulation by Wall Street or any special interests. We are opposed to the so-called Aldrich currency bill, because its pro- visions would place our currency and credit system in private hands, not subject to effective public control. Conservation The natural resources of the Nation must be promptly developed and generously used to supply the people's needs, but we cannot safely allow them to be wasted, exploited, monopolized, or controlled against the general good. We heartily favor the policy of conservation, and we pledge our party to protect the national forests without hindering their legitimate use for the benefit of all the people. Agricultural lands in the national forests are, and should remain, open to the genuine settler. Conservation will not retard legitimate development. The honest settler must receive his patent promptly, without needless restric- tions or delays. We believe that the remaining forests, coal and oil lands, water powers and other natural resources still in State or national control (except agricul- 38 Party Platforms and Conventions tural lands) are more likely to be wisely conserved and utilized for the gen- eral welfare if held in the public hands. In order that consumers and producers, managers and workmen, now and hereafter, need not pay toll to private monopolies of power and raw ma- terial, we demand that such resources shall be retained by the State or Nation, and opened to immediate use under laws which will encourage de- velopment and make to the people a moderate return for benefits conferred. In particular we pledge our party to require reasonable compensation to J;he public for water-power rights hereafter granted by the public. We pledge legislation to lease the public grazing lands under equitable provisions now pending which will increase the production of food for the people and thoroughly safeguard the rights of the actual homemaker. Natural resources, whose conservation is necessary for the national welfare, should be owned or controlled by the Nation. Waterways The rivers of the United States are the natural arteries of this con- tinent. We demand that they shall be opened to traffic as indispensable parts of a great nation-wide system of transportation in which the Panama canal will be the central link, thus enabling the whole interior of the United States to share with the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards in the benefit derived from the canal. It is a national obligation to develop our rivers, and especially the Mississippi and its tributaries, without delay, under a comprehensive general plan covering each river system from its source to its mouth, designed to se- cure its highest usefulness for navigation, irrigation, domestic supply, water power and the prevention of floods. We pledge our party to the immediate preparation of such a plan, which should be made and carried out in close and friendly co-operation between the Nation, the States and the cities affected. Under such a plan, the destructive floods of the Mississippi and other streams, which represent a vast and needless loss to the Nation, would be con- trolled by forest conservation and water storage at the headwaters, and by levees below; land sufficient to support millions of people would be re- claimed from the deserts and the swamps, water power enough to transform the industrial standing of whole States would be developed, adequate water terminals would be provided, trasportation by river would revive, and the railroads would be compelled to co-operate as freely with the |?oat lines as with each other. The equipment, organization and experience acquired in constructing the Panama canal soon will be available for the Lakes-to-the-Gulf deep water- way and other portions of this great work, and should be utilized by the Na- tion in co-operation with the various States, at the lowest net cost to the people. Party Platforms and Conventions 39 Psuiama Canal The Panama canal, built and paid for by the American people, must be used primarily for their benefit. We demand that the canal shall be so operated as to break the transpor- tation monopoly now held and misused by the trans-continental railroads by maintaining sea competition with them; that ships directly or indirectly owned or controlled by American railroad corporations shall not be per- mitted to use the canal, and that American ships engaged in coastwise trade shall pay no tolls. The Progressive Party will favor legislation having for its aim the de- velopment of friendship and commerce between the United States and Latin- American nations. Alaska The coal and other natural resources of Alaska should be opened to development at once. They are owned by the people of the United States, and are safe from monopoly, waste or destruction only while so owned. We demand that they shall neither be sold nor given away, except under the homestead law, but while held in Government ownership shall be opened to use promptly upon liberal terms requiring immediate development. Thus the benefit of cheap fuel will accrue to the Government of the United States and to the people of Alaska and the Pacific coast; the settle- ment of extensive agricultural lands will be hastened ; the extermination of the salmon will be prevented, and the just and wise development of Alaskan resources will take the place of private extortion or monopoly. We demand also that extortion or monopoly in transportation shall be prevented by the prompt acquisition, construction, or improvement by the Government of such railroads, harbor and other facilities for transportation as the welfare of the people may demand. We promise the people of the territory of Alaska the same measure of local self-government that was given to other American territories, and that Federal officials appointed there shall be qualified by previous bona-fide resi- dence in the territory. _ , « «■ Equal Suffrage The Progressive Party, believing that no people can justly claim to be a true democracy which denies political rights on account of sex, pledges itself to the task of securing equal suffrage to men and women alike. Corrupt Practices We pledge our party to legislation that will compel strict limitation on all campaign contributions and expenditures, and detailed publicity of both before as well as after primaries and elections. Publicity and Public Service We pledge cur party to legislation compelling the registration of lobby- ists ; publicity of committee hearings except on foreign affairs, and recording 40 Party Platforms and Coxvextioxs of all votes in committee; and forbidding Federal appointees from holding office in State or national political organizations, or taking part as officers or delegates in political conventions for the nomination of elective State or national officials. The Courts The Progressive Party demands such restriction of the power of the courts as shall leave to the people the ultimate authority to determine funda- mental questions of social welfare and public polic3\ To secure this end, it pledges itself to provide: 1. That when an act, passed under the police power of the State, is held unconstitutional under the State Constitution, by the courts, the people, after an ample interval for deliberation, shall have an opportunity to vote on the question whether they desire the act to become a law, notwithstanding such decision. 2. That every decision of the highest appellate court of a State declaring an act of the legislatui'e unconstitutional on the ground of its violation of the Federal Constitution shall be subject to the same review by the Supreme Court of the United States as is now accorded to decisions sustaining such legislation. Administration of Justice The Progressive Party, in order to secure to the people a better ad- ministration of justice and by that means to bring about a more general re- spect for the law and the courts, pledges itself to work unceasingly for the reform of legal procedure and judicial methods. We believe that the issuance of injunctions in cases arising out of labor disputes should be prohibited when such injunctions would not apply when no labor disputes existed. We also believe that a person cited for contempt in labor disputes, except when such contempt was committed in the actual presence of the court or so near thereto as to interfere with the proper administration of justice,^ should have a right to trial by jury. Department of Labor We pledge our party to establish a Department of Labor with a seat in the cabinet, and with wide jurisdiction over matters affecting the con- ditions of labor and living. Country Life The development and prosperity of country life are as important to the people who live in the cities as they arc to the farmers. Increase of pros- perity on the farm will favorably affect the cost of living and promote the interests of all who dwell in the country, and all who depend upon its pro- ducts for clothing, shelter and food. We pledge our party to foster the development of agricultural credit and co-operation, the teaching of agriculture in schools, agricultural college Party Platforms axd Conventions 41 extension, the use of mechanical power on the farm, and to re-establish the Country Life Commission, thus directly promoting the welfare of the farm- ers, and bringing the benefits of better farming, better business and better living within their reach. ,, , , ^ Health We favor the union of all the existing agencies of the Federal Government dealing with the public health into a single national health service with- out discrimination against or for any one set of therapeutic methods, school of medicine, or school of healing, with such additional powers as may be necessary to enable it to perform efficiently such duties in the protection of the public from preventable diseases as may be properly undertaken by the Federal authorities including the execution of existing laws regarding pure food, quarantine and cognate subjects; the promotion of appropriate action for the improvement of vital statistics and the extension of the registration area of such statistics, and co-operation with the health activities of the various States and cities of the Nation. Patents We pledge ourselves to the enactment of a patent law which will make it impossible for patents to be suppressed or used against the public welfare in the interests of injurious monopolies. Interstate Commerce We pledge our party to secure to the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to value the physical property of railroads. In order that the power of the commission to protect the people may not be impaired or de- stroyed, we demand the abolition of the Commerce Court. Good Roads We recognize the vital importance of good roads and we pledge our party to foster their extension in every proper way, and we favor the early construction of national highways. We also favor the extension of the rural free delivery service. Inheritance and Income Tax We believe in a graduated inheritance tax as a national means of equal- izing the obligations of holders of property to Government, and we hereby pledge our party to enact such a Federal law as will tax large inheritances, returning to the States an equitable percentage of all amounts collected. We favor the ratification of the pending amendment to the Constitution giving the Government power to levy an income tax. > National Defense The Progressive Party deplores the survival in our civilization of the barbaric system of warfare among nations with its enormous waste of re- sources even in time of peace, and the consequent impoverishment of the 42 Party Platforms and Conventions life of the toiling masses. We pledge the party to use its best endeavors to substitute judicial and other peaceful means of settling international differ- ences. We favor an international agreement for the limitation of naval forces. Pending such an agreement, and as the best means of preserving peace, we pledge ourselves to maintain for the present the policy of building two battle- ships a year. Treaty Rights We pledge our party to protect the rights of American citizenship at home and abroad. No treat}' should receive the sanction of our Government which discriminates "between American citizens because of birthplace, race, or * religion, or that does not recognize the absolute right of expatriation. The Immigrant Through the establishment of industrial standards we propose to secure to the able-bodied immigrant and to his native fellow workers a larger share of American opportunity. We denounce the fatal policy of indifference and neglect which has left our enormous immigrant population to become the prey of chance and cupidity. We favor governmental action to encourage the distribution of immi- grants away from the congested cities, to rigidly supervise all private agencies dealing with them and to promote their assimilation, education and advancement. Pensions We pledge ourselves to a wise and just policy of pensioning American soldiers and sailors and their widows and children by the Federal Govern- ment. And we appi'ove the policy of the Southern States in granting pensions to the ex-Confederate soldiers and sailors and their widows and children. Parcels Post We pledge our party to the immediate creation of a parcels post, with rates proportionate to distance and service. Civil Service We condemn the violations of the civil service law under the present ad- ministration, including the coercion and assessment of subordinate em- ployees, and the President's refusal to punish such violation after a finding of guilty by his own commission ; his distribution of patronage among sub- servient Congressmen, while withholding it from those who refuse support of administration measures ; his withdrawal of nominations from the Senate until political support for himself was secured, and his open use of the offices to reward those who voted for his renomination. Party Platforms and Conventions 43 To eradicate these abuses, we demand not only the enforcement of the civil service act in letter and spirit, but also legislation which will bring under the competitive system postmasters, collectors, marshals and all other non-political officers as well as the enactment of an equitable retirement law, and we also insist upon continuous service during good behavior and ef- ficiency. Government Business We pledge our party to readjustment of the business methods of the national Government and a proper co-ordination of the Federal bureaus, which will increase the economy and efficiency of the Government service, prevent duplications and secure better results to the taxpayers for every dollar expended. Supervision Over Investments The people of the United States are swindled out of many millions of dollars every year, through worthless investments. The plain people, the wage-earner and the men and women with small savings, have no way of knowing the merit of concerns sending out highly colored prospectuses of- fering stock for sale, prospectuses that make big returns seem certain and fortunes easily within grasp. We hold it to be the duty of the Government to protect its people from this kind of piracy. W^e, therefore, demand wise, carefully thought out legislation that will give us such governmental supervision over this matter as will furnish to the people of the United States this much-needed pro- tection, and we pledge ourselves thereto. Conclusion On these principles and on the recognized desirability of uniting the Progressive forces of the Nation into an organization which shall unequivo- cally represent the Progressive spirit and policy we appeal for the support of all American citizens, without regard to previous political affiliations. 44 Party Platforms and Coxvextions Electoral Vote in 1912 The following table gives the electoral vote by States for 1912, as based upon the Reapportionment Act of 1911: Alabama 12 Arizona 3 Arkansas 9 California 13 Colorado 6 Connecticut 7 Delaware 3 Florida 6 Georgia 14 Idaho 4 Illinois 29 Indiana 15 Iowa 13 Kansas 10 Kentucky 13 Louisiana 10 Maine 6 Maryland '. • . 8 Massachusetts 18 Michigan 15 Minnesota 12 Mississippi 10 Missouri 18 Montana 4 Nebraska 8 Nevada 3 New Hampshire 4 New Jersey 14 New Mexico , 3 New York 45 North Carolina 12 North Dakota 5 Ohio 24 Oklahoma 10 Oregon 5 Pennsylvania 38 Rhode Island 5 South Carolina 9 South Dakota 5 Tennessee 12 Texas 20 Utah 4 Vermont 4 Virginia 12 Washington 7 West Virginia 8 Wisconsin 13 Wyoming 3 Total 531 Necessary to a choice. 266. Election by the House of Representatives The presence of three parties in the field this year has raised the ques- tion of what would happen if no candidate for President obtained a majority of the electoral vote. The Constitution provides for such a contingency in the following language : if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose im- mediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In the present House, however — which is the one that would vote on the question — there is an exact balance between Democratic and Republican States, there being 22 of each, with 4 equally divided in their representation, and therefore incapable of casting a ballot for any candidate. This situa- tion also is met by the Constitution in these words : And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a Presi- dent, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. Pakty Platforms and Conventions 45 As the Vice-President, in case of a tie, is chosen by the Senate, and as the latter body has a small Republican majority, the eifect of the provisions of the Constitution governing the case might be thought to be the selection of the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, James S. Sherman, the present Vice-President, who would proceed to "act as President." This outcome, however, in the divided state of the Republican Party is by no means a cer- tainty. The refusal of a few "Republican" Senators to vote for Mr. Sher- man would prevent his election. In such a case, the Presidential Succession Law might be resorted to. If this were done, the Secretary of State, Phil- ander C. Knox, whose term of office is undefined, would act as President "until ... a President is elected," which presumably might be at the ^nd of four years, or sooner if Congress should arrange for another election. Electoral Vote for President, 1884-1908 STATES 1908 1900 1892 1888 1884 Alabama Arkansas Calit irnia Colorado Connecticrt. . . . Delaware Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentuckj- Louisiana M ine Maryland Mass^cli'isetts . Mii'higan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey. . . . New York North Carolina. North Dakota.. Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania.. . Rhode Island. . South Carolina. So.ith Dakota. . Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington. . . . West Virgini.'i . . Wisconsin Wyoming Total 12 13 10 .S 6 8 4 12 22 1.5 18 9 1.3 12 11 1'. 14 13 7 30 4 321 j 140 336 271 22 168 233 219 isa' 46 Party Platforms and Conventions Popular and Electoral Vote for President in 1908 Popular Vote. Electoral Vote. STATES. 1 oi a OS C3 0! a 03 Xi OS c 1 Plurality +9 cc H Q O O K « H Alabama 74,374 25,305 1,399 665 1,565 495 49,069 D 11 Arkansas 87.015 56,760 5,842 1,194 1,026 289 30,255 D 9 California 127,492 214,398 28.659 11,770 4,278 86,906 R io Colorado 126,644 123,700 7,947 5,559 2,944 D 5 Connecticut 68.255 112,913- 5,113 2,380 608 728 44,660 R 7 Delaware 22,071 25,014 239 670 30 2,943 R 3 Florida 31.104 10,654 3 747 1,356 1.946 553 20,4.50 D 5 72.413 41.692 584 1,059 16,969 77 30,721 R 13 36,162 52.621 6,400 1,986 119 16,526 R 3 450,795 629.929 34,691 29,343 1,651 633 7,709 189,999 R 27 Indiana 338.262 348.993 13,476 18,045 643 1,193 514 10.731 R 15 200.771 275.210 8,287 9.837 261 404 74.4.39 R 13 161.209 197.216 12,420 5,033 68 36.007 R 10 Kentucky 244.092 235,711 4,060 5.887 404 333 200 8.381 D 13 Louisiana 63.568 8.958 2,538 82 54.610 D 9 Maine 35,493 66,987 1,758 1.487 700 31.584 R 6 Maryland 115.908 116,513 2,323 3.302 485 605 R 6 2 Missachusetts. . . 155,543 265,966 10,781 4.379 1.018 19,239 110.423 R 16 Michigan 175,771 335,580 11,586 16,974 1.096 742 159.809 R 14 Minnesota 109,401 195,843 14,527 11,107 426 86.442 R 11 Mississippi 60,287 4,363 978 1,276 55,924 D 10 Missouri 346,574 347,203 15.431 4,231 868 1,165 402 629 R i8 Montana 29,326 32,333 5.8.55 827 481 3,007 R 3 Nebraska 131,099 126,997 3,524 5,179 4,102 D 8 Nevada 11,212 10,775 2.103 436 437 D 3 New Hampshire. 33,655 53.149 1,299 905 584 19,494 R 4 New Jersey 182,567 265,326 10,253 4,934 ].i96 2,922 82,759 R 12 New York 667,468 870.070 38,451 22,667 3,877 35,817 202,602 R 39 North Carolina. . 136,995 114,937 378 360 22,058 D 12 North Dakota.. . 32,8S5 57,689 2,421 1,553 43 24,795 R 4 Ohio 592,721 122,363 572,312 110,474 33,795 21,734 11,402 720 163 412 475 245 69,591 R 11,889 D "i 23 Oklahoma Oregon 38,049 62,530 7.339 2,682 289 24,481 R 4 Pennsylvania.. . . 448.778 745,779 33.913 36,691 1,222 1,057 297,001 R 34 Rhode Island.. . . 24,706 43,942 1.365 1,016 183 1,105 19,236 R 4 South Carolina. . 62,288 3,963 100 42 58,325 D 9 South Dakota. . . 40,266 67.536 2.846 4,039 88 27,270 R 4 Tennessee 135,608 118.324 1.870 300 1.081 332 17,284 D i2 Texas 217.302 42,601 11.496 65,666 61,015 39,552 7,870 4,895 1,634 " ■ 799 972 "115 87 804 151,636 D 18,414 R 28,056 R 18 Utah 3 VermDnt 4 Virginia 82.946 52,573 255 1,111 25 ios 51 30,373 D i2 Washington 58.691 106,062 14,177 4,700 249 47.371 R 5 West Virginia. . . 111,418 137,869 3,679 5.139 46 26,451 R 7 Wisconsin 166,632 247,747 28,170 11,572 314 81,115 R 13 Wyoming 14,918 6,409.104 20,846 1,715 66 64 5,928 R 3 Total 7,678,908 420,793 253.840 13,825 29,100 82.872 1,269,894 R 162 321 Read the NEW YORK EVENING POST db( ana oe Correctly informed on the Presidential Campaign ITS AIM IS BETTER CITIZENSHIP Printed by The nation press, new York Vi287985 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. M^?t 18 1*^48 I^PH ^ \%t APR 19 19.^8 REC'D LD 'APR2ii 19 ..-_,,, ww REC t> UD UUN4 '65-1 PI iT2 6 196T59 iCTl2'67-9Pf' !^^ OCT? 77 6 H rasg REC'o i-i::} JUN8 19S0 REC'OLO '^O^ 24 71-lPW . « LD 21-100ni-9.'47rA5702sl6')476 f V