2255 M3 UC-NRLF SECOND EDITION HOW ARE YOU GOING TO VOTE THE PLATFORMS OF THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC PARTIES >ICLUDING THE ELECTORAL AND POPULAR VOTE FOR 912 AND 1916. AND A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF EACH PARTY. WALTER V. Mc'fcEE FLYNN PUBLISHING COMPANY 30 North La Salle Street CHICAGO Copyright 19M FLYNN PUBLISHING COMPANY Foreword To every citizen, be he native born or naturalized, there comes a time when he must ask himself, "Am I a Democrat or a Republican? With which of these two great parties shall I affiliate myself?" To answer this perplexing question is the purpose of this little book. To this end the author has briefly sketched the history of both parties and reproduced for study their platforms as adopted at the 1 920 conventions. If a few only are helped to decide this important question of citizenship and Americanism, the task has not been in vain. 422247 A Brief Sketch of Political Parties m America* PoUtic* / The existence of political parties is caused primarily by differences in public opinions on questions of wide or national scope. These differences of opinion came into being even during the founding of our nation and were in fact the cause of it. The patriots of that time were called Whigs and those opposed to the Revolution and loyal to the King of England, Torys. Of course after the Revolution only Whigs were left, but with the adoption of our Constitution came into being other differences of opinion and hence political parties to support them. Those who supported the ratification of the Constitution were called Federalists and those who were against it, Anti-Federalists. These may be said to be the first great political parties in our country. Although at variance in a great many points most people were in favor of giving the new government a chance and so the Anti-Federalists gradually disappeared. The difference of opinion however, did not disappear for they represented the difference between radical and conservative; a dif- ference which is as old as mankind. It was also a difference between those who believed in the control of affairs by the select few or by the upper class and those who believed in advancing the interest of the mass of the people. Here we see the beginning of Republican- ism and Democracy although the two great parties were not designated until somewhat later in our history. The Federalist party as found at the birth of our nation existed until 1854 under various names and with many changes and at which time a new party was organized and called the Republican party. This pgirty consisted of all those opposed to the ex- tension of slavery into the territories and was com- posed of Free Soilers, Anti-Slavery Whigs, some Democrats and the Abolitionists. During the period of the Civil War many Democrats acted with it It first nominated a candidate for president in 1856. This party favored a broad construction of the Constitution, liberal expenditures, extension of the power of the national government, a high protection tariff and the gold standard. Among the measures with which it has been identified in whole or in part are the suppression of the rebellion, the abolition of slavery, reconstruction and the resumption of specie payments. It has controlled the executive or national government under the administrations of the following presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, An- dr*w Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Gar- field, Chester B. Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and Wm. H. Taft. The Federalists called themselves Republicans and because those opposed to them also called themselves Republicans, a more convenient name evolved in Democratic-Republicans for the latter. These were the more radical and the Democrats so found their leader in Thomas Jefferson. Gradually the word Republican was dropped and they called themselves simply Democrats. The Democratic party as it exists today claims direct desent from this party and also claims as its founder Thomas Jefferson. Its great and fundamental difference from the Repub- lican party may be said to be that it has always opposed a strong central government and has generally favored a strict construction of the Constitution. It has controlled the executive or national government under the administrations of the following presidents: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Munroe, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James Polk, Franklin Pierce, Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson. The Platform as adopted by the Republican National Conten- tion, Chicago, 1920: The Republican party, assembled in representative convention re-affirms its unyielding devotion to the constitution of the United States and to the guaran- tees of civil, political and religious liberty therein contained. It will resist all attempts to overthrow the foundations of the government or to weaken the force of its controlling principles and ideals, whether these attempts be made in the form of international policy or of domestic agitation. For seven years the national government has been controlled by the Democratic party. During that period a war of unparalleled magnitude has shaken the foundations of civilization, decimated the popula- tion of Europe and left in its train economic misery and suffering second only to war itself. The outstanding features of the Democratic ad- ministration have been complete unpreparedness for war and complete unnpreparedness for peace. Unpreparedness for War Inexcusable failure to make timely preparation is the chief indictment against the Democratic adminis- tration in the conduct of the war. Had not our associates protected us, both on land and sea during the first 1 2 months of our participation, and furnished us to the very day of the armistice with munitions, planes and artillery, this failure would have been punished with disaster. It directly resulted in un- necessary losses to our gallant troops, in the imperil- ment of victory itself, and in an enormous waste of public funds literally poured into the breach created by gross neglect. Today it is reflected in our huge tax burden and in the high cost of living. Unpreparedness for Peace Peace found the administration as unprepared for peace as war found it unprepared for war. The vital needs of the country demanded the early and systematic return to a peace time basis. This called for vision, leadership and intelligent planning. All three have been lacking. While the country has been left to shift for itself, the government has con- tinued on a war-time basis. The administration has not demobilized the army of place holders. It con- tinued a method of financing which was indefensible during the period of reconstruction. It has used legis- lation passed to meet the emergency of war to con- tinue its arbitrary and inquisitorial control over the life of the people in time of peace, and to carry confusion into industrial life. Under the despot's plea of necessity or superior wisdom, executive usurpation of legislative and judicial functions still undermines our institutions. Eighteen months after the armistice, with its war time powers unabridged, its war time departments un- discharged, its war time army of place holders still mobilized, the administration continued to flounder helplessly. The demonstrated incapacity of the Democratic party has destroyed public confidence, weakened the authority of government and produced a feeling of distrust and hesitation so universal as to increase enormously the difficulties . of readjustment and to delay the return to normal conditions. Never has our nation been confronted with graver problems. The people are entitled to know in definite 10 terms how the parties purpose solving these problems. To that end, the Republican party declares its policies and program to be as follows: Constitutional Government We undertake to end executive autocracy and to restore to the people their constitutional government. The policies herein declared will be carried out by the federal and state governments, each acting within its constitutional powers. Congress and Reconstruction Despite the unconstitutional and dictatorial course of the president and the partisan obstruction of the Democratic congressional minority, the Republican majority has enacted a program of constructive legis- lation which, in great part, however, has been nulli- fied by the vindictive vetoes of the president. The Republican congress has met the problems presented by the administrations' unpreparedness for peace. It has repeated the greater part of the vexa- tious war legislation. It has enacted a transportation act making possible the rehabilitation of the railroad systems of the country, the operation of which, under the present Democratic administration, has been very wasteful, extravagant, and inefficient in the highest degree. The transportation act made provision for the peaceful settlement of wage disputes, partially nullified, however, by the president's delay in appoint- ing the wage board created by the act This delay precipitated the oulaw railroad strike. We stopped the flood of public treasure, recklessly poured into the lap of an inept shipping board, and laid the foundations for the creation of a great mer- chant marine; we took from the incompenteiit Demo- 11 cratic administration the administration of the tele- graph and telephone lines of the country and returned them to private ownership; we reduced the cost of postage and increased the pay of the postal employes the poorest paid of all public servants; we provided pensions for superannuated and retired civil servants; and for an increase in pay of soldiers and sailors. We reorganized the army on a peace footing and provided for the maintenance of a powerful and efficient navy. The Republican congress established by law a permanent women's bureau in the department of labor; we submitted to the country the constitutional amendment for woman suffrage, and furnished 29 of the 35 legislatures which have ratified it to date. Legislation for the relief of the consumers of print paper, for the extension of the powers of the govern- ment under food control act, for broadening the scope of the war risk insurance act, better provision for the dwindling number of aged veterans of the Civil war and for the better support of the maimed and injured of the great war, and for making practical the vo- cational rehabilitation act, has been enacted by the Republican congress. We passed an oil leasing and water power bill to unlock for the public good the great pent-up resources of the country ; we have sought to check the profligacy of the administration, to realize upon the assets of the government and to husband the revenues derived from taxation. The Republicans in congress have been responsible for cuts in the estimates for govern- ment expenditure of nearly $3,000,000,000, since the signing of the armistice. We enacted a national executive budget law; we strengthened the federal reserve act to permit banks 12 to lend needed assistance to farmers; we authorized financial incorporations to develop export trade; and finally amended the rules of the senate and house which will reform evils in procedure and guarantee more efficient and responsible government Agriculture The farmer is the backbone of the nation. Na- tional greatness and economic independence demand a population to be distributed between industry and the farm and sharing on equal terms the prosperity which is wholly dependent on the efforts of both. Neither can prosper at the expense of the other without invit- ing joint disaster. The crux of the present agricultural condition lies in prices, labor and credit. The Republican party believes that this condition can be improved by practical and adequate farm representation in the appointment of governmental officials and commissions; the right to form co-opera- tion associations for marketing their products, and protection against discrimination; the scientific study of agricultural prices and farm production costs at home and abroad, with a view to reducing the fre- quency of abnormal fluctuations; the uncensored pub- lications of such reports; the authorization of associa- tions for the extension of personal credits; a national inquiry on the co-ordination of rail, water and motor transportation with adequate facilities for receiving, handling and marketing food; the encouragement of our export trade; an end to unnecessary price fixing and ill-considered efforts arbitrarily to reduce prices of farm products which invariably result to the dis- advantage both of producer and consumer and the encouragement of the production and importation of 13 fertilizing material and of its extensive use. The federal farm loan act should be so adminis- tered as to facilitate the acquisition of farm land by those desiring to become owners and proprietors and thus minimize the evils of farm tenantry and to furn- nish such long time credits as farmers may need to finance adequately their larger and long time opera- tions. Industrial Relations There are two different conceptions of the relations of capital and labor. The one is contractual, and emphasizes the diversity of interests of employer and employe. The other is that of co-partnership in a common task. We recognize the justice of collective bargaining as a means of promoting good will, establishing closer and more harmonious relations between employer and employes and realizing the true end of industrial jus- tice. The strike or the lockout, as a means of settling industrial disputes, inflicts such loss, and suffering on the community as to justify government initiative to reduce its frequency and limit its consequences. We deny the right to strike against the government; but the rights and interests of all government em- ployes must be safeguarded by impartial laws and tribunity. In public utilities we favor the establishment of an impartial tribunal to make an investigation of the facts and to render a decision to the end that there may be no organized interruption of service to the lives and health and welfare of the people. The decisions of the tribunals to be morally but not legally binding, and an informed public sentiment be 14 relied on to secure their acceptance. The tribunal, however, should refuse to accept jurisdiction except for the purpose of investigation as long as the public service be interrupted. For public utilities we favor the type of tribunal provided for in the transportation act of 1920. In private industries we do not advocate the prin- ciple of compulsory arbitration, but we favor im- partial commission and better facilities for voluntary mediation, conciliation and arbitration supplemented by that full publicity which will enlist the influence of an aroused public opinion. The government should take the initiative in inviting the establishment of tri- bunals or commissions for the purpose of voluntary arbitration and investigation of this issue. We demand the exclusion from interstate commerce of the products of convict labor. National Economy A Republican congress reduced the estimates sub- mitted by the administration for the fiscal year 1920 almost $3,000,000,000 and for the fiscal year 1921 more than $1,250,000,000. Greater economies could have been effected had it not been for the stubborn refusal of the administration to co-operate with congress in an economy program. The universal demand for an executive budget is a recognition of the incontrovertible fact that leadership and sincere assistance on the part of the executive departments are essential to effective economy and constructive retrenchment. The Overman act invested the president of the United States with all the authority and power to restore the federal government to a normal peace basis and to reorganize, retrench and demobilize. 15 The dominant fact is that 18 months after the armis- tice, the United Staes government is still on a war- time basis, and the expenditure program of the execu- tive reflects war-time extravagance rather than rigid peace time economy. As an example of the failure to retrench which has characterized the post-war policy of the admin- istration we cite the fact that not including the war and navy departments, the executive departments and other establishments at Washington actually record an increase subsequent to the armistice of 2,184 em- ployes. The net decrease in payroll costs contained in the 1921 demands submitted by the administration is only one per cent under that of 1 920. The annual expenses of federal operation can be reduced hun- dreds of millions of dollars without impairing the efficiency of the public service. We pledge ourselves to a carefully planned read- justment to a peace time basis and to a policy of rigid economy, to the better co-ordination of depart- mental activities, to the elimination of unnecessary officials and employes, and to the raising of the standard of individual efficiency. The Executive Budget We congratulate the Republican congress on the enactment of a law providing for the establishment of an executive budget as a necessary instrument for a sound and businesslike administration of the na- tional finances ; and we condemn the veto of the presi- dent which defeated this great financial reform. Reorganization of Federal Departments and Bureaus We advocate a thorough investigation of the pres- 16 ent organization of the federal departments and bureaus, with a view to securing consolidation of functions, the elimination of duplication, delays and overlapping of work and the establishment of an up- to-date and efficient administrative organization. War Powers of the President The president clings tenaciously to his autocratic war time powers. His veto of the resolution declaring peace and his refusal to sign the bill repealing war time legislation no longer necessary evidence his determination not to restore to the nation and to the states the form of government provided for by the constitution. This usurpation is intolerable and deserves the severest condemnation. Taxation The burden of taxation imposed upon the Ameri- can people is staggering; but in presenting a true statement of the situation we must face the fact that while the character of the taxes can and should be changed, an early reduction of the amount of revenue to be raised is not to be expected. The next Republican administration will inherit from its Democratic predecessor a floating indebted- ness of more than $3,000,000,000, the prompt liquidation of which is demanded by sound financial considerations. Moreover, the whole fiscal policy of the government must be deeply influenced by the necessity of meeting obligations in excess of $5,000,- 000,000 which mature in 1923. But sound policy equally demands the early accomplishment of that real reduction of the tax burden which may be achieved by substituting simple for complex tax laws 17 and procedure, prompt and certain determination of the tax liability for delay and uncertainty, tax laws which do not so excessively mulct the consumer by needlessly repressing enterprise and that they be fair. We advocate the issuance of a simplified form of income return; authorizing the treasury department to make changes in regulations effective only from the date of their approval; empowering the commis- sioner of internal revenue, with the consent of the taxpayer to make final and conclusive settlements of tax claims and assessments barring fraud, and the creation of a tax board consisting of at least three representatives of the taxpaying public and the heads of the principal divisions of the bureau of internal revenue to act as a standing committee on the simpli- fication of forms, procedure and law, and to make recommendations to the congress. Banking and Currency The fact is that the war to a great extent was financed by a policy of inflation through certificate borrowing from the banks, and bonds issued at arti- ficial rates sustained by the low discounts established by the federal reserve board. The continuance of this policy since the armistice lays the administration open to severe criticism. Almost up to the present time, the practices of the federal reserve board as to credit control have been frankly dominated by the convenience of the treasury. The results have been a greatly increased war cost, a serious loss to the millions of people who in good faith bought Liberty bonds and Victory notes at par, and extensive post-war speculation, followed today by a restricted credit for legitimate industrial expansion. As a matter of public policy, we urge 18 all banks to give credit preference to essential in- dustries. The federal reserve system should be free from political influence, which is quite as important as its independence of domination by financial combinations. The High Cost of Living The prime cause of the "high cost of living" has been, first and foremost, a 50 per cent depreciation in the purchasing power of the dollar due to a gross expansion of our currency and credit. Reduced production, burdensome taxation, swollen profits, and the increased demand for goods arising from a fic- titious, but enlarged buying power have been con- tributing causes in a greater or less degree. We condemn the unsound fiscal policies of the Democratic administration which have brought these things to pass, and their attempts to impute the con- sequences to minor and secondary causes. Much of the injury wrought is irreparable. There is no short way out, and we decline to deceive the people with vain promises or quack remedies. But as the party that throughout its history has stood for honest money and sound finance, we pledge ourselves to earnest and consistent attack upon the high cost of living by rigorous avoidance of further inflation in our govern- ment borrowing, by courageous and intelligent defla- tion of over-expanded credit and currency, by en- couragement of heightened production of goods and services, by prevention of unreasonable profits, by exercise of public economy and stimulation of private thrift and by revision of war-imposed taxes unsuited to peace time economy. Profiteering We condemn the Democratic administration for 19 Railroads failure impartially to enforce the anti-profiteering laws enacted by the Republican congress. We are opposed to government ownership and operation or employes' operation of the railroads. In view of the conditions prevailing in the country the expenditures of the last two years and the con- clusions which may be fairly drawn from an obser- vation of the transportation systems of other countries, it is clear that adequate transportation service, both for the present and future can be furnished more cer- tainly, economically and efficiently through private ownership and operation under proper regulation and control. There should be no speculative profit in rendering the service of transportation ; but in order to do justice to the capital already invested in railway enterprises, to restore railway credit, to induce future investments at a reasonable rate and to furnish enlarged facilities to meet the requirements of the constantly increasing development and distribution, a fair return upon actual value of the railway property used in transportation should be made reasonably sure, and at the same time to provide constant employment to those engaged in transportaion service with fair hours and favorable working conditions at wages or compensation at least equal to those prevailing in similar lines of industry. We indorse the transportation act of 1920 enacted by the Republican congress as a most conservative legislative achievement. Waterways We declare it to be our policy to encourage and develop water transportation service and facilities in 20 connection with the commerce of the United States. Regulation of Industry and Commerce We approve in general the existing federal legisla- tion against monopoly and combinations in restraint of trade, but since the known certainty of a law is the safest of all, we advocate such amendment as will provide American business men with better means of determining in advance whether a pro- posed combination is or is not unlawful. The fed- eral trade commission, under a Democratic ad- ministration, has not accomplished the purpose for which it was created. This commission properly organized and its duties efficiently administered should afford protection to the public and legitimate business in this. There should be no persecution of honest business, but to the extent that circumstances war- rant we pledge ourselves to strengthen the law against unfair practices. We pledge the party to an immediate resumption of trade relations with every nation with which we are at peace. International Trade and Tariff The uncertain and unsettled conditions of inter- national balances and the abnormal economic and trade situation of the world and the impossibility of forecasting accurately even the near future, preclude the formulation of a definite program to meet condi- tions a year hence. But the Republican party re- affirmed its belief in the protective principle, and pledged itself to a revision of the tariff as soon as conditions shall make it necessary for the preservation of the home market for American labor, agriculture and industry. 21 Merchant Marine The national defense and our foreign commerce require a merchant marine of the best type of mod- ern ships flying the American flag, manned by Ameri- can seamen, owned by private capital and operated by private energy. We indorse the sound legislation recently enacted by the Republican congress that will insure the pro- motion and maintenance of the American merchant marine. We favor the application of the workmen's com- pensation act to the merchant marine. We recommend that all ships engaged in coast- wise trade and all vessels of the American merchant marine shall pass through the Panama canal without premium of tolls. Immigration The standard of living and the standard of citizen- ship are its most precious possessions and the preserva- tion and elevation of these standards is the first duty of our government. The immigration policy of the United States should be such as to insure that the number of for- eigners in the country at any one time shall not exceed that which can be assimilated with reasonable rapidity, and to favor immigrants whose standards are similar to ours. The selective tests that are at present applied could be improved by requesting a higher physical standard, a more complete exclusion of mental defec- tives and of criminals and of a more effective in- spection applied as near the source of immigration as possible as well as at the port of entry. Justice to 22 the foreigner and to ourselves demands provision for the guidance, protection and better economic distri- bution of our alien population. To facilitate govern- men supervision, all aliens should be required to. register annually until they become naturalized. The existing policy of the United States for the practical exclusion of Asiatic immigration is sound, and should be maintained. Naturalization There is urgent need of improvement in our naturalization laws. No alien should become a citi- zen until he had become genuinely American and tests for determining the alien's fitness for American citizenship should be provided for by law. We advocate in addition, the independent natural- ization of married women. An American woman should not lose her citizenship by marriage to an alien resident in the United States. Free Speech and Alien Agitation We demand that every American citizen shall en- joy the ancient and constitutional right of free speech, free press and free assembly and the no less sacred right of the qualified voter to be represented by his duly chosen representatives; but no man may advo- cate resistance to the law, and no man may advocate violent overthrow of the government. AKens within the jurisdiction of the United States are not entitled of right to liberty of agitation di- rected against the government or American institu- tions. Every government has the power to exclude and deport these aliens who constitute a real menace to its peaceful existence. But in view of the large numbers 23 of people affected by the immigration acts and in view of the vigorous malpractice of the departments of justice and labor, an adequate public hearing before a competent administrative tribunal should be assured to all. Lynching We urge congress to consider the most effective means to end lynching in this country which continues to be a terrible blot on our American citizenship. Public Roads and Highways We favor liberal appropriations in co-operation with the states for the construction of highways, which will bring about a reduction in transportation costs, better marketing of farm products, improvement in rural postal delivery, as well as meet the needs of military defense. In determining the proportion of federal aid for road construction among the states, the sums lost in taxation to the respective states by the setting apart of large portions of their area as forest reservations, should be considered as a controlling factor. Conservation is a Republican policy. It began with the passage of the reclamation act signed by President Roosevelt. The recent passage of the coal, oil and phosphate bill by a Republican congress and the enactment of the water power bill fashioned in accordance with the same principles are consistent landmarks in the development of the conservation of our national resources. We denounce the refusal of the president to sign the water power bill passed after 10 years of controversy. The Republican party has taken an especially hon- orable part in saving our national forests and in the 24 effort to establish a national forest policy. Our most pressing conservation question relates to our forests. We are using our forest resources faster than they are being renewed. The result is to raise unduly the cost of forest products to consumers and especially farmers, who use more than half the lumber produced in America, and in the end to create a timber famine. The federal government, the states and private inter- ests must unite in devising means to meet the menace. Reclamation We favor a fixed and comprehensive policy of reclamation to increase national wealth and produc- tion. We recognize in the development of reclamation through federal action with its increase of production and taxable wealth a safeguard for the nation. We commend to congress a policy to reclaim lands and the establishment of a fixed national policy of de- velopment of natural resources in relation to reclama- tion through the now designated government agencies. The Service Men We hold in imperishable remembrance the valor and the patriotism of the soldiers and sailors of America who fought in the great war for human liberty, and we pledge ourselves to discharge to the fullest the obligations which a grateful nation justly should fulfill, in appreciation of the service rendered by its defenders on sea and on land. Republicans are not ungrateful. Throughout their history they have shown their gratitude toward the nation's defenders. Liberal legislation for the care of the disabled and infirm and their dependents has ever marked Republican policy toward the soldier 25 and sailor of all the wars in which our country has participated. The present congress has appropriated generously for the disabled of the world war. The amounts already applied and authorized for the fiscal year 1 920-2 1 for the purpose reached the stupendous sum of $1,180,571,893. The legislation is signi- ficant of the party's purpose in generously caring for the maimed and disabled men of the recent war. Civil Service We renew our repeated declaration that the civil service law shall be thoroughly and honestly enforced and extended wherever practicable. The recent ac- tion of congress in enacting a comprehensive civil service retirement law and in working out a compre- hensive employment and wage policy that will guar- antee equal and just treatment to the army of govern- ment workers, and in centralizing the administration of the new and progressive employment policy in the hands of the civil service commission is worthy of all praise. Postal Service We condemn the present administration for its destruction of the efficiency of the postal service and the telegraph and telephone service when controlled by the government, and for its failure to properly compensate employes whose expert knowledge is es- sential to the proper conduct of the affairs of the postal system. We commend the Republican con- gress for the enactment of legislation increasing the pay of postal employes, who up to that time were the poorest paid in the government service. Woman Suffrage We welcome women into full participation in the 26 affairs of government and the activities of the Repub- lican party. We earnestly hope that Republican legislatures in states which have not yet acted upon the suffrage amendment will ratify the amendment, to the end that all of the women of the nation of voting age may participate in the election of 1920, which is so important to the welfare of our country. Social Progress The supreme duty of the nation is the conservation of human resources through an enlightened measure of social and industrial justice. Although the federal jurisdiction over social problems, they affect the wel- fare and interests of the nation as a whole. We pledge the Republican party to the solution of these problems through national and state legislation in ac- cordance with the best progressive thought of the country. Education and Health We indorse the principle of federal aid to the states for the purposes of vocational and agricultural training. Wherever federal money is devoted to education, such education must be so directed as to awaken in the youth the spirit of America and a sense of pa- triotic duty to the United States. A thorough system of physical education for all children up to the age of 19, including adequate health supervision and instruction, would remedy con- ditions revealed by the draft and would add to the economic and industrial strength of the nation. Na- tional leadership and stimulation will be necessary to induce the states to adopt a wise system of physical training. 27 The public health activities of the federal govern- ment are scattered through numerous departments and bureaus, resulting in inefficiency, duplication and ex- travagance. We advocate a greater centralization of the federal functions, and in addition urge the better co-ordination of the work of the federal, state, and local health agencies. Child Labor The Republican party stands for a federal child labor law and for its rigid enforcement. If the pres- ent law be found un constitutional or ineffective, we shall seek other means to enable congress to prevent the evils of child labor. Women in Industry Women have special problems of employment, which make necessary special study. We commend congress for the permanent establishment of the women's bureau in the United States department of labor to serve as a source of information to the states and to congress. The principle of equal pay for equal service should be applied throughout all branches of the federal government in which women are employed. Federal aid for vocational training should take into consideration the special aptitudes and needs of women workers. We demand federal legislation to limit the hours of employment of women engaged in intensive indus- try, the product of which enters into interstate com- merce. Housing The housing shortage has not only compelled care- 28 ful study of ways of stimulating building, but it has brought into relief the unsatisfactory character of the housing accommodations of large numbers of inhabi- tants of our cities. A nation of home-owners is the best guarantee of the maintenance of those principles of liberty and law and order upon which our govern- ment is founded. Both national and state govern- ments should encourage in all proper ways the acquir- ing of homes by our citizens. The United States government should make available the valuable in- formation on housing and town planning collected during the war. This information should be kept up- to-date and made currently available. Hawaii For Hawaii we recommend federal assistance in Americanizing and educating their greatly dispro- portionate foreign population; home rule; and the re- habilitation of the Hawaiian race. Mexico The ineffective policy of the present administration in Mexican matters has been largely responsible for the continued loss of American lives in that country and upon our border; for the enormous loss of American and foreign property; for the lowering of American standards of morality and social relations with Mexicans, and for the bringing of American ideals of justice and national honor and political in- tegrity into contempt and ridicule in Mexico and throughout the world. The policy of wordy, futile written protests against the acts of Mexican officials, explained the following day by the president himself as being meaningless and not intended to be considered seriously or en- 29 forced, has but added in degree to that content and has earned for us the sneers and jeers of Mexican bandits and added insult upon insult against our na- tional honor and dignity. We should not recognize any Mexican government unless it be a responsible government, willing and able to give sufficient guarantees that the lives and prop- erty of American citizens are respected and protected, that wrongs will be promptly corrected and just compensation will be made for injury sustained. The Republican party pledges itself to a consistent, firm and effective policy toward Mexico that shall enforce respect for the American flag and that shall protect the rights of American citizens lawfully in Mexico to security of life and enjoyment of property, in con- nection with an established international law and our treaty rights. The Republican party is a sincere friend of the Mexican people. In its insistence upon the mainten- ance of order for the protection of American citizens within its borders, a great service will be rendered the Mexican people themselves for a continuation of present conditions means disaster to their interests and patriotic aspirations. Armenia Mandate We eondemn President Wilson for asking con- gress to empower him to accept a mandate for Armenia. The acceptance of such mandate would throw the United States into the very maelstrom of European quarrels. According to the estimate of the Harbord commission, organized by authority of Presi- dent Wilson, we would be called upon to send 59,000 American boys to police Armenia and to expend $276,000,000 in the first year and $756,- 30 000,000 in five years. This estimate is made upon the basis that we would have only roving bands to fight, but in case of a serious trouble with the Turks or with Russia, a force exceeding 200,000 would be necessary. No more striking illustration can be found of President Wilson's disregard of the lives of American boys or American interests. We deeply sympathize with the people of Ar- menia and stand ready to help them in all proper ways, but the Republican party will oppose now and hereafter the acceptance of a mandate for any country in Europe or Asia. League of Nations The foreign policy of the administration has been founded upon no principle and directed by no definite conception of our nation's rights and obligations. It has been humiliating to America and irritating to other nations, with die result that after a period of unexampled sacrifice, our motives are suspected, our moral influence impaired, and our government stands discredited and friendless among the nations of the world. We favor a liberal and generous foreign policy founded upon definite moral and political principles, characterized by a clear understanding of and firm adherence of our own rights and unfailing respect for the rights of others. We should afford full and adequate protection to( the life, liberty and property and all international rights of every American citizen and should require a proper respect for the American flag; but we should be equally careful to manifest a just regard for the rights of other nations. A scrupulous observance of our international en- 31 gagements, when lawfully assumed, is essential to our own honor and self-respect, and the respect of other nations. Subject to a due regard for our international obligations, we should leave our country free to develop its civilization along the line most conducive to the happiness and welfare of the people, and to cast its influence on the side of justice and right should occasion require. The Republican party stands for agreement among the nations to preserve the peace of the world. We believe that such an international association must be based upon international justice, and must provide methods which shall maintain the rule of public right by development of law and the decision of impartial courts, and which shall secure instant and general international conference whenever peace shall be threatened by political action, so that the nations pledged to do and insist upon what is just and fair may exercise their influence and power for the pre- vention of war. We believe that all this can be done without the compromise of national independence, without de- priving the people of the United States in advance of the right to determine for themselves what is just and fair, when the occasion arises, and without involving them as participants and not as peacemakers in a multitude of quarrels, the merits of which they are unable to judge. The covenant, signed by the president at Paris, failed signally to accomplish this purpose, and con- tained stipulations not only intolerable for an inde- pendent people but certain to produce the injustice, hostility and controversy among nations which it pro- posed to prevent. That covenant repudiated to a degree wholly un- 32 necessary and unjustifiable, the time honored policy in favor of peace declared by Washington and Jeffer- son and Monroe and pursued by all American ad- ministrators for more than a century, and it ignored the universal sentiments of America for generations past, in favor of international law and arbitration and it rested the hope of the future upon mere expediency and negotiations. The unfortunate insistence of the president upon having his own way without any change, and without any regard to the opinion of a majority of the senate, which shares with him the treaty making power, ~and the president's demand that the treaty should be ratified without any modification, created a situation in which senators were required to vote upon their consciences and their oaths according ta their judgment upon the treaty as it was presented, or submit to the commands of a dictator in a matter where the authority under the constitution was theirs and not his. The senators performed their duty faithfully. We approve their conduct and honor, their courage and fidelity and we pledge the coming Republican ad- ministration to such agreement with the other nations of the world as shall meet the full duty of America to civilization and humanity in accordance with American ideals, and without surrendering the right of the American people to exercise its judgment and its power in favor of justice and peace, Peroration Pointing to its history and relying upon its funda- mental principles we declare that the Republican party has the generous courage and constructive ability to end executive usurpation and restore consti- 33 tutional government; to fulfill our world obligations without sacrificing our national independence; to raise the national standard of education, health and general welfare; to re-establish a peace-time adminis- tration and to substitute economy and efficiency for extravagance and chaos; to restore and maintain the national credits; to reform unequal and burden- some taxes; to free business from arbitrary and un- necessary official control; to suppress disloyalty with- out denial of justice; to repeal the arrogant challenge of any class; and to maintain a government of all the people as contrasted with government for some of the people, and, finally, to allay unrest, suspicion and strife, and to secure the co-operation and unity of all citizens in the solution of the complex problems of the day, to the end that our country, happy and prosper- ous, proud of its past, sure of itself and its institu- tions, may look forward with confidence to the future. 34 The Platform as adopted by the Democratic National Conven- tion, San Francisco, 1920: The Democratic party, in its national convention now assembled, sends greetings to the president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, and hails with patriotic pride the great achievements for country and the world wrought by a Democratic administration under his leadership. It salutes the mighty people of this great republic, emerging with imperishable honor from the severe tests and grievous strains of the most tragic war in history, having earned the plaudits and the gratitude of all free nations. It declares its adherence to the fundamental pro- gressive principles of social, economic, and industrial justice and advancement, and purposes to resume the great work of translating these principles into effec- tive laws, begun and carried far by the Democratic administration and interrupted only when the war claimed all the national energies for the single task of victory. League of Nations The Democratic party favors the league of nations as the surest, if not the only, practicable means of maintaining the permanent peace of the world and terminating the insufferable burden of great military and naval establishments. It was for this that America broke away from traditional isolation and spent her blood and treasure to crush a colossal scheme of conquest. It was upon this basis that the president of the United States, in ^rearrangement with our allies, consented to a suspen- sion of hostilities against the Imperial German 35 government; the armistice was granted and a treaty of peace negotiated upon the definite assurance to Germany, as well as to the powers pitted against Germany, that "a general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the' purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political indepen- dence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike." Hence, we not only congratulate the president on the vision manifested and the vigor exhibited in the prosecution of the war, but we felicitate him and his associates on the exceptional achievements at Paris involved in the adoption of a league and treaty so near akin to previously expressed American ideals and so intimately related to the aspirations of civilized peoples everywhere. We commend the president for his courage and his high conception of good faith in steadfastly standing for the covenant agreed to by all the asso- ciated and allied nations at war with Germany, and we condemn the Republican senate for its refusal to ratify the treaty merely because it was the product of Democratic statesmanship, thus interposing partisan envy and personal hatred in the way of the peace and renewed prosperity of the world. By every accepted standard of international mor- ality the president is justified in asserting that the honor of the country is involved in this business; and we point to the accusing fact that before it was determined to initiate political antagonism to the treaty the now Republican chairman of the senate foreign relations committee himself publicly pro- claimed that any proposition for a separate peace with Germany, such as he and his party associates thereafter reported to the senate, would make us 36 "guilty of the blackest crime." On May 15th last the Knox substitute for the Versailles treaty was passed by the Republican senate; and this convention can contrive no more fitting characterization of its obloquy than that made in the Forum Magazine of December, 1918, by Henry Cabot Lodge, when he said: "If we send our armies and young men abroad to be killed and wounded in northern France and Flanders with no result but this, our entrance into war with such an intention was a crime which nothing can justify. "The intent of congress and the intent of the president was that there could be no peace until we could create a situation where no such war as this could recur. We cannot make peace except in com- pany with our allies. It would brand us with ever- lasting dishonor and bring ruin to us also if we under- took to make a separate peace." Thus to that which Mr. Lodge, in saner moments, considered "the blackest crime" he and his party in madness sought to give the sanctity of law; that which eighteen months ago was of "everlasting dis- honor," the Republican party and its candidates today accept as the essence of faith. We indorse the president's view of our interna- tional obligations and his firm stand against reserva- tions designed to cut to pieces the vital provisions of the Versailles treaty, and we commend the Democrats in congress for voting against resolutions for separate peace which would disgrace the nation. We advocate the immediate ratification of the treaty, without reservations which would impair its essential integrity, but do not oppose the acceptance of any reservations making clearer or more specific 37 the obligations of the United States to the league as- sociates. Only by doing this may we retrieve the reputation of this nation among the powers of the earth and recover the moral leadership which Presi- dent Wilson won and which Republican politicians at Washington sacrificed. "Only by doing this may we hope to aid effec- tively in the restoration of order throughout the world and to take the place which we should assume in the front rank of spiritual, commercial, and indus- trial advancement. "We reject as utterly vain, if not vicious, the Republican assumption that ratification of the treaty and membership in the league of nations would in any wise impair the integrity or independence of our country. The fact that the covenant has been en- tered into by twenty-nine nations, all as jealous of their independence as we are of ours, is a sufficient refutation of such charge. "The president repeatedly has declared, and this convention reaffrms, that all our duties and obliga- tions as a member of the league must be fulfilled in strict conformity with the constitution of the United States, embodied in which is the fundamental require- ment of declaratory action by the congress before this nation may become a participant in any war. Conduct of the War "During the war President Wilson exhibited the very broadest conception of liberal Americanism. In his conduct of the war, as in the general administra- tion of his high office, there was no semblance of partisan bias. He invited to Washington as his councillors and coadjutors hundreds of the most prominent and pronounced Republicans in the coun- 38 try. To these he committed responsibilities of the gravest import and most confidential nature. Many of them had charge of vital activities of the govern- ment. "And yet, with the war successfully prosecuted and gloriously ended, the Republican party in con- gress, far from applauding the masterly leadership of the president and felicitating the country on the amazing achievements of the American government, has meanly requited the considerate course of the chief magistrate by savagely defaming the com- mander in chief of the army and navy and by assailing nearly every public officer of every branch of the service intimately concerned in winning the war abroad and preserving the security of the govern- ment at home. We express to the soldiers and sailors and marines of America the admiration of their fellow country- men. Guided by the genius of such commanders as Gen. John J. Pershing, the armed force of America constituted a decisive factor in the victory and brought new luster to the flag. We commend the patriotic men and women who sustained the efforts of their government in the crucial hours of the war and contributed to the bril- liant administrative success achieved under the broad visioned leadership of the president. Financial Achievements A review of the record of the Democratic party during the administration of Woodrow Wilson pre- sents a chapter of substantial achievements unsur- passed in the history of the republic. For fifty years before the advent of this adminis- tration periodical convulsions had impeded the indus- 39 trial progress of the American people and caused inestimable loss and distress. By the enactment of the federal reserve act the old system which bred panics was replaced by a new system which insured confidence. It was an indis- pensable factor in winning the war, and today it is the hope and inspiration of business. Indeed, one vital danger against which the Ameri- can people should keep constantly on guard is the commitment of this system to partisan enemies, who struggled against its adoption and vainly attempted to retain in the hands of speculative bankers a monopoly of the currency and credits of the nation. Already there are well defined indications of an assualt upon the vital principles of the system in the event of Republican success in the elections in November. Under Democratic leadership the American people successfully financed their stupendous part in the greatest war of all time. The treasury wisely in- sisted during the war upon meeting an adequate portion of the war expenditure from current taxes and the bulk of the balance from popular loans, and dur- ing the first full fiscal year after fighting stopped, upon meeting current expenditures from current re- ceipts, notwithstanding the new and unnecessary burdens thrown upon the treasury by the delay, ob- struction, and extravagance of a Republican congress. The nonpartisan federal reserve authorities have used courageously, though cautiously, the instruments at their disposal to prevent undue expansion of credit in the country. As a result of these sound treasury and federal reserve policies, the inevitable war inflation has been held down to a minimum, and the cost of living has 40 been prevented from increasing here in proportion to the increase in other belligerent countries and in neutral countries, which are in close contact with the world's commerce and exchanges. After a year and a half of fighting in Europe and despite another year and a half of Republican obstruction at home, the credit of the government of the United States stands unimpaired, the federal re- serve note is the unit of value throughout all the world, and the United States is the one great country in the world which maintains a free gold market. We condemn the attempt of the Republican party to deprive the American people of their legitimate pride in the financing of the war an achievement without parallel in the financial history of this or any other country, in this or any other war. And in particular we condemn the pernicious at- tempt of the Republican party to create discontent among the holders of the bonds of the government of the United States and to drag our public finance and our banking and currency system back into the arena of party politics. Tax Revision We condemn the failure of the present congress to respond to the oft-repeated demand of the presi- dent and the secretaries of the treasury to revise the existing tax laws. The continuance in force in peace times of taxes devised under pressure of imperative necessity to produce a revenue for war purposes is indefensible and can only result in lasting injury to the people. The Republican congress persistently failed, through sheer political cowardice, to make a single move toward a readjustment of tax laws which it de- 41 noiinced before the last election and was afraid to revise before the next election. We advocate tax reform and a searching revision of the war revenue acts to fit peace conditions so that the wealth of the nation may not be withdrawn from productive enterprise and diverted to wasteful or non-productive expenditure. We demand prompt action by the next congress for a complete survey of existing taxes and their modification and simplification with a view to secure greater equity and justice in tax burden and improve- ment in administration. Public Economy Claiming to have effected great economies in gov- ernment expenditures, the Republican party cannot show the reduction of one dollar in taxation as a corollary of the false pretense. In contrast, the last Democratic congress enacted legislation reducing taxes from eight billions, designed to be raised, to six billions for the first year after the armistice, and to four billions thereafter, and there the total is left undiminished by our political adversaries. Two years after armistice day a Republican congress pro- vides for expenditures the stupendous sum of $5,403,- 390,327.30. Affecting great paper economies by reducing de- partmental estimates of sums which would not have been spent in any event, and by reducing formal appropriations, the Republican statement of expendi- tures omits the pregnant fact that congress authorized the use of $1,500,000,000 in the hands of various departments and bureaus, which otherwise would have been converted into the treasury, and which should be added to the Republican total of expenditures. 42 High Cost of Living The high cost of living and the depreciation erf bond values in this country are primarily due to war itself, to the necessary governmental expenditure* for the destructive purposes of war, to private extrava- gance, to the world shortage of capital, to the in- flation of foreign currencies and credits and in large degree to conscienceless profiteering. The Republican party is responsible for the fail- ure to restore peact and peace conditions in Europe, which is a principal cause of post-armistice inflation the world over. It has denied the demand of the president for nesessary legislation to deal with secon- dary and local causes. The sound policies pursued by the treasury and the federal reserve system have limited in this coun- try, though they could not prevent the inflation which was world wide. Elected upon specific promises to curtail public expenditures and to bring the country back to a status of effective economy, the Republican party in congress wasted time and energy for more than a year in vain and extravagant investigations, costing the taxpayers great sums of money while revealing nothing beyond the incapacity of Republican politi- cians to cope with the problems. Demanding that the president, from his place at the peace table, call the congress into extraordinary session for imperative purposes of readjustment, the congress when convened spent thirteen months in par- tisan pursuits, failing to repeal a single war statute which harassed business or to initiate a single con- structive measure to help business. It busied itself making a pre-election record of 43 pretended trift, having not one particle of substantial existence in fact. It raged against profiteers and the high cost of living without enacting a single statute to make the former afraid or doing a single act to bring the latter within limitations. The simple truth is that the high cost of living can only be remedied by increased production, strict governmental economy and a relentless pursuit of those who take advantage of postwar conditions and are demanding and receiving outrageous profits. We pledge the Democratic party to a policy of strict economy in government expenditures and to the enactment and enforcement of such legislation as may be required to bring profiteers before the bar of criminal justice. The Tariff We reaffirm the traditional policy of the Demo- cratic party in favor of a tariff for revenue only and confirm the policy of basing tariff revisions upon the intelligent research of a non-partisan commission, rather than upon the demands of selfish interests, tem- porarily held in abeyance. Budget In the interest of economy and good administration, we favor the creation of an effective budget system that will function in accord with the principles of the constitution. The reform should reach both the executive and legislative aspects of the question. The supervision and preparation of the budget should be vested in the secretary of the treasury as the representative of the president. The budget, as such, should not be increased by the congress ex- cept by a two-thirds vote, each house, however, being 44 free to exercise its constitutional privilege of making appropriations through independent bills. The appropriation bills should be considered by single committees of the house and senate. The audit system should be consolidated and its powers expanded so as to pass upon the wisdom of, as well as the authority for, expenditures. A budget bill was passed in the closing days of the second session of the Sixty-sixth congress which, invalidated by plain constitutional defects and defaced by considerations of patronage, the president was obliged to veto. The house amended the bill to meet the executive objection. We condemn the Republican senate for adjourning without passing the amended measure, when by devoting an hour or two more to this urgent public business a budget system could have been provided. Senate Rules We favor such alteration of the rules of procedure of the senate of the United States as will permit it the prompt transaction of the nation's legislative business. Agricultural Interests To the great agricultural interests of the country the Democratic party does not find it necessary to make promises. It already is rich in its record of things actually accomplished. For nearly half a century of Republican rule not a sentence was written into the federal statutes af- fording one dollar of bank credits to the farming interests of America. In the first term of this Democratic administration the national bank act was so altered as to authorize 45 loans of five years maturity on improved farm lands. Later was established a system of farm loan banks from which the borrowings already exceed $300,- 000,000, and under which the interest rate to farmers has been so materially reduced as to drive out of business the farm loan sharks who formerly subsisted by extortion upon the great agricultural interests of the country. Thus it was a Democratic congress in the admin- istration of a Democratic president which enabled the farmers of America for the first time to obtain credit upon reasonable terms and insured their oppor- tunity for the future development of the nation's agricultural resources. Tied up in Supreme court proceedings in a suit by hostile interests, the federal farm loan system, originally opposed by the Republican candidate for the presidency, appealed in vain to tide over the interim between the beginning and the end of the cur- rent year, awaiting a final decision of the highest court on the validity of the contested act. We pledge prompt and consistent support of sound and effective measures to sustain, amplify, and per- fect the rural credits statutes, and thus to check and reduce the growth and cause of farm tenancy. Not only did the Democratic party put into effect a great farm loan system of land mortgage banks, but it passed the Smith-Lever agricultural extension act, carrying to every farmer in every section of the country, through the medium of trained experts and by demonstration farms, the practical knowledge acquired by the federal agricultural department in all things relating to agriculture, horticulture, and animal life; it established the bureau of markets, the bureau of farm management, and passed the cotton 46 futures act, the grain grades bill, the co-operative farm administration act, and the federal warehouse act. The Democratic party has vastly improved the rural mail system and has built up the parcel post system. It was this wise encouragement that enabled this great interest to render such essential service in feeding the armies of America and the allied nations of the war and succoring starving populations since armistice day. Meanwhile the Republican leaders at Washington have failed utterly to propose one single measure to make rural life more tolerable. They have signalized their fifteen months of congressional power by urging schemes which would strip the farms of labor, by assailing the principles of the farm loan system and seeking to impair its efficiency; by covertly attempting to destroy the great nitrogen plant at Mussel Shoals, upon which the government has expended $70,000,- 000 to supply American farmers with fertilizers at reasonable cost, by ruthlessly crippling nearly every branch of agricultural endeavor, literally crippling the productive mediums through which the people must be fed. We favor such legislation as will confirm to the primary producers of the nation the right of collec- tive bargaining and the right of co-operative handling and marketing of the products of the workshop and the farm and such legislation as will facilitate the ex- portation of our farm products. We favor comprehensive studies of farm produc- tion costs and the uncensored publication of facts found in such studies. Labor and Industry The Democratic party is now, as ever, the firm 47 friend of honest labor and the promoter of progres- sive industry. It established the department of labor at Washington and a Democratic president called to his official council board the first practical working- man who ever held a cabinet portfolio. Under this adminstration have been established employment bureaus to bring the man and the job together; have been peaceably determined many bitter disputes between capital and labor; were passed the child labor act, the workingmen's compensation act (the extension of which we advocate so as to include laborers engaged in loading and unloading ships and in interstate commerce), the eight hour law, the act for vocational training, and a code of other wholesome laws affecting the liberties and bettering the conditions of the laboring classes. In the department of labor the Democratic admin- istration established a woman's bureau, which a Re- publican congress destroyed by withholding appro- priations. Labor is not a commodity; it is human. Those who labor have rights and the national security and safety depend upon a just recognition of those rights and the conservation of the strength of the workers and their families in the interest of sound hearted and sound headed men, women, and children. Laws regulating hours of labor and conditions under which labor is performed, when passed in recognition of the conditions under which life must be lived to attain the highest development and happiness, are just assertions of the national interest in the welfare of the people. At the same time, the nation depends upon the products of labor; a cessation of production means loss and, if continued long, disaster. The whole 41 people, therefore, have a right to insist that justice shall be done to those who work, and in turn that those whose labor creates the necessities upon which the life of the nation depends must recognize the reciprocal obligation between the worker and the state. They should participate in the formulation of sound laws and regulations governing the conditions under which labor is performed, recognize and obey the laws so formulated, and seek their amendment when necessary by the processes ordinarily addressed to the laws and regulations affecting the other rela- tions of life. Labor, as well as capital, is entitled to adequate compensation. Each has the indefeasible right of or- ganization, of collective bargaining, and of speaking through representatives of their own selection. Neither class, however, should at any time nor in any circumstances take action that will put in jeopardy the public welfare. Resort to strikes and lockouts which endanger the health or lives of the people is an unsatisfactory device for determining disputes and the Democratic party pledges itself to contrive, if possible, and put into effective operation a fair and comprehensive method of composing differ- ences of this nature. In private industrial disputes, we are opposed to compulsory arbitration as a method plausible in the theory but a failure in fact. With respect to government service, we hold dis- tinctly that the rights of the people are paramount to the right to strike. However, we profess scrupulous regard for the conditions of public employment and pledge the Democratic party to instant inquiry into the pay of 49 government employes and equally speedy regulations designed to bring salaries to a just and proper level. Woman's Suffrage We indorse the proposed nineteenth amendment of the constitution of the United States granting equal suffrage to women. We congratulate the legislatures of thirty-five states which have already ratified said amendment, and we urge the Democratic governors and legislatures of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida, and such states as have not yet ratified the federal suffrage amendment to unite in an effort to complete the process of ratification and secure the thirty-sixth state in time for all the women of the United States to participate in the fall election. Women in Industry We urge co-operation with the states for the pro- tection of child life through infancy and maternity care; in the prohibition of child labor, and by ade- quate appropriations for the children's bureau in the department of labor. Co-operative federal assistance to the states is immediately required for the removal of illiteracy, for the increase of teachers' salaries, and instruction in citizenship for both native and foreign born; increased appropriation for vocational training in home economics; re-establishment of joint federal and state employment service with women's depart- ments under the direction of technically qualified women. We advocate full representation of women on all commissions dealing with women's work or women's interests and a reclassification of the federal civil service free from discrimination on the ground of sex; a continuance of appropriations for education 50 in sex hygiene; federal legislation which shall insure that American women resident in the United States, but married to aliens, shall retain their American citizenship and that the same process of naturaliza- tion shall be required for women as for men. Disabled Soldiers The federal government should treat with the ut- most consideration every disabled soldier, sailor, and marine of the world war, whether his disability be due to wounds received in line of action or to health impaired in service; and for the dependents of the brave men who died in line of duty the government's tenderest concern and richest bounty should be their requital. The fine patriotism exhibited, the heroic conduct displayed by American soldiers, sailors, and marines at home and abroad, constitute a sacred heritage of posterity, the worth of which can never be recom- pensed from the treasury and the glory of which must not be diminished by any such expedients. The Democratic administration wisely established a war risk insurance bureau, giving 4,500,000 of enlisted men insurance at unprecedentedly low rates, and through the medium of which compensation of men and women injured in service is readily adjusted and hospital facilities for those whose health is im- paired are abundantly afforded. The federal board for vocational education should be made a part of the war risk insurance bureau, in order that the task may be treated as a whole, and this machinery of protection and assistance must re- ceive every aid of law and appropriation necessary to full and effective operation. We believe that no higher or more valued privilege can be afforded to an American citizen than to 51 become a freeholder in the soil of the United States, and to that end we pledge our party to the enactment of soldier settlements and home aid legislation which will afford to the men who fought for America the opportunity to become land and home owners under conditions affording genuine government assistance, unincumbered by needless difficulties of red tape or advance financial investment. The Railroads The railroads were subjected to federal control as a war measure without other idea than the swift transport of troops, munitions, and supplies. When human life and national hopes were at stake profits could not be considered, and were not. The equip- ment taken over was not only grossly inadequate but shamefully outworn. Unification practices overcame these initial handicaps and provided additions, better- ments and improvements. Economies enabled operation without the rate raises that private control would have found necessary, and labor was treated with an exact justice that secured the enthusiastic co-operation that victory demanded. The fundamental purpose of federal control was achieved fully and splendidly, and at far less cost to the taxpayer than would have been the case under private operation. The president's recommendation of return to private ownership gave the Republican majority a full year in which to enact the necessary legislation. The house took six months to formulate its ideas and another six months was consumed by the Republican senate in equally vague debate. As a consequence the Esch-Cummins bill went to the president in the closing hours of congress and he 52 was forced to a choice between the chaos of a veto and acquiescence in the measure submitted, however grave may have been his objections to it. There should be a fair and complete test of the law until careful and mature action by congress may cure its defects and insure a thoroughly effective transportation system under private ownership, without government subsidy at the expense of the tax payers of the country. Improved Highways Improved roads are of vital importance not only to commerce and industry but also to agriculture and rural life. The federal road act of 1916, enacted by a Democratic congress, represented the first sys- tematic effort of the government to insure the building of an adequate system of roads in this country. The act, as amended, has resulted in placing the move- ment for improved highways on a progressive and substantial basis in every state in the union and in bringing under actual construction more than 1 3,000 miles of roads suited to the traffic needs of the com- munities in which they are located. We favor a continuance of the present federal aid plan under existing federal and state agencies, amended so as to include as one of the elements in determining the ratio in which the several states shall be entitled to share in the fund, the area of any public lands therein. Inasmuch as the postal service has been extended by the Democratic party to the door of practically every producer and every consumer in the country (rural free delivery alone having been provided for 6,000,000 additional patrons within the last eight years without material added cost), we declare that 53 this instrumentality can and will be used to the maximum of its capacity to improve the efficiency of distribution and reduce the cost of living to consumers while increasing the profitable operations of producers. We strongly favor the increased use of the motor vehicle in the transportation of the mails and urge the removal of the restrictions imposed by the Republican congress on the use of motor devices in mail trans- portation in rural territories. Merchant Marine We desire to congratulate the American people upon the rebirth of our merchant marine, which once more maintains its former place in the world. It was under a democratic administration that this was ac- complished after seventy years of indifference and neglect, 1 3,000,000 tons having been constructed since the act was passed in 1916. We pledge the policy of our party to the continued growth of our merchant marine under proper legislation. Port Facilities The urgent demands of the war for adequate transportation of war material as well as for domestic need revealed the fact that our port facilities and rate adjustment were such as to seriously affect the whole country in times of peace as well as war. We pledge our party to stand for equality of rates, both import and export, for the ports of the country to the end that there might be adequate and fair facilities and rates for the mobilization of the prod- ucts of the country offered for shipment. Inland Waterways We call attention to the failure of the Republican 54 national convention to recognize in any way the rapid development of barge transportation on our in- land waterways, which development is the result of the constructive policies of the Democratic adminis- tration. And we pledge ourselves to the further devolpment of adequate transportation facilities on our rivers and to the further improvement of our inland waterways and we recognize the importance of connecting the great lakes with the sea by way of the Mississippi river and its tributaries, as well as by the St. Law- rence river. Transportation remains an increasingly vital prob- lem in the continued development and prosperity of the nation. Our present facilities for distribution by rail are inadequate and the promotion of transportation by water is imperative. We therefore favor a liberal and comprehensive policy for the development and utilization of our harbors and interior waterways. Flood Control We commend the Democratic congress for the re- demption of the pledge contained in our last platform by the passage of the Flood control act of March 1, 1917, and point to the successful control of the floods of the Mississippi river and the Sacramento river, California, under the policy of that law, for its complete justification. We favor the extension of this policy to other flood control problems. Reclamation of Arid Land By wise legislation and progressive administration, we have transformed the government reclamation 55 projects, representing an investment of $ 1 00,000,000 from a condition of impending failure and loss of confidence in the ability of the government to carry through such large enterprises, to a condition of demonstrated success, whereby formerly arid and wholly unproductive lands now sustain 40,000 pros- perous families and have an annual crop production of over $70,000,000 not including the crops grown on a million acres outside the projects supplied with storage water from government works. We favor ample appropriations for the continua- tion and extension of this great work of home build- ing and internal improvements along the same general lines, to the end that all practical projects shall be built, and waters now running to waste shall be made to provide homes and add to the food supply, power resources, and taxable property, with the government ultimately reimbursed for the entire out- lay. The Trade Commission The Democratic party heartily endorses the crea- tion and work of the federal trade commission in establishing a fair field for competitive business, free from restraints of trade and monopoly, and recom- mends amplification of the statutes governing its ac- tvities so as to grant it authority to prevent the unfair use of patents in restraint of trade. Livestock Markets For the purpose of insuring just and fair treatment in the great interstate live stock market, and thus in- stilling confidence in growers through which produc- tion will be stimulated and the price of meats to consumers be ultimately reduced, we favor the enact- 56 ment of legislation for the supervision of such markets by the national government. Mexico The United States is the neighbor and friend of the nations of the three Americas. In a very special sense, our international relations in this hemi- sphere should be characterized by good will and free from any possible suspicion as to our national pur- pose. The administration, remembering always that Mexico is an independent nation and that permanent stability in her government and ker institutions could come only from the consent of her own people to a government of their own making, has been unwilling either to profit by the misfortunes of the people of Mexico or to enfeeble their future by imposing from the outside a rule upon their temporary distracted councils. As a consequence, order is gradually reappearing in Mexico; at no time in many years have American live* and interests been so safe as they now are; peace reigns along the border and industry is resum- ing. When the new government of Mexico shall have given ample proof of its ability permanently to main- tain law and order, signifying its willingness to meet its international obligations and written upon its statute books just laws under which foreign investors shall have rights as well as duties, that government should receive our recognition and systematic assist- ance. Until these proper expectations have been met Mexico must realize the propriety of a policy that 57 asserts the right of the United States to demand full protection for its citizens. Petroleum The Democratic party recognizes the importance of the acquistion by Americans of additional sources of supply of petroleum and other minerals and de- clares that such acquisition, both at home and abroad, should be fostered and encouraged. We urge such action, legislative and executive, as may secure to American citizens the same rights in the acquirement of mining rights in foreign countries as are enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of any other nation. New Nations The Democratic party expresses its active sym- pathy with the people of China, Czecho-Slovakia, Finland, Poland, Persia, and others who have re- cently established representative government and who are striving to develop the institutions of true democ- racy. Ireland The great principle of national self-determination has received constant reiteration as one of the chief objectives for which this country entered the war, and victory established this principle. Within the limitations of international comity and usage, this convention repeats the several previous expressions of the sympathy of the Democratic party of the United States for the aspirations of Ireland for self-government. Armenia We express our deep and earnest sympathy for 58 the unfortunate people of Armenia, and we believe that our government, consistent with its constitution and principles, should render every possible and proper aid to them in their efforts to establish and maintain a government of their own. The Philippines We favor the granting of independence without unnecessary delay to the 10,500,000 inhabitants of the Philippine islands. Hawaii We favor a liberal policy of homesteading public lands in Hawaii to promote a larger middle class citizen population, with equal rights to all citizens. The importance of Hawaii as an outpost on the western frontier of the United States demands ade- quate appropriations by congress for the development of our harbors and highways there. Porto Rico We favor the granting to the people of Porto Rico the traditional territorial form of government, with a view to ultimate statehood, accorded to all territories of the United States since the beginning of our government. Alaska We commend the Democratic administration for inaugurating a new policy as to Alaska as evidenced by the construction of the Alaska railroad and open- ing of the coal and oil fields. We declare for the modification of the existing coal land law, to promote development without dis- turbing the features intended to prevent monopoly. For such changes in the policy of forestry control 59 as will permit the immediate initiation of the paper pulp industry. For relieving the territory from the evils of long distance government, and to that end we urge the speedy passage of a law containing the essential fea- tures of the Lane-Curry bill now pending, co-ordinat- ing and consolidating all federal control of natural resources under one department to be administered by a non-partisan board permanently resident in the territory. For a comprehensive system of road construction with increased appropriations and the full extension of the federal road act to Alaska. For the extension to Alaska of the federal farm loan act. Asiatic Immigrants The policy of the United States with reference to the non-admission of Asiatic immigrants is a true ex- pression of the judgment of our people and to the several states, whose geographical situation or in- ternal conditions make this policy and the enforce- ment of the laws enacted pursuant thereto of particu- lar concern; we pledge our support. The Postal Service The efficiency of the postoffice department has been vindicated against a malicious and designing assault by the efficiency of its operation. Its record refutes its assailants. Their voices are silenced and their charges have collapsed. We commend the work of the joint commission on the reclassification of salaries of postal employes, re- cently concluded, which commission was created by a Democratic administration. The Democratic party 60 has always favored and will continue to favor the fair and just treatment of government employes. Free Speech and Press We resent the unfounded reproaches directed against the Democratic administration for alleged interference with the freedom of the press and free- dom of speech. No utterance from any quarter has been assailed, and no publication has been repressed, which has not been animated by treasonable purpose, and directed against the nation's peace, order and security in time of war. We reaffirm our respect for the great principles of free speech and a free press, but assert as an indisputable proposition that they afford no toleration of enemy propaganda or the advocacy of the over- throw of the government of the state or nation by force or violence. Republican Corruption The shocking disclosure of the lavish use of money by aspirants for the Republican nomination for the highest office in the gift of the people has created a painful impression throughout the country. Viewed in connection with the recent conviction of a Republican senator from the state of Michigan for the criminal transgression of the law limiting expendi- tures on behalf of a candidate for the United States senate, it indicates the re-entry, under Republican auspices, of money as an influential factor in elec- tions, thus nullifying the letter and flaunting the spirit of numerous laws enacted by the people to protect the ballot from the contamination of corrupt practices. We deplore those delinquencies and invoke their 61 stern popular rebuke, pledging our earnest efforts to a strengthening of the present statutes against corrupt practices and their rigorous enforcement. We remind the people that it was only by the re- turn of a Republican senator in Michigan, who is now under conviction and sentence for the criminal misuse of money in his election, that the present organization of the senate with a Republican majority was made possible. Conclusion Believing that we have kept the Democratic faith, and resting our claims to the confidence of the people not upon grandiose promise but upon the solid per- formances of our party we submit our record to the nation's consideration and ask that the pledges of this platform be appraised in the light of that record. Electoral Vote of States, 1920 Make Your Forecast of the Result STATE Harding Repub. Cox Dem. Electoral Vote for Ea. State 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 i 13 Louisiana 10 Maine 6 Maryland 8 Massachusetts . 18 Michigan 15 12 Mississippi 10 Missouri 18 Montana 4 Nebraska 8 64 Electoral Vote of States, 1920 STATE Harding Repub. Cox Dem. Electoral Vote for Ea. State 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 | South Carolina.... 9 South Dakota 5 Tennessee .. 12 Texas 20 Utah 4 Vermont 4 Virginia 12 Washington 7 West Virginia g Wisconsin 13 Wyoming 3 531 65 Electoral Vote by States, 1912 & 1916 STATE 1912 1916 Is | Roosevelt, Prog. Sd Is S oT f* o Btf Alabama 12 3 9 2 6 7 3 6 14 4 29 15 13 10 13 10 6 8 18 12 3 9 13 6 Arizona Arkansas California 11 Colorado .. Connecticut 7 3 Delaware Florida 6 14 4 Georgia Idaho Illinois 29 15 13 Indiana Iowa Kansas 10 13 10 Kentucky Louisiana 6 Maine Maryland 8 Massachusetts 18 15 12 Michigan 15 12 Minnesota 10 18, 4 Mississippi 10 18 4 Missouri Montana 66 Electoral Vote by States, 1912 & 1916 1912 19 16 STATE Is 3 Roosevelt, Prog. p, & la & orT B f * Wtf Nebraska 8 8 Nevada 3 3 New Hampshire 4 4 New Jersey 14 14 New Mexico 3 3 New York 45 45 North Carolina 12 12 North Dakota 5 5 Ohio 24 24 Oklahoma 10 10 Oregon 5 5 Pennsylvania 38 38 Rhode Island 5 5 South Carolina. 9 9 South Dakota 5 5 Tennessee. .. 12 12 Texas 20 20 Utah 4 4 Vermont .. 4 4 Virginia 12 12 Washington 7 7 West Virginia 8 1 7 Wisconsin 13 13 Wyoming 3 3 435 88 8 277 254 67 Popular Vote for President, 1912 STATE Dem. Wilson Prog. Roosevelt Rep. Taft Alabama 82 438 22,680 9,732 Arizona 10,174 6,881 2,975 Arkansas 68 838 21,673 24,467 California 283 436 283,610 2,847 Colorado 114,074 72,306 58,386 Connecticut 74,561 34,129 68,324 Delaware 22 631 8 887 13 000 Florida 35 313 4 535 4,279 Georgia 93 176 21 980 5 191 Idaho 34 025 25,547 32,874 Illinois 405 048 386,478 253,593 Indiana 281 890 162 007 151,267 Iowa - 185 325 161,819 119,805 Kansas 143,670 120,123 74,844 Kentucky 219,584 102,766 115,512 Louisiana Maine 60,966 51,113 9,323 48,493 3,834 26,545 Maryland 112,674 57,789 54,956 Massachusetts Michigan 173,408 150,751 142,228 214,584 155,948 152,244 Minnesota 106,426 125,856 64,334 Mississippi .. - 57,164 3,627 1,511 Missouri 330,746 123,071 207,821 Montana Nebraska 28,129 109,109 22,688 72,776 18,575 54,348 68 Popular Vote for President, 1912 STATE Dem. Wilson Prog. Roosevelt Rep. Taft Nevada 8,015 5,280 3,203 New Hampshire- New Jersey 34,724 178 282 17,794 145,409 32,927 88,834 New Mexico 20,437 8,347 17,733 New York 656,475 390,021 455,428 North Carolina- North Dakota..... Ohio 144,507 29,555 423,153 69,139 25,726 229,327 29,130 23,090 277,066 Oklahoma 119,156 90,786 Oregon . 47 064 37 600 34 673 Pennsylvania Rhode Island 395,619 30 412 447,426 16,878 273,305 27,703 South Carolina- South Dakota 48,357 48,942 1,293 58,811 536 Tennessee 130 335 53,725 59,444 Texas 221,345 26,740 28,668 Utah 36,579 24,174 42,100 Vermont . . 15,354 22,132 23,332 Virginia 90,332 21,777 23,288 Washington 87,674 111,977 71,252 West Virginia Wisconsin 113,046 164,228 78,977 62,460 56,667 130,695 Wyoming . 15,310 9,232 14,560 6,292,600 4,120,101 3,481,632 Total Vote, 15,023,685. Other Parties, 1,129,352. 69 Popular Vote for President, 1916 STATE Rep. Hughes Dem. Wilson Alabama . 22,809 99 409 Arizona 20,524 33 170 Arkansas 47,148 112 148 California 462,394 466 200 Colorado . . 102,308 178 816 Connecticut 106,514 99 786 Delaware . 26,011 24 753 Florida 14,611 55 984 Georgia 11,225 125 845 Idaho 55,368 70,054 Illinois 1,152,549 950 229 Indiana 341,005 334 063 Iowa 280,449 221,699 Kansas 277,658 314,588 Kentucky 241,854 269,990 Louisiana 6,466 79,875 Maine 69,506 64,127 Maryland 117,347 138,359 Massachusetts 268,784 247,885 Michigan 339,097 285,151 Minnesota ... ... 179,544 179,152 Mississippi 4,253 80,422 Missouri 369,339 398,025 Montana 66,750 101,063 Nebraska . .. . 117,257 158,827 70 Popular Vote for President, 1916 STATE Rep. Hughes Dem. Wilson Nevada 12 127 17 776 New Hampshire 43 723 43 779 New Jersey 269 352 211 645 New Mexico 31 163 33 693 New York 869 115 759,426 North Carolina 120 988 168,383 North Dakota 53,471 55,206 Ohio 514 753 604 161 Oklahoma 97 233 148,113 Oregon 126 813 120 087 Pennsylvania.... 703 734 521 784 Rhode Island 44 858 40,394 South Carolina 1,550 61,846 South Dakota 64,217 59,191 Tennessee 116 223 153,282 Texas 64,999 286,514 Utah 54,137 84,025 Vermont , 40,250 22,708 Virginia 49,356 102,824 Washington 167,244 183,388 West Virginia. 143,124 140,403 Wisconsin 221,323 193,042 Wyoming 21,698 28,316 8,538,221 9,129,606 Total Vote, 18,528,743. Other Parses, 860,916. 71