DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM PRINCIPLES

"Honest Money" by Davenport, New York Journal, September 12, 1896.

The Cortland Democrat, Friday, July3, 1896.

PLATFORM PRINCIPLES.

Democrats of New York Will Maintain Public Credit.

   The platform thus reported and adopted reads as follows:

   It would be folly to ignore and impossible to exaggerate the gravity of the conditions under which this Convention assembles. Most of the other States of the Union have selected and commissioned their delegates to the national Democratic convention. By a movement evidently concerted but as we believe, ill-advised and ill-considered, instructions have been given to the delegations of a large number of States having for their aim and purpose the adoption of a new policy and a new platform for the Democratic party.

   No opportunity for a fair and deliberate consideration of such policy and platform has been afforded the Democracy of the State of New York. Upon such new matter thus proposed to be incorporated among the tenets of the party, it becomes the duty of the Democrats of New York, representing their people, to speak in no equivocal terms.

   Gold and silver, the money of the Constitution and of our fathers—each at a parity with the other in purchasing power—has been the platform of principles proclaimed by every national Democratic convention which has thus adopted and reaffirmed in each declaration of party faith for a century the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson who said: "The monetary unit must stand on both metals."

   The action of the Republican congress and a Republican president deprived silver of its equality with gold for the money and currency of the nation. From this act (for which the Democratic party was in no wise responsible) and from the action of other nations following in the same course, it has resulted that silver has greatly declined in commercial value, and there now exists a wide departure of the two metals from the coinage standard of value—bringing disturbance to the financial systems of the European countries, as well as to our own, and awakening there, as here, the earnest apprehension of statesmen and financiers. The restoration of the equilibrium of the two metals thus disturbed is a problem the solution of which is of the greatest consequence to the prosperity of both this country and of Europe, but is wholly beyond our power without the co-operation of other nations. Such co-operation, by the united efforts of statesmen and wage earners here and elsewhere, is believed to be near at hand and to be possible to secure by earnest and well directed efforts.

   Free coinage of silver by the United States alone can have no other effect than to change our present standard to one of silver—now a depreciated coin—and to retard, perhaps destroy forever, the success of the movement now general throughout civilized countries for the restoration of free bi-metalic coinage in the principal mints of the world. The proposition to separate ourselves from the great nations of the world, and adopt the monetary standard of Mexico and China does not comport with the pride and financial dignity of the State of New York, or the United States. It should be resisted with the fervor of both partisanship and patriotism by Democrats everywhere, when the adoption of such a course threatens, as it does, untold evils to our nation's commerce and industry.

   For these reasons and with these convictions the Democrats of New York in convention assembled, make the following declaration of their principles, and appeal to the Democrats of other states to join with them in incorporating these principles in the party platform to be adopted at Chicago:

   1. We are in favor of gold and silver as the standard money of the country. We are opposed as a permanent financial policy to gold monometalism on the one hand, or to silver monometalism on the other hand. The pledge contained is the repeal of the Sherman law, which repealing act was passed by a Democratic congress and approved by a Democratic president, should be faithfully carried out, wherein it was declared that "the efforts of the government should be steadily directed to the establishment of such a safe system of bimetalism as will maintain at all times the equal power of every dollar coined or issued by the United States in the markets and in the payment of debts."

   We believe that such bimetallism, to which the nation is solemnly pledged, can only be safely secured and permanently maintained through the concurrent action of the leading nations of the world. Neither this country nor any other country, independent and alone, is able to maintain it, and it would be folly to attempt it. Being so convinced we are opposed to the free and unlimited coinage of silver in the absence of the co-operation of other great nations. We declare our belief that any attempt upon the part of the United States alone to enter upon the experiment of free silver coinage would not only prove disastrous to our finances, but would retard, or entirely prevent, the establishment of international bimetallism. Until international co-operation for bimetallism can be secured—to which end all our efforts as a government and as a people should be in good faith directed—we favor the rigid maintenance of the present gold standard as essential to the preservation of our national credit, the redemption of our public pledges and the keeping inviolate of our country's honor. We insist that all our paper and silver currency shall be kept absolutely at a parity with gold.

   2. The Democratic party has ever been and still is the hard money party, and it will preserve that record. It is opposed to legal tender paper money, as a part of our permanent financial system, and it refuses to sanction any paper currency inconvertable with coin. The United States notes and treasury notes, being in fact debts of the government, should be gradually paid off, retired and cancelled. This should and must be done in such a manner as to cause no contraction of the circulating money of the country. So long as such paper currency exists, however, and is permitted to circulate as money, it should be redeemable at all times, upon demand, in the standard money of the country.

   The Democratic party is pledged to the resolute maintenance of the public credit at all times, and under all circumstances, and it is therefore opposed to the repeal of any existing statute which enables the secretary of the treasury, by the issue of bonds or otherwise, to provide an adequate fund for the redemption in gold of our paper obligations whenever necessary.

   3. We reiterate our adherence to a principle of a tariff for revenue only. We are opposed to government partnership with protected monopolies and we demand that import duties, like other taxes, should be impartially laid and their imposition limited to the necessities of the government economically administered. Federal taxation should not be imposed to benefit individual interests at the expense of the general welfare.

   We repudiate the doctrine that it is the province of the government by the exercise or abuse of the power of taxation to build up one man's business at the expense of another's, or to impose burdens upon one class of citizens for the benefit of other classes, and we insist that "no public taxation except for public purposes" is the true theory upon which our system of government is based, and upon which it should be honestly and impartially administered. Upon this principle of revenue reform the Democratic party takes no step backward. We endorse the administration of President Cleveland and particularly commend him for his determined efforts to maintain the financial credit of the United States.

   It is hereby further resolved that the delegates to the National Democratic convention, selected by this convention, are hereby instructed to enter that convention as a unit, and to vote and act as a unit in accordance with the will of the majority thereof.

Old Auburn Branch Case.

   The story of the construction, operating and final abandonment of the Auburn branch of the New York & Oswego Midland railroad is still fresh in the memory of many people in Chenango and Madison counties. The towns of Plymouth, Otselic and DeRuyter felt particularly aggrieved when the rails, telegraph lines and service generally were removed. Suit was instituted against the company and after a term of years a referee decided for the company.

   Recently a duly authorized committee composed of Supervisor W. W. Ames of DeRuyter, H. G. Sherman of Otselic, Lester Smith, Charles Palmiter and H. A. Dimmick of Plymouth, appeared in court in this village and decided to carry the case to the appellate court. The towns mentioned brought the action to compel the railway company to reopen and operate the road, believing that they were entitled to the service when they were compelled to pay the bonds issued in aid of the construction of the road.

   The Ontario & Western is represented by Howard Newton. D. B. Cushman of Norwich and Alexander Cummings of Binghamton look after the interests of the interested towns. It is expected that the case will not be reached before September or October.—Norwich Sun.

MEDINA'S SENSATION.

Reported Elopement or Rev. Mr. Keeley and Miss Susie Linsley.

   MEDINA, June 30.—The excitement here over the sensational departure of Rev. Horace Keeley and Miss Susie Linsley at the same time is more intense, if possible, than on Sunday. The indignation over the affair is such that if Keeley should be apprehended it is doubtful if he would escape being roughly handled at Millville.

   Every new development is eagerly seized on and discussed. It is now believed that the affair was an elopement beyond all doubt, and not a coincidence of disappearance. It leaks out that Keeley had forced his attentions on the girl frequently during the past months, unknown to but a few.

   Mrs. Keeley is taking the matter very calmly, but the blow has been a terrible one. The home of the Keeley's at Millville was a charming one. The minister possessed a splendid library, said to be worth several thousand dollars and the parsonage was one of the best and most tastily furnished in the vicinity. No services will be held in the Congregational church for some time to come.

Cortland Park was located on the east side of the Tioughnioga River and was a favorite destination by street car from McGrawville, and from Homer or Cortland via the old Elm Street bridge.

CORTLAND PARK.

Grand Opening To-Night—Dancing In the New Pavilion— Good Music.

   The new dancing pavilion in Cortland Park has been completed and all who have seen it pronounce it just the thing for picnic parties and dancers. It is indeed a fine building and will furnish plenty of room for large parties.

   A grand opening will take place this evening. The new pavilion will be thrown open for dancers and visitors. McDermott's orchestra will furnish the music. Cortland city band will give a grand concert at 8 o'clock P. M. Reduced fare on trolley cars from Homer and McGrawville after 7 o'clock P. M. Don't fail to take advantage of this opportunity for an evening's pleasure.

PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.

Washington Letter.

(From our Regular Correspondent.)

   WASHINGTON, June 29, 1896.—The delegates to the Chicago convention have all been chosen, and even President Cleveland now recognizes that silver has won, and that a free coinage plank in the platform is as near a certainty as anything not yet actually accomplished can be. There isn't half the kicking from the anti-silver democrats that might have been naturally expected. There is a general disposition to submit as gracefully as possible to the old democratic idea that a majority rules. But the contest for the head of the ticket is not over, as it seems that the silver democrats will be a few votes short of the two-thirds necessary to nominate. If that should turn out to be the case there may be quite a number of ballots before the nomination is made. Should the silver men have two-thirds it is the opinion of some well informed democrats that Gov. Boies of Iowa, if his friends can convince the convention that he can carry his own state, will stand an excellent chance forgetting the nomination.

   The work of the convention will practically begin this week when leading representatives of both silver and anti-silver democrats will meet at Chicago for the purpose of conferring with their respective associates and agreeing as far as may be possible upon a programme for the convention. While it is, of course, possible that these gentlemen might reach some sort of an agreement that would prevent a fight in the convention, it is not considered probable that they will. It seems impossible to avoid that fight.

   "Whatever the Chicago convention does," said an old time democrat, I hope it will not repeat the Greeley fool-business by going outside of the party for a Presidential candidate. The very same talk about the great number of republican votes that might be captured by nominating some republican like Senator Teller of Colorado or Senator Cameron of Philadelphia was heard in Greeley's behalf just before the meeting of the Democratic National Convention of 1872, and just look at the result. The Greeley ticket received only 66 electoral votes out of 352 or 14 less than were cast for Seymour and Blair in 1868, when Virginia, Texas and Mississippi had no votes owing to their not having been reconstructed at the time. The experience of 1872 will be repeated this year, if the Chicago convention goes outside of the party for a candidate. I am quite sure that all of the old shellback democrats like myself, who will vote and work for the ticket anyway, just because it is democratic, would prefer defeat under a candidate of our own to victory under a disgruntled republican. That is just the way I feel about it and just the way I shall talk to my fellow delegates at the convention. I am with them whatever they do but I'd rather see them do right."

   Col. Isaac Hill, better known to everybody around the House end of the Capitol where he has been the democratic whipper in for many years, as "Ikehill," has just returned from his Ohio home. He says McKinley cannot possibly carry that state. "The people won't stand it," he continued, "they have got their hearts set on an American system of finance, and nothing short of free coinage at the old ratio will suit them. Why, I drove 65 miles through the country in a buggy and met hundreds of my republican personal friends who said: 'Ike, we are with you against the gold bugs; Wall street has run this country and has about run it in the ground. We want a change, and are going to vote for the Chicago nominee and free silver. The tariff is a back number; give us the money of the constitution and the dollar of our daddies.' That's the way they talk and as for the democrats why, there's no holding them down. Your Uncle Isaac is not employing metaphorical language nor yet trying to jolly you along when he says that the democrats are going to win in Ohio this year."

   Mr. Walter H. Hammond, whose home is at the Indiana town named for his father who was a member of the fifty-third Congress, says of democratic prospects in Indiana: "A majority of the democratic voters of the state are ardent believers in free coinage as was shown at the late state convention and a great many republicans can also be counted on the silver side. Another thing that will help the democrats is the strong feeling that has developed against the Nicholson law regulating the sale of intoxicating liquors. The responsibility for that law rests on the republicans and it is so obnoxious to a large class that they will vote against the party that enacted it. Taken all together, I think the democrats will carry the state."

   Hon. C. A. Hardin of Kentucky says that state can be counted upon with absolute certainty to roll up a big majority for the ticket named at Chicago, and he is equally positive that West Virginia, where he has just been on business, will do the same.

Teachers' Institute at Thousand Island Park.

   The Summer Institute for the Teachers of New York State has been established at Thousand Island Park by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Its sessions begin July 14th and continue until August 6th, 1896.

   Teachers who attend this institute may avail themselves of the reduced railroad fares by asking for Trunk Line certificates when they purchase their tickets at any railroad station that is in Trunk Line territory in the State of New York. The Trunk Line certificate entitles them to purchase a return ticket at one-third fare.

   If any trouble is encountered in getting certificates, they will find tickets on sale at reduced rates at all R. W. & O. junction points.

   The certificates must be deposited with Mr. A. S. Downing, Supervisor of Institutes, who will act as joint agent for the Trunk lines at Thousand Island Park, and when vised [sic] by him, they will be good for return trip, at one third fare, until August 6th, inclusive. All tickets and certificates must be vised by Mr. Downing, to be valid for return passage.

   The prospects for a successful institute are most encouraging. Already about 1,700 teachers have signed their intention of availing themselves of this great opportunity to attend the Institute and enjoy a delightful vacation among the Thousand Islands.

   These tickets will be good on all the fast trains, including the famous Club Train.

   Further information can be obtained by corresponding with A. S. Downing, Albany, N. Y., or Theo. Butterfield, G. P. A., R. W. & O. R. R., Syracuse, N. Y.

To Select Trial Jurors.

   The supervisor, town clerk and assessors of the various towns, must meet the first Monday in July and select the list of trial jurors to serve for the coming three years. The following qualifications are necessary:

   1.—A male citizen of the United States and a resident of the county.

   2.—Not less than twenty-one, nor more than seventy years of age.

   3.—Assessed for personal property, belonging to him in his own right, to the amount of $250; or the owner of a freehold estate in real property situated in the county, belonging to him in his own right, of the value of $150; or the husband of a woman who is the owner of a like freehold estate belonging to her in her own right.

   4.—In possession of his natural faculties and not infirm or decrepit.

   5.—Free from all legal exceptions, of fair character, of approved integrity, of sound judgment and well informed.

   But a person who was assessed on the last assessment roll of the town for land in his possession, held under a contract for the purchase thereof, upon which improvements owned by him have been made to the value of $150, is qualified to serve as a trial juror although he does not possess either of the qualifications specified in subdivision third of the last section, if he is qualified in every other respect.

HERE AND THERE.

   A Homer man has a Holstein cow that weighs 3,690 pounds.

   Bingham Bros. & Miller have a new advertisement on our last page.

   Mr. G. Harry Garrison will control the dancing privileges at the park this season. There will be two dances each week. McDermott will furnish music.

   Mr. A. J. Goddard has reopened his hotel on Railroad-st. It has been thoroughly overhauled and is now one of the handsomest hotels in the state of its size.

   The third annual temperance camp meeting will be held at Riverside park, Freeville, July 2, 3, 4 and 5. Some of the most prominent speakers in the country will be present.

   There will be a picnic in Hathway's grove in Solon July 4. Good speakers will be in attendance. Admission and dinner, 50 cents. The proceeds will be used for the benefit of the Catholic church in that village.

   Much interest centers on the fifty yard race between Dept. Sheriff Edwards and Dr. L. T. White, the well known dentist, to-morrow. They have both been in training for some days past and the race is said to be for blood and no mistake.

   The Cortlands tackled the Scranton [baseball] team on the fair grounds Wednesday afternoon and were defeated by a score of 17 to 1.

   The disappearance of Titus Meade from Locke is still a mystery and a reward has been offered for his body if dead, or information in regard to his whereabouts if alive.

   An entertainment will be given in Nye's opera house in Groton to night for the benefit of St. Anthony's church of that village. Dillon Bros. of this village are on the programme

   Ice cream and lunches will be served on the north side of the First M. E. church on July 4th, by the Women's Christian Temperance Union. A liberal patronage will be appreciated.

   The firm of McDonald & Allen, grocers, has been dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. James F. McDonald will continue the business at the old stand formerly occupied by Howard & Co. near the D. L. & W. station.

   Mr. Alex. Mahan of this place will have charge of a concert company composed of six artists which will appear in the large towns of Central New York during September. The well known Keyes sisters will be with the company.

   Motor car No. 13, struck a delivery wagon which was being driven across the track on Homer-ave. by J. S. Larabee Wednesday morning and overturned the same. Mr. Larabee was thrown out and was somewhat bruised. The wagon was badly wrecked and its contents distributed about.

   Last week Wednesday afternoon Mr. Fred Stafford and sister, Mrs. John Griswold and her little daughter, were thrown from their wagon while driving on Port Watson-st. near the corner of Pomeroy-st. by the horse taking fright at a street piano. The little girl's face was quite badly cut but the others escaped with a few bruises. The little girl was carried into Mr. J. Conrad's house and Dr. Smith of McGrawville, who happened to be passing, dressed her injuries.

   L. D. Carns of the Fountain House and Magnetic Springs House, Slaterville Springs, is to have charge of the new hotel in Cortland being built on the site of the old Central House on Court street by the Wickwire Brothers. No more competent man could be found to take charge of the house, as Mr. Carns has made an enviable reputation as a hotel man, having for many years run the above two summer hotels in a very successful manner and which he will still continue to run. The hotel will be open about October first.—Dryden Herald.