ceeding the civil war, when our industries were disintegrated and all the conditions of business were more or less disturbed, was the National debt increased by a single dollar; it was, on the contrary, steadily and rapidly diminished. In such a condition of affairs as this, it is idle to argue against the necessity of some sort of a change in our fiscal laws. The Democratic Party declares for a remedy by direct taxation upon a selected class of citizens. It opposes any application of the protective principle. Our party holds that by a wise adjustment of the tariff, conceived in moderation and with a view to stability, we may secure all needed revenue, and it declares that in the event of its restoration to power it will seek to accomplish that result. It holds, too, that it is the duty of the Government to protect and encourage in all practical ways the development of domestic industries, the elevation of home labor, and the enlargement of the prosperity of the people. It does not favor any form of legislation which would lodge in the Government the power to do what the people ought to do for themselves, but it believes that it is both wise and patriotic to discriminate in favor of our own material resources, and the utilization, under the best attainable conditions, of our own capital and our own available skill and industry. The words of the Republican National platform on this subject are at once temperate and emphatic. It says of the policy of protection: "In its reasonable application it is just, fair, and impartial, equally opposed to foreign control and domestic monopoly, to sectional discrimination and individual favoritism., We demand such an equitable tariff on foreign imports which come into competition with American products as will not only furnish adequate revenue for the necessary expenses of the Government, but will protect American labor from degradation to the wage level of other lands. We are not pledged to any particular schedules. The question of rates is a practical question, to be governed by the conditions of the time and of production; the ruling and uncompromising principle is the protection and development of American labor and industry. The country demands a right settlement, and then it wants rest." THE TWIN CAMPAIGN ISSUES. The Republican Party, in its first successful National contest, under Abraham Lincoln, declared in favor of that policy of National exchanges which secures to the workingman living wages, to agriculture remunerative prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the Nation commercial prosperity and independence." The principle thus enunciated has never been abandoned. In the crisis now upon us it must be tenaciously adhered to. While we must insist that our monetary standard shall be maintained in harmony with that of the civilized world, that our currency shall be sound and honest, we must also remember that unless we make it possible for capital to find employment and for labor to earn ample and remunerative wages it will be impossible to attain that degree of prosperity which, with a sound monetary policy buttressed by a sound tariff policy, will be assured. In 1892, when by universal consent we touched the high-water mark of our National prosperity, we were under the same financial system that we have to-day. Gold was then the sole standard, and silver and paper were freely used as the common currency. We had a tariff framed by Republican hands under the direction of the great statesman who now logically leads the contest for a restoration of the policy whose reversal brought paralysis to so many of our industries and distress upon so large a body of our people. We were under the policy of reciprocity, formulated by another illustrious statesman of the genuine American type. We may, if we choose to do so, return to the prosperous conditions which existed before the present Administration came into power. FAITH IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. My sincere conviction is that my countrymen will prove wise enough to understand the issues that confront them, and patriotic enough to apply safe and sure remedies for the evils that oppress us. They will not, I am sure, accept again at their face value the promises of a party, which, under desperate and perverted leadership, has so recently dishonored its solemn pledges, which has repudiated the principles and policies which have given it a historic past, and the success of which, as now constituted, would endanger at home private security and the public safety, and disastrously affect abroad both our credit and good name. And foremost among those who will decline to follow where the new Democracy leads will be thousands of men, Democrats aforetime and Democrats to-day, who count country more than party, and are unwilling even by indirection to contribute to results so disastrous to our most sacred interests. The platform of the Republican National Convention states the party position concerning other questions than those herein referred to. These, while at the present time of subordinate importance, should not be overlooked. The Republican Party has always been the defender of the rights of American citizenship, as against all aggressions whatever, whether at home or abroad. It has, to the extent of its power, defended those rights and hedged them about with law. Regarding the ballot as the expression and embodiment of the sovereignty of the individual citizen, it has sought to safeguard it against assault, and to preserve its purity and integrity. In our foreign relations it has labored to secure to every man entitled to the shelter of our flag the fullest exercise of his rights consistent with international obligation. If it should be restored to rulership, it would infuse needed vigor into our relations with Powers which have manifested contempt and disregard, not only of American citizenship, but of humanity itself. THE HOME MUST BE PROTECTED. The Republican Party has always stood for the protection of the American home. It has aimed to secure it in the enjoyment of all the blessings of remunerated industry, of moral culture, and of favorable physical environment. It was the party which instituted the policy of free homesteads, and which holds now that this policy should be re-established, and that the public lands yet vacant and subject to entry in any part of our National territory, should be preserved against corporate aggression as homes for the people. It realizes that the safety of the State lies in the multiplication of households, and the strengthening of that sentiment of which the virtuous home is the best and the truest embodiment; and it will aim to dignify and enlarge by all proper legislation this element of security. If elected to the position for which I have been nominated, it will be my earnest and constant endeavor, under Divine guidance, in the sphere of duty assigned to me, to serve the people loyally along the line of the principles and policies of the party which has honored me with its preference. I am, gentlemen of the committee, very truly yours, GARRET A. HOBART. REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE AND ITS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND OFFICERS. State. Alabama.. Alaska... MARCUS A. HANNA, Chairman, Cleveland, Ohio. JOSEPH H. MANLEY, Augusta, Maine. HENRY C. PAYNE, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. N. B. SCOTT, Wheeling, West Virginia. CHARLES T. DAWES, Evanston, Illinois. WILLIAM M. OSBORNE, Secretary, Boston, Massachusetts. ................ Arkansas.. California ... ........... Powell Clayton...... .Richard C. Kerens. William H. Robinson..... P. O. Address. .Eureka Springs. Wilmington. .St. Augustine. .Paterson. The National Committee has two headquarters, viz., at New York and Chicago, with Messrs. Quay, Manley, Clayton, and Scott, of the Executive Committee, Secretary Osborne and Assistant Secretary Perkins on duty at New York, Senator Quay being in charge, and Messrs. Payne, Leland, Durbin, and Dawes," of the Executive Committee, and Assistant Secretary Dick on duty at Chicago, Mr. Hanna being in charge. REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE AND ITS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND OFFICERS. State. Alabama...... California Colorado Connecticut.. Delaware... Idaho Illinois.. Indiana. Iowa Kansas.. Kentucky Maine...... Maryland....... Massachusetts Michigan.. Minnesota.. Missouri Montana. Nebraska New Hampshire..... North Carolina.. North Dakota.... Ohio Oregon Tennessee Texas.... Utah...... Vermont Virginia Arizona New Mexico Oklahoma...... Officers. JOSEPH W. BABCOCK, CHAIRMAN. WARNER P. SUTTON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY. Executive Committee. JOHN A. T. HULL, Iowa. JOSEPH G. CANNON, ILLINOIS. JETER C. PRITCHARD, NORTH CAROLINA. JESSE OVERSTREET, INDIANA. JAMES S. SHERMAN, NEW YORK. JOHN H. MITCHELL, OREGON. Name. .William F. Aldrich.... .David H. Mercer. John H. Mitchell. P. O. Address. .San Francisco. Omaha. .Philadelphia. .Knoxville. San Antonio. ...Proctor. Jackson. .Newcastle. .Phoenix. States not represented: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington. Territories. &c.: Alaska, District of Columbia, and Indian Territory. 1 |