and traffic-perpetuationists and Prohibitionists; and that patriotism, Christianity, every interest of genuine and of pure democracy, besides the loyal demands of our common humanity, require the speedy union, in one solid phalanx at the ballot box, of all who oppose the liquor traffic's perpetuation, and who covet endurance for this Republic. SOCIALIST LABOR. The National Convention met in New-York City on June 2 and nominated Joseph F. Malloney, of Massachusetts, for President, and Valentine Remmel, of Pennsylvania, for Vice-President on June 6. The Platform. It readopted the declaration of principles of 1896, as follows: June 2.-The Socialist Labor party of the United States, in convention assembled, reasserts the inalienable right of all men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. With the founders of the American Republic we hold that the purpose of government is to secure every citizen in the enjoyment of this right; but in the light of our social conditions we hold, furthermore, that no such right can be exercised under a system of economic inequality, essentially destructive of life, of liberty and of happiness. With the founders of this Republic we hold that the true theory of politics is that the machinery of government must be owned and controlled by the whole people; but in the light of our industrial development we hold, furthermore, that the true theory of economics is that the machinery of production must likewise belong to the people in common. To the obvious fact that our despotic system of economics is the direct opposite of our democratic system of politics can plainly be traced the existence of a privileged class, the corruption of government by that class, the alienation of public property, public franchises and public functions to that class, and the abject dependence of the mightiest of nations upon that class. Again, through the perversion of democracy to the ends of plutocracy, labor is robbed of the wealth which it alone produces, is denied the means of self-employment, and, by compulsory idleness in wage slavery, is even deprived of the necessaries of life. Human power and natural forces are thus wasted, that the plutocracy may rule. Ignorance and misery, with all their concomitant evils, are perpetuated, that the people may be kept in bondage. Science and invention are diverted from their humane purpose to the enslavement of women and children. Against such a system the Socialist Labor party once more enters its protest. Once more it reiterates its fundamental declaration that private property in the natural sources of production and in the instruments of labor is the obvious cause of all economic servitude and political dependence. The time is fast coming when, in the natural course of social evolution, this system, through the destructive action of its failures and crises on the one hand, and the constructive tendencies of its trusts and other capitalistic combinations on the other hand, shall have worked out its own downfall. We therefore call upon the wage workers of the United States, and upon all other honest citizens, to organize under the banner of the Socialist Labor party into a class-conscious body, aware of its rights and determined to conquer them by taking possession of the public powers; so that, held together by an indomitable spirit of solidarity under the most trying conditions of the present class struggle, we may put a summary end to that barbarous struggle by the abolition of classes, the restoration of the land and of all the means of production, transportation and distribution to the people as a collective body, and the substitution of the co-operative Commonwealth for the present state of planless production, industrial war and social disorder; a Commonwealth in which every worker shall have the free exercise and full benefit of his faculties, multiplied by all the modern factors of civilization. AMERICAN LEAGUE OF ANTI-IMPERIALISTS. The Liberty Congress of the American League of Anti-Imperialists met at Indianapolis, Ind., on August 16, and after vigorous opposition by members of the National or "Third Ticket" Convention, who were also admitted as delegates to the AntiImperialist Congress, indorsed the candidacy of William J. Bryan for President. The platform and resolutions were adopted by a viva voce vote, and the exact vote will probably never be known. The platform, as adopted, was as follows: This Liberty Congress of Anti-Imperialists recognizes a great National crisis, which menaces the Republic, upon whose future depends in such large measure the A Great National Crisis. hope of freedom throughout the world. For the first time in our country's history the President has undertaken to subjugate a foreign people and to rule them by despotic power. He has thrown the protection of the flag over slavery and polygamy in the Sulu Islands. He has abrogated to himself the power to impose upon the inhabitants of the Philippines government without their consent and taxation without representation. He is waging war upon them for asserting the very principles for the maintenance of which our forefathers pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. He claims for himself and Congress authority to govern the territories of the United States without constitutional restraint. We believe in the Declaration of Independence. Its truths, not less self-evident to-day than when first announced by our fathers, are of universal application and cannot be abandoned while government by the people endures. We believe in the Constitution of the United States. It gives the President and Congress certain limited powers and secures to every man within the jurisdiction of our Government certain essential rights. We deny that either the President or Congress can govern any person anywhere outside the Constitution. We are absolutely opposed to the policy of President McKinley, which proposes to govern millions of men without their consent, which in Porto Rico establishes taxation without representation, and government by the arbitrary Against Policy of will of a legislature unfettered by constitutional restraint, Administration. and in the Philippines prosecutes a war of conquest and demands unconditional surrender from a people who are of right free and independent. The struggle of men for freedom has ever been a struggle for constitutional liberty. There is no liberty if the citizen has no right which the Legislature may not invade, if he may be taxed by the Legislature in which he is not represented, or if he is not protected by fundamental law against the arbitrary action of executive power. The policy of the President offers the inhabitants of Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines no hope of independence, no prospect of American citizenship, no constitutional protection, no representation in the Congress which taxes them. This is the government of men by arbitrary power without their consent. This is imperialism. There is no room under the free flag of America for subjects. The President and Congress, who derive all their powers from the Constitution, can govern no man without regard to its limitations. We believe the greatest safeguard of liberty is a free press, and we demand that the censorship in the Philippines, which keeps from the American people the knowledge of what is done in their name, be abolished. We are entitled to know the truth, and we insist that the powers which the President holds Because we thus believe, we oppose the re-election of Mr. McKinley. The supreme purpose of the people in this momentous campaign should be to stamp with Censorship in trust for us shall be not used to suppress it. What the People Should Do. their final disapproval his attempt to grasp imperial power. A self-governing people can have no more imperative duty than to drive from public life a Chief Magistrate who, whether in weakness or of wicked purpose, has used his temporary authority to subvert the character of their government and to destroy their National ideals. We, therefore, in the belief that it is essential at this crisis for the American people again to declare their faith in the universal application of the Declaration of Recommendations Independence and to reassert their will that their servants shall not have or exercise any powers whatever other than those conferred by the Constitution, earnestly make the following recommendations to our countrymen: First, that, without regard to their views on minor questions of domestic policy, they withhold their votes from Mr. McKinley, in order to stamp with their disapproval what he has done. Second, that they vote for those candidates for Congress in their respective districts who will oppose the policy of imperialism. Third, while we welcome any other method of opposing the re-election of Mr. McKinley, we advise direct support of Mr. Bryan as the most effective means of crushing imperialism. We are convinced of Mr. Bryan's sincerity and of his earnest purpose to secure to the Filipinos their independence. His position and the declarations contained in the platform of his party on the vital issue of the campaign meet our unqualified approval. We recommend that the Executive committees of the American Anti-Imperialist League and its allied leagues continue and extend their organizations, preserving the independence of the movement; and that they take the most active part possible in the pending political campaign. Until now the policy which has turned the Filipinos from warm friends to bitter enemies, which has slaughtered thousands of them and laid waste their country, has Responsibility for Slaughter. been the policy of the President After the next election it becomes the policy of every man who votes to re-elect him and who thus becomes with him responsible for every drop of blood thereafter shed. The congress adopted the resolutions as reported by the committee by a viva voce vote. Less than a score of delegates voted against them. The following resolution, proposed by W. S. Holden, of Chicago, was added to the platform as reported: Resolved, That in declaring that the principles of the Declaration Rights of the of Independence apply to all men, this Congress means to include the negro race in America as well as the Filipinos. We deprecate all efforts, whether in the South or in the North, to deprive the negro of his rights as a citizen under the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Negro. NATIONAL FARMERS' ALLIANCE AND INDUSTRIAL UNION. The fourth annual session of the Supreme Council of the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union was held in Washington, D. C., on February 6, 7 and 8, 1900, and pledged its support to the candidates chosen by the Democratic party for President and Vice-President, on the following platform: Whereas, The Declaration of Independence, as a basis of a republican form of government that might be progressive and perpetual, "That all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,' We hold, therefore, that to restore and preserve these rights under a republican form of government, private monopolies of public necessities for speculative purposes, whether of the means of production, distribution or exPublic Ownership. change, should be prohibited, and whenever such public necessity or utility becomes a monopoly in private hands, the people of the municipality, State or Union, as the case may be, shall appropriate the same by right of eminent domain, paying a just value therefor, and operate them for and in the interest of the whole people. (d) We We demand a National currency, safe, sound and flexible; issued by the general Government only, a full legal tender for all debts and receivable for all dues, and an equitable and efficient means of distribution of this curFinance. rency, directly to the people, at the minimum of expense and without the intervention of banking corporations and in sufficient volume to transact the business of the country on a cash basis: (a) We demand the free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the legal ratio of 16 to 1. (b) We demand a graduated income tax. (c) That our National legislation shall be so framed in the future as not to build up one industry at the expense of another. believe that the money of the country should be kept as much as possible in the hands of the people, and hence we demand that all National and State revenues shall be limited to the necessary expenses of the Government economically and honestly administered. (e) We demand that postal savings banks be established by the Government for the safe deposit of the savings of the people, and to facilitate exchange. (f) We are unalterably opposed to the issue by the United States of interest bearing bonds, and demand the payment of all coin obligations of the United States, as provided by existing laws, in either gold or silver coin, at the option of the Government and not at the option of the creditor. (a) The Government shall purchase or construct and operate a sufficient mileage of railroads to effectually control all rates of transportation on a just and equitable basis. (b) The telegraph and telephone, like the postoffice system, being a necessity for the transmission of intelligence, should be owned and operated by the Government Transportation. in the interest of the people. We demand that no land shall be held by corporations for speculative purposes Land Ownership. or by railroads in excess of their needs as carriers, and all lands now owned by aliens should be reclaimed by the Government and held for actual settlers only. We demand the election of United States Senators by a direct vote of the people; that each State shall be divided into two districts of nearly equal voting population, and that a Senator from each shall be elected by the people of the district. Election of United States Senators. Relying upon the good common sense of the American people, and believing that a majority of them, when uninfluenced by party prejudice, will vote right on all questions submitted to them on their merits; and further Direct Legislation. to effectually annihilate the pernicious lobby in legislation, we demand direct legislation by means of the initiative referendum. We demand free mail delivery in the rural districts. We demand that the inhabitants of all the territory coming to the United States as a result of the war with Spain be as speedily as possible permitted to organize a free government of their own, based upon the consent of the governed. THIRD PARTY. About one hundred volunteer delegates from several States met in Carnegie Hall, New-York City, September 5, and nominated Senator Donelson Caffery, of Louisiana, for President, and Arch'bald Murray Howe, of Cambridge, Mass., for Vice-President. The Committee on Plat orm, composed of Professor Francis P. Nash, of Hobart College; Louis D. Lacroix, of Oxford, N. C.; Professor Edward G. Bourne, of Yale; W. F. Lloyd, of this city, and Edward Waldo Emerson, of Concord, Mass., a son of Ralph Waldo Emerson, presented the following platform, which was adopted: We, citizens of the United States of America, assembled for the purpose of defending the wise and conservative principles which underly our Government, thus declare our aims and purposes: We find our country threatened with alternative perils. On the one hand is a public opinion misled by organized forces of commercialism that have perverted a war intended by the people to be a war of humanity into a war of conquest. On the other is a public opinion swayed by demagogic appeals to factional and class passions, the most fatal of diseases to a republic. We believe that either of these influences, if unchecked, would ultimately compass the downfall of our country, but we also believe that neither represents the sober conviction of our countrymen. Convinced that the extension of the jurisdiction of the United States for the purpose of holding foreign people as colonial dependents is an innovation dangerous to our liberties and repugnant to the principles upon which our Government is founded, we pledge our earnest efforts through all constitutional means, first, to procure the renunciation of all imperial or colonial pretensions with regard to foreign countries claimed to have been acquired through or in consequence of military or naval operations of the last two years. Second, we further pledge our efforts to secure a single gold standard and a sound banking system. Third, to secure a public service based on merit only. Fourth, to secure the abolition of all corrupting special privileges, whether under the guise of subsidies, bounties, undeserved pensions or trust breeding tariffs. Senator Caffery and Mr. Howe withdrew September 21, and on September 26 it was decided to nominate single electors-at-large wherever practicable. This was done in some States for the benefit of voters who objected to the Republican or Democratic platforms. At the New-York conference the name "National Party" was approved, but the name "Third Party" was admitted to be that most familiar to the general public. UNION REFORM. Early in January the National Committee of the Union Reform party, which favors direct legislation, appointed a Canvassing Board, which sent out ballots to members of the party for votes for candidates for President and Vice-President. The balloting continued through February and March. In April the Canvassing Board announced that Seth H. Ellis, of Ohio, and Samuel T. Nicholson, of Pennsylvania, had been nominated for President and Vice-President respectively on the platform adopted by the Union Reform party at Cincinnati on March 1, 1899, and reaffirmed by the Ohio State Convention August 22, 1899, as follows: Direct legislation under the system known as the initiative and referendum. Under the "initiative" the people can compel the submission to themselves of any desired law, when, if it receives a majority of the votes cast, it is thereby enacted. Under the "referendum" the people can compel the submission to themselves of any law which has been adopted by any legislative body, when, if such law fails to receive a majority of the votes cast, it will be thereby rejected. The convention adopted an appeal in part as follows: We accept the strong and unanswerable arguments of our friends. We see no need or benefit from party except a party to secure direct legislation. We have attached ourselves to the Union Reform party for direct legislation only. This party, organized by progressive and active men from this and other States at a time when dominant parties had legislated to make the initiation of reform movements impossible, acted whilst we were awaiting an opportune hour. We ask our honest, home-loving fellow citizens to organize in their respective precincts, and to honestly and fairly extend their organization to county and district, and to assist in controlling and extending the party and movement until the desired object is attained. The majority is with us in this desire for direct government, and with this sole purpose they must act at last. The logic of events, the tyranny of the "bosses" and the necessities of the hour assure us. Friends, this securing of a rightful voice is the affair of the individual, of each and every one. Government direct by the people will not come as a voluntary concession from the holders of political power. These controllers of parties will not permit of referendum of acts and expenditures; they will not give to the people initiatory and mandatory rights, because to do so would be to destroy their own useless but lucrative occupations. These party "bosses" who monopolize political opportunity are the allies and supporters of all_monopolies. We all believe that conditions can be made better or worse by legislation. The corporations know this and act accordingly. Truly they contribute to the election of candidates, but their great contributions are direct to the machine. UNITED CHRISTIAN. At a convention held at Rock Island, Ill., May 1 and 2, the United Christian party, devoted to the spread of moral and religious ideas in Government, placed in nomination the Rev. S. C. Swallow, of Pennsylvania, for President, and John G. Woolley, of Illinois, for Vice-President. These candidates withdrew, and Jonah F. R. Leonard, of Iowa, and David H. Martin, of Pennsylvania, were nominated in their stead on a platform which declared: We believe the time to have arrived when the eternal principles of justice, mercy and love as exemplified in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ should be embodied in the Constitution of our Nation and applied in concrete form to every function of our Government. We deprecate certain immoral laws which have grown out of the failure of our Nation to recognize these principles, notably such as require the desecration of the Christian Sabbath, authorize unscriptural marriage and divorce, license the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, and permit the sale of cigarettes or tobacco in any form to minors. As an expression of consent or allegiance on the part of the governed, in harmony with the above statements, we declare for the adoption and use of the system of direct legislation known as the "initiative and referendum,' ," together with "proportionate representation" and the "imperative mandate." We hold that all men and women are created free and with equal rights, and declare for the establishment of such political, industrial and social conditions as shall guarantee to every person civic equality, the full fruits of his or her honest toil, and opportunity for the righteous enjoyment of the same; and we especially condemn mob violence and outrages against any individual or class of individuals in our country. We declare against war and for the arbitration of all National and international disputes. We hold that the legalized liquor traffic is the crowning infamy of civilization, and we declare for the immediate abolition of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage. We are gratified to note the widespread agitation of the cigarette question, and declare ourselves in favor of the enactment of laws prohibiting the sale of cigarettes or tobacco in any form to minors. We declare for the daily reading of the Bible in the public schools and institutions of learning under control of the State. We declare for the Government ownership of public utilities. declare for the election of the President and Vice-President and United States Senators by the direct vote of the people. We declare for such amendment of the United States Constitution as shall be necessary to give the principles herein set forth an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of our land. We invite into the United Christian party every honest man and woman who believes in Christ and His golden rule and standard of righteousness. We ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL PARTIES. REPUBLICAN. NATIONAL COMMITTEE. M. A. Hanna, Ohio, chairman. Perry S. Heath, Indiana, secretary. Volney W. Foster. Illinois, ass't treasurer. Cornelius N. Bliss, New-York, treasurer. Edwin F. Brown, Illinois, sub-treasurer. George N. Wiswell, Wisconsin, sergeant-at-arms. Western Headquarters, No. 223 Michigan-ave., Chicago. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (CHICAGO)-Henry C. Payne, of Wisconsin, chairman; Perry S. Heath, of Indiana, secretary; Richard C. Kerens, of Missouri; Graeme Stewart, of Illinois; Harry 9. New, of Indiana. vice EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (NEW-YORK)-N. B. Scott, of West Virginia; Fred S. Gibbs, of New-York; Franklin Murphy, of New-Jersey; Cornelius N. Bliss, of NewYork. George V. L. Meyer. Richard C. Kerens. George H. Baker.. Willis D. Vandevanter. TERRITORIES, DISTRICT OF John G. Healdt.. W. M. Griffith. Solomon Luna.. William Grimes. Arizona. New-Mexico. Oklahoma. Indian Territory. Postoffice address. Montgomery. Eureka Springs and City of Mexico. Denver and Washington, D. C. Wilmington. St. Augustine. Augusta and Washington, D. C. Salmon City and Washington, D. C. Indianapolis. Council Bluffs. Topeka. Patterson. Hagerstown and Washington, D. C. STATE COMMITTEES. ALABAMA-W. Vaughan, Birmingham, chairman;_ A. B. Johnson, Birmingham, sec'y. ARIZONA-Charles R. Drake, Tucson, chairma.; J. Knox Corbett, Tucson, secretary. ARKANSAS-H. L. Remmel, Little Rock, chairman; W. S. Holt, Little Rock, secretary. |