UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



713 



Against such a system the Socialist-Labor party 

 once more enters its protest. Once more it reiter- 

 ates 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 depend- 

 ence. The time is fast coming when, in the natu- 

 ral course of social evolution, this system, 

 through the destructive action of its failures and 

 crises on the one hand, and the constructive tend- 

 encies of its trusts and other capitalistic com- 

 binations 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 con- 

 quer them by taking possession of the public 

 powers; so that, held together by an indomitable 

 spirit of solidarity under the most trying condi- 

 tions 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, trans- 

 portation, and distribution to the people as a col- 

 lective body, and the substitution of the co-opera- 

 tive commonwealth for the present state of plan- 

 less production, industrial war, and social dis- 

 order; 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." 



The Republican National Convention met in 

 Philadelphia, Pa., on June 19. Theodore Roose- 

 velt. Governor of Xew York, was the candidate 

 for Vice-President favored not only by the delega- 

 tion from his own State, but by all the Western 

 delegates, lie published a request that the con- 

 vention nominate some one else, and the New 

 York delegation proposed the name of Lieut.-Gov. 

 Timothy L. Woodruff. But the sentiment was 

 so strong in favor of Mr. Roosevelt that in the 

 first ballot on June 21 he received every vote ex- 

 cept his own, while Mr. McKinley was renomi- 

 nated unanimously. The platform was adopted 

 in the following shape: 



" The Republicans of the United States, through 

 their chosen representatives, met in national con- 

 vention, looking back upon an unsurpassed record 

 of achievement and looking forward into a great 

 field of duty and opportunity, and appealing to 

 the judgment of their countrymen, make these 

 declarations: The expectation in which the Ameri- 

 can people, turning from the Democratic party, 

 intrusted power four years ago to a Republican 

 Chief Magistrate and a Republican Congress has 

 been met and satisfied. When the people then as- 

 sembled at the polls, after a term of Democratic 

 legislation and administration, business was dead, 

 industry paralyzed and the national credit dis- 

 astrously impaired. The country's capital was 

 hidden away, and its labor distressed and unem- 

 ployed. The Democrats had no other plan with 

 which to improve the ruinous conditions which 

 they had themselves produced than to coin silver 

 at the ratio of 1C to 1. The Republican party, 

 denouncing this plan as sure to produce condi- 

 tions even worse than those from which relief was 

 sought, promised to restore prosperity by means 

 of two legislative measures a protective tariff 

 and a law making gold the standard of value. 

 The people by great majorities issued to the Re- 

 publican party a commission to enact these laws. 

 This commission has been executed, and the Re- 

 publican promise is redeemed. Prosperity more 

 general and more abundant than we have ever 

 known has followed these enactments. There is 



no longer controversy as to the value of any 

 Government obligation. Every American dollaV 

 is a gold dollar, or its assured equivalent, and 

 American credit stands higher fhan that of any 

 nation. Capital is fully employed and labor 

 everywhere is profitably occupied. No single fact 

 can more strikingly tell the story of what Re- 

 publican government means to the country than 

 this that while during the whole period of one- 

 hundred and seven years, from 1790 to 1897, there 

 was an excess of exports over imports of only 

 $383,028,497, there has been in the short three years 

 of the present Republican administration an ex- 

 cess of exports over imports in the enormous sum 

 of $1,483,537,094. And while the American people, 

 sustained by this Republican legislation, have 

 been achieving these splendid triumphs in their 

 business and commerce, they have conducted, and 

 in victory concluded, a war for liberty and human 

 rights. No thought of national aggrandizement 

 tarnished the high purpose with which American 

 standards were unfurled. It was a war unsought 

 and patiently resisted, but when it came the 

 American Government was ready. Its fleets were 

 cleared for action. Its armies were in the field, 

 and the quick and signal triumph of its forces on 

 land and sea bore equal tribute to the courage 

 of American soldiers and sailors and to the skill 

 and foresight of republican statesmanship. To 

 ten millions of the human race there was given 

 ' a new birth of freedom,' and to the American 

 people a new and noble responsibility. 



" We indorse the administration of William 

 McKinley. Its acts have been established in wis- 

 dom and in patriotism, and at home and abroad 

 it has distinctly elevated and extended the influ- 

 ence of the American nation. Walking untried 

 paths and facing unforeseen responsibilities, Presi- 

 dent McKinley has been in every situation the 

 true American patriot and the upright statesman, 

 clear in vision, strong in judgment, firm in action, 

 always inspiring and deserving the confidence of 

 his countrymen. In asking the American people 

 to indorse this Republican record and to renew 

 their commission to the Republican party, we 

 remind them of the fact that the menace to their 

 prosperity has always resided in Democratic prin- 

 ciples, and no less in the general incapacity of the 

 Democratic party to conduct public affairs. The 

 prime essential of business prosperity is public 

 confidence in the good sense of the Government 

 and in its ability to deal intelligently with each 

 new problem of administration and legislation. 

 That confidence the Democratic party has never 

 earned. It is hopelessly inadequate, and the coun- 

 try's prosperity when Democratic success at the 

 polls is announced halts and ceases in mere an- 

 ticipation of Democratic blunders and failures. 



" We renew our allegiance to the principle of the 

 gold standard, and declare our confidence in the 

 wisdom of the legislation of the Fifty-sixth Con- 

 gress, by which the parity of all our money and 

 the stability of our currency upon a gold basis 

 have been secured. We recognize that interest 

 rates are a potent factor in production and busi- 

 ness activity, and for the purpose of further equal- 

 izing and of further lowering the rates of interest 

 we favor such monetary legislation as will enable 

 the varying needs of the season and of all sec- 

 tions to be promptly met, in order that trade 

 may be evenly sustained, labor steadily employed, 

 and commerce enlarged. The volume of money in 

 circulation was never so great per capita as it 

 is to-day. We declare our steadfast opposition to 

 the free and unlimited coinage of silver. No 

 measure to that end could be considered which 

 was without the support of the leading commer- 



