1880-The work of popular education is one left to the care of the several States, but it is the duty of the National Government to aid that work to the extent of its constitutional ability. The intelligence of the Nation is but the aggregate of the intelligence in the several States, and the destiny of the Nation must be guided, not by the genius of any one State, but by the average genius of all. [Plank 3. 1884- We favor a wise and judicious system of general education by adequate appropriation from the national revenues wherever the same is needed. 1888 In a republic like ours, where the citizen is the sovereign and the official the servant; where no power is exercised except by the will of the people, it is important that the sovereign-the peopleshould possess intelligence. The free school is the promoter of that intelligence, which is to preserve us as a free Nation; therefore the State or Nation, or both combined, should support free institutions of learning sufficient to afford to every child growing up in the land the opportunity of a good common school education. We demand the reduction of letter postage to one cent per ounce. 18641868 [Plank 13. 1868-That the public lands should be distributed as widely as possible among the people, and should be disposed of either under the pre-emption of homestead lands, or sold in reasonable quantities, and to none but actual occupants, at the minimum price established by the Government. When grants of the public lands may be allowed, necessary for the encouragement of important public improvements, the proceeds of the sale of such lands, and not the lands themselves, should be so applied. 1872 We are opposed to all further grants of lands to railroads or other corporations. The public domain should be held sacred to actual settlers. [Plank 10. 1876-Reform is necessary to put a stop to the profligate waste of public lands, and their diversion from actual settlers by the party in power, which has squandered 200,000,000 of acres upon railroads alone, and out of more than thrice that aggregate has disposed of less than a sixth directly to tillers of the soil. In 1856, and in all their history prior to 1861, the Democracy sternly opposed the homestead principlethe granting of public lands to actual settlers. In their opinion the policy was agrarian, unconstitutional, and 1884- The public lands are a heritage of the peo. ple of the United States, and should be reserved as far as possible for small holdings by actual settlers. We are opposed to the acquisition of large tracts of these lands by corporations or individuals, especially where such holdings are in the hands of non-resident aliens, and we will endeavor to obtain such legislation as will tend to correct this evil. We demand of Congress the speedy forfeiture of all land-grants which have lapsed by reason of non-compliance with acts of incorporation, in all cases where there has been no attempt in good faith to perform the conditions of such grants. 1888- We reaffirm the policy of appropriating the public lands of the United States to be homesteads for American citizens and settlers, not aliens, which the Republican Party established in 1862, against the persistent opposition of the Democrats in Congress, and which has brought our great Western domain into such magnificent development. We charge the Democratic Administration with failure to execute the laws securing to settlers title to their homesteads and with using appropriations made for that purpose to harass innocent settlers with spies and prosecutions under the false pretense of exposing frauds and vindicating the law.† 1880- Public lands to actual settlers. [Plank 12. 1884- We believe that the public lands ought, as far as possible, to be kept as homesteads for actual settlers; that all unearned lands heretofore improvi dently granted to railroad corporations by the action of the Republican Party should be restored to the public domain; and that no more grants of land shall be made to corporations or be allowed to fall into the ownership of alien absentees. 1888-Re-affirmed. It [the Democratic Party] has reversed the improvident and unwise policy of the Republican Party touching the public domain, and has reclaimed from corporations and syndicates, alien and domestic, and restored to the people nearly 100,000,000 acres of land to be sacredly held as homesteads for our citizeus.* PART XII. Railways-R. R. Grants and Subsidies -Transportation Charges. Republican. That a railroad to the Pacific Ocean by the most central and practicable route is imperatively demanded by the interests of the whole country, and that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and as an auxiliary thereto, to the immediate construction of an emigrant route on the line of the railroad. [Plank 6. Democratic. 1856-That the Democratic Party recognizes the great importance in a political and commercial point of view, of a safe and speedy communication through our own territory between the Atlantic and the Pacific Coasts of the Union, and it is the duty of the Federal Government to exercise all its constitutional power to the attainment of that object, thereby binding the Union of these States in indissoluble bonds, and opening to the rich commerce of Asia an overland transit from the Pacific to the Mississippi River, and the great lakes of the North. [Resolution attached to Platform. 1860-That one of the necessities of the age, in a military, commercial, and postal point of view, is speedy communication between the Atlantic and Pa. cific States; and the Democratic Party pledge such constitutional Government aid as will insure the construction of a railroad to the Pacific Coast at the earliest practicable period. [Resolve III. of Douglas (Dem.) Platform. 1860-Whereas, one of the greatest necessities of the age, in a political, commercial, postal, and mili tary point of view, is a speedy communication be tween the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts; therefore, be it Resolved, That the National Democratic. Party do hereby pledge themselves to use every means in their power to secure the passage of some bill, to the extent of the constitutional authority of Congress, for the construction of a Pacific Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, at the earliest practicable moment. [Last plank of Breckenridge (Dem.) platform. 1864 1868-... When grants of the public lands may be allowed, necessary for the encouragement of important public improvements, the proceeds of the sale of such lands, and not the lands themselves, should be so applied. * In 1856, and in all their history prior to 1861, the Democracy sternly opposed the homestead principle the granting of public lands to actual settlers. In their opinion the policy was agrarian, unconstitutional, and demoralizing. † See, also Part XII., " Railways, Railroad Grants," etc. In their platform of 1876, the Democracy, with characteristic inconsistency, denounce the Republicans for aiding in the building of the Pacific Railroads by grants of the public lands. They declare the roads works of great importance,' ," "one of the greatest necessities of the age," and pledge the nation to their construction, 1872 The Pacific railroad and other similar vast enterprises have been generously aided and successfully conducted, the public lands freely given to actual settlers. We are opposed to further grants of the public lands to corporations and monopolies, and demand that the national domain be set apart for free homes for the people. 1876- We reaffirm our opposition to further grants of the public lands to corporations and monopolies, and demand that the national domain be devoted to free homes for the people. 1880-... No further grants of the public domain should be made to any railway or other corporation. further subsidies to private persons or corporations must cease. 1884-The regulation of commerce with foreign nations and between the States is one of the most important prerogatives of the general Government, and the Republican Party distinctly announces its purposes to support such legislation as will fully and efficiently carry out the constitutional power of Congress over inter-state commerce. The principle of the public regulation of railway corporations is a wise and salutary one for the protection of all classes of the people, and we favor legislation that shall prevent unjust discrimination and excessive charges for transportation, and that shall secure to the people and to the railways, alike the fair and equal protection of the laws. 1888-The restoration of unearned railroad land grants to the public domain for the use of settlers, which was begun under the Administration of President Arthur, should be continued. We deny that the Democratic Party has ever restored one acre to the people, but declare that by the joint action of Republicans and Democrats in Congress about 50,000,000 of acres of unearned lands, originally granted for the construction of railroads, have been restored to the public domain, in pursuance of the conditions inserted by the Republican Party in the original grants.t This policy [of appropriations demanded for various purposes, see Part VIII., "Capital and Labor"] will give employment to our labor, activity to our various industries, increase the security of our country, promote trade, open new and direct markets for our produce, and cheapen the cost of transportation... 1888- We demand appropriations for the early rebuilding of our Navy; for the construction of coast fortifications and modern ordnance, and other approved modern means of defence, for the protection of our defenceless harbors and cities; . . for necessary works of national importance, in the improvement of harbors, and the channels of internal, of coastwise, and foreign commerce. We affirm this to be far better policy for our country than the Democratic policy of loaning the Government's money, without interest, to "pet banks." 1872 - 1880- Plank 2 of 1856 reaffirmed.* 1884-The Federal Government should care for and improve the Mississippi River and other great waterways of the Republic, so as to secure for the interior States easy and cheap transportation to tide water. 1888-Reaffirmed. *Yet the River and Harbor Bill of 1876 was a Democratic measure, concerning which the following message was sent by President Grant to the Democratic House: "To the House of Representatives: "In affixing my name to the River and Harbor Bill, No. 3822, I deem it my duty to announce to the House of Representatives my objections to some features of the bill, and the reason I sign it. If it was obligatory upon the Executive to expend all the money appropriated by Congress, I should return the River and Harbor Bill with my objections, notwithstanding the great inconvenience to the public interests resulting therefrom, and the loss of expenditures from previous Congresses upon incompleted works. Without enumerating, many appropriations are made for works of purely private or local interests in no sense national. I cannot give my sanction to these, and will take care that during my term of office no public money shall be expended upon them. "There is very great necessity for economy of expenditures at this time, growing out of the loss of revenue likely to arise from a deficiency of appropriations to insure a thorough collection of the same. The reduction. of revenue districts, diminution of special agents, and total abolition of supervisors, may result in great falling off of the revenue. It may be a question to consider whether any expenditure can be authorized under the river and harbor appropriation further than to protect works already done and paid for. Under no circumstances will I allow expenditures upon works not clearly national. "EXECUTIVE MANSION, Aug. 14, 1877. U. S. GRANT." The River and Harbor Bill of 1882, concerning which opinions vary, was passed over President Arthur's veto mainly by the Democratic_votes in both Houses of Congress. The River and Harbor Bill of 1884, originating in and passing the Democratic House, was also a Democratic measure; so, also, the River and Harbor Bill of 1888, which President Cleveland lacked the courage either to approve or disapprove, and which became a law without his signature. It may, therefore, fairly be said that the views of Democracy concerning the alleged unconstitutionality of "a general system of internal improvements" have, since 1856, undergone 1872 The Pacific railroad and other similar vast enterprises have been generously aided and successfully conducted, the public lands freely given to actual settlers. We are opposed to further grants of the public lands to corporations and monopolies, and demand that the national domain be set apart for free homes for the people. 1876- We reaffirm our opposition to further grants of the public lands to corporations and monopolies, and demand that the national domain be devoted to free homes for the people. 1880-... No further grants of the public domain should be made to any railway or other corporation. . . further subsidies to private persons or corporations must cease. 1884-The regulation of commerce with foreign nations and between the States is one of the most important prerogatives of the general Government, and the Republican Party distinctly announces its purposes to support such legislation as will fully and efficiently carry out the constitutional power of Congress over inter-state commerce. The principle of the public regulation of railway corporations is a wise and salutary one for the protection of all classes of the people, and we favor legislation that shall prevent unjust discrimination and excessive charges for transportation, and that shall secure to the people and to the railways, alike the fair and equal protection of the laws. 1888-The restoration of unearned railroad land grants to the public domain for the use of settlers, which was begun under the Administration of President Arthur, should be continued. We deny that the Democratic Party has ever restored one acre to the people, but declare that by the joint action of Republicans and Democrats in Congress about 50,000,000 of acres of unearned lands, originally granted for the construction of railroads, have been restored to the public domain, in pursuance of the conditions inserted by the Republican Party in the original grants.f . This policy [of appropriations demanded for various purposes, see Part VIII., "Capital and Labor" will give employment to our labor, activity to our various industries, increase the security of our country, promote trade, open new and direct markets for our produce, and cheapen the cost of transportation.... 1872-We are opposed to all further grants of lands to railroads or other corporations. The public domain should be held sacred to actual settlers. 1876-Reform is necessary to put a stop to the profligate waste of public lands. 1880 1884- While we favor all legislation that will tend to the equitable distribution of property, to the prevention of monopoly, and to the strict enforcement of individual rights against corporate abuses, we hold that the welfare of society depends upon a scrupulous regard for the rights of property as defined by law. 1888-Reaffirmed. It [the Democratic Party] has reversed the improvident and unwise policy of the Republican Party touching the public domain, and has reclaimed from corporations and syndicates, alien and domestic, and restored to the people nearly 100,000,000 of acres of land to be sacredly held as homesteads for our citizens.* |