Confiding in the justice of our cause and the necessity of its, success at the polls, we submit the foregoing declara tion of principles and purposes to the considerate judgment of the American people. We invite the support of all citizens who approve them and who desire to have them made effective through legislation, for the relief of the people and the restoration of the country's prosperity.
The minority, led by Senator Hill of New York, submitted the following, which was re jected by the convention: To the Democratic National Convention: 16 delegates, constituting the minority of the Committee on Resolutions, find many declarations in the report of the majority to which they cannot give their assent. Some of these are wholly unnecessary. Some are ill considered and ambigu ously phrased, while others are extreme and revolutionary of the well-recognized principles of theparty. The minority content themselves with this general expression of their dissent, without going into a specific statement of the objec tionable features of the report of the majority; but upon the financial question, which engages at this time the thief share of public attention, the views of the majority differ so fundamentally from what the minority regard as vital Democratic doctrine as to demand a distinct statement of what they hold to as the only just and true expression of Democratic faith upon the paramount issue, as follows, which is offered as a substitute for the financial plank in the majority report: We declare our belief that the experiment on the part of the United States alone of free silver coinage and a change of the existing standard of value of the action of other great nations, would not only imperil our finances. but would retard or entirely prevent the establishment of international bimetallism, to which the efforts of the gov ernment should be steadily directed. It would place this country at once upon a silver basis, impair contracts, dis turb business, diminish the purchasing power of the wages of labor, and inflict irreparable evils upon our nation'. commerce and industry.
Until international co-operation among leading nations for the coinage of silver can be secured we favor the rigid maintenance of the existing gold standard as essential to the preservation of our national credit, the redemption of our public ledges, and the keeping inviolate of our country's honor. We insist that all our paper and "dyer currency
shall be kept absolutely at a panty with gold. The Demo cratic party is the party of hard money and is opposed to legal tender paper money as a part of our permanent financial system, and we therefore favor the gradual retirement and cancellation of all United States notes and Treasury notes. under such legislative provisions as will prevent undue contraction. We demand that the national credit shall be resolutely maintained at all times and under all circumstances." The minority also feel that the report of the majority is defective in failing to make any recognition of the honesty. economy, courage aod fidelity of the present Democratic administration. And they therefore offer the following declaration as an amendment to the majority report o : " We commend the honesty, economy, courage and fidelity f tbe present Democratic National Administration." The main resolutions submitted by the minority were rejected by more than a two thirds vote and the platform as reported by the committee was adopted by the same vote. The resolution endorsing the administration was defeated by a little less than two-thirds.
The convention named as its candidates William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska and Arthur Sewall of Maine. The °National* Democrats met at Indianapolis in September following, issued a platform endorsing the gold standard and named John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner as their national ticket William McKinley of Ohio and Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey were the nominees of the Republican convention. The platform con tained a plank favoring a protective tariff and a plank opposing free coinage until foreign co-operation could be secured — but pledg ing the party to promote international bimetal lism.
The People's party, known as the Populist party, met at Saint Louis and adopted a platform containing the same silver plank as the Democratic platform and endorsed and nominated the Democratic candidate for Presi dent. Instead of endorsing Mr. Sewall for the Vice-Presidency, the convention named Thomas E. Watson of Georgia for that office. The Silver Republicans met at the same time, en dorsed the Democratic ticket and adopted a silver plank identical with the Democratic plank.