REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TEXAS 
 The First 50 Years

FORT WORTH, September 13 and 14

The "Lily- White" or "Reform" Republicans nominated a State ticket at their convention in April; the "Regulars" faced a difficult situation. Should they nominate a State ticket and meet defeat, or should they make no nominations and leave each voter free to follow his choice, or should their party be committed to some one of the candidates in the field?

Officers: Chairman, R. B. Hawley, of Galveston. Secretary, H. M. Tarver, of Washington.

Committee on Platform and Resolutions: Judge W. K. Makemson, chairman, Lock McDaniel, Frank Cleaves, T. A. Pope, R. Aiken, A. J. Rosenthal, W. M. Banks, T. L. Wren, W. S. Messmer, D. Redfield, J. W. McKinney. W. P. Butler.

PLATFORM 

We, the Republicans of the State of Texas, in convention assembled, pointing with just pride to the record of our party, declare our allegiance to its principles, as expressed in the National platform adopted at Minneapolis. We heartily approve of the action of the National convention in the nomination of President Harrison, whose pure, able, and patriotic administration of affairs has defied arraignment even at the hands of the Democracy, and we pledge him and his colleague on the National ticket, Whitelaw Reid, the solid vote of the party in Texas.

We arraign the present administration of Texas because:

1. It has arrayed labor against capital, to the great injury of both, and has intensified class prejudice.

2. It has, in effect, confiscated property, and practically denied to the owners thereof the right to be heard in the courts.

3. It has, by intolerance, proscription, and intemperate expression, driven much capital out of Texas, and prevented the coming of much more, and thereby raised the rate of interest and increased the burdens of all except the money lenders.

4. It has unsettled land titles and depreciated taxable values.

5. It has robbed the laboring men of Texas, because by driving out capital our industrial enterprises have been paralyzed and the value of labor diminished.

6. It has attacked the decisions of courts and tried to bring into contempt our very citadel of liberty, our judiciary.

7. It has discouraged immigration, thereby retarding agricultural development, thus robbing the farmer by decreasing values, and the State by restraining production.

8. It has prevented the organization and upbuilding of new industries that would have employed large capital, given profitable employment to many laborers, and increased the values of farm products.

9. It has favored nepotism and prostituted a sacred trust the ap pointive power for personal ends.

10. It has selfishly and corruptly used the power entrusted to it by the people as a means to perpetuate its existence in office.

11. Its ignorance of the constitution, as evidenced by the approval and attempted enforcement of the alien land law, the railway commission law, and other laws, has been a just cause of complaint, and imposed vexatious burdens alike on the people and the courts. ,

12. It, for selfish purposes, deprived the public treasury of large moneys that should have been placed there to the credit of the State by refusing to accept the bounty on sugar due Texas from the Federal government.

13. For a selfish, if not corrupt purpose, it has invaded and begun to destroy the common heritage of the children of Texas, the sacred school fund, bequeathed in trust to them by their forefathers.

14. By unwise legislation, by threats against capital, and reckless disregard of sacred rights, it has paralyzed capital, prostrated industries, and depreciated farm values, and, by false promises, impossible of fulfillment, has caused strife and dissatisfaction among the masses.

15. Its future policy, as outlined in the Houston platform, gives no promise or hope of any relief from the evils complained of, but rather confirms the belief that they will be increased and intensified if it receives indorsement in November, and we, therefore, urge upon the people of Texas the imperative necessity of placing the seal of their utter condemnation upon the present administration.

The Republican party demands:

1. Perfect equality before the law; equal rights to all, and special privileges to none.

2. We are opposed to all sumptuary laws, and believe in the largest individual liberty consistent with good government.

3. We favor the regulation of railway corporations under such restrictions as will insure equal justice to the railways as well as the people.

4. We condemn all forms of communism and State socialism, and view with alarm the existing war in this State upon property.

5. Our sympathies are most cordially extended to all laboring people in their efforts to better the conditions of themselves and those dependent upon them.

6. We condemn all revolutionary methods and violence on the part of our citizens, believing that an appeal to the law best protects every citizen in the enjoyment of his rights.

7. We condemn all legislation calculated to drive capital out of the State or turn immigration from us.

8. We favor the enactment of such laws as will secure to us the introduction into this State of money at a low rate of interest.

9. We demand that the coming legislature shall provide for the collection from the Federal government of the bounty on sugar produced on the State farms.

10. We demand that the State legislature enact such laws as will protect the ballot of every citizen in accordance with the demands ex- pressed in the election plank of the National Republican platform.

11. We demand the passage of such laws as will further the building and keeping in repair of a system of intercounty public roads, and to this end we demand the employment of penitentiary convicts, thus procuring for them profitable employment without bringing them into- competition with free labor.

12. We condemn the law which discriminates against colored teachers upon the county school boards of examiners as class legislation.

13. We demand that the legislature comply with the constitutional requirement and establish a branch of the State university for the colored people.

Judge Makemson said that the 'committee on platform had reached a point where there was some difference and there was a majority and a minority resolution. He then read the majority resolution, adopted by eleven of the thirteen members, as follows:

[14] Resolved, that the present deplorable condition of the public affairs of our State is such that the general welfare demands at our hands as patriotic citizens the defeat of James S. Hogg, and the election of some one in his stead who will give to Texas a liberal and progressive administration, and to this end we earnestly recommend to the Republicans of our State the election of Hon. George Clark.

MINORITY REPORT

To the Republican convention of Texas: We, the undersigned members of your committee on resolutions, beg to dissent from the resolution reported by the majority of this committee, indorsing the State ticket headed by George Clark for governor, and submit the resolution annexed as the sense of the minority and ask that the same be adopted as the sense of this convention.

C. G. WHITE, S. H. BUCHANAN.

Resolved, that we deem it inexpedient to put forth a Republican State ticket, but we earnestly urge every voter to go to the polls in November and cast his vote for the National Republican ticket, and for such State officers as in his opinion will be fitted to remedy the evils of which we complain and will best promote the principles we advocate.

The majority report was adopted by a large vote.

State Executive Committee: N. B. Moore, of Tarrant, chairman ; 1st Congressional district, J. H. North, of Marion ; 2. S. B. Hungerford, of Hopkins; 3. C. M. Ferguson, of Lamar; 4. J. A. Shannon, of Grayson; 5. W. H. Love, of Collin; 6. R. T. Glover, of Dallas; 7. J. W. Butler, of Smith; 8. J. M. Hickey, of Rusk; 9. W. M. McDonald, of Kaufman; 10. Cyrus M. Dunham, of Hill ; 11. Nathan Patton, of McLennan ; 12. J. R. Niece, of Limestone; 13. H. D. Loyd, of Cherokee; 14. P. Larkin, of Tyler; 15. L. E. Dunn, of- -; 16. H. C. Ferguson, of Fort Bend; 17. C. G. Vogue, of Brazoria ; 18. J. G. Shermack, of Fayette; 19. W. E. Dwyer, of Washington; 20. Hugh B. Han- cock, of Travis; 21. A. L. Maynard, of Aransas; 22. D. M. O'Connor, of Victoria; 23. W. N. Linton, of Cameron; 24. W. S. Mesmer, of Bexar; 25. J. A. Smith, of El Paso; 26. G. N. Arnold, of Erath ; 27. C. S. Doubleday, of Hamilton : 28. William McManus, of Callahan; 29. D. C. Kolb, of Wichita; 30. T. B. Burbridge, of Tarrant ; 31. W. W. Barbour, of Wise.