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Show I UTAH'S PROGRESSIVE PLATFORM POLITICAL parties are justified only when they promote the m public welfare. The two old H parties long ago abandoned this as H j i, iheir rule of conduct. The Progressive H ; party has been formed, because it is Hj morally, politically and economically H necessary that there be a party con- H aecrated to public service. H We recommend to the people of our H ! state the national platform of our H ! party, as a great charter of American H ; democracy, political and industrial H alike, and we pledge ourselves to en- H I nut appropriate! state legislation to H give effect to its provisions. H , We regard it a proud distinction to H : follow our intrepid national leaders, H ' Theodore Roosevelt and Jliram W. H I I Johnson. v i ' A m ' Paramount Issue. H I For years past, in both atate and Hj nation, our governments have been H ! Controlled and our politics dominated m by the unholy alliance between big M business and crooked bosses. H The paramount issue in this cam- m 'paign is the control of our government Hj and political life by the people them- B selves, to the end that they may have Hj political and industrial democracy. D In order that the government may m be restored to the people, the passage &H of specific legislation is imperative. H Our national platform outlines a B comprehensive plan of national reform, H which we deem it unnecessary to am- M plify. We submit, in addition, meas- B ures which are indispensable if the B people are to control their state gov- B ernment, for the public welfare. B , Direct Primary. B j Under the prevailing convention B J system, platforms are written by the B ' hand of invisible power, and nomina- B tloii3 are dictated by sinister lnfiu- B ences and result from trades made B without reference to the public inter- B est. Both old parties are controlled B by a bi-partisan combine, and no mat- B tor Which one wins, the people lose. B The people must have the rcml as B well as the ostensible power of nomi- B' nation by the passage of a direct prl- B mary law. B It is to tho public intorost that cam- B paign expenditures be restricted and H that all citizens, regardless of their H means, present their qualifications to H tho electorate. The direct primary law H should accordingly provide: H 1. That the state pay the expenso H of printing and distributing the can- H didato's platform. H 2. For the restriction of candidates' H expenses to traveling, hotel, advertis- H ing, printing, postage and other nee- H essary expenditures, with a limitation H in nmount to a percentage of the can- H dldate's first year's salary, if elected. H Presidential Preference Primary Law. Bj We favor the enactment by the next H legislature of a presidential preference H primary law. H Legislative Reference Bureau and Pub- H He Draftsman. H Sufficient means nf information nro H not available to the legislator. There H are six thousand volumes of judicial HE precedents to confront him, to eay H nothing of the great mass of social HSi and economic literature. He has no Hf access to the history of legislation, or H the experience of sister states? and for- H eign countries. H As a consequence, more and more, H we find our statutes ill considered. H loosely drawn, incoherent and self- H contradictory much to the public in- H convenience. H This condition should be remedied H by providing for a legislative reference H bureau and a skilled and impartial B public draftsman. H Legislative Procedure and Corrupt B Practices. H The honest legislator, un coming to B ' the capital, finds himself sunounded R BR c by lobbyists, and encounters a chaotic legislative practice, which makes it difficult for him to remain true to his oath of office and easy to become corrupt. cor-rupt. Tp meet this situation fe pledge: 1. Full publicity in committee hearings. hear-ings. 2. That committee hearings be established es-tablished by general rule scheduled in advance, and a weekly cumulative bulletin bul-letin be issued, showing the exact status of each bill and its hi3tory up to the time of publication. 3. That committees be compelled to report each and every bill referred to them within a reasonable time, with a recommendation. 4. To prevent stealing, changing or mutilating bills, that bills be introduced intro-duced in duplicate. 5. That no person shall appear before be-fore tho legislature or any committee thereof, except in public hearings fter registering his name, the name of his principal, if any, and the purpose of his errand. G. That it shall be a misdemeanor for the agent of any corporation or nny lobbyist to attempt, excep by public argument at a regular hearing, to influence tho conduct of the legislature legis-lature or of any of its members or committees; and that the giving of free transportation, telephone, telegraph, tele-graph, express, or other services to any public officer and all others except ex-cept ministers and persons engaged exclusively In charitable work and those exempted by congress, shall be prohibited, with appropriate penalties. Initiative, Referendum and Recall. That the people may, with the feast possible delay, secure laws that they desire, and defeat laws that they do not desire, wo favor the Initiative and referendum. All public officers should be subject to recall, under proper safeguards. Civil Service Law. All state appointive officers should be selected on the basis of merit under a proper civil service law. Political Activity of Public Officer It should be a misdemeanor to solicit so-licit or receive campaign contributions from state or federal officers or employees, em-ployees, and all appointive officers who display activity In partisan poli-U03 poli-U03 should be promptly removed. Reapportionment. We favor tho division of the state into congressional, state senatorial and state representative districts, so that a voter can vote for candidates from his own vicinity and not have candidates candi-dates forced upon him by outsiders. Public Service Commission. Railroad, light, power, telegraph and telephone companies exercise public functions which in many other countries coun-tries are exorcised by the governments themselves When these functions are delegated, tho public service corporation, corpora-tion, which is an agent of the state, is subject to the state'3 control and must be required to give adequate service ser-vice and facilities at reasonable rates, without discrimination. The courts do not possess the necessary machinery to give relief. Reasonable rate3 can only be determined deter-mined after and with roforence to the physical valuation of the corporate properties. The courts can only enjoin an unreasonable un-reasonable rate, but they cannot substitute sub-stitute a reasonable one for the condemned con-demned rate. It requires active vigilance to secure proner service and facilities. Tho state needs a public service commission to stand between the bumble citizen and small municlnal-lty municlnal-lty on tho one hand and the public corporation on tho other, in order that exact justice may be done all parties concerned. The expenses of this commission should be borne by the public service corporations exclusively, without an increase In general taxation. Workmen's Compensation Act. Our law regarding employers' liabilities liabili-ties for injury to workmen Is archaic and unjust, and tho resulting conditions condi-tions have long been insufferable. The rules of law referred to grew up before be-fore the age of machinery, and at a time when laborers toiled with their hands or manual tools and when there were no necessary hazards of employment; employ-ment; these rules are absolutely un-suited un-suited to modern tlme3 and conditions. Under this system the total risk of the hazards of dangerous industries falls with crushing weight upon tho maimed workman or his widow and orphans the persons least able to bear the burden. While many of these injuries are preventable, and every means should be used to reduce them to an irreducible irreduci-ble minimum, still those remaining are the price of our Industrial greatness, and that price, so far as payable in money, must be paid by the whole community. The employer must be made liable on a fixed scale, regardless of tho common law doctilnes of negligence, contributory negligence, fellow servant and assumed risk. That the full benefits of the workmen's work-men's compensation law, when passed, may go to the Injured man and his family Ith. all possible speed, and without dividing up with attorneys, runners and others, the administration administra-tion of this law should be taken out of the courts and placed with an administration ad-ministration board. No state in the west needs such a law more than the state of Utah. Yet the Republican state platform "urges.," the passage of a federal workman's compensation law, but it is silent regarding re-garding tho needs of our own atate. Social and Industrial Justice. The supreme duty of the state is the conservation of human resources, through enlightened measures, of social so-cial and industrial justice. WJe pledge ourselves to work unceasingly for: 1. Effective legislation looking to the prevention of Industrial accidents, occupational diseases, overwork, involuntary in-voluntary unemployment, and other injurious in-jurious effects incident to modem industry. in-dustry. 2. The fixing of minimum safety and health standards for the various occupations. 3. The prohibition of child labor. 4. Minimum wage standards for working women, to provide a living scale in all Industrial occupations. 5. One day's rest in seven for all wage earners. 6. Tho eight-hour day in continuous continu-ous twenty-four-hour Industries. 7. The application of prisoners' earnings to the support of their dependent de-pendent families and of the dependent families of their victims. 8. Publicity as to wage3, hourB and conditions of labor; full reports upon industrial accidents and diseases, and tho opening to public Inspection of all tallies, weights, measures and check systems on labor products. We favor a state commission to Investigate In-vestigate tho operation of the systems sys-tems of medical Insurance, old age pensions, maternity benefits and other similar systems now in oppratlon in foreign countries. We pledge ourselves to the strict enforcement of tho safety appliance laws and to amend those laws wherever wher-ever necessary. Taxation. The first rule of public finance Is that taxation should fall upon those best able to bear Its burden. This rule Is inverted in the system of taxation tax-ation which prevails in our state and country. To correct the present Inequalities, we favor tho progressive income tax and progressive inheritance tax and other similar measures. We favor the abolition of the poll tax by which the humble toller pays tho same amount as the man of great wealth. Assessors should be required to assess as-sess property at its actual value, with proper penalties for failure to do so. High Cost of Living. Immediate and searching Inquiry should be instituted in our state as to the high cost of living, and measures meas-ures of relief should be passed. We pledge ourselves to the above, and particularly to investigate the conditions which keep up the price of coal In this state of inexhaustible deposits, de-posits, and to pass measures required to give relief. Mining. The mining industry Is one of the most important industries of the state. We favor the establshment of a state ' mining bureau to collect and distribute distri-bute reliable data pertinent to the development de-velopment and extension of the mining min-ing Industry, and that will prevent tho promotion of companies organized for the benefit of the promoters only, commonly known as "wildcat schemes." We favor the revision of the mining laws. Country Life. The development of our agricultural resources to their fullest extent will conduce to the prosperity of the people of all classes throughout the state, (Continued on Pago 1 4.) PLATFORM. M (Continued from Pago 12.) H I and such development should he fos- H tered In every way. H We pledge ourselves to maintain the H Agricultural college at the highest H ; standard of efficiency, to promote the H brotfdest diffusion of the best agri- H cultural teachings; to establish state I, I experiment farms In different sections, H and to use our best endeavors to make j country life more attractive, so that H youth in our rural districts will re- H main on the farms. H In rural communities, agricultural M subjects should be a compulsory part M of the high school curriculum. j Good Roads. H 'Wo agree to submit plans and in- H vlte the co-operation of all citizens for M tho establishment and maintenance of H good roads throughout the state. H Indian War Veterans. M Wo express our gratitude to the vet- H erans of our Indian wars, and we be- m f; lievo that they are entitled to pen- M sions. M Conservation. H Our position on the conservation of M natural resources, a question of such M vital importance to this state, cannot M be stated better than In the words of m , our national platform, which we spe- B cifically adopt. m No discrimination should be made m between small farmers and large ranch B owners in the use of the forest re- 1 servo and public domains. WN Republican State Administration. Bj Wle submit the record of the pres- ont Republican state administration to H the candid judgment of our people. H After pledging himself to the ratlfl-H ratlfl-H cation of the constitutional income tax j amendment, the present governor used B all the power and influence in his high H office to coerco tho legislature into H rejecting the much-needed measure. H The present administration has dis- regarded the mandate of our state constitution requiring railroad rato regulation and tho initiative and ref-H ref-H orendum and other important legisla- tion. H Republhan officials have placed over a million dollars of state funds in 'favored banks, in which they are officers and directors, without a dollar of Interest to the people. In these things, nnd in many others, the state Republican party has shown Itself Incompetent, if not worse. Wo pledge ourselves to remedy the foregoing fore-going GVll3. The Courts. We pledge ourselves to simplify legal procedure and reform judicial methods In tho state of Utah. The Constitution and the Courts. There is no good reason in logic or experience why the courts should have the ultimate authority to determine the constitutionality of statutes, passed under the "police power" by competent compe-tent authorities. In no other country in the world do they hnve th's power and the frarners of the- constitution did not intend to confer such an enormous, unrestrained and despotic power upon the American Ameri-can courts. Tho legislative and executive branches of the government are sworn to observe the constitution equally, with the courts. When the legislative and executive branches of tho government govern-ment declare upon their oath that a statute is constitutional, as they do by passing and signing it, respectively, respective-ly, and tho judiciary expresses itself to a different effect by declaring tho act unconstitutional, the difference of opinion of these co-ordinate branches of tho government must be settled by the people who made the constitution. In every other free country, if the people desire workmen's compensation laws, restriction of the hours of labor in unhealthy industries, or other changes for the general welfare, it Is theirs to say whether they shall have suoh changes. The people of this state are not in-ferlor in-ferlor In intelligence and intogrity to tho paople of foreign countries, and a solemnly declare that our people must have restored to themselves the power to enact social legislation with- lllWJHUmiilMMII out being held in tutelage by any man, or set of men, whether or not they wear the judicial ermine. Conclusion. The foregoing is not only a declara tion of principles, but is a covenant ' with the people of this Btate, and a programme of legislative and executive execu-tive action, to the carryng out of which we pledge our sacred honor. |