Resolved, that the Republicans of the State of Maine, in convention assembled, referring with pride and. satisfaction to the great growth and prosperity of this Country under the many years of Republican rule from the administration of President Lincoln through the administration of President Taft, reaffirm their allegiance to the principles of the Republican party and pledge themselves to the earnest and hearty support of the National candidate of the party in the coming election.
1. The people by majority vote have declared against the abrogation of the amendment of the constitution relating to prohibition. We accept the verdict of the people and we are emphatically opposed to all attempts to reopen this question, in any form. We demand that the statutes be strictly and honestly enforced. Ours is a government of law. The law must he respected.
2 We believe in further legislation for good roads. The Republic an policy of gradually placing the burden of bridges and highways on the wealth of the State as a whole should. be continued.
5. We believe in further legislation for equitable taxation. The Democratic party has made no attempt to redeem its promise to reform our tax laws.
4. We believe in the assumption by the State of such municipal burdens as benefit the State as a whole The Republican party made substantial progress in this direction. The progress stopped with the election of a Democratic Legislature, as might have been expected.
5. We believe in a continuation of the policy inaugurated by Governor Fernald and. a Republican Legislature looking to the conservation of our forests and the development of our water powers in the interest of our own people, a policy sneered. at by a Democratic Governor.
6. We favor a non-partisan public service commission to protect the rights of the people, at the same time fair to invested capital.
7. A Republican. Legislature gave the working man a just employer’s liability law. A Democratic Legislature refused to extend it. We favor a system of legislation that will equitably and. fairly adjust the relations between capital and 1abor.
We recommend the common law doctrines as to fellow servant and contributory negligence that became law under social conditions a century ago, be modified to meet the social and business conditions of today. They are not just to labor.
8. We favor the enactment of a law for Presidential preference primaries, so that every individual voter may express effectively his personal choice for President and Vice President.
9. We arraign the present Democratic administration as false to the promises of its platform of 1910 and guilty of intentionally deceiving the people.
It “promised to enforce the laws by means of regularly elected officers.” The alliances between its regularly elected. officers and the violators of law are notorious and confessed. The State is disgraced by corrupt nu1lification.
It promised a corrupt practices act. It passed a sham law. When some of its leaders were prosecuted under its provisions, they sought the frivolous delays of the law to prevent a hearing. In elections under it, Democratic officials grossly violate its provisions and nullify the law as they do all others that stand in the way of partisan success.
It promised. a direct primary law. It passed an unusable statute and the people were forced to the use of the referendum to get an honest law.
It accused the Republican party of ‘saddling an unnecessary annual expense of $4,000,000 upon the people.” Its appropriation bill for 1912 is $4,044,l39.95, a confession of the dishonesty of its platform.
It accused the Republican party of “entrenching an army of office holders.” It abolished one office, the assistant attorney general, costing the State many thousands through the loss of efficiency in that department. It abolished the office of auditor of state printing and ordered a clerkship in its place by an illegal order of the Governor and Council it abolished other offices and created substitutes under new names. It has increased the number of officeholders and reduced the salaries of none.
It promised “to reduce the State tax.” Under Republican rule in 1909 and 1910 the State tax was eight mills; under Democratic rule in 1911 and 1912, the State tax is ten mills.
It promised fair treatment of our charitable institutions. The veto of the resolve in favor of the Children’s Hospital was cruel and cold-blooded.
It promised “wise legislation.” Its dodging at the regular session and blundering at the special session were characteristic of the Democratic party, always rich in promises, bankrupt in achievement.
It promised economy. It repudiated the just claims of the towns that in good faith had contracted pauper bills upon them credit of the State. The repudiation was dishonest.
10. We denounce the action of the unnecessary and expensive special session. Its blunders and mistakes were illustrative of the incapacity of Democratic rule. It favored reopening of the issue of constitution prohibition, although promising in 1910 to abide by the will of the people. When a Republican county attorney accused a Democratic sheriff of corruption, it acquitted the sheriff merely because he was a Democrat and removed the county attorney because he was a Republican. Both trials were a farce and a blot upon the good name of the State.
We favor a referendum upon the ballot law passed at the special session. It would open the door for as gross frauds as the State steal in 1879.
11. We pledge allegiance to all Republican nominees at the primaries and with a united front count with confidence upon the overthrow of Democracy in Maine.
Source: Maine State Archives