Republican Party Platform 1922

ADOPTED AT THE REPUBLICAN STATE

CONVENTION APRIL 6, 1922

—1—

We endorse and commend the wise, constructive and patriotic administration of President Harding.

We commend the far-seeing statesmanship of the President in calling the Conference for Limitation of Armament and the settlement of the Pacific and Far Eastern question. We endorse the treaties entered into as the greatest step ever taken in furtherance of world peace and relief of peoples from the burdens of war.

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THE NATIONAL BUDGET

The National Budget Bill passed by the last Congress but vetoed by President Wilson, was promptly re-enacted by the present Congress and was approved by President Harding. It has received the overwhelming endorsement of economists, of students of public affairs and of the business men of the country. It is a great constructive legislative achievement. It makes for coordination in estimates, eliminates duplications in appropriations, and dooms the “pork barrel’ method of legislation. It has brought economy in the appropriation of public funds contributed by the people to the nation’s support and a careful and effective control of the expenditures of the money appropriated. We commend the Congress for its enactment.

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ECONOMY

In view of the great difficulty of reducing the expenditures of the Government after war inflation, we submit that the record of the present Congress in reducing such expenditures has never been equaled. These reductions for the fiscal year of 1922 as compared with the year 1920 amount to about two and one-half billion dollars, and the estimated expenditures for 1923 are something like five hundred million dollars less than 1922. When it is remembered that the current total appro­priations are about three and one-half billion dollars and that interest on our war debt, the cost of the Veterans’ Bureau, including aid to disabled soldiers, and other post-war expenditures constitute about two billion dol­lars of this sum, it will be seen that the present cost of government is nearly down to the pre-war level.

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REVENUE

The Revenue Bill passed by the present Republican Congress reduced Federal taxation by $835,000,000 and has very materially lessened the income tax of the man of small means with a family of dependents. The tax on transportation has been reduced by $270,000,000 and a further reduction of $100,000,000 results from the reduction or elimination of the so-called nuisance taxes. We commend the Congress for this conservative legislation which, while adapted to promote a general business recovery, also assists the country to meet its obligation’s without proving oppres­sive or unjust to any class.

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MERCHANT MARINE

The Republican party of Maine favors an American merchant marine. The national de­fense and considerations of commercial advan­tage demand that American ships should carry to market the products of our forests, our farms, our mines, and our factories. A decent self-respect requires that our transportation should be controlled by Americans; and that we should be independent of foreign interests to which in the past we have paid hundreds of millions of dollars an­nually in transportation charges. The sen­ators and representatives of this State have always been foremost in the advocacy of legislation in support of this American policy, but partisan and sectional antagonism and in­difference have heretofore defeated their efforts. The World War has given to this country an adequate American owned tonnage and a new opportunity to restore our prestige upon the seas. The operation of the Govern­ment owned fleet by the Shipping Board has demonstrated anew that vast business enter­prises cannot efficiently and economically be conducted by governmental agencies. We favor a privately owned and operated mer­chant marine, as advocated by the President. We endorse the President’s recommendation of direct and indirect aid to American ship­ping in the foreign trade. We urge our Repre­sentatives and Senators to support the Presi­dent in the legislative proposals he has made, to the end that our flag may be again on every sea and in every port.

We reaffirm our belief in our traditional policy of preserving the coastwise trade of this country to the American ship.

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BONUS

The Republicans of Maine endorse the principle of and favor a just and reasonable Federal bonus for the ex-service men and women of the late war.

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IN MEMORIAM

The tragic and untimely death of the Hon­orable Frederic H. Parkhurst, Governor of Maine and a leader in the Republican party of his state, brought a sincere sorrow and deep sense of loss in party councils and public service to all the members of the party, which we here record in the spirit of deepest reverence and fondest affection.

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STATE ADMINISTRATION

We endorse the position of the Republican party within the State in its steps towards re­trenchment of expenditures, its lessening and equalization of our tax burden, in its sane and steady advance along lines of public welfare, considering at all times, through wise legislation, the interests and the future of our people.

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EDUCATION

Realizing that the State’s future depends upon our youth, we pledge a continuance of the State’s financial support to the University of Maine, our schools, especially those in rural districts, and we advocate a program that will include the moral, industrial, agricultural and physical education of our children. We urge the adequate maintenance of Normal Schools, that the graduates thereof may he properly fitted to train our young people to become self-reliant and self-respecting Ameri­can citizens.

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HIGHWAYS

The Republican party has for many years believed that the improvement of the high­ways of the State is of vital importance to its development.

We believe that the system of State high­ways and State Aid highways should be pushed to completion as rapidly as funds will permit and at the same time some method of im­proving the great mileage of third class, or rural, roads should be devised.

We commend the firm stand of President Harding for sound and systematic road im­provement and maintenance, and heartily en­dorse the Federal Aid act recently passed by a Republican Congress. The State of Maine has taken advantage of all Federal Aid for highways and will continue to do so.

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HUMAN WELFARE

We endorse the Mother’s Aid Law which enables the homes to be retained and leaves the child to the care of the mother, and we recommend that the work be further extend­ed; we also endorse the Children’s Guardian Law, commend the care taken of our dependent children thereunder, and approve the work be­ing done by the State, in caring for all our dependents and unfortunates.

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PROHIBITION

We reaffirm the long established principle of the Republican party of strict enforcement of the prohibitory laws, and urge an honest and efficient administration thereof in State and Nation: and since prohibition has become a part of our fundamental law by Constitutional enactment, we believe it becomes the patriotic duty of every loyal American to faithfully obey it and to earnestly support the officers charged with its enforcement.

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WATER POWER

We recognize that the established policy of this State is to retain Maine’s hydro-electric energy within the State for the use of our people and our industries.

We believe that the full development of the Water Powers of Maine would stimulate industry and would prove of great benefit to our citizens and to the agricultural and busi­ness interests of the State; and

We pledge to the people of Maine that the Republicans in the 81st Legislature will give to all phases of Maine’s Water Power problem the careful and impartial consideration its im­portance demands.

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FORESTRY

We recognize that the conservation of our forest resources is essential for the continued development of the industrial, agricultural and recreational possibilities of the State. We recognize also that under present condi­tions the forests are not holding their own, and that because of the long-time nature of the forest crop special precautions and State participation are necessary to insure its con­tinued productivity. We therefore affirm our belief in, and will endeavor to bring about in­creased protection of the forests from fire, insects and disease, assistance in reforesta­tion through the production and sale at cost of larger quantities of forest nursery stock; ex­tension work in farm forestry; more effective public instruction in forestry; and the en­couragement of use of forest products without waste or destruction of the growth of the forests.

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LABOR

We believe that the peace and prosperity of this State are to a large extent dependent upon the relations that exist between em­ployer and employee; that both those who work and those who pay should approach the difficult economic and industrial problems of the present day keeping in mind the other’s point of view; and that the ideal State is one wherein every citizen can secure employ­ment at a fair wage, for which is given an adequate return, and WE PLEDGE the Re­publican party to aid in the realization of these ideals.

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FARMING

We believe that our citizens engaged in agricultural pursuits form the backbone of the community, and that whatever affects their interests favorably or adversely, in like man­ner affects the interests of the people of our State as a whole, and WE PLEDGE the Re­publican party to support those measures that will encourage agriculture in all its branches, and that will contribute to the prosperity of those who seek to obtain a living from the soil.

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DIRECT PRIMARY

Whereas the Direct Primary Law was en­acted by the people, thinking it an improve­ment over our former system, and

Whereas it has been fairly tried and not found satisfactory,

We advocate the submission to the people of a proposition for its repeal.