Continued Misrepresentation

Bryan's World Herald defends his record on behalf of the working man and against Republican charges that he favors wage reductions.

CONTINUED MISREPRESENTATION.

The men having in charge the paid opposition to the canal rely upon reiterated misrepresentations to deceive the working man. They quote, for instance, prices at which they say power can be had at certain places when as a matter of fact no power is for sale there.

The prices of power at Cohoes is give at $14.67, when the writer knows there is not a single horse power for sale at that place for $40. The price of power at Bellows Falls, Turner's Falls and Ledyard, Wis., he quotes at $2 to $7.50 per horse power, when the writer knows that he cannot buy any horse power at all at any one of these places at $35. In fact, none is for sale at any of these places. The power has been sold years ago.

Our last legislature passed a law giving preference to all canals—in the order in which the canals are constructed. This law protects our water rights for all future time. Filling on the water does no good unless in sixty days the canal is commenced.

To read Mossback' column one would think the writer was a "lover" of the laboring men. He appeals for their interest in big letters, when he well knows that to put in a bond propositions a clause providing that the labor should be done by any special persons would be class legislation and nullify the bonds.

THE POLITICAL POT.

The chairman of the republican county committee has circulated a dodger declaring that Mr. Bryan, in a tariff speech made at Cooper's Union, New York, said that wages were too high and must be reduced. The charge is a malicious misrepresentation. Mr. Bryan never made a tariff speech in New York and never at any time or in any place advocated the reduction of wages nor has he advocated any legislation which would reduce wages. Tariff reform will not reduce wages because wages do not depend upon tariff laws. There were 1,200 strikes against reductions of wages during the two years following the passage of the McKinley law. The Carnegie strike will be recalled by every reader of the World-Herald. Here was one of the most conspicuous advocates of protection, one who had made an enormous fortune out of a protective tariff and yet the law had scarcely gone into effect before he cut down wages and employed Pinkerton detectives to fight against his men. Not only did strikes and reductions occur under the McKinley law, but the reverse has occurred under the Wilson law. The wool and Cotton Reporter, a trade paper devoted to the interests of the textile industries, in four issues for September gives the name of ninty [sic] -six factories which resumed operations in September. It gave the names of seventy-three factories which were making enlargements and improvements and gave the names of forty new factories.

Mr. Bryan is in favor of arbitration of differences between labor and capital. Would Mr. Thurston favor arbitration? Mr. Bryan's letter announcing his candidacy was published in the Journal of the Knights of Labor, and that great labor organ commended the letter and commended Mr. Bryan for the work he has done in the interest of the laboring men. Has that paper ever commended Mr. Thurston?

About this Document

  • Source: Omaha World Herald
  • Citation: 4
  • Date: November 5, 1894