The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-10-20
0he1t1telIigeneers


the effect TO diminish the audience
above. Mr.. Sylvis was called to the
chair and Mr.. NJ. j. Smith appointed
secretary. The chairman announced
the presence OF Mr.. VIM. Mathews, of
Pittsburgh, who he said, wouId address
the meeting on the subject of labor re-
form. Mr.. Mathews then came forward
and, in opening his remarks. observed
that lie had recently y come out of the
canvass in Allegheny county in which
lie had engaged TO some extent AS II
speaker on behalf OF the labor reform
ticket, which ticket lad pOlled 1000
votes at the late election. The labor
movement was at this time being agi-
tated not only in. this country but in
Europe. The throne of England was
feeling the effects of the agitation. In
that country the laboriug classes were
endeavoTiug to secure an extension OF
their rights, aud step by step they were
making progress In this country we
have had labor conventions ut Balu-
more last year, and in Chicago this
year. II was the intention to cut loose
from all the political organizations
and form great national party that
would more eiectuallY look aftsr.the
rights and interests OF labor. They eX-
pected even to run II candidate for the
Presidency upon that platform. The
organization was to go on until not
only the legislatures of the States, but
Congress and the National Govern
nient were placed right upon the prin-
ciples of labor reform. Some people
mig ht ask whether this was anagrarian
movement. He would answer. No!
Nothing OF the kind. 1t was
not au attempt TO array
labor against capital, but simply TO
secure the former her rights, her just
rewards and her proper position. 1t
was notorious that the legislation OF the
country was not impartial as between
labor and capital. Wealth controlled
TOO much of the legislation of the land.
Its disposition was to advantage itself
at the expense of labor. He cited tue
case of capitalist from New York of
great wealth, who bought II heavy min
ing interest in Tioga county, PennsYl-
vaniH, and undertook to reduce the
wages of his employees, and because
they would not yield, he attempted to
eject them from his tenement houses
To this purpose he went 10 Harrisburg
aud got II law passed enabling him to
eject his tenants ut ten days notice. And
he did eject them in mid-winter, and, as
a consequence, three persons were fro
was this sort of sway of capital over la
Dor that the reform was combating,
this tendency and ability to coerce the
rights and interests of labor. II was
useless TO expect proper redress at the
hands of the political parties of the day.
The democracy had been in control OF
the government for many years, and
what had they done for the elevation of
labsr or the furtheranCe of its sinterests?
And what had the Republican party
doneS Neither of them had discharged
their duty to The bone and sinew of the
country. The rebellion was II mon
strous raid of capital upon labor-n
vast effort to subject. control, and de-
grade labor under the name OF slavery.
The working men OF the nation had
saved the Union. 1t was their efforts
that had snntched the government from
destruction. Does the government re-.
ward them for their services? No! The
clerks at Washington work six or sew
ell hours per day, but the labor
ers work ten hours. Aud yet who
does the hardest and most neces-
sary work. The labor of the country
had the right to protest against all sucn
INEQUALITIES. They had the right, aud
they Intended to exercise II, to demand
that those in power shall remember
that this is "A government of the people
of the Innsses-of toiling millions. Ii
WAS the fault ofthe woTkingmen of the
country that things stood as they do
throughout the land. They had the
votes TO prevent such a state of things,
and they were responsible for not using
the elective franchise on their own be-
half. Four-tifths OF the ballots cast In
the land come from the hands OF lnbor-
ing men, And yet that other nth,
with its money and its brains, ruled
over the majority, subordinaied its in
teresIs to the minority and HggrHndiZed
. I'm ~ n In lDnF fhRiF lntarEaEfS
The speaker addressed himself to the
subject of financial Legislation, and.
among other things, to the question of
the currency and government bonds.
The demand of labor was for the taxa
ton of these bonds, not their repudia-
tion. He quoted Thad. Stevens, Gen.
Butler, and Chief Justice Chase. The
latter, he said, had given 1t as his opin-
ion that the bonds were not to be per-
mRnently exempted from taxation.
And the first named had stated in the
course of debate in Congress that it WAS
not contemplated to pay the Five
! Twenties in gold. The workingmen of
the country demanded policy of equi-
table taxation, and no privileges of
class or caste. In Pennsylvania, Iegis-
alton disseminated against the man of
moderate property. The owner OF a
small house, worth, say $500, was as
sessed at a valuation OF say S400, while
the owner of a $4,000 on Penn
street, in Pittsburgh, was assessed at a
valuation OF 5000, perhaps. Was
such taxAtionJ anything more than
gross injustice?
ARaih, the vocation of Il man.like him
sell was taxed $2O0-while the vocation
of some other man, who counted his
gains by the ten or twenty Thousand,
| was taxed one, two or three Thousand
dollars. That was not exact and i'm :
partial justice, The report of United
I States Commissioner Wells showed that
| only about 900, 900 persons IN the coun-
/ try paid an income tax. ont of 81, ,OOO, :
/ 600 of people it appeared That In these
+ days OF depreciated money only 100000
got enough of il to return an, Income
| OF over six hundred dollars per annum.
| That report also showed dithRtlWhtte5W wa :
ges had only been inflated 80 per cent.
| The necessaries of life been had Inflated
/ $50 per cent. .-E-y, III. T,r}.f f I
! Some people Thought that lAnorlng
men were not ht to act as gisialors.
| Ue begged leave 10 remind such per-
sons that man who once carried
\ hod in the town of Mansfield, ONO,
was now u Senator from Iowa. de re-
/ ferred TO Senator Kirwood. Then, there
was siBeujamin Franklin, ONCE printer,
and Eiihu Burritt, once a blacksmlth,
and other like mens Some people also
said that in case wOrktngmen were
elected to Legislative, 2PnPitions, that
they too, wouin sell out theit constit-
uents. Well, admit the faryu men ~ u e
had show that selling out was the
practice on the the part of Democrats
and Republicans. The Workinsnen
could do. no worse. 1t was their time
to sell out and get a grab. Others had
/ been grabbing long time and
| change would be nothing more than
| fair Just now. This is the answer he
would make to the argument OF those
who asserted that laboring men would
- LII Snnclnsinn 80 the sneaker observed