The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-12-20
Our Friend the Press.


Once upon time q question Of consid-
erable Importance was being debated in
Congress- question in whIoh great Brit
ain was seriously interested. 1t was 10
marked at the time, that Daniel Webster,
though present at every session and taking
great interest In listening to the debate,
yet for a month or six weeks he failed to
express an opinion or take either side OF
the question. At the end Of that time,
however, he arose, and making one of his
masterly efforts, carried the majority over
tO his views, and the question was decided
a. he wished. Some uf his friends desired
to know Of him why he had remained quiet
So long why he had not taken the stand
at the start that he afterward took His
answer was That upon every question af
fecting the interests of the United States
and Great Britain, he always waited hear
what the Government and press Of Eng
land had to say on the subject, and by al
ways taking the opposite side to them, he
was sure Of doing the greatest service to
the United States
In the present industrial crisis, the at
tempted reducing Of wages has received
the almost entire Endorsement Of the press,
and those organs known AS especially be-
longing to employers, such as the Iron Age,
attempt to sneer at Trade Unions aud call
upon their members to leave them, as their
inability to resist the reduction uf wages
must prove conclusIvely to wUrking,nen
teat Trade Unions are frauds.
The general press Of the United States,
III its relations 70 wUrkII.g gInen, Is that ut
an an enemy and work. ig,nen, III their
a =.
tIcularly as tO what Is bsst t1r their inter-
ests As Norkinglnen, sh ,uld carefully study
the general newspaper press, and by tax
ing rirectly opposite views, actIng directly
opposite to the (sO-called) advice given,
they will, ninety-nIne times out a hundred,
be doing the greatest service to them
selves The Iron Age is certainly couu-
selOr that wOrkIngmen have need more par
ticularly to beware o. During the past
decade no attempt Of the employers to de-
grade employees has been too mean to re-
ceive anything but colnmendatiOn from it.
Many OF onr readers will remember that
IN 1867 there was In existence an assOcI-
alton known as the 'Emirant Aid So
ciety, headquarters IN New York, at the
office Of the Iron Age, the editor of the
paper being the general agent Of the so
ciety. Europe was flooded with circulars
in many languages, setting forth the rich
harvest that was In store for the emlgrant.
The iron-workers of England and Ger
many were especially called upon To come,
and hundreds Of molders were induced by
these false representations to flock TO our
shores TO find All OverstOcked labor market
and nearly one Thousand rnolders on strike,
battling for their rights Since that date
we have been enabled, through correspond
ence and otherwise, to block this nice little
game in the interest Of unjust employers
and now the Iron 4ge-hAs taken new
tack Workingnen have certainly good
reason to be grateful to such AN organ itn
advice is certainly unprejudiced its love
for workingmen can not De doubted and
when, in behalf of its thirty pages of ad-
vertisements, it calls upon workIngmen TO
disband their organizations, they should
promptly follow the advice gwen by such
q time honored friend. If the editor Of
that paper would only tell us how it is that
his pet, ''the pig-iron tariff, has failed 70
keep the country prosperous, he might per.
haps advance the intelligence Of many Of
his readers on asubject he should know
all about.