The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-09-06
A CLEVELAND INTERVIEW,
Fairbanks Thinks Stanley Mat
thews Would Kill
any Party.
COwIes Thinks the Best Way to Dis
perse a Labor Meeting Is to Roll
a Barrel of Whisky Into it,:
Especial Correspondence of the Enquirer J

Fairbanks is of the opinion that the
Workingmen's party movement will not
amount to much, as its leaders are mere
adventures, and as a rule men Of but lit
tie account. who only wish to use the
workingmen as tools toadvanCe their own
interests. "Look at them, "said he; There's
Schilling, he's not worth shilling, and
can't pass for a dime wherever he Is
known. He has had fat office at the
head of his trade organization for years
past, and has been making about $4,000
per year ou, of it. Treveick is in the
same boat, ard so is M. P. Arthur, of the
Brotherhood of Engineers. Fehrenbach
was the best of the lot,and even he made
money and position by the advocacy OF
the rights of labor" As soon as these
chaps get a good fat office, they generally
slide back into the dominant political par
ty, and the woes of the poor men appear
to be wonderfully mitigated in their eye;
at least you hear very little about them
from their lips thereafter. Fehrenbach
got disgusted with the workingmen be.
cause, when President of the Machinists'
and Blacksmith's Union, men would come
to him to get them good jobs, and if he
could not comply with their wishes would
20 off Cursing and damning him. He was
far too good for them. Notlong ago one of
his (Fairbank's) printers had come to him
and wanted to know why ne didn't pay
better wages. He replied that he couldn't
do it. as the profits of his business would
not permit him to do so. The man then
offered to change places with him and
show him how he could manage the bussi-
ness so as to raise the price of labor. II
asked him how long he had worked at
the business" said Mr.. Fairbanks,and he
replied, -Four years." Every good !" was
the response. Il have worked at it for
forty eight years, and | think l know as
much about it as you can teach me. Then,
he continued, 81 called my foreman and
told him if he ever gave him work again
| would discharge him. That's the way
to serve such chaps" Mr.. Fairbanks has
little love for labor Unions in the abstract,
and claims that they only benefit the in.
terior mechanic at the expense of his
more skillful and industrious brother.
The Union wages for pressman in this
city are $25 week." said he, "and yet l
pay mine $50. Why do II Because he
is better workman than any | csn
get that belongs to the Printers Union,
and so l am willing to pay him for his
ability. So you see it's no advantage for
good man to belong to the Union, but
on the contrary, positive detriment."
"What will be the effect of Judge Vests
Communistic speeches on the Reserve"
asked. "They will hurt him and the
party like the devil" was the response.
hAnd Stanley Matthews"-"0h, he'd kill
any body or any party" interrupted Mr..
Fairbanks; "but that's no matter. Both of
the parties ought to be killed, for they are
rotten and corrupt, and new one will
have to be formed with honesty for its
cornerstone. 1t will have to be done be-
fore the country can hope for peace and
prosperity" Mr.. Fairbanks "pooh-poohs"
at the idea OF tabooing lawyers as legisla.
tors and ofsending farmers and meChan-
les to the Legislature instead. why"
said he, ''you can never get Legislature
elected that will not have half dozen
lawyers in it, and they will be sure to be-
come the leaders of it's parties and to
shape its legislation. They have the abili-
ty, and, despite what may be said to the
contrary, brains will always rule the brute
force. It's well that this is the case, for,
after all, the lawyers are not only the
ablest but the honestest class of the COM
munity," he added sort of rehectively. |
don't think the defeat of the Republicans
will worry Mr.. Fairbanksmuch this fall.
After bidding Mr.. Fairbanks goood by,
l went over to the Leader Office and had
chat with its Managing editor, Mr.. Ed
win Cowles. He is round faced, Ghub-
by sort of man, with iron-gray hair,
whiskers and mustache, and lisp that
lays Sothern's Dundreary away in the
shade. He looks to be about fifty years
old and he is apower among the straight
out" Republicans of the Reserve. He is
red hot Jim. Blaine Morton-bloody-
shirt-no compromise with. traitors sort of
q hairpin, and though the exigenCies of
the party compel him to give his adhe.
sion, for the time being, to the platform
and the work done by the Cleveland con.
vention, yet, opine, he is not overly in
love with either, and the Leaders columns
often carry clippings" that must grieve
the heart of Hayes, ,Schurz q Co. "HoW
do you like WestP" asked. "Oh, first
rate" he replied, laughing sarcastiCally;
how do you folks down in Southern Ohio
like Bishop" responded that our folks
were more than delighted with him, and
that he was such favorite that even the
children cried for him. "In fact" said /,
1--WE like him 80 well that we intend to
beat you folks out ofsght with him. Good
enough" said he, "but let US know it
when you do it," "What do you think
of this workingmen's movement l ask
ed. mot much," was the reply; "the
best way to disperse a labor meeting is to
roll barrel Of whisky into 1t and let
them 90 for it." swell, when it's gone,
what then2' "Roll in another barrel"
was Mr.. Cowles's laughing reply. "But to
be serious" he continued, 'the condition
Of the laboring man is deplorable, and
while think nothing Of their attempt to
found separate political party, / am con.
yinced that every effort should be made
to give them employment and alleviate
their condition. Last winter the Demo-
cratic party, merely as an electioneering
trick, cut down S3O,0OG,000 OF expenses,
and by so doing threw out of employment
over one hundred thousand men, who
were added to the great army of the I'M
employed IN our land. Not one dollar
of this money was saved, but it merely
went to decreasing the national debt.
Now my idea is that we ought to suspend
paying the national debt for while and
try to do all in our power to helping the
idle masses Of our population. The ideaof
suspending all work on government build