The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-06-30
WORD TO THE STRIKERS.
what is it that drives so many thou


What is it that drives so many thous-
ands of industrious men to leave oil
work on which they depend for subsls-
tence They do this because their
wages are ms ufficent to support them,
and because they hope by striking to
compel their employers to pay them
more.
WHY are their wages insufficient
Because the enormous taxes which are
imposed upon all the peopleof this coun-
try. and which, at last. fall with the
most crushing weight upon those who
labor with their hands, so increase the
cost of the necessaries of life that work
ingmen are no longer able to procure
them.
Why are such enormous taxes impos-
ed Originally they were imposed to
meet the necessities of the civil war
which was fought to maintain the unity
of the country. In that war a million
lives aud many thousand millions of dol
lars were sacrificed and the sacrifice
was cheerfully borne. In order to bear
this enormous expense, taxes never be-
fore known in the history OF the coun-
try were levied upon the people and, in
addition to. the money raised by taxes,
an immense public debt was contracted /,
the interest of which and the payment
of which also had to be provided for by
taxation.
But has not large part of this debt
been paid Y es, a very large part of it.
The taxation has proved to be far more
productive than was ever expected. So
much money has oeen poured into the
Treasury that in the short period of sew
enteen years a greater proportion of that
debt has been eXtinguished than any
one supposed would be extinguished in
fifty years, The Republican admins
traitors of the Government have made a
great account of this premature pay
ment of the public debt. They have
never had a thought about the terrible
burdens they were laying upon the shoul-
ders of the people
But is ali the money raised by these
awful taxes applied to paying off the
public debt ? No; it is not. Notwith-
standing the enormous sums paid on
that account, there is now, in the Treas
ury surplus of more than a hundred
and forty millions of dollars and this
vast surplus the Republicans are eagerly
preventing to all kind of Jobs. to every
sort of useless and unjustifable scheme.
and to various dishonest purposes, such
as a hundred millions to unnecessary
pensions, mostly fraudulent. Moreover
lnIllOnS upon millions have been stolen
outright and divided in various sums
among thieves connected with the Whis-
key Ring. in the Washington City Ring,
and thieves high and low, limited and
unlimited.
But now when the pressure comes,
and the people in their distress are cry
T. ing out IN agony, and even refusing to
work because their work does not bring
them a livlihOod, do the Republicans
who control all branches of the Gov
ernment, Legislative, executive and
judicial, propose to lessen these burdens
and to leave the people a little of the
people little of the substance which
they have saved, notwithstanding their
. terrible extortions ? No; they do not
propose to do any such thing. They
look with indifference on the suffering
mass of laborers, those who are striking
and those who yet continue to work in
the hope that they may be allowed to
earn livelihood. From their burdens
they Will not remove a hairs weight
rom their taxes they viii not take off a
penny, ..s. ..
The only safety for the people is in
turning the Republican pBrty out of
pOweT.-NelC York S1at.