Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-08-07
Immense Demonstration of
LabOringmen at Joliet,
Illinois.
Ten Reasons Why Working
men Should not Vote
for the Democratic
Nominee.
From the Inter ocean.


cutters Of Joliet and vicinity met In an
imposing demonstration Of from ii ge 10
six thousand voters on Monday evening
and were addressed by ex Mayor Me
LaughliH, Of Braidwoad and 4. f
Carpenter, ex-Nice President Of the
Amalgsmated Association Of iron and
steel workers. Mr., Carpenter is an
effective speaker lie has heretofore
worked with the democratic party. His
denunciation of Cleveland was based
upon ten different grounds, which still
left untouched Cleveland private char
acter and political inexpericnce.
These grounds were:
] That, although the people OF The
State of New York had by popular
majority Of 10000 adopted a constitu-
tional amendment concerning convict
labor. which had been urged by the
labor associations of the state. Cleve-
land had thrown the weight OF his in
tiuence as governor aga INST the passage
of the statutory measures essential to
give effect to the constitutional provis-
ion and so had nulhfied the expressed
will of the people.
=. That the pretense that the scent
III.
il true, should have been decided by The
courts, who are the proper judges of
the constitutionality of laws. AS il is
Cleveland's veto of the bill prevents the
question from getting into the courts.
and if every governor SHOULD do the like
the people could never get into the
courts at al with the question of CON
stitutionality, even in d case j. which
the courts would, if they heard it, de-
eide the act to he valid.
3. lie vetoed the bin abolishing con-
tract child labor in the charitable insti-
tutiOns of the sta tie. 1t certainly could
not be constitutional for a legislature to
decide whether the orphan children of
tender years consigned to charitable in
stitutions should be let out to be worked
in gangs, like convicts. under the con-
tracs system. The man who would
veto such bill is too inhuman to be
president of the United States.
4. The bill TO reduce pilotage fees, is
bill wholly in Brislsh interests, as
large portion of the vessels which nov
leave New York are foreign. This being
bill TO Cypress labor in the interest of
foreign corporations met the full APP
prOval of Cleveland, though had it been
a bill to lessen the gross earnings of cap
ital he would have thought it unconsti-
tutional.
g. The bill 10 lay tax OF So year
On working engineers for the purpose of
providing pension fund for an already
vell-paid class of public servants, being
bill to tax labor received his friendly
signature Had it been a bill to tax
lawyers So each per year, in order to
provide a pension for the railroad
engineers he would have vetoed it as
unconstitutional.
6, He signed the civil service bill be-
cause it incapacitates a working man,
however competent from holding
Office, and reserves the offices, after the
English system, for the school and col
lege taught younger SONS OF the Amerl-
can aristocracy. Its constitutionality
is considered most doubtful in the
minds of the bes1 lawyers, for the rea-
soA that 10 trenches upon the just rights
of the appointing power by setting up
an examining board to govern the
Governor, and at the same time restricts
the just rights of the people by prescrib-
Ing conditions upon which they shall
hold office. which are not found in any
constitution or statute, but only in the
changing caprice OF an examining
board.
Z. He appointed chief of the Bureau
Of Labor Statistics politicalhenchman
of his own, who was uufavorable to all
the object for which the bureau was
formed. ana was fayorably only to the
personal interests of Cleveland.
S. Although the democratic national
convention ~ its platform pledges itself
ff raflfFaa a,t labor aIpilf
hours Is dav. they have placed on that
platform the same Cleveland who veto
ed an act reducing The labor of car driv-
ers aad conductors only 10 twelve hours
day, on the ground that ii is uncon-
stitutlOnal If it is unconstitutional to
reduce the hours of one class of workers
down to twelve hours, how can we eX-
pect the man who holds il to be- so TO
aid in reducing the hours Of all classes
of workers, including car drivers, dowa
to eight hours a DAY, Either the plat
form or the candidate must be dishonest
on this issue, aud we hold that it Is the
candidate
o Cleveland vetoed the mechaalc's
lien law. which would have ma lie the
wages OF mechanics and laborers a first
lien on the product and implements
with which they worked The speaker
was one Of the 5000 laborers at the
Bridgeport rolling mill At lhat sudden
failure Che sheriff came and carried OFT
everything out of which they coul get
their wages. The agents Of the great
corporation told the men they had not
dollar left. It was the dead of winter.
There was no lien law TO protect them.
More than a months wages were due.
There would have been greatsuhering
But Judge Blodgett, Of the United
States district court, determined that
where there was no law he would make
the wages of the working men prior
Ienand preferred claim by his own ar
bitrary power, and he did it, and many
were thereby saved from great suffering.
But The kind Of law that Blodgett as
se-ts by arbitrary power in tn, interests
Of humanity, Cleveland vetoed even
when he legislature have passed II.
10. Finally Cleveland defeated the 90.
j-cls ii the act providing for q Railroad
Commission IN New YORK by appointing
iii . board. whose only function was to
De end the people against the encroach-
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