Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-09-18
False Pretenses Exposed.
From the Washington City Post

A more transparent humbug was
never put before an intelligent people
than the pretense of the Republican
party that it is the special friend of
American labor. That party has never
adopted policy nor enacted a law in
the interest of the workingmen of the
United States. Its only effort in that
direction was the eight hour law for
per diem employees of the Government,
and that statute was trampled to death
by Republican Administration at the
demand of corporations which feared
its influence on the workingmen in
general.
The Post has made repeated efforts to
draw attention of the Republican press
to an act passed by Republican Con-
gress almost twenty years ago, under
which bureau for the importation of
European cheap labor was set up in this
city, with a branch in New York. The
very soul of the Morey letter was put
into that Republican statute and many
thousands of public money was spent in
carrying out, as a national policy, the
theory that our corporations ought to
have every possible facility for buying
labor where it could be had cheapest.
The Post has printed the provisions
of that law and has called on the Re-
publican papers to explain it, but they
have made no better reply than a quo
tatiOn from the Rev. Mr.. Ball or some
other retailer of personal calumny.
The legislation of the Republican
party has been dictated by corporated
monopolies. They have secured the
enactment of unjust laws which have
enabled them to plumber labor. They
paid for such laws by contributing mill
lions for corrupting voters. 1t is fact
known of all men that the hired attor-
neys of corporations have framed and
enacted all the laws affecting the inter-
ests of their clients.
Not only the earnings of American
labor, but the public lands-the grand
heritage of labor--have been legislated
into the possession of corporations, and
these corporations, with millions, if
not billions, of the peoples money in
their Golfers, have laughed at the indig-
nation of their victims. For years past
every director of the greatest of these
corporations has been liable to the pen
itentiary for robbing the Government,
but instead of treating them as crimi-
nails, Republican Administrations have
acted as their humble servants.
The only effort ever made by the
United States Senate to resist the greed
of corporations and compel them to
disgorge plunder, was the passage of
the Thurman act, championed by Allen
G. Thurman and opposed by James G.
Blaine, and that act has found no Ad-
ministration with nerve enough to en-
force it.
The country has increased in wealth
to be sure; for so glorious land, rich
in all that could promote material pros
perity, could not have been kept down
by any thing but the special ven
geance of the Almighty. In spite of
bad legislation and corrupt government
the forces of nature and modern civil
ization have insured progress.
But the result of this progress has
been the almost complete annihilation
of the middle class, the well-to-do, the
comfortably well off, and grand in
crease of the very rich and the miser-
ably poor.
1t is only question of time, if things
go on as now, wen we shall have but
two classes in this county, with an inn
passable gulf between them.