Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-08-07
BOLTING CLEVELAND.
Immense Demonstration of
Laboringmen at Joliet,
Illinois.
Ten Reasons Why Working
men Should not Vote
for the Democratic
Nominee.
From the later Ocean.

From the Inter Ocean.
The democratic Irishmen and work
lngmen of the trades unions, also the
me mbers OF the Amalgamated Associa-
ten Of iron and steel workers and stone
cutters Of Joliet and vicinity met in an
imposing demonstration of from five to
SIX thousand voters on Monday evening,
and were addressed by ex Eiavor Nc
Laughlia, of Braidwocd, and A. F.
Carpenter, ex-Vice President of the
AmaIgamated Association of iron and
steel workers. Mr.. CARPENTER is an
effective speaker. He hiss heretofore
worked with the democratic party. His
remuneration of Cleveland was based
upon ten different grounds, which still
1eIe untouched CIeveland's private char
acter and political Inc xperionce.
These grounds were:
l. That, although the people of the
State of New York had by a popular
majority of 100000 adopted q constitu-
tlonal anne ndment concerning convict
labor, which had been urged by the
labor associations of the state, Cleve-
land had thrown the weight Of his in
tuence as governor aga nst the passage
OF the statutory measures essential to
give effect to the constitutional provis-
ion and SO had nullified the expressed
will of the people.
2. That the pretense that the scent
fare bill is unconstitutional, is one that,
if true, should have been decided by .he
courts, who are the proper judges of
the cOnstitutiOnality of laws. AS it 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 tie question of con-
stitutiCnality, even in a case ia which
the courts would, if they heard it, De-
eide the act to be valid.
3. He vetoed the bill aboIishing 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
situations should be let out to be worked
in gangs, like convicts, under the con-
trac5 system. The man who would
veto such a bill is too inhuman to be
president of the United States.
4. The bill to reduce pilotage fees, is
bill wholly in Brisish interests, as a
large portion of the vessels which now
leave New York are foreign. This being
bill to Cypress labor in the interest of
foreign corporations met the full APP
prevail of Cleveland, though had it been
bill to lessen the gross earnings of cap
ital he would have thought it unconsti-
tutionaL.
o. The bill to Jay q tax of SO year
Ola working engineers for the purpose OF
providing pension fund for an already
weli-paid class of public servants, being
n tn 70 lob Il Fri lxT
signature. Had it been a bill to tax
lawyers So each per year, ia order to
provide pension for the railroad
engineers he would have vetoed it as
unconstitutional.
6. HIS signed the civil service bill be-
cause 1T lncapacitates 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 Ameri-
can aristocracy. Its constitutionality
IS considered most dou. -ful IL the
minds of tie bsst lawyers, for the rea-
son that it trenches upon the just rights
OF the appointing power by setting up
an examining board to govern the
Governor, add at the same time restricts
the just rights ofthc people by pre:crlb-
lag 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 political henchman
of his own who was unfavorable to all
the objects for which the bureau was
formed. and was favorably only to the
personal interests of Cleveland.
s. Although the democratic national
convention in its platform pledges itself
to reduce the hours of labor TO eight
hours day, they have placed on that
platform the same Cleveland who veto
ed an act reducing the labor of car driv-
ers aad conductors only to twelve hours
a day, on the ground that it is uncon-
stitutlonal. Ii 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 it to be so to
aid in reducing the hours of all classes
of workers, including car drivers, down
TO eight hours a day. Either the plat
form or the candidate must be dishonest
on this issue, and we hold that it is the
candidate.
g. Cleveland vetoed the mechanics
lien law, which would have made the
wages Of mechanics and laborers 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 that sudden
failure the sheriff came and carried off
everything out of which they could get
their wages. The agents of the great
corporation told the men they had not a
dollar left. 1t was the dead of winter.
There was no lien law to protect them.
More than a months wages were due.
There would have been great suffering
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 a prior