New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-15
WHAT VORKERS W1NT.

Il
Mr.. Spnola of this city, one of the members
of Congress who represent that considerable
army of labor which does the bidding and
serves the interests of liquor saloons, undertook
in the House on Wednesday to discuss the
wishes Of workingmen regarding the tariff
The resolution adopted by meeting of work
ingmcn at the Cooper Institute, in which the
Mills bill was opposed as injurious to their IN
terests, had been read. Mr. Spinola thereupon
asserted that the workingmen of Newly ork
City would vote the Democratic ticket, though
he repeatedly lodged tie direct question
whether they were in favor OF the Mllls Dill
The statesman Of limited brains and unlimited
shirt collar found himself in hot water when
questioned by members who evidently knew
more about the wishes of wage earners than N.Y.
SpiDola dared admit, but he was reinforced by
the member from Worcester, Mass. whose IN
formation regarding the worldngmen OF New
York City must, OF course, be accurate.
The idea has become prevalent among Dem
ocratic politicians, and by them is carefully
fostered for their own advantage, that What is
called the labor vote is ready to oppose the
protective system and to accept the free trade
theories upon which the NElls bill is framed.
This idea has its only support in the attitude OF
the small number of conspicuous persons VINO
labor hard with their mouths, and are some
times called jawsmiths. These are the persons
who live ON honest labor by pretending to serve
its interests as strike managers, walking dele
gates officers Of organizations, collectors ana
disbursers Of funds eXtorted from the wages OF
workingmen professedly to aid strikes, and edl-
tors of papers which exc out scanty and pre-
calious existence by pandering to prejudces
instead Of publishing news. That some per-
sons Of this sort should be hostile to the pro-
tective system is most natural, though the rea-
son may not be generally understood
The iawsmlf, who lives on labor by pro-
Tossing that his services are necessary to its
welfare, finds himself obliged to claim that or
CARNATIONS, strikes and the labOrs of men like
himself have produced the advance in wages
within the past twenty-five years, and there
fore he finds it necessary to assert that the pro-
tective tariff has not increased wages. He will
fully hides the fact that more than nine-tenths
of the wage earners in this country are not Or
ganized at all, and yet their wages have adj
yanced as much or more than the wages of the
organized. Added to this selfish misrepresen-
tation there is the theory Of Mr.. George, which
would abolish custom houses and property in
land. Labor which has saved nothing, and
does not own its own home, is urged to plumber
other labor which has saved, and does own its
own home.
Against these representations stands the de-
lberate declaration of the largest, most iniiu-
entail and honorable organizations Of labor On
this continent. From great number Of SIM
liar declarations by such bodies, ono may be
quoted; the Amalgamatcd Association Of Iron
and Steel Workers, the Knights Assembly Of
Iron and Steel Workers, the Glass Blowers
Association, the Window Glass Knights ASsO-
citation, and the Flint Glass Workers Associa-
ton, all join in q memorial to Congress, dated
April 20, in which these bodies declare: We
know. that we receive cur share Of the benefits
of protection on the industries we represent
and we therefore emphatcally protest against
any reduction Of duties that would bring us on
level with the low price paid for labor in Eu-
rope We insist upon the maintenance OF a
strong protective tariff, in order to maintain
an American standard of wages for American
workingmen." TO the same purport other or
CARNATIONS have pettioned and protested, and
the great care Of Democrats in Congress to con-
ceal these declarations Of the wishes CT voters
has not been entirely effective In their gath
erings and conventions many organizations
have spoken to the same effect; thus the Ma
tional Association of Iron Workers. at its con-
vention in Pittsburg on Wednesday, most
emphatically protested against any reduction
of the present tariff, and expressed unqualified
condemnation of the Mills bill"
Yet these great bodies represent only the or
ganized and much the smaller part of all the
wage earners. The wishes of the unorganlzed
and much the larger part find expression at the
polls. The conclusive proof that the voters are
hostile to the Mills bill and its free-trade theo-
ries is found in the fact that the Democratic
party, whenever an election approaches, in
variably resorts to lying about it's position and
purposes regarding the tariff. If that party
had the people with it in its free-trade theories,
ii would not feel compelled to smirch its own
character by impudent untruth at every politi-
cal contest in Eastern States.