Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-06-23
1T is NOT AN ISSUE
BUT A DEMAGOGUE'S CATCH
WORD FOR GUOGEONS.
A Friend Makes a Mistake - The
WOrkmen's Advocate" Assists
to a Better Socialist Con.
ceptiOn - The Issue
for Socialists.

MEMS ADVOCATE two weeks ago
under the caption of False Lights" !"
dealing with the question of tariff or
free trade, and in which we said
"let the capitalists settle the ques-
ton among themselves" seems to
have caused our good comrade of the
Chicago Labor Enquirer political
pain. and his criticism IN last weeks
Enquirer constrains Us to believe
that he has misapprehended our po-
sltlon, or, indeed, he has made u
miscalcuation as to the merits of
the tariff or free trade question at
the present time. Well, let us look
the matter over. He says;
"Granted. freely, that in high-taritfed
Germany and in free trade England the
conditions OF the wage-earners are iden-
tlcal. Granted, too, that i'll neither land
is such legislation the cause of poverty"
Our readers who have not read
our friends article at length will
naturally conclude from this quota
tion that, as this country is under
the dominion of capitalism, which is
even far more developed here than
in the countries of Europe, the ques-
tion of free trade or protection would
interest the workers here as little as
it does on the other side of the
ocean. This is just what we claim.
But the Eaqui,er, after granting
the above postulates quoted, coolly
informs us that:
" In the issue, as joined between the
dominant parties, is question that in.
terests the wOrkingmen of America; in
terests them in their character of citi-
zens of a land i'll which the govern
mental power is theoretically in posses
sion of the people; interests them as
wage eaaners in a land where the stand
ard of living is not yet so debased as in
Europe
In the first place the govern
mental power of this land is not in
the possession of the people practi-
cally, whatever the theory may be,
and We Socialists are rather inclined
to discuss the practical in this con-
nection. As to the standard of
living" capitalism is regulating it
here, and capitalism has regulated it
in Europe.
But, says the Enquirer, coming to
closer quarters:
"The issue Free Trade Us. Protec-
ton is the issue again between those
demanding privileges and those demand
ing rights. He who votes with the
party that demands for the people the
right to purchase in the market where
they crn obtain the most for their pro-
cuCti n, does not cast ballot for the
enemies of labor in that. He votes for
the best present attainable conditions for
labor in that"
In other words, to vote for the
candidates of the democratic J"
party would not be voting for the
enemies of labor, is that it Because
these " democrats say they demand
rights, because they play upon the
word rights to catch the peoples
votes, 1t is no reason for supporting
their fgure-heads, even if they have
an honorable bourgeois record, as the
EnY.:trer tells us Thurman has,
that his name constitutes the aggres-
sive strength of the i" democratic ]"
ticket.
And the Enquirer tells us that
the question of what is the cause of
poverty is not yet an issue in Amer
lea. Certainly not-for the "demo-
cratic" party. Socialists, however,
are making an issue of it, and this
issue will be forced by them through
the propaganda of their superb po-
litico-economic platform, to the ex-
clusion of the so-called tissues :"
which the capitalist parties are rails
ing.
The opinion of the Enquirer is, as
it SAYS, that " the adoption of free
trade is the initial step for escape
from the wage-earners' bondage. !"