The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-09-10
Tho Independent Labor Party's
Candidate Talks to the Hell
ena Workingmen.
He Defines His Position, on Some
Of tho Leading Issues Of
the Day.
Incidentally He Pays His Respects to Ona
Of the Alleged Montana
6enatork

William T. Field, the nominee of the in
dependent labor party for congress, ad-
dressed large and enthusiastic meeting OF
the workinRmen of Helena at Harmonic
hall last night. E. NJ. Lift presided and
Mr.. Field as the man who was
sure to represent Montana in the next con-
gress. The labor party, MI. Field said, had
entered the campaign under apparently ad-
verse circumstances. Il had been alleged
that tho work.ngmen had no consistency;
that they would not stand together and sup
port their candidate ON election day. But
the convention at Butte had decided that
tho workingmen should have q candi-
date Of their own Who would demand
their rights in the halls Of
congress and not depend on promises that
were never kept. The great claim had been
made that politics were debasinR and de-
grading; that by entering the field they were
going into something where the end had to
be met by reaching under the table for the
Doodle. The independent labor party were
posed. (Applause.)
Labor in the United States had found it
necessary to organize for mutual protec-
ton. The workingmen were forced to it
by the greed and combination Of capital on
the other side. 1--WE have organized all the
We had not done 30, all the protection Jim
Blaine could suggest and the republican
party could pile up would not help Us to
gain dollar of wages, and all the free
trade that u preached would not improve
our condition. It is wrong to suppose that
protection is going to help the working
man or that low tariff is going to hurt
him ~ Tho urooknok v,nokoAkod aPkiN(A hQ
said. was the iron of Pennsylvania.
but he did not see that 1t had helped the
workingmen in the mills much. He claimed
that when person went to the governments
and got protection for an article in which
he was interested, congress had the same
his workingmen. [Appla1se.]
Men had been compelled to federate be-
cause the railroads and the big monopolies
had been forming their big trusts. So the
workingmen had formed trust too. Some
thing had to be done or there would be q
great industrial revolution in the United
States. He hoped he would never see that
day when the workingmen would have to
80 to the musket or the cannon to get their
rights. If they used the ballot and closed
up the break now, they would choke of
this demon. He wanted to see all class leg
islation stopped. The halls of congress
contained the most degrading, the most
seen under the sun. Honest men must be
sent there, and the rich would see the bene-
fits of this change as we'll as the poor.
The claim had been advanced that pro-
lection and low tariff regulated the scale OF
wages. Speaking of one of the great panics
before the OWL war. Mr.. Field said it oc-
CURED under the lowest tariff the coun-
try had ever had. Yet the legislators
IS Washington went to work with great
patriotism and met the difficulty which did
not last more than few months, by put
ting the money in circulation. The panic
of 1873 had occurred under the highest
tariff the country had ever known. But
same kind of representatives in Washington
to meet the trouble. There was something
lame about legislation nowadays. The
speaker favored the free and unlimited
coinage of silver, and believed the govern
ment shouldsissue it direct to the people
He did not want to antaRonize the banks.
but he thought the government should lend
the money direct to the people at less in
terest.
Then Mr.. Field turned his attention to
the public land question. He declared
that it was his belief that the homestead
act had been thought out in England.
The system which allowed foreign syndi-
Gates to own forty miles at once was con-
ceived by the landlords of England. That
country had tried and failed in 1776, and
again in 1872, but then the English land
lords got up the homestead act to get pos.
session of this land. 1--WE gave John Bull
two knock outs and he gave us the worst in
the third round"
I'VE are not going to abuse the demo.
Gratis for what they have DONE" said the
speaker, in conclusion, "for God knows
they haven't had much chance to do q
great deal; nor are We going to abuse the
republicans for promising to do what they
pudiate the action of the Tunnel precinct
We want both parties to tell us what they
did with those 184 votes"
Mr.. Field declared that man had beer
sent to represent Montana in the United
States senate who had been repudiated by
the people of the state.
| gecond-han and new furniture on install
ments. B. 0. Lenoir, Northern Pacific depot.