Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1891-07-09
WASHINGTON LETTER.
We TlMEs' CORRESPONDENT TELLS
oFAPOLlTiCAL SENSATION.


WASHINGTON, d. c., July 6, 1901
Mr.. Powderly has been for some years
the chief officer Of the organization
known as the knights of Labor. During
all this time that Mr.. Powderly has been
the grand master workman he has
claimed that the organization was not a
political one. When he became the head
of the order it numbered something near
amillion of men and women engaged in
''gantul occupation" Within short
time after Mr.. Powderly's eXaltation to
his high office his salary was made $4,000
year. general office was established
in Philadelphia, which in the magniti-
cence of its QUILTING far surpassed the
business offices of any of the Wall street
"money kings" and ''monopolists' whom
Mr., Powderly and his men were con-
tinually denouncing as living in luxury
upon the money taken from the "poor
workingman." Under the management
of Mr.. Powderly the Knights of Labor
have lost from their membership nearly
three-quarters of million of their num-
Der, and now Mr.. Powderly 'bobs up
serenely'' in the political arena threaten
ing that unless certain things are done
that he will put the votes of the Knights
of Labor, belonging to the mining organ
izations, against Mr.. Mckinley. The
public constitution of the knights of
Labor declares that no saloon keeper or
lawyer can be member of the trade.
and the fight which Mr.. Powderly and
Mr.. Devlin and some other leaders of the
order have been making against Mr..
Meredith, superintendent of the bureau
of engraving and printing, is in behalf
OF man who was formerly a plate
printer, and now keeps low drinking
dive in one of the most disreputable Sec
tons of Washington City. A place hab-
itually resorted to by class of the popu-
lation, male and female, that are hardly
ever mentioned in polite society. Be-
cause the keeper of this place was dis
charged for cause from the bureau of en-
craving and printing, Mr.. Powderly pro-
poses to hand over the votes of 30 900
men belonging to his organization in
Ohio to Mr.. Campbell in solid body. 1t
is question whether or not those men
are the political slaves of Mr.. Powderly
If they are he can probably hand over
their votes, if they are not, if they are
freemen who know their rights, they will
not permit Mr.. Powderly or Mr.. Delvin
or Mr.. Anybody Else to barter their
votes for the benefit of this dive keeper
Free trade Democrats and free trade
Democratic papers, and in this class we
include the gentlemen who are shouting
for tariff REFORM have been continu-
ally declaring for years past that tariff
is tax. They take this from message
sent in by his eminent fairness, who
through the manipulation of 10000 votes
that were cast in New York city for
Benjamin F. Butler, sat in the white
house for four years without any right
to be there. A tariff is tax they say,
and they repeat it as parrot repeats its
cry, "POlly wants cracker" Some
people have really been induced to be-
lieve by this iteration and reiteration
that tariff is a tax. We desire to call
their attention to a single article upon
which the duty was raised by the Nc
Kinley bill, that determination" as the
free trade Democrats call it. In October,
1890. linseed oil sold at wholesale at 62
cents gallon. The duty then under the
existing tariff law was % cents gallon.
The Mckinley bill increased this duty to
80 cents a gallon, so if the tariff is a tax
the price should have gone to 60 cents.
There has been since October up to the
present time fall of four per cent in
the English markets on the price of lin
seed oil, that ought to make, if tariff is
a tax, the price in this country 6S cents,
but as matter of fact linseed oil can be
bought now at AZ cents gallon. Does
not that prove that tariff is not tax?
Is it not evident that these Democrats
who continually raise this Cry are mis-
taken or worse? The fact is that tariff
l,,<r, o,.ti oil x.,ls
be produced in this country, when the
competition, induces home capital to IN
vest and produce these articles. The
competition thus brought about invari-
ably reduces the price as it has done in
this instance for the benefit of the con-
sumers. Will our friends who have been
led astray by the Democratic cry of a
tariff is tax, please look at the figures
here given?
1t is seldom that Washington has a
political sensation at this season of the
year unless congress happens to be in
session, but sensation of the first mag
nitude was sprung here this week by the
announcement that Representatives Mills
and Bynum had determined to withdraw
as candidates for the speakership of the
house and to throw their strength as far
as possible to Representative Holman, of
Indiana, who has not up to this time
even been considered as candidate.
And that isn't all. 1t is stated that Mr..
Mills is to head an open revolt against
Cleveland as presidential candidate,
and that he has assurances of assistance
from number of southern and western
democrats who favor the nomination of
ex-Representative (Horizontal BilD
Morrison, at present one of the inter
state commerce commissioners, or some
other western man. The cause of this
action on the part of Mr.. Mills is, his
friends say, the base ingratitude of
cleveland, whose assistance Mr.. Mills
had every reason to expect in his cam
naipn for speaker, in letting it be under
Stood that his first choice for speaker
was McMillin, of Tennessee, and his sec
ond Crisp, of Georgia, thus ignoring the
candidacy of Mr.. Mills entirely, and
practically knocking the bottom out of
bis canvas. That was more than the
hot-beaded son of Texas could stand and
10 determined to have revenge. There