Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-08-08
AN EMINENT AUTHORITY.
The Financial Editor of the New York
Sun Has Monopoly of knowledge.

y
has written weekly letters ON economies
for the New York Suns Monday edi-
tions, signing his articles Matthew
Marshall, has never been expected to
see clearly labor's size of those ques-
tions. A quarter of a century in Wall
street as speculator and as the chief
journalistic representative of the street
is not calculated to fit one to gee the
things of this life with the eyes of the
honest and industrious producers. Mat
thew Marshall certainly has not been so
influenced. In the five years that have
been closely reading his weekly con-
tributions to The Sun have never once
seen the slightest evidence that he could
discern any but the side of capitalism,
though he frequently pretends to look
at an economic question In all its bear
ings. Yet this man is quoted as relia-
BILE authority by half of the business
men in New York when the labor ques-
ton is under consideration.
In his article published two weeks
ago Mr.. Marshall made some state
ments which go to show what mean.
Referring to the mayoralty election of
1886 in New York, he says of Henry
George and the voters who supported
him at the polls:
Mr.. George had never held office and had
absolutely no political experience and no rep
utation for administrative ability. His sole
recommendation was the vigor with which he
had portrayed the miseries of the poor and
the confidence with which he propounded his
single land tax scheme as panacea for them.
On this ground alone he obtained 6S0O0 votes
in this city from people who to save their
lives could not have explained in what re-
spect they were worse Off than the rest of
mankind, nor how the election of Mr.. George
as mayor of New York would result in the
slightest benefit to them
1t has been very generally agreed that
the greater part of the vote received by
Mr.. George was cast by the poor,
"whose miseries he had so vigorously
portrayed" and that it was the mis-
cries which made them "worse off than
the rest of mankind" But Mr.. Mar
shall does not believe this, for later on
in his article he says:
The truth is, unless am greatly mistaken,
that while American workingmen are not per-
fectly happy they as nearly so as the rest
of their fellow men, and deserve no more COM
miseraton than Others
And of course he cannot be mistaken.
for he has, according to his own dec
larations, been close student of indus
trial matters for many, many years.
The editor Of the evening edition of
the journal that prints Mr.. Marshall's
letter is one of the mistaken observers.
During the week in which the article l
have quoted from above appeared there
was an editorial in the New York Even
ing Sun about "Tramps in the Parks"
make the following extract from that
article:
But there are also many unemployed persons
at large in New York during the summer
months. In some of these cases the idleness is
enforced because of the slackness of trade In
other cases these persons have simply taken
the first serious step that leads to the gutter,
but are still reclaimabe. II Is conceivable
that both these classes may be temporarily in
want of money to pay for nights lodging,
and on the whole 1t is better for them and for
their self respect that they should pass the
night in one of our public parks rather than
that they should meet the degradation of n
police cell or accept the cty's charity.
There are a few soft hearted people in
the world who believe that the victims
of "enforced idleness" are deserving of
"commiseration" if nothing more, but
of course those of that mind have not
the advantages of discrimination con-
structed after the Wall street pattern.
Mr.. Marshall not only knows that the
working people of the towns and cities
are well off or undeserving, but he also
refuses to be humbugged by the grum-
bling of the calamity bowling" farmers.
He settles their case in few words:
What the western farmers and southwestern
planters suffer from Is debt voluntarily in
Cured, which no coining of silver or printing
of bank notes will discharge.
The state of being in debt is so enjoy
able that our farmers have voluntarily
entered it. They were not compelled by
their necessities to buy on credit. They
had the money to pay in cash, but they
longed to revel in the delights of the
debtor at from s to 90 per cent. 1t
never occurred to Mr.. Marshall that the
farmer went into debt for the same
reason that the Missouri negro ate the
groundhog- was no other meat in
the house. 1t was a "groundhog case"
with the farmers. But Mr.. Marshall
should not be expected to know any
thing about the farmers. He lives on
the lower end of Manhattan island, and
is one of those highly amusing individ-
uals one meets ON every hand in New
York. These very wise and impatient
denizens of the great metropolis believe
that the sun rises just off Rockaway
beach and sets in the Hackensack
meadows.
Under an appropriate heading the New
York Press reproduces the following
paragraph from The New England Mag
azine for the purpose of showing "what
the free traders seek to introduce here:"
The English journeyman has an unattractive
life. Starting out to his work, perhaps miles
away, at o'clock In the summer morning
with q heavy basket of tools and food over his
shoulder, he often works until 8 absolutely
breakfastless; then half an hour is allowed
him for his cheerless meal of cold tea and
bread and fat bacon; at noon he has an hour
OF less for what dinner he has brought with
him and at O'Clock ends his days task, he
sometimes taking light lunch in the middle
81 H., fA-...