Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-08
ChampiOned by the Venerable
Senator Palmer.
Advanced Ground Taken by the
Illinois Savant.
Voorhees, Delivered an Invective on
Andrew Carnegie,
Tho Homestead Riot Laid at the Door
OF tho Republican Party and the
Protective Tarif-Wash-
ington Notes.
BY the AssocIated press.l

BY the Associated press.l
WASHINGTON, July 7. .-Palmer's speech
in the senate, today, on the resolution
for an inquiry into the battle at Home
stead, was remarkable for the advanced
position taken by the Illinois senator in
maintaining the right OF factory and
railroad employees to continuous en-
ployment at reasonably fair rates of
compensation. Voorhees, speech on the
! same subject was made up principally of
an attack on the Republican party and
the policy OF protection to which he
ascribed the labor riots all over the
country. Hale in replying, criticised
him for converting such grave matter
into partisan politics, defended the Re-
publicans from the responsibility of the
conflict and assumed for the party and
the policy of protection the credit of
building up such great industrial estab-
lishments as those at Homestead and
Bethlehem.
PALMER's SPEECH.
Palmer maintained that the working
men at Homestead, having spent their
lives in their line of work, had right
to insist on the permanancy of their
employment and reasonable compensa-
ton, At the time of the assault on
them they were where they had right
to be. He urged that some plan to
solve the problem should be sought. If
capital was master and the people were
slaves the country would be involved in
anarchy.
Palmer said the presence of the Pink
erton armed force at Homestead was in
contempt of the authority of the state
of Pennsylvania. lie is difficult for
American citizens, whether in the right
or wrong, to submit to being driven by
an armed force. He maintained, how
ever, that the citizens of Homestead
were in the right, as according to the
principles OF law which should hereafter
be applied to the solution of such
trou bles, they had right to be there.
Those large manufacturing establish
ments would have to be regarded as
holding property subject to the co.rela-
vices their property would be utterly
the right to reasonable profit on the
capital invested in the enterprises.
He maintained, furthermore, that
lives in particular line of service, had
right to insist on permanency OF en-
ployment, and also on reasonable COM
pensation for their services. He main
tanned that at the time of the assault,
the people at Homestead were where
they had right to be on the ground.
They had right to defend their con-
duct on the line of their rights. Manu-
featuring establishments and public in
stitutions were just as the railroads
were, because they work for the public,
employ the public, and because the
men in their service become unfit for
other service.
While conceding the right of capi-
talist to control his property and to a
reasonable reward for his investment,
he claimed that the laborer had right
to permanent employment during good
behavior. OF course the laborer should
be compelled to submit to the exigen-
cies of the business. Where the profits
were small the parties would have to
divide the loss, and where they were
large they would have dividend. That
he maintained was the law today, be-
cause law was the perfection of reason.
VOORHEES, INvEoTIvE.
NOOihOOo nnuo uoIy Hp66CH, III
which he attributed the labor difficult
ties to the Republican policy of high
protection. He said the Republican
party held that the great manufacturing
barons had to be protected against for
eign competition in order to pay
higher wages. Had they done
SO? Carnegie got protection
of fifty per cent on iron, and
more than 70 per cent on steel, and in
stead of paying his workmen higher
wages, he notified them of reduction
from IL to 40 per cent. The beneficiary
tariff system responded by the employ
ment of an armed mob of Pinkertons,
the meanest of mercenariee, and those
of them killed, were killed by workmen
in self-defense. His only regret was
that Carnegie himself had not been at
the head OF the squad instead of skulk-
ing in his Scottish castle.
Hale replied to Voorhees,. and Gal
linger, Stewart and Sanders also spoke
on the subject.
Finally the resolution for an investiga-
tion of the Homestead troubles was re-
ferred to the committee on contingent
expenses.
The conference report was agreed to
on the Indian and postoffice appropria-
tion bills, and on the bill as to the fund
ing act of Arizona.