Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-08-06
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE


An Open Letter on the Political Situation
From james L. Cowies OF Pennington.
The following open letter has been re-
ceived at the DKMocRAr Office from James
l.. Cowles of Pennington:
To the Workingmen of Connecticut:
Gentlemen-I want TO call your attention
to the fact that the republican party of
this state. by the acts of our Connecticut
senators. have placed themselves on record
as hostile to the iron and steel industries
of the state and as in favor of removing
these industries to the south and west.
There can be no other possible construc-
ton of their opposition to the removal of
the tariff taxes on coal, iron and iron ore
and pig iron imported for the purpose of
giving employment TO New England work
ingmon and to New England capital.
More than that, by their votes to exclude
Nova Scotia coal and Cuban iron ore they
have done their best to prevent the en-
ployment of New England capital and of
New England workmen in the expectation
and in the transportation Of coal from the
rich mines of Nova Scotia and of Besse-
mer ore nd manganese from Cuta.
They seem to say: 1--WE do not care
continental for the iron and steel indus
tries of New England. neither do we care
much for the rest of her manufactures.
They place themselves alongside of Cor
man and Bryce and Pugh and Morgan and
Quay and their followers as in favor of
building up Pennsylvania and Ohio and
Maryland and Alabama at the expense of
New England.
Senator Platt knows that manufactures
have not increased in New England for
many years in anything like the proper
ton at which they have advanced in other
portions of the country. He said as much
| in his speech in the senate, February z.
1889. and the next day he gave the reasons
| for their comparative decline. He practi-
cally acknowledged that the comparative
decline of New England manufactures was
| due to the taxation of raw materials by
himself and his friends.
With free raw materials he said that iron
ore would come to our decaying industries
from Spain. Algeria, Cuba, Elba; lumber
from Canada and coal from Nova Scotia,
and the removal of the tariff taxes on these
materials would make them cheaper to the
| New England workshops. He said in so
many words that under free coal all that is
used along our great sea coast would come
from Nova Scotia and then he deliberately
set himself to work to prevent this and he
said practically: You shall not be allowed
to buy coal from Nova Scotia. no. not if by
doing so you can save your mills from ruin
and your workingmen from starvation. "
And now Senators Plat and Hawley re-
peat the same course which they followed
in 1888.
But the opposition of the New England
senators to the revival OF the iron and
steel industries of their own section is not
the worst feature of the republican posi-
ton. Not only are they depriving their
New England workmen and New England
capital of opportunities for profitable en-
ployment by preventing the reduction of
h.. 49, IL a
ported that they intend, for the mere pur
pose of making party capital. to keep the
whole country in suspense for three or
four months longer, by staving off the
settlement of the tariff question till after
the fall elections. That is to say, for the
mere purpose of securing a republican
triumph in November, republican politi-
clans propose to do their best to keep our
factories idle and our workmen out of en-
ployment up to that time. Now then can
the republican party afford to keep this
position? Are they afraid that if the tariff
bill passes Immediately there will be such
a boom between now and November that
the democrats will again sweep the coun.
try? 1t seems 10 me that republicans are as
much interested as democrats in the early
passage of the Wilson bill and in the re.
moval of the tariff question from the field
of politics.
L think that II will pay for our New Eng
land senators to throw their whole infiu.
ence in favor of "free raw materials" and
having secured this great boon for theil
constituents believe that they will serve
their party as well as the country best by
voting for the whole bill.
would remind them that in 1857, al
most the entire delegation in congress
from New England voted for practical
freedom of trade. / would remind then
that now as then the sea is the green past
ure where the children and grandchildren
of New England must seek for theil
bread. 1 would remind them that oul
harbors are our coal mines. iron mines
copper mines. Can any political party
hope to regain power IN New England by
declaring it their policy to blockade hel
harbors forever and forever.
JAMES l.. CowLEs.
Pennington. Aug 4. 1894.