Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-07-11

strike which year ago was tying up all
the railroads that centre In Chicago.
Eugene Debs, the leader Of that strike,
has but recently gone to prison to serve
his sentence, having previously carried
his case on appeal to The Supreme Court
OF the United States, The suddenness
with which the President, using the
regular army, put down the violence
that in the course OF the strike had
quite got beyond the control Of local
and State authority, was sufficiently
novel and dramatic 10 TX the whole
thing in public memory,
That strike, so far as the railroads
were concerned, was sympathetic 1t
began among the employees Of the Pull
man Palace Car Company at Pullman,
Illinois.
Like hundreds of thousands Of other
workmen, they wero being crushed be-
meath tho wage.reductions which oc,
CURED during the hard times. The Nc.
kinley tariff had been enacted in
October, 1890, with a great flourish of
arms and blowing of trumpets about
protecting American labor. 1t put up
the tariff taxes all along the line, but
wages did not go up with the taxes. A
period of fruitless and devastating strikes
began. This was quickly followed in
the summer Of 1893 by a business panic.
Under the Mckinley tariff the panic
settled down to the dead weight of hard
times. The workmen at Pullman were
under crushing load, The hard times
were on top Of them; the panic was on top
ofthe hard times; and the Mckinley tariff
was on top OF tue panic, holding the
whole thing down.
They struck for better wages. In order
to bring the Pullman Palace Car Com.
pany to terms, Debs' organization ordered
the railroads to refuse to haul the Pull.
man cars. BY this means the strike be.
came general on the roads leading into
Chicago.
The strike did nothing to help the
workmen at Pullman; but relief and
succor was coming from another dree.
ton. 1t was on July sth--just one year
ago Monday--that tho regular troops
fired into the Chicago mob a volley
which broke the back bone of the strike.
Fifty days later the Mckinley tariff was
repealed and the new Democratic tariff
became law. This new tariff brought
suceor. 1t has been doing for the work.
men at Pullman, as well as for all other
iaboring people in the country, what
strikes and violence can never do. Ii
has been rolling off the burdens which
were crushing them.
Monday We had news from Pullman of
very different character from that
which was coming year ago. 1t is that
the Pullman Palace Car Company has
OF It's own motion advanced the wages
OF Its employees ten per cent. This in.
crease affects four thousand workmen.
The admission is frankly made that
the advance is due to the bright bust.
ness outlook"
The comparison of Pullman under the
new tariff with Pullman year AFRO
under the Mckinley tariff is verv in.
structive. 1t is titcompanion piece for
the contrast recently given the country
between Homestead under the Mckinley
tariff and Homestead under the Demo.
cratic tariff.
The Mckinley tariff was immediately
followed at Homestead by reduced
wages, strikes, riots, death and defeat
for the workmou. The Democratic tariff
brought after it a voluntary increase of
wages to the workmen at Homestead
and indeed to those in all OF Carnegie's
mills.
In view Of what has happened at
Homestead and Pullman, it may not be
extravagant to say that the Mckinley
tariff brought bullets to workmen and
the Democratic tariff has brought them
bread.
Surely working people are learning in
which party their best interests lie.
When the protectlonist .demagogues
come around next year, they can answer
all OF the high tariff palaver by say.
ing Remember Pullman! Remember
Homestcadr'