Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1896-10-07
BRABsTER VESTS LETTER.
"Damn the Farmers" Say the Hanna
Crowd-Their Attempts to Bulldoze
and Deiude the Laboring Vote-The
Necessity for Fusion.

CrOWd-Their Attempts TO BulldOZe
and Deiude the Laboring vote-The
Necessity for Fusion.
Special Correspondence.
Damn the farmers. One third of
them are dyed in-the wool republicans,
who would vote our ticket if we had the
devil for candidate and the abolition
of the ten commandments for our plat.
form"
The foregoing words, loudly uttered,
attracted my attention in the Hotel Ra-
leigh one night this week, and l turned
to look at the speaker. He was dressed
in suit of very irreproachable broad.
cloth, his silk hat was tilted on the
back of his head, diamonds glittered in
his shirt front and ON his hands, and he
wore all the appearance of man who
did not measure his wealth by the hun
dreds or thousands, but by the millions.
His companion to whom he had made
the foregoing remarks had all the ear
marks of professional politician, and
from his anxious and cringing air it
was evident that he was trying to work
the wealthy individual for funds for
some campaign scheme. Rebuffed con-
corning the farmers. he said: "Well,
that leaves two thirds of the farmers
for Bryan, and we are not sure of the
labor vote''
That conversation is fair index to
the manner in which the managers of
McKinley's campaign regard the mass
OF voters in this country. Although nv
former letters have not been specifically
intended for any particular class of
your readers. [ wise to make an excep-
ton for once and to point out the man.
ner IN which Hanna and his allies pro.
pose to elect Mckinley and fasten the
single gold standard and other monopo-
lies upon the nation. With the i'm
mense campaign fund at their command
they are sending creatures, generally
red-taced, whisky-drinking, purchas-
able men, to all meetings of Bryan sup
porters, whether they lie large or small.
equipped with funds, stuffed with soph-
istries, and instructed to counterfeit
the influence of the poor but honest
men who advocate the principles which
Bryan and Watson advocate. In the
factories of the East, in the coal and
iron mines, the employees are handed
their pay in envelopes upon which are
printed lying statements to the effect
that the reconciliation of silver Will
harm the wage Garner. Into the lum.
per camps they are sending men with
Mexican silver dollars which they have
bought at the reduced bullion value of
silver, which reduced value was caused
by the demonstration of that metal.
with instructions to offer the lumber.
men i've Mexican silver dollars for So. rs
of United States money. The railroad
employees are forced to listen to address
ses from hired speakers who endeavor
to impress upon their minds the idea
that bimetallism will cause reduction
OF their wages. All these things are
done to array the wage Garner against
the farmer, when every wage Garner
should know that if agriculture be des-
troyed there will de no sale for the pro-
ducts of the factories, no freight for
railroads to haul and no passengers on
railroads, save the rich, which will re-
suit In throwing out of employment
millions of factory operatives, workers
and railroad employees. When these
are out of work there will be no demand
for the product of the forest or the
mine. These facts they do not state.
Withal they profess a growing and
abiding love for the American laborer.
How great is this love can be Judged
from the fact that Mark Hanna, the
manager of McKinIey's campaign,
wrecked the Sailors Union and the
Street Car Drivers Union of Cleveland.
Ono, drove the Union men out of his
ship yards and forced down the wages
of coal miners all over the country over
forty per cent. Now, however, that
the votes of the wage earners are neces.
sary to maintain the rule of gold mon
opoiy, trusts and syndicates, Hanna
employs such men as Bourke Cochran
10 tell the wage Garner how much CAPT.
tai loves him. 1t is useless to attempt
to shame Bourke Cochran with facts or
statistics proving what all laboring men
know, that capital has oppressed them
In the past ten years more than at any
time before, for to quote Alexander
Pope
Destroy his fib. or sophistry, in vain!
| The creatures at his dirty work again.
Those of the readers of your paper
who are wage earners, particularly
those who are employed by large cor
porations, and who know themselves.
perhaps better than do, how they have
been maltreated. underpaid, and scorn-
ed in the past; when those persons who
have thus abused them come to them
this year and profess great affection for
them and great interest in their welfare
they should reply
Perhaps 1t was right to dissemble your love.
But-why did you kick me down stairs?
That is the great question Tor the la.
boring men of the United States to con-
sider today. soft words butter no
parsnlps," nor will all the blandish-
ments Of Mark Hanna's hired spouters
add one cent week to the wages of
those whom they are now tryino to M