The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-07-23
THE WAR on THE wAGE-EARNER
why Men Should Not Vote Against
Ths r. Bread and Butter.

Railway Age.
For twenty years 11e Railway Age has
strictly resrasnea from meddlEng with
questions o. party politics Our province
has been 10 discuss the management and
operation % railways. 10 preach good eth
ics 10 railway men. to encourage whatever
has made for righteousness IN railway
methods and to promote the wei-oesng Of
railway employee With all OF this partv
politics has had nothing TO DO. Now.
however. there has arisen Il political az
fairs q crisis which does Intimately con-
cera every railway man-concern him net
merely as q citizen in common with all
other citizens. bat also more personally
and peculiarly as a wage-earner In the SER
vice % one OF the greatest Industrial insu-
tusions OF the country
The campaign for free silver II Of its
essence . war on the waSe-earner. The
advocates OF free silver attempt and VIII
continue 10 attempt TO obscure the truly
vital aspects OF the controversy, with
arguments which are based on fall2ey.
The aSrsculturalist. 10 whom the arga-
ments are chiefly directed. may reason
ably be deceived by them. blinded BY the
direct ana tempting promise OF an IN
crease in the price OF his products With
the wage-earner the case Is different
Every argument which the advocate OF
free silver addresses TO the agrtcui<ir al
ist cuts precisely the opposite way with
him. There - nothing 10 tempt the work
er in the cities. on the railways a0d IN
the shops and factories. in 3 promise Of
higher prices for all that he has TO buy
with a certainty OF lower wages WITH
which TO do the buying.
The free coinage Of silver in this country
would shake our commercial and indus
trial fabric TO Its very foundations. II
would bear with especial hardship ON all
r.r+n 4r4<tr rat ri a
pursuits. II could not fail TO reduce the
number Of employees in the service OF the
railways. Ii must compel reductions IN
wages. At the same time Of the silver
men themselves are TO be trusted) II would
increase the price of everything which
those reduced wages would have TO buy.
Therefore IL seems to the Railway Age
that there can be no topic OF greater inter-
est to railway men OF all ciasses-no sub
ject which can be more rightly within our
province than the political issue which
is now dividing the country. In spite OF
the precedents OF twenty years we beiieSe
that IL Is now not only permissible for US.
but that IL is our duty. TO enter the Held OF
politics and TO use whatever strength We
may have to prevent railway men from
being led away to their own destruction
We. earnestly urge all railway employees
who are In any doubts as 20 the rights
and wrongs OF the silver question to Ad-
dress INQUIRIES TO us. II any silver man
advances an argument which you are
unable to meet or do not know how 90
answer refer IL to u.s. Ii there to any
question of fact or Of reasoning on which
yoa are uncertain and need light. ask the
Railway Age. We promise 10 meet every
question fairly and simply--to give the
truth in such terms as can not be Tnisun-
derstood.
No railway man can vote for free sill
yer without voting against his own bread
aud butter. II for one moment Il seems
TO you otherwise, II Is because you have
been mlsled as TO the facts and do not
understand tho truth. Help US to place
the truth before yourself and ali FOUR
fellows In the service and neither you
nor any OF them viii hesitate as to what
Is the right course In the coming cam
paign.