The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-01-09
rGlIPHoNE NuNHERs:
Editorial Rooms sss-. Counting Room sac,
IheIntelliqencer.
WHITENING, lANuAnY Q, 1s0o.
Mr.. wheeler ON wheeling industry.


on the 2eth OF December Representa-
tive Joseph Wheeler. OF Alabama, de-
liyered a speech in Congress on the
revenue bill, and as It was withheld
from the Congressional Record Of that
date "for revision" the readers OF that
interesting Official publication have had
no opportunity of knowing what the
Alabama statesman had to say on the
measure untIl yesterday, when the re-
marks appeared in full, having in the
meantime. we presume. undergone
careful re-castlng for the benefit OF the
authors admirlng constituents in his
district. 1t would have been more to
Mr.. wheeler's credit II he had continued
towithhold it.or had bribed the editor Of
the Record to consign 1t to the waste
Basket.
In the hopeless effort to convince the
house that the country has enjoyed I'M
precedented prosperity under the Cor
rnanized Wilson tariff bill, the speech
does not stop short Of setting forth as
facts the most glaring misstatsments
regarding the increase ofwages and the
resumption Of idle mills. One or two In
stances are sufficient to illustrate how
far Mr.. Wheeler went In this effort
he submits what he calls an 'authent-
Gated statement" that under the new
tariff bill general prosperity revived
and wage-workers have had their pay
raised in all the large establishments.
1t Is in the shape of list OF manufae-
turing concerns that resumed after the
depression caused by Democratic as
suits on protection. and in which work
men were grained n partial restoration
OF wages they received under Republic
can protection. This was well enough
for Mr.. wheeler's deceptive purpose,
and he may be forgiven for his careful
forgetfulness to state the amounts OF
wages the workIngmen were receiving
during the long years OF a Republican
policy; to state. in short, that the in
creases ottrom 1--WE to ten percent, which
he Is careful to state In each instance.
were only partial restorations OF the Is
to % per cent reductions made during
the Democratic panic. 1t is only fair
sample OF demagogy to make these i'm
portant omissions.
But there is something else about this
table. which Mr.. Wheeler says is eau
thenticated." Here is sample state
meht contained in 1t: 1t is noted that on
March Il, 1891. the Riverside nail fac
tory, at wheeling, was closed and re-
manned closed for some time; that in
, the same factory, on May II. 1895,
two thousand two hundred men had
their wages Increased ten per cent This
Is good news to the people OF Wheeling
and they VIII be grateful to Mr.. Wheeler
for the information that a nail mill
which has been idle for more than ten
years and is still idle to all intents and
purposes, is actually, without She
knowledge of It's closest neighbors, run
ming on the ely and employing over 1000
men at Democratic wages.
The people of Wheeling would have
remained in ignorance of this charming
state OF affairs but for the speech OF
Mr.. Wheeler. II the remainder Of this
table showing the benefits OF the Will
son bill is Us correct as the Riverside
mil mill item. Mr.. Wheeler has perpe-
trated on the country startling sur
prise and has scored scoop on all the
newspapers, Mr.. wheeler's constItu-
ents will read admlringly his mastery
showing of the accomplishments OF the
tariff bill that the Democratic President
refused to sign. but they will not realize
how fearfully and wonderfully con-
I structed 1t is.