The San Francisco call., 1896-11-01
FREE VOTERS.

The tenor Of various articles in the E1
d'aarer OF yesterday makes it evident tha
the tactics of the fusion managers in th,
closing days of the campaign is to raise
the cry OF coercion and to frichten. the
workingmen of the country as far as pos
sible into the belief that the resolute de-
termination of the business elements oil
the country to elect Mckinley means an
attempt to coerce workingmen. This cry
OF coercion will no doubt be raised this
morning and tomorrow to the extent of a
great howl. We warn the people not to
be deceived by il. It is a foul black lie,
and the men who assert it know it to be
such.
We call the attention of the working
men of San Francisco 70 the appeal to
them published in The CALL of yesterday
by the employees of the Southern Pacific
Company. The second para graph of that
appeal said:
We are the employees of the Southern Pacific
company. 1t has been asserted, not once but
many times, that in advocating the cause of
honest money in this campaign we are being
"coerced" and "intimidated" by our superior
officers. 1t has been charged thatwe are guided
In our political actions by subservi-nce to the
company's interests and fear of official dis
pleasure. This is not only, totally false, but it
is gross and gratuitous insult to our manhood
and intelligence. We are men, not towards.
We are citizens, not slaves. We resent the in
suit which is offered to us and propose to show
our resentment at the polls.
These words have the ring OF true man.
hood. They need no backing on our part
or on the part OF anybody. They speak
for themselves. They express the Just in
dignation of American workingmen st the
foul and false charges which the Bryanires
are making. Thousands of workingmen
will indorse them. 1t is hardly possible
that any American voter can be so false
to himself or the proud traditions of his
citizenship to be less indignant in express
ing his anger at these assaults upon his
manhood than were the workingmen who
issued the appeal.
America Is the land of free voters. Our
Republic was founded by free men and is
maintained by free men. There has never
been coercion anywhere in politics except
in the South, and even there it was never
exerted except over the poor and ignorant
negroes, whom long years OF servitude had
rendered incapable of combining together
to Withstand the tyranny of Bourbon
Democrats.
Employers in the Northern States in
the great majority OF cases have them
selves been workingmen. They have risen
from the ranks. They honor labor because
they have themselves been laborers. They
are true to the great principles of Ameri-
can liberty. because it has been through
those principles they have been enabled to
rise from poverty to comfort. They
neither seek nor desire to coerce any
workingmen. Every employe is LETT free
TO vote as he pleases.
None the less. however. do the business
men and the industrious workingmen of
this country intend to make it certain that
Bryanism cannot flourish in the United
States, that the honor of the Republic
should be maintained, that its laws shall
be enforced, that its prosperity shall be
restored, and that the enemies of our
social organism shall be swept from the
field OF politics by an overwhelming vote
of an indignant people.