The herald., 1896-05-24

San Francisco Call, and was called forth
by an editorial in that paper on May
18th. The Call returned the manuscript
"regretting" that the article was too
long to print ip the columns of the Call. u
The Call that'came with their reply had
two letters longer than the one l sent
them. 1 asked the Call to point out the
error in my position. II 1 had made sr
error. VIII you kindly print the letter?
| Yours truly. E. A. NELSON,
1902 South Olive.
Los Angeles. May Goth.
Editor of the Call: In the Call of Mon
day, May 18th, you have an editorial
headed. The Industrial Wage-Earners.
| To a dyed-in- the-wool Republican, and
| to the man who does not, think much or
read anything but orthodox Republican
| papers, that editorial sounds all right,
but to me, who does his own thinking
| and who reads all sides. there Is much in
the article that does not comport with
certain facts which confronts the ear
nest Investigator.
1t is true that continuous employ
ment at wages that Justify one in hiring
! his skill and strength are the right of
! every American workingman." but for
/ the last thirty years the condition OF
/ the American workingman has been
! getting worse and worse, until now
! there are thousands upon thousands Of
| them who are tramping the country.
/ looking in vain for employment.
i 1T is of consequece, therefore" you
| say, that the Importance of the wage
Garner to the social and political life OF
| the people be considered in the light
! of his worth; not merely because he is
a valuable factor, but because it is his
! right as a citizen and as a member OF
| the nations social establishment That
| is good. 1t sounds good But let us see
what else you say. In the coming ma
tional campaign the Republican party
| ....y1 90, L. - Sos,
the rights and the best interests Of
wage-earners. and of every other class
of our people" 1t is the business of the
| Republican party effectually to dis
| courage. by proper safeguards, en-
| croachments upon the nations Drawn
| from Europe's hordes of cheap and
| pauper-wage people. 1t is fundamental
principle of Republicanism that our in
dustrial enterprises and their armies of
wagemen shall not be Overrun or driven
out by foreign competition. and how well
| this has been done may be ascertained
by comparing the prosperity of all lines
of trade. commerce and labor when the
Republican party directed the affairs of
the people with the uncertainty. hesita-
ton and bankruptcy that came upon the
country contemporaneously with the
accession of the Democratic party to au-
thority in 1892" Now. as said. all that
sounds very we'll until we begin to look
facts. The Republican party has been
the party of protection it Is true, but
| its policy was protection to the Ameri-
can manufacturer. and utter neglect oe
the interests of the American wage
Garner. Our ports have been wide omen
to the hordes of the Old World. until the
people of the Pacific coast made such
clamor at the doors of congress about
chinese cheap labor" when action was
taken against John Chnaman," and
as the poor devil had no vote. being a
heathen. he was excluded, in a measure
from our shores. But look at the rest
of the world. And the Republican partv
permitted during the years it was in Of
flee an uninterrupted stream ~
the pauper labor of Europe to come
to our shores. The Republican party
saw wages go steadily down year after
! year while 1t had power, and as the
thousands from Europe came among lis
American wage earners. whom they dis
| placed. increased to an alarming extent
| This too. in the light of the plank in
the party's platforms the last few years
i EN the restriction Of immigration
gun the people with and catch votes.
You VIII undoubtedly cite me to the
immigration plank of the late Califor-
MIA Republican platform. The plank is
all right, but what is its use? Is anyone
to be elected on 1t? The convention
which framed that platform met for the
purpose of electing delegates to the Ma
tional Republican convention, and has
no significance whatever save as q docu-
ment that the orators CD Of the party
may use IN the campaign to pull the
wool over the eyes of the American wage
earnerS.
The great question for the American
wage Garner to consider today Is not the
tariff; the government ownership Of
railroads is not of vital interest to him:
the financial question more nearly con-
Germs him. but is not the paramount
question of the hour. The fact that the
Republican party has opened the doors
Of our country to the hordes Of Europe.
and welcomed them because all but the
Cinnamon could have vote. and the
other fact that the Democratic party has
made no effort to close those DOORS are
sufficient to cause every man who loves
his country to stop and consider whether
1t is not time to do something more than
Put planks In platform. The present
congress is guilty of having had pre-
scented to it bills for the regulation and
restriction of foreign immigration, and
yet the committee which had them I'M
der consideration, Republican COM
mittee IL you please, refused to report
them to congress. Why? Because any
radical legislation on that point would
inJure the chances of the party in the
coming campaign.
Both parties are greatly concerned
over the forming of combines and trusts
which are inimical to the welfare of the
best interests of the people, to the ex-
tent even of putting planks in their plat
forms declaring against such combines
and trusts. And yet for the last thirty
years, under both Republican and DEM
ocratic administrations trusts and mon
opolistic combines have formed unre-
huked, to such an extent that the peo-
pie are at their mercy almost wholly.
You claim that the Republican party
is the friend of the working man and Is
greatly concerned about his welfare, and
yet a Republican congress demonetiZes
one-third of the money in circulation,
and reduces silver to a commodity, and
makes it possible for moneyed men OF
this country and Europe to compel our
country to constantly borrow money on
it's bonds. Why is that beneficial to the
wage Garner or any other class save the
moneyed class ?Yet the Republican party
il in favor of single gold standard,
and will nominate gold man at st.
Louis for president and will probably
straddle the question in its national
platform.
It seems to me time for the American
wage Garner to cease to swallow the
glittering generalities of the old party
paper editorials, and consider these mat
tiers in the light of facts. and perchance
he will see that the declarations of his
favorite editor are not in exact conso-
nance with the facts as they exist.
WAGE GARNER.
Los Angeles, May 10.
Woman Speaking In Churches