The San Francisco call., 1896-08-13
OF INTEREST TO WAGE-EARNERS.

The Eastern States may feel that the
money question towers above all others in
this campaign, but in the West-in Cali
fornia-certainiy the belief prevails that
the question of continuous employment.
for labor at remunerative wages transcenos
every other question of public policy. The
wage-earners constitute large majority
of the population, and whatever is caicu-
lated to better their condition should be
the objective point of the purpose OF
political parties and it is consplcuously
so with the Republican party, for at the
last analysis of its declaration of princi-
pies it is found that work, not idleness,
for labor is the ultimate of what 1t aims to
secure.
The difference between the Republican
and Democratic parties in this campaign
is this: The Republican platform and
candidates are the representatives OF a
public policy which encourages Industrial
and commercial expansion until every
wage-earner in all this broad land has
ample opportunity to secure employment
every working day in the year. When
that shall have been secured it will be
found that there is a National financial
system in operation which makes one
kind of dollar as good as another, ana
all dollars possessing the full value OF 100
cents. The Democratic platform and can
didates are the representatives OF publlc
policy which provides idleness for labor,
silence for the machinery OF industry and
an indiarubber-like monetary system that
will provide dollars of huctuating and un-
equal value.
1t Is of little consequence to the man in
enforced idIeness what the volume or
what the standard OF money is. He gets
none of it because he has no opportunity
to earn any of it, and it may be said that
wage-earners everywhere are beginning to
reason along that line. Nothing could be
more apparent than that the cause OF the
distress which is and has been overwhelm-
ing labor is traceable directly 10 foreign
pauper labor competition. Imports OF for
eign-made goods and wares are large, but it
is foreign not our own labor that gets the
pay for converting the raw material into
these goods and wares. The mills and
factories in which our wage-earners used
to find plenty OF employ ment at good
wages are now idle because protection
against foreign competition has been with
drawn by the Democratic party, and they
will remain idle, as will their operatives,
until the protection policy of the Repub-
lican party is again adopted by the Gov
ernment.
We have said that the wage-earners con-
stitute large majority OF the population.
1t certainly follows, then, that they have
it in their power to reinstate the protec-
ton policy which secured to them steady
employment at satisfying wages. The
trouble with very many of our wage-earn-
ers is, they make tie mistake of supposing g
that it is our monetary system and not
ruinous foreign competition that is hurt
ing them, but ii they would stop and con-
slider that the Industrial enterprises which
used to give them continuous employ t
insist that ii is not the money question at
all but importations of pauper labor
made articles of commerce that keeps
them closed, they would see that pro-
tective tariff is what they want above all
things. And it is no doubt true that If
come out and publicly declare for McKin-
ley the industries would accept that as a
sufficient guarantee of a reinstatement of
protective tariff to warrant them in COM
mencing preparations at once for resum-
ing the old-time activity. Opportunity to
earn wages should be the uppermost de-
sire of labor, meanwhile there need be no
fear OF an insuficiency of good money to
meet payrolls.