Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-16
THE VOICE OF T,AROR

- Nv iiiSitS dSO v. 1OWQSlJY, eX
master workman of the Knights of La
DOT, addressed labor meeting at Cooper
union, New York, in behalf OF McKin-
ley and the single gold standard AS
before stated in these columns his speech
was not well received by large major!-
ty of his audience, because it was in
direct opposition to Mr.. Powderly's here
tofore we'll known position on the finan-
cial question.
On Saturday night an immense gather
ine of the laboring men of New York as
sembled in the same hall to protest
against Mr.. Powderly assuming to rep
resent the sentiments. of and speak for
organized labor.
A number Of speeches were made in
which Powderly was roundly scored as a
traitor to the people who had trusted and
honored him, and the republican party
and Mckinley arragned as being in a
large measure responsible for the pres
ent deplorable condition of labor
throughout the country.
Among other resolutions unanimously
passed by the meeting, were the follow
Ang:
Resolved, That in our judgment the
appreciation of gold money is injurious
| to the cause of labor and that the per-
| manent decentralization Of silver in this
| country will involve national disaster
| and enslaVement OF labor to capital.
Resolved, That in our Judgment fall
| ing prices, which are consequent upon
| the adoption of the single gold standard
| of value, are incompatible with the de-
Velopment of industry and necessarily
| involve reduction in the wages of labor,
| while at the same time curtailing the de-
mand for labor itself.
Resolved, That we condemn the poli-
| cy of the republican party upon the
money question as enunciated in it's par
| ty platform adopted at st. Louis, because
we believe that policy, If carried out, will
hopelessly commit this country to the
single gold standard in the interest only
of trusts and monopolies, of Wall street
and European money lenders.
Resolved, That we find in the plat
form of the democratic party, adopted
at Chicago a declaration of principles
upon the money question with which we
heartily agree as in the interests of the
people, and that, believing in the free
and unlimited coinage of silver, the
money of the constitution, at the ratio
| of is to l, we, therefore, heartily indorse
| the Chicago platform upon this vital
question, which overshadows all others
| In this campaign. We also indorse those
| planks in that platform which favor an
| income tax law, because we are opposed
| to legislation and judicial decisions the
| only effect of which is to tax labor and
| untaX wealth.
Resolved, That indorsing the demo-
cratic platform as a whole, because it
| better voices the wants and the rights of
| labor than any political platform ever
| adopted by any political party in this
| country. and especially commencing it
| for It's denunciation of trusts and mo-
| nopolies, we also find in the candidate of
| the democratic party for president-W1l-
liam Jennings Bryan-a true representa-
tive of the people and the institutions of
this country: and because Of his honesty
and simplicity of character, his patriot
ism and his MANY urase. his profound
comprehension OF 'ae needs of the coun-
try, and his fear-ex. expression of his
convictions. we promise him our firm and
unwavering support and we commend
him to laboring men throughout the
country as worthy of their suffrage
The foregoing resolutions clearly ex-
press the views and state the position of
| 30 per cent of the wage earning employees
| and laboring men of the country. They
| are in fun accord with the doctrines that
| their leaders and organs have been teach
| ing for twenty years past. They simply
| forecast what the great army of toilers
on the railroads and in the factories and
mills and mines will do in November