The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-01-29
PROSPERITY A FARCE.
Factory Hands Obja rgating Mckin-
lev ami tie Republican Party.

lev ana I'll e bepubDttb AIRY.
New York, Jan. ga special to the
World from Fail River, Mass, says:
Mckinley prosperity Is a phrase full
of bitterness to the thousands of mill
operatives in this city. When it was
| inaugurated they paraded the streets,
carrying brooms and banners lauding
il to the skies. The operatives of each
mill were marshalled in companies and
they marched behind banners that bore
all kinds of words Of hope and good
cEeer. Today those words are a mock
cry
The city went overwhelmingly for
Mckinley at the last Presidential cleo
ton. Within a week his picture, thrown
from cinematograph in a local thea
ter, was roundly Kissed and derided.
The management saw fit to remove it
Immediately.
AT the manufacturers conference,
when the operatives representatives
pleaded for a delay in the reduction Of
wages, one good Republican on the
operatives delegation stood up and
spoke his mind to his employers. His
name is Albert HILBERT. and he is the
assistant secretary of the WeaVers
Union. Said he:
Gentlemen, last year / voted for
Mckinley and prosperity, but | was
sucker. and there were thousands like
me in the city. No more of Mckin-
ley's prosperity for me, / tell YOU"
Charles Phillips is a member of the
Loomfixers' Union and is employed at
the King Philip Mills, where there is
a strike now on against a reduction in
wages. He is prominent in politics,
has been a member of the Republican
city committee, worked and voted for
Mckinley and is the typical ward
worker among the Republican trades
unionists in the city. He was in the
headquarters of the Carders Union
last evening when he was asked what
he thought Of Mckinley prosperity. lie
liew into a passion at first. because he
thought the reporter was making fun
of his misery. His words were inter-
spersed with curses for some time.
When he cooled off a little he said:
"Oh, | worked for him all right. L
carried a broom. / stayed out OF my
work to get the fellows together, and l
spent many good dollar for the cause.
But il any - gets me shout
ing for Mckinley again, you tell me!
Prosperity Why. were worse than
ever the slaves were. We all thought
he meant what he said. and we all be-
lieved these manufacturers, and we
worked for their cause. They gave ii
to us in the neck from the time of the
inauguration. They've been talking
nothing but lower wages ever since. If
anyone ever hears me saying a word
against Bryan again. ! hope he'll plug
me, that's ALI
Were there many If you fellows for
Mckinley" he was asked.
Many of us? Why the vote was the
biggest the Republicans ever got here,
and / and other fools like ME went all
over this town working for him as
though every minute meant a dollar
to US. Many of us2 Why. the process
sion we had here was two miles long
and wasn't over until after midnight.
Many of us? Wen. you look at the rec.
ords, What have we got for it? Well.
you Know. We've got IL to l6 per cent
Of cut-down. No young fellow who
isn't married can get enough out of the
mills at the present time to support
himself, not To say a wife and family
It's a starvation basis these mill men
are fighting for. They want us To get
down to the lowest level: that's what
Mckinley prosperity means to us
got Sll.50 a week under Cleveland; now
my wages are SIC d week I'm sup
posed TO be a skilled man, and McKin-
ley prosperity means lower wages for
me. And I'm lucky compared with the
other poor fellows here Why. there's
mill fireman here who's getting S.
cents day. He was getting 81 before
Mckinley prosperity struck in. There's
an old fellow getting s1.07 day to sup
port family of six. That's the pros
perity | voted for"
And Mr.. Phillips went on in the same
vein for twenty minutes.
Joseph Jackson is the secretary Of
the Slasher Tenders Union. He is a
conservative fellow. and his union is
made up wholly Of men, Il voted for
Mckinley; the first time | voted a Re
publican ticket in many day | vOt-
ed for Cleveland three times | didn't
like Bryan. I've got my fill of ii. The
trouble is with US here that we let
these manufacturers blind us with tar
iff talk and that kind of stuff, and we
lose sight of the monopolies and the
trusts and the manufacturers in gem
eral. and we vote for Mckinley Just as
did. Look at us now. The very
men we voted TO support are Offering
us the wages and the treatment OF
slaves"
There were seven men in the Card
ers' rooms while this talk was going
on. They were damning prosperity
and Mckinley and themselves in the
same breath. One Of them voiced the
sentiments of all when he said
IF we had voted for Bryan and all
the things happened that these manu-
facturers promised would happen we
could not be any worse off. and I'm
sure we could be better Off