Crawford avalanche., 1899-11-23
His Wife Draws = Contrast Betweep
the Labor Market To-day and the
Conditions which Existed Under Free
Trade Tariff Tinkering. iilhn

did you order your corn harvester
when In town, to-dayT meekly asked
the little wife. piAH
"Corn harvester! Corn harvester!
Pumpkins and squash! That's It," he
exclaimed. That's 1t; eternally trying
to change the subject when you're
cornered. Strikes are touchy subjects
with you Republicans. don't wonder,
for you have so many Of them. It's a
sore spot" fis
''The men Of the mines In town have
quit, have they?' she asked.
"Quitv' calculated my Populist
friend, 81 should say so. They are out
In every town in the county. You
could see them hanging around on rock
pile and street corners. suppose they
were dilating on the beauties Of pro-
tective tariff for the benefit Of the
wage earners.
81 suppose, then, that you will not
buy that corn harvesterY she sug-
gested.
Come, stick to the subject" he an
swered impatiently. Don't be always
INK tnC tidCh MHCn yOu diC 6Cttih6
the worst of It,"
The patient little woman only smiled
as she asked: MANY idle miners been
along here hunting job Of corn cut
ting this fall?"
'N-n-o-o; none," he replied.
"Oh, l only remember hearing you
say" she asserted, that If they were
as plenty this year as they were four
or five years ago, you would give them
a job cutting the big corn crop and
would not buy harvester, SO l
thought that as they are idle now you'd
probably change your mind as to the
harvester and let them do the work" !"
"Now what are you getting at any
way?' he asked. "You are the hardest
woman to understand"
"Oh, think not" she answered, good
naturedly. -Four or five years ago.
when we were under Cleveland 8
blessed policy Of buying many manu-
factured goods abroad, mills were
closed, factories idle, transportation
light, demand for coal slack, mining
dull, times hard, and how often we
used to see the miners from town along
here hunting corn cutting jobs? Have
mt seen any Of 1t this fall, have your
mo, but we have strikes" he re-
torted.
Didn't have any then," she an
swered. 1T was pitiful. 1t was all
the same; strike or not strike, there
...o. ltttIa f1,. tLav,,f 70 40
"But IL times are SO dreadfully good,
he demanded, I'D like to have you ac-
count for this strike, right here at our
home town."
Account for it? Why, OF course. Be
patient. Have you read their resolu-
tionsg" she inquired, and as he did not
reply she proceeded with, Note the
commencement Of them. That Is a
whole chapter In itself. Whereas there
ia a widespread business activity and
then they demand a 20 per cent. raise
OF wages. The operators offer them a
10 per cent. advance"
That's it. Try to argue out of it,
Interrupted my Populist friend, almost
sneeringly.
"What sort Of resolutions were labor
ers passing four years agoY she pro
ceeded. not noticing his interruption
Wouldn't they have commenced
Whereas, there is widespread business
disaster or whereas, we are on the
verge of moral, political, material and
several other sorts of ruin; therefore
we demand remedy Why, husband
The 'whereases' alone ought to con
vince you Of the difference between the
times that follow to free trade and
those Of Mckinley prosperity. Their
the miners here were so anxious to ge,
q little work that they took what they
could have at what wages they could
get without thought of protests, think
ing only Of an opportunity to change
so that they could get old times and ole
wages again. That opportunity came
The laboring men Of the country join
ed the business interests, voted dowI
BRYAN and his free trade, free silver
theories, voted in Mckinley and his
protective policy. Mills open, factories
start, smokestacks belch forth, rail
rOduS DuSy, iOi COui SiCut,
ers ask an advance In wages. If the
mine owner isn't as lively about giving
it to them as they think he ought to be
they lay off to hurry him up little
and so we have strike. But you viii
notice that strikes in these times are
always for an advance In wages. The
coal operators will give an advance
they have already said they could
They must have the men back at work
to fill orders, orders which they did not
have and could not get under the tarifl
reform administration"
There 1t goes again." he growled
.you always run 1t into the tariff"
THAT is where all interests Of Ameri
can labor naturally lead discussion
replied the good little woman; but he
answered her .not.-E. G. Pipp. In
American Economist, q
War Urged On.
President McKinley's discussion OF
the Philippine question In, his MESA ge
1