St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1900-09-15
NOTES FROM washington
What Is Going On in the Political
Arena of the Nations
Capital.
DO-HOTHlNG POLICY OF ADMINISTRATION
Work of q Government Bureau
Turned to Political Uses by the
ReDublicans-Farm Not to BE
Fooled by "Prosperity" PaIayer-
noctoring the Census Returns.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence.
The republican campaign hand
book is about ready for circulation.
It is intended primarily for the cam
paign speakers, and it is rather a sig
nificant fact that the republicans have
to educate their own advocates on the
arguments they are to advance.
Prosperity is, of. course, the key
note of the book. The tables have
been largely prepared by the bureau
OF statistics, government bureau
which is supported by the whole peo-
pie for legitimate purposes and not
for the benefit of the republican ma
chine.
Still it has been seized by the adj
ministration and made to grind out
marvellous set of statistics. If the
workingmen are to indorse the ad-
ministration they must be convinced
that wages have risen.
A table is given which purports to
be compiled from reports of labor or
CARNATIONS. This is misstatement
number one, for at least one-third of
the trades quoted have no organiza-
ton and those that have are not
making statements for republicans
use.
Advances in wages for 1899 are
ranged anywhere from 10 to 800 per
per cent. It will surprise stage en-
ployes to learn that they are credited
with the 300 per cent. advance in
three years,
The textile workers are quoted as
having increased their wages from 12
TO % per cent, when everybody
knows that they were cut 25 per cent.
just after Mckinley went into Office,
that they had long and disastrous
strike in order to restore the Is
per cent, and that about two-thirds
of them are now idle, cannot get work
even at cut rates.
The table is not even q skillful fic-
ton, for it puts the increase lowest
in the trades that owing to their
own exertions have had a substantial
advance and vice versa. This sort of
campaign fiction brings it's own re-
action very quickly. When street
railway employe, for instance, hears a
republican campaign orator claiming
that Mckinley and prosperity" have
raised his wages 15 per cent, and he
knows that he had to go on strike
to keep his wages froIk being cut,
that workingman is goIgg to believe
that the republicans an direct in
heritors of the talents OF Ananias.
When this same workman reflects
that he pays trust prices for every
thing he eats and wears and that
they are from % to. 40 per cent. high
er than in '96, he begins to wonder If
1t won't be good idea to elect
president with different policy from
the "trust prosperity" one with which
we are burdened.
Boomerang Statistics.
The statistics for the benefit OF the
farmer are not convincing. The farm
er knows that tho price OF wheat, for
instance, has often been higher than
It is now. but he does not remember
the time in his experience when wire
fencing and lumber were so high that
he had to go without fences and
barns because he could not pay trust
prices for the materials after he took
the price determined for. his wheat by
the board of trade combinations.
The farmer knows very well that
the consuming capacity of the people
is not greater than it was three years
ago. To be sure plenty Of poor peo-
pie would like to eat more bread, but
they have not the measure of pros
perity which will enable them to con-
sumo all they want of the farmers
products.
j The republicans forget that manu-
1actured statistics are always boom
erang.,. They are contradicted by the
knowledge of the people. Statistics
about important matters are only be-
lieved when they coincide with the
facts at hand.
Dun's review of trade for July
strikes pretty hard blow at the
prosperity argument. 1t is not try
ing to give the calamity howl either.
In fact it endeavors to explain away
the unpleasant facts which it is forced
to present in regard to the state of |
trade.
Dun's report shows a total of 1880 |
failures in all branches of business for
July, with liabilities of over $1,000 |
oG0. Its own comment on this state |
of affairs is:
'aThes total shows a heavy increase
In comparison with the corresponding
month last year, which is mainly due
to phenomenally sound conditions at
that time"
So conditions were ST, 7,ooo, 900 worth
more stable, this time last year than
now. The slump has been going on
for some time and the next three
win show a marked increase
IN the number of failures. 1t looks
as though the republicans would be
obliged To drop their prosperity argu-
ment very shortly.
Manipulate the Figures.
The census employees are being
worked like lot of sweat shop op-
eratfsas in order to collate and tab
nlate the immense mass of figures
that have been collected in time for
for republican campaign
purposes. There are lot of ques-
ions ON the census schedules which