Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-10-20
A BULLDOuNG EMPLOYER
SCORcHED BY Mr.. bryan.
ONE METCALF WHO MAKES AGRI-
CULTURAL IMPLEMENTS,
THREATENS ILDENESS
FOR THOSE WHOM HE EMPLOYS
IN CASE THE DEMOCRATIC CANDI-
DATE Is ELECTED
PRESIDENT.
NOT LIKELY TO TALK AGAIN
NOW THAT MIR. BRYAN HAS MADE
SOME APT COMPARISONS
BETWEEN
MR.. METCALF AND MIR. SEWARD
A SPEECH FULL OF SOLID MEAT
AND LOCAL HITS THAT WE'RE
APPRECIATED.

ITHACA. N. Y, October 19.-Mr.
BRYAN reached Auburn at $3.50 and
spoke to several thousand people in
Seward Square. The stand from which
he addressed his audience was SO To-
Gated as to cause him to face the
bronze statue of William H. Seward,
from whom the square takes its name.
During his speech Mr.. Bryan made in
cidental reference to Mr.. Seward, but
he did SO while speaking OF a present
resident of the city named Metcalf, who
is the head of large agricultural inn
plement manufacturing company locat-
ed at this place. Referring to Mr. Met
calf, Mr.. Bryan said:
Il have had my attention called to
the fact that you have here a greac
manufacturing plant and that at the
head of it stands man by the name of
Metcalf Mr. Metcalf is reported in
your Republican paper as saying that
in the event of my election the plant
will be closed. | want to tell you that
to-day the argument of the Republican
party is not based on human rights,
but it is based merely on commercial
ism and on business.
There" he said, pointing to the
statue of Seward, Stands the statue of
the greatest man your city produced
until Mr.. Metca,f arose, and there is
the finger pointing upward, and believe
on the pedestal you will find the inscrip-
ton There is a nigner law Now, when
our good friend wac stands at the head
of this great manufacturing concern is
called to his Fathers, propose that you
erect statue of him nearby and have
his finger pointing downwards, and
have it say, There is lower law Lin
coin said that the Republican party be-
lieved in the mar and the dollar, but
in case of conflict it believed in the
man before the dollar. To-day the Re-
publican party believes in the dollar
first and the man afterwards, If at all,
and to-day when you confront the Re-
publican party with the charge that 1t
is abandoning the Declaration OF Indc-
pendence; with the charge that it is
destroying the foundation of free gov
eminent; with the charge that 1t is dis
regarding the doctrine that govern
ments derive their just powers from the
consent of the governed, what is their
answer? 1t is this: If you dare to vote
the Democratic ticket and manifest an
interest in the old principles, we will
close down our factories ana destroy
your town
Later on in his speech Mr.. Bryan re
verted to Mr.. Metcalf and his institr-
ton, saying:
This firm in your city threatens to
close its factory. That is an old trick.
They made the same threat in 1896,
and yet after the election many that
had threatened to close the mills if
was elected cut down wages and made
their men suffer after Mr.. Mckinley
was elected.
IF this company tells you that it eau
not do business under Democratic adj
ministration, | want you to remember
that we will have just as many farmers
here under a Democratic admnuistra-
ton as we have under a Republican a6-
ministration, and they will have to use
the agricultural implements and some
body will have to make them; and if
these men tell you that they are going
to close down they simply tell you that
they are going to let other people do
the work and make the implements for
the farmer because they won't do work
under Democratic administration. |
want you to read their charter and see
If you find in it anything that author
ICES them to do business under a Re-
publican administration but forbids
them doing business under Demo,ra
administration.
Entering then upon the discussion of
the general trust question, Mr.. Bryan
said:
Il believe the time has come when the
corporation should be compelled to keep
its hands out of politics and attend to its
own business for which it was organized
am not willing that the independence of
the citizens should be destroyed and if it
is right for this company to coerce its en-
pioyes 1t must be on the theory that man
who stands at the head of a corporation
has right to the votes of its employees,
and II he had then let US have a law en-
abling Mr.. Metcalf to vote as many times
as he has employees, so that none of the
employees will get away from him.
But II the vote belongs to the citizens
then .cts,us have law that will make it
Contih ued pm sixth Page.