, 1900-10-10
Mr.. WILSON'S CLEAR VIEWS.

Over in Laramie county the repub'
licans have nominated on their legisla'
tive ticket n machinist in the Union
Pacific shops, Thomas l.. Wilson. AL
though his duties have taken nearly
all his time, he has managed to post
himself fully on the leading issues OF
the day and is not averse to discussing
them. Recently, in an interview with
a Leader reporter, he remarked hat
-four years ago it was practically i'm
possible to get a job in the Union Pa
cific shops anywhere along the line and
especially SO here, but now it is just
the opposite, the jobs are hunting the
men. Four years 6 We worked
about four days a week and seven
hours a day, now we work every day
in the week and nine hours a day and
Overtime at good pay.
Pay has increased at Cheyenne dur,
ing the last four years II and a half
cents an hour. Four years ago a ma
chinist's check was from $4S to $57 per
month, but now the machinist draws
from $S5 to $3.50 a month. There has
been a very large increase in the mum
Der of men employed in the shops and
there is also a noticeable change in
the political sentiment of the men.
-Four years ago there were a large
p,mhar IF tho cbpnmap ubn epppprtaJ
Bryan and there are some now, but a
great many who were opposed to Nc
kinley during the last campaign are
now supporting him. Those who still
remain democrats cannot deny the
prosperous times which have come to
them during the last four years and
do not try. Some, for arguments
sake, attributed the good times to the
Spanish a This is about the only
excuse made. They all admit that it
will be well enough to keep up the
present conditions four years longer.
Il do not know just how many are
republicans or democrats, but | think
that rs per cent who voted for Bryan
last election will vote for Mckinley
next November. The railroad men arc
pretty well satisfied with the improved
conditions. The increase in the opera,
tive department of the road is rather
greater than the increase in the shops.
There are more hours in each depart
ment.
1T can be said that free coin
age, as far as the shopmen are con-
cerned, is practically a dead issue and
every machinist realizes that the pro
~tective tariff has been of much benefit
to him. The machinists are, for good
reasons, e~xpansionists in every sense
of the word and they take pride in the
fact that the products of American la
Dor can be found all owe Europe, Rus
STA and other foreign countries. Eng
lishmen are coming to this country be
cause they have no work at home and
can find it here. This all goes to show
that England is losing her grip on the
iron and steel industry.
Since the great fight of Dewey in
Manila bay the American flag and the
American citizen have advanced in i'm
portance in every foreign country SOC
per cent, and no man need now be
afraid to declare his American citizen
ship in any country in the world. We
stand where England stood before.
"McKinley's policy of holding the
philippines is undoubtedly placing the
Islands one hundred years ahead in
the race for civilization and instead OF
enslaving the Filipinos it is giving
them a broader sense of liberty than
any vision that ever appeared to Ag
uinaldo. If unfolding the American
flag and extending liberty to the down
jtrodden and increasing our foreign
commerce, and especially the manu-
facture in America OF locomotives,
steel bridges and railway supplies gen
Ierally, make up imperialism then we
are proud Of the title. The republicans
have nothing to fear from the patri-
otto men who work in the railway ma
chine shops"