Waterbury Democrat., 1902-10-10
POLITICAL POINTERS.
Meriden Economic teaguers
 Sore on 1Iayor Charters


 Sore on Mayor Charters
 They Say He Is Dead Duck Surely
 Colonel B. M. Graves of Hartford Is
 Not Supporting a Third Ticket,
 Silver Ticket, or Any Other But the
 Regular Democratic Ticket.
 Meriden Economic leaguers are ex- pressing a good deal of feeling against Mayor Charters of Ansonia for running as an independent candidate for sherln to the possible injury of the regular democratic nominee. A Meriden paper quotes a member of the local league as saying: Charters is a, dead ducK. He is being made the tool of 3 gang who are undoubtedly getting Durham money for their worK. We propose 10 stand by the democratic ticket all through on account of the Merloen democrats taking up our legislative candidates Chairman Harry King oI the Meriden democratic town commit j tee said it would be only necessary for AIr Charters's finance committee to }can on two gentlemen-Sherin Durham { and Chairman Gates of the republican state committee. In oraer to conform to the law and have party with a recognized title the Charters conYene tion voted to organize as the labor economic party of Connecticut. - Hartford Times.
 We are likely to have a peculiar election contest in Connecticut this year. For. obvious reasons large num- bers of business men who never De fore voted the democrat ticket nave come to the conclusion that the inter- eSts of the country demand a change, and they feel in duty bound to assist in bringing it about. They claim that they are paying good wages and that notwithstanding this their help are still putting forward the argument, and with some show of truth, that they are not getting enough out of their labor to maintain themselves and their fam- flies to say nothing of making some provision for the future The money paid out in wages is being swallowed up by the trusts, who have put the prices up to standard that takes the last copper for the necessaries or lie, and unless a man has big pay he can not make ends meet. So long as this is so. and it would be folly to dispute 1t, for labor is as well paid now and probably better than at any time in years past, still people are not able to meet their wants. It is no secret that laborers receive higher wages in Wa terbury to-day than they did any sea son for the past twenty years, and yet if you inquire into their financial affairs they will tell you that they can- not afford to purchase as substant al things for use on their tables as they had when they were paid smaller wages. The increase in wages has not kept pace with the rise in the price of other commodities so that while the common people are better paid than i'll the past their condition has not im- proved. This admitted, it must be plain that there is something wrong in the management of public affairs. Business men and manufacturers real ize this and for the first time in their lives men of that class who belong to the republican party are admitting it. They claim that they cannot do busi- ness and pay more for labor and are candid enough to acknowledge that the wage earner cannot live with the price of labor where it is and the cost of everything else at Suc1 high figure. They want a change which will bring about reduction in the expense of liy- ing and consider it an obligation to work toward that end. One of the largest manufacturers in Waterbury told representative of this paper last night that the schedule of wages in his factory never was higher than it is at the present time, still he had been assured by several of the foremen that the help are constantly agitating for more pay and giving as reason that they cannot pay their bills out of what they are getting.
 This is a serious problem and every man should take a business view of it. The republican managers are aware of all this and knowing that they have lost their grip upon the business men and manufacturers, they are bending all their energies towards hoodwinking the gullable element of the working people to rally around their standard They are said to be responding in a manner to inspire the trusts with 3 hope of a renewal of their lease of power, but there appears to be some doubt about this. It is true that the services of a few men have been SC cured to act as molasses pots for the labor men, but just how many will step into the trap is something which is causing the republican machine a whole lot of uneasiness. The machine has failed to get concerted action among the manufacturers to put uI signs in the shops telling the help td vote the good old republican ticket, and as a last resort they are aiming to reach the man at the bench in the fac tory by reaching out to him over his employers head. Will the ruse work If it does the laboring man cannot say later on that his boss coerced him 1T supporting the trusts. The boot Is or the other. foot this time. The bosses themselves have felt the iron hand ot the republican machine and are very anxious to get from under it's balefu Influence. If the working people art content with their lot they should vote the republican ticket or follow one oi the side shows. If not, they owe 1t tc themselves and their families to come out like freemen and throw off tho yoke of the party that has alread, pushed them close to the starvation point. We may not feel 1t so badly here as they do in other places but 2 system that has worked to the detri ment of other communities must. il continued, show itself in Waterbury sooner or later