River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-09-08
Sentiment of Workmen at the
Big Iron Mills at Bay
View, Wisconsin.
DEMOCRACY FOR FREE TRADE
Informal Conference of Employees at
Which the Republican and Demo-
cratic Tariff PIanks Were
Discussed.

Milwaukee, WIS, sept. l.-N OfkInen
in the big Bayyiew iron mills and in 9th
er manufacturing establishments in this
vicinity have begun to concern them
selves over the question of how far their
interests are concerned in the coming
political campaign. This is entirely in
dependent Of the efforts Of the politicians,
and has nothing whatever to do with
the relations between the two parties in
this State. The American workingman
is himself an educated finished product,
and he can no longer be attracted to this
or that political party by mere clap-trap
or by the insincere appeal of unscrupu-
lous demagogues. He has learned to
study ont economic questions for himself,
and lie has begun to do this in the pres
ent campaign. on the theory that his own
living may be at stake and that his vote
should be cast, not to suit his sentiments,
but to suit his own interests.
Making an Investigation.
Among the men from the iron mills,
this spirit Of investigation has taken
deep hold and already they have insti-
tuted several Independent inquiries.
There have been quite number of in
formal conferences, and a number Of the
leaders have begun to study the plat
form adopted at Chicago. and that adopt
ed at st. Louis. These men have ignored
the personality of Roosevelt and of Par
ker as well. They have eliminated from
consideration the general foreign policy
of the government, the Philippine qucs
tiOG, the Panama canal, and everything
else which does not bear directly upon
the interests of the wOrkingman. They
do not believe the platform treatment
of the labor question as such, or any
nero declarations of either party should
weigh much, but they have instituted a
careful comparison of the foundation
principles and of the modern record of
the Republicans and the Democrats, SO
far as it relates to the actual we'll being
OF the laboring man to-day.
Almost everyone of these labor lead
ers who has gone into the question with
out regard to political prejudice has be-
come convinced that in the treatment of
the tariff question, the laboring men of
the United States will find the one great
issue Of the political campaign of 1904.
In the lumber camps OF Wisconsin and
among the iron mills, there are plenty
OF lnen yet in positions of responsibility
in labor organizations who remember the
terrible period from 1892 to 1897, and
they have already begun to study every
phase Of the tariff question and to con-
traSt the record of the two parties on
this sabject.
The Republican Declaration.
As far as they have progressed, these
representative wOrlingmen have discov
cred that the two parties are really more
widely apart and their differences are
more distinctly outlined, on the tariff,
perhaps, than upon any other issue con-
4. ~ -.
an informal conference of iron workers
the other night there was a friendly de-
bate between two representatives of the
two great parties. The first speaker read
the tariff plank. of the Republican plat
form as follows:
''Protection, which guards and develops
our industries, is a cardinal principal of
the Republican party. The measure of
protection should always, at least, equal
the difference in the cost of production
at home and abroad
This declaration Of principles, it was
admitted by those present al the confer
ence was in every way clear and salts
factory. The issue was fairly stated,
and those present expressed Themselves
without hesitation as being satisfied that
the policy of protection to American in
dustries would probably remain for a
generation, Il cardinal principle of the
Republican Rarty.
The Democratic Plank.
The Democratic leader started in to
read the platform adopted at st. Louis,
which begins its tariff plank with the
words:
I'VE denounce protection as a robbery
of the many to enrich the few, and we
favor Il tariff limited to the needs of the
government economically administered"
He was at once met by fire of ques-
tons as to whether this did not bring
the issue directly before the American
laboring man, so that he must choose at
once between protection and free trade,
voting for Roosevelt if he believed in pro-
lection and voting for Parker if he be-
ieved in free trade.
The Democratic representative at this
significant shop-talk made the plea that
the platform adopted at st. Louis did not
actually mean free trade, but that it was
intended to pledge the party merely to
fair and equitable revision of the tariff
50 rs to curb the power of the trusts and
prevent the creation of monopolies He
declared that the Democratic leaders as
n whole were tariff reformers rather than
free traders. and he urged that it was
cause the Democrats in their plank on
the tariff question make declaration in
favor of a revision and gradual reduc-
tiun of the tariff
Sentiment Toward Republicans.
At the first of these conferences, the
sentiment was strongly in favor of the
Republicans on the one issue of protec-
ton. but two or three men who had
been accustomed to vote the Democratic
ticket suggested that an adjournment
should be had, during which time they
expected to bring up the record of a
number of the party leaders in Congress.
for the purpose of showing that while
the party organization as a whole theo-
retically believes that Protection is
robbery the real leaders of the party.
the men who would have the making of
the laws ii the Democrats were in power,
arc at heart protectioniSts and do not aim
ut ag,ything more than 4 gradual reduc-
tor of the tariff
In order to be perfectly fair, the shop
talk was adjourned until the night before