West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1906-08-02
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
The Republican Revolt In Iowa and
The Labor Vote After Senator
RlkinS.
OnL ReguIal CorIespondenee.

From Our Regular Correspondence.
WASHINGTON, DC, July 81, 1000
The Republican politicians are in
panic over the outlook for the fall
campaign and Oyster Bay is the
Mecca for lot of desperate leaders
who feel helpless TO stem the wave
of revolt that is engulfing the G o.
P. In nearly every northern state
there are factional fights IN the
Republican party ranks and in some
states such as Pennsylvania, indie
pendent candidates have been NOM
mated to defeat the regular Repub
lican machine ticket. In some
states, such as Iowa, this factional
fight is as yet confined within party
lines, but so intense and bitter are
the two factions, that Gov. Cum
Minis, who heads the tariff and anti
railroad faction. has under consider
alton the question of calling out the
state troops to preserve order and
insure fair play as the police of
Des Moines, where the convention
will meet, are controlled by the ele-
ment composing the Shaw machine.
On top of these troubles of the G..
o. p. now comes the revolt of the
workingmen headed by the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, who have
issued an appeal to the working
people and to citizens generally to
defeat the Republican party at the
polls, as Congress has turned a
deaf ear to the voices of the masses
of our people,"
This is Democracy's opportunity,
as the workIngmen naturally turn to
it, for the legislation they have been
denied by the party in power. This
is why Oyster Bay is in a panic and
the reason why the President issued
the order to enforce the eight hour
law. 1t was also the incentive for
the conference just held by Presi-
dent Roosevelt with the Republi-
can leaders, to discuss the attitude
of the workingmen and the ways
and means to overcome their hostil-
ity and the general revolt against
the party machine.
In the address issued by the labor
leaders they aptly describe the atti-
tude of Senator Elkins when they
say: Public officials, many of who
have the cry of stop thief nearest
the tip of the tongue have been
elected through these very agencies
(the trusts and the railroads) and
the contributions from them" The
labor leaders know Senator Elkins
quite as well as the people of West
Virginia do and you may rely upon
every effort being made to defeat
him and to elect legislature that
will enact reasonable labor leg
islation. The Republican Con =
gressmen from your state are also
on the labor black list and will be
opposed for reelection.
The labor leaders have not been
asleep, they have taken notice of
all the public acts and many of the
private political movements of the
Republican members of Congress
and are fully informed of the at
tempted influencing of the labor
vote by Senator Elkins in paying
for large extra editions of the
Knights of Labor Journal with adul-
atory and fulsome comment on SEN
ator Elkins, which every one knows
was not deserved. Senator Elkins
has not deceived the labor leaders
by his pretended support of labor
legislation, when he knew that
proposed measure would not become
law, nor has he deceived the pub
lie by his forced vote for the rail-
road rate bill, he had spent the
principal part of the previous sum-
mer as the chairman of the Inter.
state Commerce Committee trying
to bring out evidence to defeat such
legislation.
This Republican panic therefore
is Democracy's opportunity an d
should return West Virginia, as it
will many other states, to their for.
mer allegiance from which by corrup-
ton and fraud they we're seduced in
1896.