The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-12-04

damaging blow that can be given pop-
ular government is to elect an un-
worthy and sinister agitator on a plat
form OF violence and hypocrisy When
ever such an issue is raised in this
country nothing can be. gained by
nlnching from it. for in such case DEM
ocracy is itself on trial, popular self
government under republican forms is
itself on trial. The triumph of the
mob is just as evil thing as the tri-
umph of the plutocracy, and to have
| escaped one danger avails nothing
whatever if we succumb to the other.
In the end the honest man, whether
rich or poor, who earns his own liv-
ing and tries to deal justly by his
fellows, has as much to fear from the
| lnslncere and unworthy demagog,
promising much and performing moth
| ing, or else performing nothing but
evil, who would set on the mob to
plumber the rich, as from the crafty
corruptionist, vino, for his own ends,
would permit the common people to be
exploited by the very wealthy. If we
ever let this government fall into
the hands of men of either of these
two classes, we shall show ourselves
false to Americas past. Moreover,
the demagog and the corruptionist Oft
en- work hand in hand. There are at
this moment wealthy reactionaries of
such obtuse morality that they regard
the public servant who prosecutes them
when they violate the law, Or who
seeks to make them bear their proper
share of the public burdens, as being
even more Objectionable than the vio
lent agitator VINO hounds on the mob
to plumber the rich. There is nothing
to choose between such a reactionary
and such an agitatOr: fundamentally
they are alike in their selfish disregard
of the rights of others; and it is nat
ural that they Should join in OPPOSE
ton to any movement of which the
aim is fearlessly to do exact and even
justice to all.
Eight Hour Law.
1 call your attention to the need Of
passing the bill limiting the number
| of hours of employment of railroad
employees. The measure is very
moderate one and 1 can conceive of
| no serious objection to it. Indeed,
so far as it is in our power, it should
be our aim steadily to reduce the num-
Der of hours of labor, with as a goal
the general Introduction of an eight
hour day. There are industries in
which it is not possible that the hours
of labor shouic be reduced; just as
there are communities not far enough
advanced for such a movement to be
for their good, or, if in the tropics, so
/
tween their needs and our in this mat
ter. On the Isthmus of Panama, for
instance, the conditions are in every
way so different from what they are
here that an eight-hour day would
be absurd; just as it is absurd, so far
as the Isthmus is concerned, where
white labor can not be employed, to
bother as to whether the necessary
work is done by alien black men or
by alien yellow men. But the wage
workers Of the United States are OF
so high a grade that alike from the
merely Industrial standpoint and from
the civic standpoint it should be our
object to do what we can in the d.
rection of securing the general OBJ
servance of an eight-nour day. I'm
til recently the eight-hour law on our
Federal statute books has been very
scantily observed. Now, however
! largely through the instrumentality OF
the Bureau of Labor, it is being rig
idly enforced, and 1 shall speedily be
able to say whether or not there Is
need of further legislation in refer
ence thereto; for our purpose is to see
it obeyed in spirit no less than in let
ter. Half holidays during summer
should be established for government
EMPLOYEES; it is desirable for wage
workers who toll with their hands as
for salaried officials whose labor Is
mental that there should be reason
able amount of holiday.
On Child Labor.
The Congress at its last session
wisely provided for truant court 1ol
the District of Columbia; marked
step in advance on the path of proper
lv caring for the children. Let me
again urge that the Congress provide
for a thorough investigation OF the
conditions of child labor and OF the