Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-07-31
SPARKLING NOTES
FROM WASHINGTON.

(By Special Correspondence, Washington.
d. c.. July seth.)
The result Of the national campaign
will largely be determined by the votes
of the laboring men. In former cam
paigns. after deducting those who voted
the Socialist ticket. what is known as
the labor vote has been about equally
divided between the two parties. In
the states where the highly tariff pro-
tected industries are ensconced. the
workmen employed in the Iron and
Steel and Glass and Textile and Pottery
industries have mostly voted the Re-
publican ticket. These workmen have
been led to believe that their employ
ment depended upon the Republican
policy of tariff protection and only
through that policy, as the Republican
National platform declares, can be
maintained ''the high standard of liv-
ing of the wage earners of this country.
who are the most direct benefciaries
of the protective system" This year,
however, it seems probable that the
workingmen of even the highly pro
tected industries are demanding some
thing more than tariff protection, and
Government by Injunction is the
paramount issue with them.
The workingman has had his ewes
opened. He now sees that protection
ism and other Republican policies are
not panic proof. He is still suffering
from the high prices of all he buys
that his lords and masters, the Trusts
and Corporations, can extort by virtue
OF the monopoly the tariff policy the
Republican party gives them. He
breads the certain reduction of wages
latter election" if the Trusts and
Corporations achieve another lease of
power through Republican success.
The greatest fear is that if the Repub-
licans are successful he can no longer
appeal to force of arms-the strike.
the boycott and without these he is
helpless to protect himself, and there
fore the modification of the right of a
Court of Equity to issue injunctions is
the paramount issue of the campaign.
How can the workingman, therefore.
resist the opportunity to defeat his en-
emies and restore his lost opportunities?
From present appearances at least
two thirds of organized labor will vote
the Democratic ticket.
The great problem of the Democratic
leaders will be to prevent the coercion
OF the workingmen who are not
Americans. yet who are such a
large percentage of the voters in very
doubtful state. That requires a com
pact organization and campaign funds
to make such possible
Mr.. Bryan has appealed to every
Democratic newspaper to open a sub
scription list for campaign funds, ask
ing editors to lay before their read
ers the necessity of giving what they
can afford. The legitimate expenses
of presidential campaign are enor-
mous-the Republican managers esti-
mate it at $3,OO0,0O but they are
naturally extravagant. If half that
sum is donated by Democratic patriots,
the issue will not be in doubt from lack
of campaign funds.
The average price of all commodities
has advanced one and two tenths percent
from June LIST to July LIST, but the de-
cline since July LIST, 1907, to July lst,
1908, has been 13.4 per cent. Eighty
seven cents therefore buys as much
now as one dollar did year ago. Thus
the Republican panic has added IL per
cent to the income of those who have
as large incomes now as they had a
year ago, but to those who are out of
work, in consequence of the Republi-
can panic and have no income. it spells
disaster.
The United States Treasury is paying
out nearly one million dollars day more
than it is receiving. That is, the deficit
for the first IL days of July was $l6,-
l57,6lS. The last session of Congress
appropriated the enormous sum of
81, O0S, 397, 543. Sc for the fiscal year be-
ginning July 1, 1908, and the session of
Congress beginning next December
may be expected to appropriate as
much for the fiscal year beginning july
LIST, 1903. That would give our present
Republican Congress the unique record
of being two billion dollar Congress.
Every dollar the government expends
is paid in some way by the people, and
voters should remember that this year
they will pay $l2 in taxes for each
member of their families-a total tax
of about $50 for each average family
of five persons. During the last four
years of Republican extravaganza there
has been appropriated So, 428. 900. OOO
or $3S. SOC, 900 more than the vast ex-
penditure during the four years of civil
war, so that during that period each
head of a family has paid in national
taxes over 5000, and what has he got
for it?
Under Republican policies the tax
paid by the poor man is as great as the
tax paid by the rich man. In fact, in
some cases the tax paid by the poor
man is greater. For instance, when
Mr.. Rockefeller, or any other rich man,
buys flannel for underwear valued
above 20 cents per pound. ne pays q
tariff tax of sc. 29per cent, but when a
poor man buys cheaper grade of fan
mel for his underwear, valued at not
more than 40 cents per pound. he pays
a tariff tax of 1887 per cent. These
figures are the actual dpties paid on