Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1908-10-14
Mr.. TAFT AND THE
RIGHTS Of LABOR
His Friendly Views Accepted as;
Classic Interpretation Of Law
WAeE-EARNER'S MAGMA CHART,
Republican Candidates JudIcia, n.
crecs Acknowledged to BE yh;,
by the Ablcst Leaders of Tie, T..
Dor Movement--Bryan Voted 70,
Bill Which Shut Factories


Thanks to the stupidity of NJ
Bryan and his campaign managers ~
attacking MIR. Taft's record on laho,
questions, the leaders of the greg,
labor organizations have made
searching investigation OF the Who'll
subject, only to be convinced Nor
thoroughly than ever that Mr.. TaH
instead of being hostile to the int"r
ests of wage-earners, has been thsi,
steadfast and one of their most DOW
erful friends. Mr.. Bryan's record ON
the labor issue is merely an nm.
broken story Of unfulfilled promises
and false prophecies, He never did
a thing directly affecting the welfars
of the workingman except 10 helm on.
act the Ubiquitous Wilson German
tariff of 1894. which paralyzed Amer.
lean industry, forced the closing Of
hundreds of mills and factories. drove
tens of thousands of wage-earners
into idleness and brought want and
misery to their families.
That Is absolutely all that Mr.
Bryan ever did for American labor
The memory of the ruinons law which
he helped to enact is nightmare To
American workingmen. The record
Is reproach to Mr.. Bryan. He is
not saying word about il in this
campaign, because he dare not Chal.
lenge him to defend IL and he will
squirm like an angleworm impaled on
n pin.
Mr.. Tafts record on the labor
question is record of practical. posi-
60 AE tH h.
he gave decisions which for the first
time clearly defined the rights and
privileges of labor organizations IN.
der the law. He made it clear that
workingmen may legally form unions.
that these unions may Combine with
one another. that they have the right
to maintain funds for those of their
members whose pay is considered in.
adequate: and that they may appoint
officers to advise them rs to the
course TO be taken In relations with
their employers.
Thus. while administering the law
with jealous regard for the interests
of Justice, Mr.. Taft rendered a service
to the cause of labor SURPRISING that
OF any of his contemporaries on the
bench. He set forth the rights and
prerogatives of organized labor so
distinctly that his Views have been
accepted by all our courts as classic
Interpretation of the law on those
subjects. In some quarters Mr. Tait's
rulings on labor questions have been
honestly misunderstood. but in 9TH
ers they have been deliberately mis-
represented. For that reason the
careful examination of the entire mat
ter which has followed the Demo-
record is a most fortunate circum-
stance. The more thoroughly II is
scrutinized the better for the Re-
publican candidate.
The great value to labor Interests
OF Mr.. Tafi.s judicial DEGREES was
long ago recognized by the ablest
leaders of the labor movement As
illustrating this. the head OF one OF
the great organizations of railway
men said toaMr. Taft few days ago;
when YOU made your labor de-
cision We all thought II was an out
rage until We got down to St Louis
and had to fight Gould, and then We
read through your decision and 10
our great surprise found that you had
laid down there the Magma Charta
upon which we could depend for the
protection of our rights.
Mr.. Bryan has nothing for the
workingmen but an offering OF simply
promises and a prophecy of disaster
His record Is a blank except that IN
one instance he helped to enact law
which struck a deadly blow to labor
interests and drove an army OF wage
earners into want and despair.
Mr.. Taft, on the other hand, pre-
sents a record OF honorable service IN
behalf of labor. He has helped 10
establish the rights of labor under the
law. He has pointed out how the
wage-earners of the country NAV law,
fully unite for their protection ana
how they may work together QUO
tradesman with another, to promote
their common interests. The story oi
his splendid efforts in behalf oil inc
wage-earner will be read with gFau-
tude long after the name OF Bryahisni