Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-24
The ubIic Letter Box
SAYS PEOPLE DO NOT ALI
FAVOR SAILORS CELEBRATION

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23-[Editor
Herald; read in your Public Letter
Box a communication by Mr.. Cum
mings about the proposed reception to
the feet. to which ], for one, should
strongly object. l believe that there
are more people than we imagine who
are not at all delighted with the i'm
mense amounts of money that this
country is laying out on the fleet and
other warlike preparations. l say
nothing of those who think that war
is hell and looked forward with eager
ness to the agreement to disarm which
they hoped the recent Hague confer
ence might conclude. All such people,
and l suspect they are far more numer-
GUS than you may think, will not relish
the idea of being taxed without their
consent to celebrate the coming of a
class for which they have no great
liking, and it appears to me that any
such proposal would be most unjust.
1t is all very well to say that the
sailors are hard worked and under
paid, but that applies to a great many
of us. l have not found that there is
any public reception given to a party
of workingmen who may drift into this
city after finishing a long job of rail-
road construction in the desert, al
though it is safe to say that their work
has been more dangerous than that
of the sailor in our navy ordinarily is.
| am sure that it is usually done under
much more disagreeable conditions and
that when the men have finished they
are likely to be more in need of help
from the public funds than any of our
navy men are likely to be, as they
have an absolutely sure job.
l am of the opinion that it is time
that the workers along peaceful indus
trial lines should consider that nobody
makes any great amount of fuss over
them, although there are many who
think that their work is far more use
full than that of men who are merely
educating themselves to fight
l attend a good many meetings, re-
ports of which do not get into the
papers. What is said at them is there
fore not known to readers, but l can
assure you that the discussions / have
heard at different places where this
very subject has been considered do
not at all agree with the views of the
writer who suggests that we should
all be taxed for the sake of giving the
fleet a fine reception.
If the writer whose suggestion I OBJ
iect to would attend some of these
meetings he would quickly learn that
there is a great deal of feeling on the
subject of the unemployed and the way
the meetings that they are holding are
being dispersed by the police. 1 have
heard dozens of speakers say that that
is all the soldiers are good for, and
much the same idea is held of the
navy, which is regarded as one with
the army. At any rate 1 should be
very much astonished if anyone were
to prove to me that the workingmen
of this country were in favor of the
army and navy boosting that the gov,
ernment seems to be so fond Of and
/ have the opinion that the Republican
party will find this sentiment strongly
expressed 'duriRg the coming campaign.
In fact l am convinced that the one
thing that is uppermost in the minds
| of the workers is that industrial con-
| ditions ought to be much better than
they are right here at home and that
| they are sick of the attention that is
being paid to affairs away from home,
| in which they have little interest. l
may add that at two of the meetings
| that attended heard speakers fore
| IDLY declare that there was not an in
| stance on record of a country with a
large standing army and navy in which
| the workers had not been in pitiable
condition of slavery. and on each oc-
casion the statement received loud ap-
plause. ] believe this idea is very
generally held. Respectfully.
ii. B. OGLEBY.