West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1908-12-10

NS Poiu cuouRu
money, and in the spirit of phi
lanthropy insists that congress
should pass an appropriation to
defray the expenses of the clerks
while they are away from home
and are compelled to shove their
No. los under a foreign table
while they satisfy the inner man.
While the Post is in such a gen.
erous frame of mind to relieve the
people of their money, why don't
At suggest to congress the neces.
sity for an appropriation to cover
the wear and tear of the shoe
leather and an occasional night
at the opera?
We are not advised as TO
whether the editor of the Post is
a railway mail clerk or whether a
few members of his family and a
score of relatives are employed in
the mail service, or whether it is
a case of the editor being a local
boss to whom the faithful look to
plead their cause before the court,
but from the way he argues the
average taxpayer will conclude
that his motive is not free from
selfinterest.
There is not another class OF
people who toll for living who
are as well paid and have shorter
hours than those in the employ
of the federal government. Visit
the, departments in Washington
and you will learn that the great
army of clerks 60 to work at 8
o'clock in the morning and are
given one hour for lunch and
quit at 4:3O p. m. This leaves
SIX hours and thirty minutes in
which they are supposed to work.
And every one of them is paid a
fancy salary, There is not one
young man or woman in Preston
county that commands such O
salary for the same hours of work.
1t makes no difference to the
editor of the Post that there is
already 9 deficit of $4,000, 900 in
the postal department. He is the
champion of the party of spoils
and graft which has always ia
vored the looting of the treasury
so long as the office-holders fell
heir to the spoils. They 90 on
the theory that the government,
Doth state and federal, is the
proper subject for fleeing. And
as the army of hungry place
hunters increases new offices must
be created to prevent them from
becoming paupers or convlcts.
What difference does it make
If the people do have TO foot the
bill? A deficit of 81, 100000 in
the state and $16O, O0O,O 900 in the
federal treasury is all right, for
the party of prosperity" and the
"full dinner pail" is obliged to
protect the machine family from
starving.
Is it not about time that the
people were organizing to protect
themselves from this corrupt Re.
publican machine which is taxing
the people enormously to pay an
army of office-holders, many OF
whom are not capable of earning
an honest living by brain or Drawn?
The ARGUS has always con-
tended that the time TO educate
the people is when there is no
political campaign to excite and
prejudice. Let the people ac-
quaint themselves with the rotten
political conditions from now un-
til 1910 so they may vote intel
ligently and understandingly.
Those who are seeking the truth
may learn that it is not within
the province Of any political party
TO make good or bad times. All
a political party can do is TO
enact legislation which will not
Cypress the people, and admins
ter the affairs Of state economi.
cally that the burden Of taxation
may DO reduced. But this state
OF affairs will never come TO pass
as long as the Republican ma.
chine is in control.
TEE 49,.