The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-11-04


Ilaid-anyone else as well as strikers
to violate the INJUNCTION and then
lappeal to a jury instead of being pre-
scented before the court for punish
ment. The result would be to make
liz impossible for a court to enforce its
own orders. when public sentiment in
community was infiamed sufficiently
to intimidate a jury.
But Mr.. Bryan overreached him
lself. He saw the Republicans divid-
ed on the question of tariff revision,
land I'm the hopes OF confusing revision
with tariff reduction. but still leaning
Ito what he considered conservatism.
The announced his policy OF a gradual
reduction Of the tariff. That lowered
1.-THE clouds of Industrial depression
over the situation, the business world
took fright the farmer, who was
prospecting, foresaw that prices might
break and he wouldn't have any
money TO put in the bank. in which
case the guaranty of deposits would
be of little moment; and the steel
and iron and pottery workers OF the
middle western states foresaw the
loss of their wages and the lack of
anything to strike for, so the injunc-
tion lost its interest TO them.
The campaign itself developed
some peculiar alliances. Organized
labor, so far as II participated as an
Organization under Samuel Gompers,
supported Bryan. That was a new
role for labor. The Republican party
has always been distinctively the
party of labor. II was born to that
mission. In its incipiency it stood
for the freedom OF labor; for as long
as slavery exists IN any form In any
considerable part OF country, man.
ual labor is debasei and the free
laborer is affected by the conditions
imposed. The party as soon as i'll
came into power adopted the prin-
ciple of the protective tariff. which.
II it has any merit in IT, is designed
to prevent the competition of pauper
European labor in American markets,
and make possible conditions under
which the American working man
may work out his own ends. Since
then with the development of the
national conscience asd the progress
of humanitarian principles the party |
has enacted the child labor law. the
eight hour law, the employers .iabil-
ity law, the railroad equipment law
and several others intended to amel- |
iorate the conditions under which |
men toll.
Mr.. Taft, who as federal judge had
interpreted a great deal Of the law
relating to labor unions. was ma
.igned as the enemy of labor, when
really he instituted the practice of
requiring reasonable notice before in
functions in labor cases, recognized
the right OF labor TO organize. 10
strike and to create a strike fund. |
The last word OF Mr. Taft before the
election was a promise to labor not
to be prejudlced by the abuse of
Gompers, but to advocate certain REL
forms in labor's behalf
Then while mucn of Bryan's cam
paign was devoted to an attack on
banks and the courts. another strange /
thing happened. An appeal was made
to the colored vote, and that appeal
from the leading organ of
southern Democracy. the Courier
Journal. And more eloquently signifi-
cant still is the fact that the appeal !
was not based upon proposals for the
elevation of the colored race, or in I
the interests of racial harmony. /
President Roosevelt saw fit to dis
charge a whole battalion of coloreo
troops, because they conspired TO hide
the identity OF some Of their number
who shot into white homes at
Texas, and the Courier
Journal, through its editor, Mr.. Wat
terson. whose words were echoed by
the entire Democratic press, begged
the negroes TO desert the Republican
party, bcause they argued that the
president did wrong in
not shielding those assassins. BE IL
said to the credit of the cOlored
they were proof against this
appeal.
II was expected that the classes.
whose preiudices were appealed to,
would make great inroads on the Re-
publican vote, in communities where
they were most in evidence, and for
hat reason even Republican paperA
expected early returns to be unfavor- 4
able. However. IT did not work, and
the Democratic party again went
down in defeat.