The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-09-10

us who are pioneers have a duty to per
form and | am in favor of beginning
now. Will you Join hands in the next
general election?
There is an affiiation in this state be
tween the farmers, oranges and the la
Dor organizations that in time will work
to the interests of all producers When
the man on the farm and the man in
the mill realize that their interests are
ident zeal, then such interests will con
troll
There is bill in the United States
congress known as the Ship Subsidy
bill This bill datcs from tine time of
the late Senator Mark Hanna, but is
now fathered by one of our congress
men. he Hon. W. f. Humphries of King
county. This bill asks the United
States government to donate money
from the public treasury into the cof,
fers of a private concern to build ships
with a pretense of flying the American
flag. Such an appropriation | am OPP
posed to and if it had not been for the
congressman from the middle farming
states, congress would have passed this
Infamous bill many years ago. The
farmers Join with the labor unions in
denouncing this class of special interest
legislation. If the government is to do
nate money to build ships, rather than
help some shipbuilding conce"l let us
build our own ships, man them with
American seamen. pay living wages and
give the American consumer the benefit
of a lower freight rate.
Another measure of Importance re-
quires the careful attention of the
American people and that is the tariff
question. This protective tariff We have
heard 50 much about in past years is an
Insult to the intelligence of the Ameri
can wage Garner. While, to be sure, the
wage scale i'll our country is somewhat
higher than that paid in older countries,
when we realize that 90 per cent of the
American people are wage earners i'll one
way and another we find out that We
! pay back for the necessities of life, all
these boasted high wages to maintain
prot ective tariff" The tariff is the
mother of the trusts and the trusts use
the people as best 4treL their selfish in
terests. These corporations and combi-
nations, tathered by this protection, set
the prices on all raw material from the
| farm or the mine, place it in their fac
tories and compel the American con
sumner to purchase at a price that takes
his little all. The party in power has
repeatedly said that the tariff must be
revised and such revision must be bH
its friends. | might add that the
friends that have revised the tariff
"up" instead OF down were led by such
great statesmen, very friendly to the
masses of the people as Speaker Can
nom of the house, and Senator Aldrich
of the senate. There are numerous com,
modities We might name but time will
not permit of such.
Sugar-We find that about per cent
of the sugar consumed in the United
| States is manufactured in this country
and the balance is imported with so high
tariff that costs the American consumer
many millions of dollars annually with
pretense of protecting the American
manufacturer OF sugar.
Another article might be mentioned
and that is steel The American con
sumner pays for steel rails from S. to
$l2 per ton more than the foreigner.
can cite YOU to an instance where a
railroad running through a portion OF
Texas, crossing the line into Old Mexico,
bought steel to re steel their road from
the same mill to delivered the same date.
and the steel that was laid in Mexico
was bought for $50 per ton and the steel
that was laid in Texas was bought for
S2S per ton. making the American con
sumner pay the extra So per ton on steel
rails. quote sugar and steel for every
person uses sugar and every person that
carries a iackknife pays tribute to this
gigantic corporation. so you see instead
OF the protective tariff protecting the
masses Of the people, it simply protects
few manufacturers and allows them to
form these corporations and eombina-
tions to etenally filch the people.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion,
| want to voice the words of the late
Governor John p Altgeld, of Illinois,
81 am not discouraged. Things will
right themselves. A pendulum swings
one way, then another, but the steady
pull OF gravtation is towards the center
Of the earth. Any structure must be
plumb il it is to endure. So it is with
nations Wrong may seem to triumph,
right may seem to be defeated, but the
gravitation of eternal Justice is upward
toward the throne of God"
There is a great underlying principle
governing the trades union movement
which must prevail Despite all oppo-
sition despite all apathy, despite all
persecution the principle of justice be
tween man and man must ultimately
prevail in this country of ours until the
"battle flags are furled, in the Parlia
ment of Man, the Federation of tbs
| World"