The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-10-01

Speaking before an audience of less
 than 300 employees of the Singer Mfg.
 Co.. at Barnum and Brook street this
 noon, Congressman Ebenezer J. Hill.
 candidate for reelection to Congress from the 4th district, was continually
 interrupted in his speech upon the conternpla ted tariff revision by an unsynnpa thetic assembIage of Repub- Icans. Bull Moose, Democrats and
 Socialists svho had gathered about his
 auto.
 D. Cole of Ohio, who devoted twenty minutes to a speech upon the idea and purpose of political platform, J. Alexander H. Robinson secretary of Charles :. Greenwood. of Norwalh, the Congressman's secretary, the par
 tx were whirIed from the Stratfield, reaching the factory at 1920. IL was announced that this wes to be the pre-
 nminary speech of series delivered by Congressman Hill during the com ing week in Bridgeport
 A gathering of less than 50 lfsten- CTS was augmented until there were close to 300 gathered about the two
 machines at 12:40, standing in the rear said:
 Boys I now going to talk to you about your bread and butter. I have just shaken hands with MT. Debs at the Stratfie1d and have had his statements of last night called to my attention in which he mentions the labor conditions in Lawrence and says everyone should read the Com missioner of Labor's accounts of the conditions which shows average wage of $8.25 existing at the time of the present troubles. I am ashamed of that. I wish it were more In Free Trade England, however. I have seen able-bodied men working for $3.50 pen week-xaich does. MT. Debs prefer? have seen them in Japan in the cotton mills working for 96 cents per week . nd boarding themselves and we have 1ar fFst PoTnDts1i ton. How are we to do it without a protective tariff?
 Outlining his. own position in the campaign. Congressman Hill said:
 -t'For IA months I have been fighting a Democratic majority in Congress in an effort to stop the repetition of what happened in 1894, Twice they have tried it in 14 months"
 Coming to the point of what he al- legged free trade would do for Bridge port the speaker said: This factory would be absolutely the free list and so would the American & British company, and you would be in open and unqualified competition with men getting half what you do.'
 Here a voice interrupted. saving: . Why don't we get more?' Another said: Do you help trade unions 2?
 aI dol In 1899 I led the fight for weekly payments instead of monthly. I fought this year in Congress for itn eight hour day
 year?'' was drowned in the tumult of various other questions, and the speakers attempt to continue the list of Bridgeport factories which Hill al legged would be affected.
 Cries of Why do they sell machines abroad for less than they do here, ere the speech. Somebody gained the window sill of the adja- cent building and called upon the ing a long list of the alleged threat ened factories here the speaker said that a vote was being cast to decide whether the laborer would cut ms chance of further improvement. Aga1n i stating that the fight today was a fight for bread and butter, the candl- date wished to take for example the BuiIard Machine company eCries or | That's enough'D and challenge any TO | tell. him how it's products could be placed in open competition with un- l restricted markets.
 Reference was then had to the con | ditions which caused Coxs army to l march upon Washington. Exh ort1ng | the crowd not to be fooled by the | tariff proposition or to be led into freak experim ents,'' he continued, it | hard to put them back again.
 t'Germany is trying the experiment | now" someone said:
 "Yes,'' answered the speaker, tI was in a factory and l said to the foreman How much do you get paid 2 He replied. Six dollars per week. Cries or DN1nS IS Cnedp6I gretted this remark but was not s4.5o to $5. Said I how much do you pay for your meat. He replied Meat? We do not get meat. A babel of voices crying, "Do not say neat caused Congressman Hill to become very much excited, and he said q will mention meat-give. me ! chance
 Taking from his pocket a book, he turned to the reporters and asking hem to make particular note of his -eply, he read from statistics, that in 300, there was in the U. s. 7,719. 900 lead of cattle against 61,700, 900 in 1910, decrease of 10000, 900 head. with an increase of 1S,000, ,060 people to consume. Other figures were produced as well as an extract rom the New York World showing he relative prices of comm odities. The noise had somewhat subsided when he continued his speech by say ng'I am looking into the faces of in- American people. l want to Lsk you, one and ali, are you going G better the present situation by cut ing your wages in two.
 A cry, we are going 70 vote for Hunter for Congress" from one mouth was taken up by many until t became general
 Cong gressman Hill, ignoring the in eruption, continued his speech, which could not be heard, until a ,ersistent inquirer, forcing his way d Does not competition cut down ,rices?''
 In answer the speaker said, Do not make any mistake, you ask me if rec trade does not make competi- ion-I say yes, but first in wa&aG-l