The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-01-02
MEN
MAKE APPEAL
T0lPRES. WILSON
.PENNsYLvANlANs STATE THE
TRUE CONDITIONS IN STRONG
LANGUAGE.
LETTER souARELY PLACES RE.
sPoksieILlTY FOR THE
HARD TIMES.
FORMER APPEAL TO WASHING.
TON IS RECALLED BY THE
WRITERS.

gomery county. which created stir
last summer by sending letter to
President Wilson complaining about
the condition of industry in the
Schuylkill Valley and asking him to
use his influence to have the Under.
wood tariff law repealed, has sent q
second Communication TO the Presi.
dent.
This letter recalls that the first one
went at a time when Pennsylvania
was in the midst of bitter political
campaign. For that reason the Man.
ufacturers' Association fears that the
President may have regarded 1t as a
political document. The election be.
ing over and no campaign imminent.
many of the prophecies OF disaster
contained in the first letter, 1t is de.
clared, having come true and none OF
the administration promises of a
speedy readjustment of the new tariff
conditions having materialized, the
President is asked to consider the
matter again, simply as business
proposition.
Following is the letter:
"Hon. Woodrow Wilson, President OF
the United States, Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir-Under date of July II,
1914, the Manufacturers Association
of Montgomery county, Norristown.
Pa. through its president and secre.
tary. addressed to you letter set.
ting forth the existing business condi-
lions OF those manufacturers and 9th.
er industries which make up the Man
ufacturers' Association Of Montgom.
cry county, Pa, and appealed to you
as the leader of the political party in
power to give that reliet which alone
would save the business Of the coun.
try from disaster.
Your secretary .courteously nc.
fknowledged receipt OF this letter, but
| the only means We have of knowing
that It came before you Is through
a notice which appeared in the pub.
lie press at that time attributing to
you statement that It was your be-
lief that the letter addressed TO You
did not set forth the real conditions
of tho industries Of the Schuylkill
Valley. You were further reported
10 have stated that in every direction
unmistakable evidence of better and
even prosperous times were at hand.
II you believed this to be so then,
of course. the relief for which we
prayed was already in sight and no
attention to our appeal was necessary.
Reason for Appeal.
I'VE now address to you this sec.
ond letter for the one specific purpose
OF informing you that the good times
so happily predicted at Washington
have not arrived. On the contrary the
forecasts made to you in our first let.
ter have materialized to the extent
OF being an unusual public calamity.
We are aware that the language OF
this letter is strong and direct. For
this We have no apology. We mean
that 1t shall be so. Situations like
the one before US demand heroic
treatment and heroic treatment can.
OF circumlocution. We say to you
again. that we write you in this way,
because the tariff law OF the Demo,
cratic party now in power has brought
this country face to face with bust.
ness calamity.
I'VE are not without the facts to
prove what we say. Here is one fact,
We take it from a Philadelphia news.
paper OF December -:
"'From tho pulpits of every church
in Philadelphia viii go forth the ap.
peal of the poor to the rich, the cali
Of humanity to humanity. Thousands
of men in this city cannot obtain EN-.
ployment. Their wives sit hopeless
fly in cold, dismal little rooms and
their children face starvation
1.-The virtually unanimous passage
by Councils tPhiladelphia) OF the bill
appropriating $4,000 for the relief of
the general public. Extraordinary
conditions call for extraordinary relief
and 1t has been very thoroughly dem.
onstrates that the present need for
home relief Is extraordinarily great,
too great for the permanent charita-
BILE organizations to handle effectively
Thecity's action must be understood
as experimenting and not replacing
private charitable endeayor.'
Should 1t still be said that the
facts submitted above prove only
that the depression lies in the sehuyl.
kill Valley and that we aare at pres.
ent an isolated and local circumstan-
see, We lay down as our answer this
fact: The National Association Of
Wool Manufacturers, Boston, Mass,
has issued a table showing that in
that great industry, on December /,
1914, more than one.third of all this
vast machinery was idle; and that Ia
Bile shows that the depression in that
industry was greater on September /,
than 1t was on June last. That table
shows that the depression throughout
the country is deepening and spred.
ling with each succeeding month, until
now we are face to face with that con
dition which, in our former letter, we
told you was nothing less than fright
ening.
All are Affected.