The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1916-10-21

4
hands and for the farmer. | will do every
hing that in me lies for their permanent
good, except anything that is wrong, and
that ] will do for no man. ] speak out Of
my deepest convictions and as conscien-
tously az Il Is in my power TO speak when
say to you that / believe that Mr.. Will
sons action in connection with the Adam
son bill is deeply prejudical to the real
and permanent interests Of the laborinR
man. say to you with deepest con-
viction that II you yourself will look back
you will find that on the average, the wage
worker has prospered more when this
country has been under a protective tariff
than when the protective tariff has been
so low as not to give protection to our
immense and varied industries; and above
all, to the men working in those indus
tries. As you know, have always stood
for the tariff only to the degree in which
the benefit was reasonably shared between
the men in the front Office and the men
who receive the pay envelopes. I stand
for that division now But there must be
something to divide, or nobody will get
anything.
! ask you to look back only two short
years. Mr.. Wilson was naugurated as
President three years ago last spring. He
and his party Immediately passed low
tariff law. Under it Government receipts
fell off so alarmingly that there was a great
deficit which had to be met by a special
tax. This was later called a war tax; but
it was not due to the war at all; the de.
crease in receipts was prior to the war,
II was deficiency tax pure and simple.
As some one pointed out at the time,
Canada had a war with no tax; whereas
we had tax with no war. 1t was purely
deficiency tax.
During the first eighteen months of this
Administration the national business went
to pieces, the sidings on the railroads we're
jammed with empty cars, and the number
Of employees in every great industry grew
to appalling dimensions. l speak here of
what ] personally know; for less than two
years ago | had to take an active part in
New York in measures to relieve the I'M
employed. | then saw municipal lodging
houses crowded to overlooking with people
DESTROYS of working, who could not get any
work, and who did not have enough money
to pay for the poorest lodging or the cheap.
est meals. The unemployed were mum.
bered not by the thousands, but the scores
of thousands and | was in active CORE
spondence with men and women in other
cities, Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia,
where the conditions were just as bad az
in New York. Every kind of provision
had to be made, by private charities and
by the public authorities, in order to
cave fog the multitude of people who wish.
ed to work but who were in dire want be-
cause there was no work. The misery was
widespread. For instance, the Board of
Health of New York, had to pass a spe.
cial resolution allowing the eating of horse
meat Il think the exact phraseology gave
permission to fatten old horses for saught-
er and food, because every effort had to
be made to give to those out of work the
cheapest food that would sustain life. Re-
member that those times were normal.
There was then no war. We were at
peace. We were simply expei iencing the
normal results of legislative action under
Mr.. Wilson and the Democratic admins
tration.
The suffering was widespread through.
out this country. Suddenly the war came
At one stroke this country was granted
a measure of protection greater than any
it had ever received under any tariff in
its history. Moreover, the demand for
munitions of war was stimulated to such
an enormous degree as to completely re-
verse trade conditions. For example, COM
pairing the fiscal years ending June 30,
1914, and June &c. 1916, that is the year
before the war and the year that has just
elapsed, the losses in ordinary exports dur
ing the last year, compared to the former,
were over two hundred million dollars;
whereas there was a gain in exports of war
material of nearly two billion dollars. II
it were not for these artificial conditions,
the suffering from unemployment in this
country at this time would in all proba-
bility be as great as it was in 1914, and
We would have seen two or three years
of an industrial crisis at least as bad as
any we have ever known in our history.
The present stimulus is artificial 1t will
cease with the war conditions coming to
an end. II will then be difficult to avoid
some suffering anyhow. II Mr.. Wilson is
kept in office. this suffering will doubtless
be prolonged and acute.
In short, you miners of Pennsylvania, I
appeal to you, and | appeal to all wage
name Of sound American citizenship, and
also in the name of your real and perma-
nent self-interest. No American citizen
can afford to put the stamp of his ap-
proval on any law supposed to be passed
for the benefit of anybody without inves-
tigation, under duress of threats or for
fear of the loss Of political power. ask
any men who are tempted to approve Of
the politician, big or little, whom they
think has helped them by doing wrong in
their interest, to remember that the man |
who for his profit does wrong in your in |
terest will just as unhesitatingly do wrong
against your interest, If ever be thinks it |
to his profit to do go.
In the old days, thirty years ago, when |
lived on a COW ranch in the short-grass |
country, the branding iron and the COW. |
boy took the place of fences, and our
herds were managed by branding each |
calf with the brand Of the COW it followed |
II the calf was not branded the first |
year, then the next year when II was an |
yearling, 1t was called a NAV
erick. By range law we were supposed to
brand each maverick with the brand Of |
the ranch on which Il was found. One |
day l was riding across q neighbours ranch |
with a puneher ! had Just hired, and we |
came across a maverick. We got down our |
ropes, threw the maverick, and built a
little FIRE of sage brush TO heat one Of
the cinch rings, and the puneher started
to run ON the brand. l said: Put on
the thistle brand"-the brand Of the range
we were on. He answered: All right,
boss, l know my business" and in an
other minute he had put on my brand, re-
marking; Il always put on the boss
brand" l answered; "Well-go back to
the ranch and get YOUR time" He iumped /