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Show LABOR MEN Governor Devotes Talk Wholly to Progressives Ignores Taf t Buffalo, N Y , Sept. 2. Governor Woodrow Wilson today analyzed the third party platform in its relation to the laboring men. The occasion of his speech was a labor day celebration. cele-bration. It was the first expression from the Democratic candidate on the merits mer-its of the Progressive platform. The governor said that while on the one hand was to be found "warm sympathy sym-pathy with practically every project of social betterment," that part was merely a "proclamation of sympathy," while the real program lay elsewhere, else-where, "wihero the tariff and the trusts arc spoken of." The governor assailed the minimum mini-mum wage idea, declaring that employers em-ployers would take occasion to bring their wage scale as nearly as they could down to the lovel of the minimum mini-mum nnrmiftml bv the law. With the idea of a federal commission to regulate monopoly, tho governor took ' emphatic Issue. He declared that the plan suggested not only would i legalize monopoly, but would give the : chief employers' of the country a : "tremendous authority behind them " What the employers do will have the license of the federal government' Including the right to pay wages approved ap-proved by the government, said the governor, lie pointed out that It always al-ways had been the policy of "the masters of consolidated industries" to undermine organized labor in a ! great manv wajs and that a plan of federal control ns advocated by tho new party, "systematically subordinates subordi-nates workjngmen to monopolies." and "looks strangely like economic mastery over the a cry lives and fortunes for-tunes of those who do the dally work of the nation." Labor Shoirld Inquire- Governor Wilson said in part. "Intelligent workingmen will ask the men now seeking their votes what they may be expected to do for them. I do not mean for them separately but what they may bo expected to do for the country, which will entitle them to the confidence of those who perform the daily labor which lies at the base of all our life "Most of the answers they get will turn upon the question of tariff duties du-ties from which our politics never seem ablo to got away. On the one hand they will be told that If the Democratic party gets Into power they may look to see industry languish lan-guish and wages do down and employment em-ployment become harder and harder to find. They forget the Democrats I constitute something like half the nation, na-tion, that Democrats are engaged In occupations of every kind, depend upon up-on all sorts of business for their llvll-hood, llvll-hood, share in every interest and enterprise en-terprise of the country. It may safely safe-ly be taken for granted that Democrats Demo-crats are not going to destroy them-, them-, eslves economically "Theso uncomfortablo predictions come from both the old line Republicans Repub-licans and the Republicans of the new departure who are seeking to build up a third party of their own. From Republicans of the old line these forecasts of disaster were to be expected. Thoy have long been their siuck in trade. But they were hardly to havo been expected from those who had cut themselves loose from the older connections and who were boldly working to make new things out of old. And yet the predictions pre-dictions of the leaders of the new party are as alarming as the predictions predic-tions of the veriest standpatter. There is the stimulating breath of hopo in every part of the platform of the new party except that which touches the tariff and the trusts Criticises Nev Party. "In fact, there is this very singular singu-lar feature about the platform of the new party: It has two sides and two tones. It speaks warm sympathy with practically cory project of social so-cial betterment to, which men and women of broad sympathies are now turning with generous purposes and on that side it Is refreshing to read. But that is not the part of the platform plat-form that reads like a program. It Is n proclamation of sympathy rather, an Indication of the direction in which the leaders of the party would fain sometime move The program lies elsewhere whore the tariff is spoken of and the trusts. In that portion of the document thore is an air of business and a very definite indication of what Is intended to be dono and by what means. "It may 1)0 Interpreted In the light of some interesting things Mr. Roosevelt Roose-velt has recently said "Mr. Roosevelt declares his devoted devot-ed adherence to the prluciple of protection. pro-tection. He declares that he is not troubled by the fact that a very large amount of money Is taken out or the pocket of the general tax payer and put into the pocket of particular classes of protected manufacturers but that his concern Is that so llt-tlo llt-tlo of this money gets into the pockets pock-ets of cmployos. I have searched his program very thoroughly for an indication in-dication of what ho expects to do In order to see to it that a larger proportion pro-portion of this 'prize' money gets into in-to the pay envelope and I have found onl one suggestion. Living Wage Plank. "There Is a plank in the program which speaks of establishing a mini- 5 mum, or living wage for women R workers and I suppose that we may 1 assume that the principle Ib not In m the long run meant to be confined H In Its application to women only, m Perhaps we are Justified in assum- H Ing that tho third party looks for- i ward to the general establishment 1 by law of a minimum wage. It is g very likely, I take it for granted, that I if a minimum wage were established 1 by law, the great majority of em- I ployers would take occasion to bring 1 their wag Bcale as nearly as might 1 be down to the level of that mini- 1 mum and It would be very awkward n for the working men to resist that I process successfully because it "would I be dangerous to Btrlke against the I authority of the federal governmenL c "Moreover, most of tho employers, at any rate practically all of the B most powerful of the employers, I would be wards and proteges of that I very government which is the master C of us all. The government is to set J up a commission whose duty It would H be, not to check or defeat It, but I merely to regulate It under rules 9 which It Is itself to frame and de- I velop. So that the chief employers I will have this tremendous authority I behind them. When they do, they 9 will have te license of the federal government to act, including the right to pay the wages approved by the j government. J Organized Labor. j "And it is worth the while of. the workingmen of the country to recall what the attitude toward organized labor has been of these masters of consolidated Industries, whom the federal government Is to take under Its patronage as well as Its control. They have always been the opponents of organized labor and have tried to ( j undermine It In a great many ways. 1 1 Some of the ways they have adopted p havo worn the- guise of philanthropsy ' and good will. Some of them have , set up systems of profit sharing, of compensation for injuries and of I bonuses and even pension, but everyone every-one of these plans havo merely bound their workingmen more tightly to themselves Their rights under the various arrangements are not legal rights. They are merely privileges which they enjoy so long as they remain re-main in the employment and observe tho rules of the great Industries J which employ them. If they refuse to be weaned away from their Independence Inde-pendence they cannot continue to en-lov en-lov the benefits extended to them. Legalizes Monopolies. i "When you have thought the whole I thing out therefore you will find that ; tho "program of the new party legal- i Izos monopolies and systematically i subordinates workingmen to them and to plans made by the government govern-ment both with regard to employment employ-ment and with regard to wages. Bj what means, except upon revolt, could wo ever break the crust of our life again and become free men, breathing an air of our own, choosing choos-ing the living lives that we wrought out for ourselves. Perhaps this new and all-conquering combination between be-tween money and government would bo benevolent to us, perhaps it would carry out the noble program of social betterment which so many credulously credul-ously expect of It, but who can 'assure 'as-sure us of that? Who will give bond that It will be general and gracious and pitiful and righteous? What man or set of men can make us secure, under it by their empty promise and assurance, that it will take care of us and ho good? . "It Is like coming out of a close and stifling air Into the open, where we can breathe fully again and see the free spaces of the heavens above us. to turn awar from such a programthe pro-gramthe Identical program suggested suggest-ed to committees of congress by Mr. Gary and Mr. Perkins, with the proposals pro-posals which the great Democratic thinkers of the country offset and opposo such a platform. Democratic leaders turn away from any plan to legalize monopoly and give a federal commission leave to say hovt much of It there should be because they know exactly what that would mean. What they propose is the restoration of freedom. What we need is the regulation of competition and the prosecution of what has created monopoly mo-nopoly When you have regulated monopoly you have in effect restored U." |