The Workingman's Mayor: A 1892 Look at Labor Relations

A host of Democratic frogs have begun to croak about Mr. Leary's relations with the labor unions. The burden of their croaking is that the Republican candidate for mayor is unfriendly to organized labor. This nonsense is almost too crude to justify an answer. Mr. Leary is not a demagogue. He is not a professional seeker after the votes of workingmen. He does not pose as their especial champion. He is simply an intelligent, practical businessman. He recognizes the inherent merit of organized labor, and while he does not deny to other men the right to live, believes in the employment of union men in all work in which he is interested.

Mr. Leary's true feeling toward organized labor can best be judged from the letter addressed by him to the Western Central Labor Union about a year ago. In this letter, Mr. Leary expressed his intention to employ union men on board the Bailey Gatzert as soon as the boat was fully placed under his control. He further expressed his sympathy with organized labor and his belief that it was sound business policy to deal with men through the unions. Mr. Leary was not a candidate for office at the time of the writing of this letter, nor had he at that time any intention of becoming a candidate. The letter represents the true views of the man, not the professed opinions of a vote-seeker.