Shingle Weavers Say Railroads and Brokers Are Gutting Their Pay

To the Editor: I judge from the recent issues of your paper that there is a very determined effort made on the part of the railroads and shingle brokers to repeal the law recently passed by the legislature relative to the weighing of shingles by state weighers. It has been represented by the said brokers and railroads that the law creates a burden upon the manufacturers, when in fact it is the first and only protection the manufacturers have had against the fraud and greed of those interests. It protects the manufacturer from overweights by the railroads and from false returns from the brokers. It not only protects the manufacturer in every way, but it protects every shingle weaver in the state of Washington, for it will enable the manufacturer, by just weights and returns, to realize a fair price for his shingles and thereby pay the labor employed in his mill, a thing he has been unable to do for several years.

The manufacturers and shingle weavers in this section are all anxiously awaiting the outcome of the fight on the part of the railroads and shingle brokers against the people, and we want to know if a Republican state administration will permit corporations and middlemen to override and ignore the laws that have been passed by the representatives of the people for the people.

R. W. WILLIAMS.