V. long injustice patiently borne by those who worked beside him In the breaker but who are now grown to man's es tate. 'Educated In the public schools, the mighty fortress of American liberties, he has In acquiring the foundations of a large and liberal edUcatldn, devel oped a passionate love for the Institu tions of our country and of our great state of Pennsylvania. As clerk he has dealt wit'h many and various classes of men and as a news paper man he has made many sincere and life-long friends in every walk of life. As editor he has been obliged to carefully examine all manner of public questions and their bearing upon the general good of the whole people. In the wide range of studies which hf- has pursued he has Included a pro found knowledge of the constitutions and laws of the state and nation. He has the advantage of knowing thor oughly the principles of law and ne knows not only bow to draw up a law himself, but how to draw it up so that it will not offend against the constitu tion and be thrown out by the Supi'eme court. A great percentage of the laws in favor of the miner have been killed by the Supreme court, not because they favored the miner, but? because they were not drawn up in the light of the constitution and erected on the solid foundations of the organic law and the guarantees of human life. The same ideas in aid of the miners can be em bodied in laws t'hat can be so drawn as not to run counter to the constitu tion and be crushed by its weight. Mr. Philbin has held many positions of the highest trust where thousands of dollars dally passed through his hands. Besides, he was twice elected tax collector of his native town, and he has made the proud record of having effected the most prompt? and thorough settlement of tax accounts ever made to the commissioners of Lackawanna county. He has thus proven himself worthy of the confidence not only of private business men, but of the high est trust of all the people. His personal habits are beyond re . proach. He has a high sense of public duty, anti can always be depended upon to do what is dictated by an en lightened conscience always in posses sion of the fullest and brightest powers of all the faculties of the mind. He can be relied upon to take his part in the decisions of all public questions, and to be present at every ballot either for the passage or rejection of a law or in disposing of the funds of the tax payers of this great commonwealth. He is not a man without an estab lished profession, and he does not in tend to make of politics a business. Although, as it has been said above, he received his education in the pub lic schools, it is founded on the broad basis of our American system of edu cation. The seed implanted in his mind by the public schools he has since carefully cultivated until by diligence and study, observation, deep thought and broad reading be has acquired an education and culture attained by few graduates not of mere fourth rate edu cational institutions, but of the very first colleges in the land. Those who know him intimately recognize in him a high authority on the history and lit erature of the United States and Europe. Yet, withal he is not puffed up thereby, nor does he pretend any superiority over his brother man. -The best testimonial of his character is the fact that those who know him best are his sincere? t friends and his most ar dent admirers are the companions of his childhood days. There are few men who aspire to make laws for the great state of Penn sylvania so well fitted for that high position as is Editor P. A. Philbin. A former breaker boy and from life-long association with mine workers, he knows the needs of the anthracite miner; the man least of all protected by our laws. His education has been broad enough to crowd all prejudice from his mind, to know that the rights of the Individual are too sacred to be profaned by legalized tyranny or theft; his knowledge of history will teach him how to avoid the legislative mis takes of the past; his knowledge of men will tell him their rights and wrongs and needs; tested in the band ling of private and public moneys he can be trusted In safe guarding the public funds. His irreproachable char acter for honesty, sobriety, virtue and honor is a guarantee of an honorable career in the state legislature and of the purity of his public life. McKlNLEY PROSPERITY IN PENNSYLVANIA. How the Keystone State Has Profited by the Uplift Resulting from the Victory of Protection and Sound Money Figures Which Are Elo- - quent in Their Demonstration of Republicanism's Worth. The great state of Pennsylvania, which has contributed such substan tial majorities for the Republican can didates in presidential years, furnishes the total number of persons em ployed in 1808 was 118,092; in 1899, 154,422. Aggregate amount of wages paid, 1896, 852,102,365; in 1899, 878,179,333. Average yearly earnings, 1896, 8441.29; in 1899, 8506.27. Value of product, 1896, 8211,252,732; 1899, 8377,934,411. GREAT GAIN IN EARNINGS. The 1806 comparative series, which follows that of the 1892 series, is made tip of 03 industries, representing 855 establishments. In this series com parison is made with 1896, including the Intervening years, and shows the increase or decrease in wages, etc., same as in the 1892 series, with the addition of capital invested, and the cost of basic materials. In the presen tation of the cotton and wool census for 1S99 the figures represent the en tire business done in the state, in eluding capital invested, wages paid to males, females and children; quan tity of output and value, and also show the number of power looms, hand looms, spindles, cards, combs, pickers, knitting machines, braiders, otc. The resume of these 55 establish ments showing the comparison be tween 1S96 and 1S99. makes the fol lowing interesting exhibit of progress lfffiiitelpi 'oW$mtmmm1mBK4 mmmmmm!$s&fi i$ll&iBKMHd mmmmmmMi P. A. PHILBIN. a magnificent example of prosperity and progress under Republican ad ministration during the last four years, and the benefits to the work ingman resulting from a wise and con servative financial policy. Few states in the Union tell a more impressive story than may be learned from a study of the last annual report of the secretary of internal affairs, part third, referi'ing to industrial statis tics. In the report referred to will be found the 1892 comparative series tables. This is a presentation of forty-four industries, representing 354 establishments. The same establish ments are carried through from 1892, and comparison is made year by year of the days of operation, the persons employed, the aggregate of wages paid, the yearly earnings, the dally wage and the market value of the output. The actual figures tell a wonderful story of progress in the last four years, in these 354 establishments and prosperity during the, McKinley administration: Capital invested in plants and fixed working capital, 1896, S205.283.013: in 1899 it was increased to $245,577,826. Average number of days in operation, 1896, 298; 1S99, 288; num ber of persons employed, 126,578 in 1896, and 181,9r.6 in 1899. Aggregate amount of wages paid in 1896,, $51,873,543, in 1S99, $78,680,725. Market value of pro duction in 1896, $195,205,164; in 1899, $332,S0S,934. Value of production dur ing the year to each employe, $1,542.17 in 1896, while in 1899 it had increased to $1,829.36. Average yearly earnings, 1896, $409.81; 1899, $432.49. Comparison with the preceding years Is made of the entire production of pig iron in the state, its value, cost of basic material, days of operation, per sons employed, aggregate of wages paid, yearly earnings and dally wage. The same detailed information as to wages, earnings, etc, is shown In roll ed iron and steel as Is set forth in pig Iron. Attention is especially call ed to the largely increased number of employes in all of these leading indus tries, to the Increased earnings and wages and to the increased produc tion, all of which is' fully set forth in the analysis at the close of the re port. PIG IRON. The year 1899 marks the greatest era in the production of pig iron in the history of the State, the Increase over 1898 being $1,175,019 gross tons, or near ly 30 per cent., and the increase of 1S9G being 2,516,648 gross ions, or 62.5 per cent. Pennsylvania's production of 6, 542,998 gross tons in 1899 was within about 30 per cent, of the entire pro duction of Great Britain. The entire, production of the United States, ac cording to figures furnished by the American Iron and Steel Association, was 13,620,703 gross tons, an increase over the production of Great Britain of more than 46 per cent. These figures are very significant when it is reflected that in 1894, just five years ago, Great Britain produced nearly 12 per cent, more pig iron than was produced in the United States, and that in 1899 her in crease in production over 1894 was but little over 25 per cent, while the in crease on the part of the United States was over 100 per cent. The value of Pennsylvania's production of pig Iron for 1899 was close to a hundred million dollars, the realized value being $98, 203,803. The average, number of days of employment for 1899 was 327, bein? thirty-eight in excess of 1896. An av erage of 15,347 workmen were employed in the making of pig iron during 1899, an increase over 1896 of 3767, or 32 5 per cent. The average earnings in 1899 for skilled and unskilled labor was nearly one hundred dollars in excess of 1896, the average for 1899 being $495.1S, and for 1896 but $396.30. The average daily wage was $1.51, an increase over 1896 of 14 cents per day. TINPLATE. Pennsylvania had twenty-one black plate works in operation during the whole or part of 1899, eighteen of which turned out a tinned production. The total number of pounds of black plate made was 368,600,734, as against 158, 306,490 pounds in 1896, an increase of 210,294,244, or 132.8 per cent. Pennsyl vania's increase in tinned production has been equally as satisfactory as her increase In black plate. The aggregate tinned production for 1899 of the black plate works and dipping works was 331,082,734 pounds, as against 139,588,703 pounds in 1896, an increase of 137.2 per cent. Pennsylvania's share of the entire production of the United States of tin and terne plate for 1899, which was 891,000,000, was about 37 per cent. Com paring this production of the United States for 1899 with the production of 1894, 166,343,409 pounds, it will be seen that the Increase in the past five years has been 724,656,591 pounds, or 435 per cent. The number of workmen em ployed in the black plate works was increased from 3,194 in 1896 to 7,682 in 1899, an increase of 140.5 percent.Thelr average dally wage was increased from $1.80 in 1896 to $2.36 in 1899. Black plate for tinning was made in eleven counties in 1899, Lawrence county leading with 41.26 per cent, of the entire productions of the state, fol lowed by Allegheny with 19.94 per cent. Westmoreland with 18.62 per cent, and Washington with 6.71 per cent. The remaining counties were under 5 per cent. The dipping works are confined to Philadelphia, Allegheny and Mont gomery counties, and their ratio is re spectively 68.93 per cent., 23.36 per cent, and 7.81 per cent. The only army The American people have to fear Is AN ARMY OF UNEMPLOYED. THAT MEANS HARD TIMES FOR ALL. If vou want one like we had' from 1893 to 1895 vote for Bryan, AND YOU'LL SURELY GET IT!
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers