CO-OPERATIVE STORES.
8yatm of Purchasing Successful In
England.
In Manchester and the north of Eng
land generally the laboring classes of
the population continue to favor co
operative societies or stores. This sys
tem of purchasing, with its attendant
bonus or dividend, Is an important
factor in housekeeping as practiced in
the Industrial districts of this manu
facturing center.
The numerous co-operative stores
here are members of a parent whole
sale society, from which all purchases
are made direct The co-operative so
cieties have their own mills and ware
houses, they own a fleet of steamers
and Import goods from all parts of
the world. Co-operation in its various
phases of industrial and provident so
cieties comprised in the report of the
chief registrar of friendly societies
for 1909 represents a membership of
2,777,513, with total assets amounting
to $294,897,470, an increase of about
$10,949,625 during the year.
Of the societies which furnished re
turns for 1909, 250 were wholly "pro
ductive" in their operations, 901 wholly
"distributive" 1,155 both "productive"
and "distributive." The number of
members at the close of the year was
2,613,142; the aggregate sales of goods
amounted to $547,064,229, a total ex
ceeding that of any previous year.
However, the business of certain pro
ductive societies is transacted almost
entirely with the distributive societies
In the movement. Duplication there
fore exists in the sum before' men
tioned to the extent of the sales of
these societies, approximately $165,
461,000 per annum.
The 1 expenditure for salaries, wages
and establishment charges in respect
of productive departments amounted
to $17,294,183 and of the distributive
departments to $27,970,851. It will
thus be seen that the societies are di
rect employers of labor to a very con
siderable extent. The balance on the
trade of the year in 1,974 societies re
sulted in a proflt of $53,948,032 and in
240 societies in a loss amounting to
$153,309. J
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
8ummary of Bill to Create New Cabi
net Officer.
A synopsis of Congressman Sulzer's
bill to create a department of labor,
with the secretary a cabinet member,
gives a general idea of its character
and scope.- It is as follows:
"That there is hereby created and
established an executive department of
government to be called the depart
ment of labor, with a secretary of la
bor, who shall be the head thereof and
a member of the cabinet, to be ap
pointed by the president, by and with
the advice and consent of the senate.
"That there shall be in said depart
ment three assistant secretaries, to be
appointed by the president, by and
with the advice and consent of the
senate, to wit:
"A first" secretary, whose duty It
shall be to supervise all matters relat
ing to labor engaged in manufacturing
and transportation industries.
"A second secretary, whose duties
shall be to supervise all matters relat
ing to labor employed In mining and
agricultural industries. '"'
- "A third secretary, whose duties
shall be to supervise all matters re
lating to labor engaged in building and
the mercantile industries.
"That there shall be a branch of this
department to be known as the bureau
of fisheries, under the direction of a
commissioner of fisheries, who shall
have charge of all matters relating to
labor engaged in the fishing Industry.
"That Jhe secretary . of., t be depart-
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o . O
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FAROUHAR
1325 O STREET
ment of labor shall have the power to
appoint boards of arbitration and con
ciliation in labor disputes whenever in
his judgment the interests of indus
trial peace may require it to be done."
Numerous additional provisions are
incorporated to facilitate the operation
of the department.
Bill to Aid Labor.
The present special session of con
gress is likely to do a great many
things for the benefit of the people.
Among the measures already intro
duced in the house of representatives
Is an anti-injunction bill presented by
Representative Henry of Texas, chair
man of the committee on rules. This
measure provides that no writ of in
junction or temporary restraining or
der shall be granted in any case with
out reasonable previous notice to the
adverse party and notice of the time
and place of the proposed action. It
Is considered reasonably certain that
this bill will pass the house.
Chicago Garment Workers.
Final adjustment of the recent gar
ment workers' strike in Chicago, in
so far as the firm of Hart, Schaffner
& Marx Is concerned, has been effect
ed by the granting of a 10 per cent
Increase in pay to the employees of
the tailoring and trimming depart
ments and 5 per cent increase to the
cutters. The employees are also per
mitted tba right to bargain collectively
and to have their grievances adjusted
by arbitration, but the union is not
recognized. The aggregate cost to the
firm will be about $200,000 a year.
German Shipyard Strike.'
A strike and a lockout have stopped
all work at the Schichau shipyard, de
laying the completion of the battle
ships Oldenburg and Aegir. Recently
900 workers struck work, and the 1,300
men remaining at work refused to as
sume the duties of those who were
out Accordingly the directors of the
company decided to lock out the whole
force.
UNIONS A POWER FOR GOOD-
Ceaseless In Their Unselfish Efforts to
Aid the People.
Labor unions are the most effective
missionary bodies in the world, accord
ing to Mrs. Daniel R. Waid of the wo
man's board of homo missions of New
York. She addressed the first session
of the fortieth annual meeting of the
woman's Presbyterian board of mis
sions of the northwest in Chicago re
cently. "The church missions are forceful,"
said Mrs. Waid, "but they do not ac
complish to a sufficient degree for the
energy expended the results obtained
First Trust and Savings Bank
Ownediby Stockholders of First National Bank
The Bank for The Wage Earners
Interest aid at. Four er Cent.
139 South Eleventh Lincoln, Nebraska
by the unions in their ceaseless and un
selfish efforts. The union leaders see
the evils that they know will hurt the
class of people in which they are inter
ested and without delay take steps to
abolish them. For the most part we
church workers are not sufficiently on
the alert to recognize the vices and
wrongdoing that are hurting the un
enlightened peoples at home and
abroad and have to have the evils
shown to us by having them revealed
in magazine articles. When we finally
do awake to the necessity of lending a
helping hand we are badly handicap
ped and obtain only a fraction of the
result we might have gained if we had
acted quickly.
"The parade of union workers fol
lowing the New York fire accomplish
ed more by that act than any other
body of missionaries could ever accom
plish. On a cold, disagreeable day they
exposed themselves to illness in a pro
cession lasting four hours, in which
they passed the offices and homes of
the men who had failed to provide
safety for the unfortunate employees
that they might have more money in
their pockets."
.1. A. Franklin, international presi
denf of the Boilermakers and Iron
Ship Builders of America, says that
an assessment of 3 to 6 cents will be
levied upon each of the 3,000,000 mem
bers of the American Federation of
Labor to aid J. J. McNamara, secretary-treasurer
of the Structural Steel
Workers.
Trade Union Notes.
Trade Union Briefs.
About 10,000 union machinists ar-e on
strike in New York city for the eight
hour day.
The reason the toiler does not ac
quire riches Is because he works him
self instead of working others.
The Pennsylvania Railroad company
is preparing to withstand a long strike
siege by the shopmen of the Pittsburg
division.
O. M. Hilton, formerly of Denver,
now of Pomona, Cal., will be one of
the attorneys to defend John J. and
James B. McNamara, arrested in con
nection with the Los Angeles Times
and other dynamiting outrages.
Unless Judge Walter Bordwell, pre
siding judge of the supreme court of
Los Angeles county, determines other
wise the trials of the three ironwork
ers under arrest for dynamiting will
be held before him. It was in Judge
Bordwell's department that the indict
ments were returned.
Machinists of Baldwin Locomotive
works, Philadelphia, are agitating for
an eight hour schedule.
Philadelphia plumbers have struck
for $4 per day, an increase of 50 cents,
and double pay for overtime.
E. Boynton Armstrong of Lynn, mas
ter workman of the Cutters National
Trade assembly. Knights of Labor, has
resigned.
The Alabama division of the A. F.
of L. protested against the manner in
which John J. McNamara was arrest
ed in Indianapolis.
Sixty per cent of the adult workers
of Great Britain receive less than $7.50
weekly wages, according to statistics
quoted in the house of commons.
Representative Reilly of Connecticut
has introduced a bill providing an
eight hour workday for mail carriers
and clerks in first and second class
postoffices.
J. L. Ford of Clinton, representing
the Order of Railway Conductors and
chairman of the railway legislative
board for Illinois, was expelled from
the floor of the Illinois senate recently.
The entire labor lobby accompanied
him.
New York's Labor Army.
There are now more than half a mil
lion members of labor unions in New
York state, according to the returns of
the state department of labor. The
total on Sept. 30, 1910, was 482,000,
and the increase since that time will
exceed 30,000. bringing the total to
date up to about 512,000. Union mem
bership in the last decade has nearly
doubled, and the proportion of organiz
ed labor to total population is more
than. 54 per cent. ... .