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THE WAGE WORK
ER
A Newspaper with a Mission and without a Muzzle that is published in the Interest of Wageworkers Everywhere. c , , fchi'1''' - .v
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VOL.. 2 LINCOLN, KEBBASKA, JULY 21, 1905 'Y ' NO. 15 V
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The Reason His
Unionism is Strong
"Whcre'a man's treasure is,
Writ
And truer words never were written. The union man who hasn't
some financial interest in the welfare of his union hasn't much heart
interest in it. Just look around and see what unions are the strongest
Jrom every standpoint, and you will nna tnat tney are mvanaDiy me
ones with the highest rate of dues and the largest assessments. Why?
Simply because their members
sweat into them to make them a
apt to think very highly of those things which cost them nothing in
the way of toil or money, but that which must be labored for is ap
preciated. '
A few weeks ago a Lincoln union man was heard to complain
because his union had tacked up
to help out some strikers, in
dues he was already paying. The total of his union dues and assess
ment was 50 cents a month. And there are union men here in Lin
coln who make no more and pay
triad to do it. The union to which the first man belongs is weak
financially and has had to concede
which the latter belong are strong
hhop by agreement and contract.
Do you grasp the idea?
The men who pay the most
It has always been true, and will
graphical Union as an instance.
The death benefit is $70. It takes seventeen years lor a printer s
per capita tax to equal his death benefit. But the printer pays 1 per
cent on his gross earnings, and in addition he is now paying one
half of 1 per cent additional into the defense fund, to say nothing of
frequent assessments for local purposes. The average printer of
Lincoln is paying $1.50 a month, outside of loc!al assessments and
when they come thev are usually a dollar per. But the printers
pay it, and the result is they have
conditions and an agreement for the closed shop.
The cigarmakers have another union where the money is used
freely. The cigarmakers pay well
is that they have a union that is m many respects the best in the
world. They secured the 8 hour day years ago. Their death and
sick benefits are large, they have a loan fund, and their international
always has money to meet emergencies. Every time you strike a
union cigarmakcr you strike a man who appreciates his unionism
and makes the most of it because he has good money invested in it.
The union that is forever trying to keep its dues down to a low
notch is making two mistakes it is always cramped for funds and it
;s not making unionism worth something because a financial interest
its membership should have is lacking. 'When union men stop to
think of what their unions have done for them in the way of shorter
hours, better conditions and higher wages, it seems strange that
any union man should kick on 1 to 2 per cent in the way of dues.
Hut there are such union men. They are quick to take advantage of
the benefits accruing to themselves by reason of their union connec
tions, but they are forever kicking when asked to pay their share.
There is an example of this sort of foolishness right here in Lin
coln. Three years ago a certain union secured an increase of wages
amounting to $104 a year per member. Inside of eight months after
the increase was secured a lot of the members dropped out of the
union because the dues were raisd from 35 to 50 cents per month.
Today those men are working for from $104 to $150 a year less than
they were when they quit the union. Why? Because the union
couldn't wield the requisite influence on account of a loss of mem
bers. ' For the paltry sum of 15 cents a month $1.80 a year these
so-called union men lost $104 a year each. And they did not deserve
anything else, either. It does seem strange that there are men call
ing themselves unionists who will kick an paying a couple of dol
?;'.rs a year for the privilege of drawing $100 a year more wages.
After yoU have made some sacrifices for your unionism you will
be a better union man than ever. After you have invested a few
more dollars in it you will have the cause of unionism more at
.heart. Commend us to the union man who never kicks about his
dues and assessments. We know that he will do to tie to when the
time comes.
General Items Gathered
From Here and There
For union made shoes go to Rogers
& Perkins.
Central Labor Union meets next
Tuesday evening.
Rogers & Perkins carry a full line
of Union Made shoes.
The Woman's Union Label League
meets in regular session next Mon
day evening.
Every time you smoke a union
made Lincoln cigar you are ading to
the volume of home Industry.
The Nebraska Printing Co., has not
yet deceoved anybody by its claims
to being an "open shop." And it will
not, either.
Herman Bros, are kicking on their
taxes. They are so used to paying
sweat shop wages that they want to
sweat taxes.
Unionists .are requested to remem
ber the merchants who so generously
' aided in making the Central Labor
Union , heneflt a success.
The Commercial club could do some
thing tangible by starting a "home in
dustry" campaign, and making its
first move by selling only Lincoln
made cigars from its case.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Turner re
turned to Lincoln last week. The
Wageworker was in error in stating
that they would no longer make this
city their home, and it is glad of it.
The Carpenters' Union has reached
the 300 mark, an increase of one
third inside of a year. This speaks
well for the hustling abilities of the
carpenters and makes their union the
" largest in the city.
"Deacon" Donham, who will be
pleasantly remembered by a nuiuoci
of Lincoln people, and who Is now
publishing "Donham's Doings" at
Downing, Wis., writes that he Is go
ing to republish the editor's Fourth
ot July speech at the Lincoln Country
1 Club celebration, and adds that it is
there his heart is also," says Holy
have out enough ot their toil and
part of themselves. Men are not
an assessment ot 10 cents a month
addition to the 40 cents a month
from $1 to $2.50 a month and are
the open shop. The unions to
financially and have the closed
dues secure the greatest benefits
always be true. Take the Typo
The per capita is 40 cents a month.
a strong union, splendid working
for their unionism, and the result
a corker. The "Deacon" knows a
good thing when he sees it.
Mrs. Frank Coffey arrived in Lin
coln from Oklahoma last week, and
will remain here during the summer,
accompanying her liusband to Toron
to, where he represents the Lincoln
Typographical Union at the interna
tional convention.
The Lincoln Overall and Shirt Co.,
which made such a pitiful plea for
public charity right after the Halter
block fire, is erecting a costly brick
building on Fourteenth and P streets.
A lot of money that should have gone
to paying decent wages is going into
that building.
USEFUL AND BEAUTIFUL.
The Union Pacific Railroad has just
issued an illustrated booklet on the
Lewis and Clark Centennial, which is
a complete guide to Portland, the Ex
position and the Pacific Northwest
generally.
It is eminently a pocket manual for
visitors to the Centennial. It con
tains a map ' of the United States;
large Blrds-Eye-Vlew map, in several
colors, of the Exposition grounds with
directory; colored map of Portland,
beautiful half-tone Illustrations of the
Exposition buildings; and much gen
eral information concerning hotel
rates, street car lines, and other
things which strangers to Portland
will want to know about.
It tells you of the shortest way to
reach the Exposition City, what is to
be seen en rout and of the return
trip through California.
Those who Intend to visit the Great
Western Fair will find this publica
tion a rare fund of information.
Send two cent stamp in your re
quest, and the book will be mailed
your promptly. Address E. L. Lo
mox, G. P. & T. A., OmaliV, Neb.
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HERE'S A GREAT
The Wageworker is in receipt, of
the following letter, to which the
close attention of its readers is called.
It is written on the official letterhead
of the "Omaha Union Label and
and Home Industry League" and tells
a story that is interesting and profit
able: Omaha, Neb., July 18. To the Edi
tor of The Wageworker: Omaha
unions have adopted a plan which I
would like to call especially to your
attention a plan to boost the sale
of the products of union men.
Now, the old way has been to boy
cott the unfair and say nothing about
the fair product in a practical way.
It is a well known fact that union
men do not patronize the label goods.
There must be a reason for this, and
from a little "Sherlock Holmes
work" we think we have found the
reason. From inquiries from union
men and women we find they will
not ask for the union label, and par
ticularly the women. A few enthu
siasts will, of course, but the majority
do not and will not. If they did con
ditions would be different.
We have organized a Union Label
and Home Industry League with five
delegates from each union. Some sev
enteen unions have been visited by
our organization committee so far,
and practically all have sent dele
gates' and are "dead stuck" on the
proposition. Each union pays dues
of $2 per month to the League. We
have decided to use the Western La
borer and it has been made the offi
cial organ. We buy advertising space
to publish the directory in, and the
plan is to try to get all unions to sub
scribe in a body for the Laborer.
The idea of this list is to make It
easy for union men and women to
buy union goods. If anyone has any
compunctions about asking for the
label they can simply , ask for the
brand without saying anything about
the label, but at the same time they
are using up the union goods that
are on sale. The merchants were vis
ited and asked for their line of label
goods. When we got the list we
checked it up and then compiled the
list as published in the Laborer. We
will revise the list from week to week
and keep it up to date. If a man
wants to buy a union made shirt he
sees in that list that the Elgin shirt
is on sale at such and such places.
He knows the shirt is on sale at a
particular store and the price, so in
'3 r-l''n
that way it is made easy for him
he does not have to ask for an Elgin
shirt and then trot somewhere else
if it is not on sale at the first store.
In a nutshell, our scheme is to
"Make it easy to buy Union Made
Goods."
We would like to see Lincoln, St.
Joseph, Sioux City, Denver, Kansas
City and other, cities take up this idea
and boom our own goods, letting the
other fellow take care of himself. We
publish the list without any expense
to the merchant. Fraternally yours,
J. M. HOGAN.
The plan outlined above is a prac
tical one, and The Wageworker is
happy to state that it has already been
taken up in Lincoln. The Woman's
Union Label League is preparing a
list of union made goods and the
names of merchants handling them,
and in a short time the plan will be
in practical operation. Lincoln, how
ever, has not followed the Omaha plan
to the letter. The Woman's Union
Label League is an independent or
ganization, and UP to date it has not
received proper support from the labor
unions. But so far as the idea of
unions subscribing in a body to the
local labor paper is concerned, Lin
coln adopted that plan when The
Wageworker first started. Today
practically every union in the city
has subscribed for this paper, and
those which have not are just now in
difllculties. This may be a coincid
ence, but it is a fact.
"Make it Easy to Buy Union Made
Goods," is a slogan that should arouse
great enthusiasm. That union men
and women will not ask for union
made goods is a fact that can 1 not be
disputed. If they would the fight
would be won in a walk. Any plan,
therefore, that is calculated to boost
the label should be taken up by" out-and-out
unionists whose unionism is
something better thaa the mere mouth
and card variety.
The union men and women of Lin
coln spend $1,000,000 a year, or more,
with Lincoln merchants. If that vast
amount of patronage could be consoli
dated for union made goods the local
merchants would remain awake at
night framing up schemes to get label
goods. As it is they do not worry
themselves at all, for the simple rea
son that they can sell ' "scab" goods
far easier and at a great profit. It
'rf safe to say that not: 5 per cent of
'he clothing, shoes aud hats, worn
WOOD WO WKt4Sy
Ijillll
11 - jUNION
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S
SCHEME
today by Lincoln unionists bears the
union label and this, too, in spite
of the fact that union made goods in
all of these lines may be found with
very little effort.
Carelessness that is little less than
criminal is responsible for this state
of affairs. If any kind of an organi
zation or plan can remedy it, then in
the name of consistent unionism let
us get together and form the organi
zation or frame up the plan.
The Woman's Union Label League
mtets next Monday evening, -and it
is expected that the committee y ap
pointed to list union made goods will
be ready to make at least a 'partial
ruport. The Wageworker will keep
if3 readers posted, and In the mean
while it is going to keep right on
boosting the label.
THE LABEL LEAGUE
Social Session Enjoyed and Arrange
ments Made for Future Work.
The Ladies' Label League .met with
Mrs. Binder at 730 North Tenth
street. A very pleasant afternoon
was spent. There being only a few
there, nothing of importance was
done, only to talk and arrange for
work to' be done as soon as we in
crease in numbers sufficiently to do
so. . We had a blind bufE writing con
test, which proved to be quite an
amusing feature. ' Mrs. Ilgin won the
royal prize and Miss Binder the
booby. Delightful refreshments. The
League adjourned to meet with Mrs.
M. T. Castor, August 2, at 2042 S
street. MRS. S. J. KENT.
THE STENOGRAPHER'S HUSBAND
Charles W. Post has broken loose
again, and is using big space in the
daily newspapers to tell what brutes
union men are. It might be well to
remind the public again just what
kind of a man Charles W. Post is.
He is the millionaire manufacturer
of imitation food who treated his wife
cruelly because he had been smitten
by the charms of a young stenographer
in his office. So cruel did his treat
ment of his faithful wife become that
she had to secure a divorce. Before
the ink on the decree was dry Post
married his stenographer and hiked
off to Europe, leaving the wife who
had helped him make a fortune to
ponder on the frailty of men, and
watch another woman spend the mon
ey she' had helped to earn.
Eight-Hour Dajr
Has Come, to Stay
Despite our warning and pla4ing -despite every honorabte
effort that could be made by the Typographical and 'Pressmen's
Unions to avert trouble about twenty-six employing printers out oT
nearly two hundred have locked out their employes for refusing to
walk backward or return to the nine-hour day. The other printing
houses among them some of the largest in the city will abide by
the spirit of their agreement, made two" years ago, with the Unions
and continue cn the eight-hour basis. ' j : ' .
This lock-out is "worse than a crime; it is a blunder;" It is'
worse than a blunder; it is a shameful breach i)f fith. It is worse ;
than a breach of faith ; it is a conspiracy, hatchedby certain members
ol the Citizens' Alliance and Typothete, to create .strife between em
ployers and employed. I yji-i' '-
'We believe that a majority of the fiivwhose employes are -locked
out were coerced into playing so dishonorable a part by the
threat that if they did not do so, patronage ,wculd be withdrawn from ;
tb em and their business ruined. We know jfiat' such is the case as
to some, for they have personally so infor;nre"d us. .They will find,',;
too late, that they have been deceived, and thattheir cowardice will
cost them dearly. Not only will they suffeHfiffdiii loss, but, unless
they speedily relent and repent, "the loss' Iself-respect and the
respect of their fellow-men. Even the Citizen'AHiance will have '
contempt for them, and leave them to "rdbtTidgVor die."
As we have stated before, the eight-hour 'day was hot forced, or
thrust, upon the employing printers by theInions.-It came about
by mutual agreement and gradually, a reduction of fifteen minutes
being made every six months during two years.'" It "was a comprom
ise measure, proposed by the employers themselves, ! when the Typo
graphical Union respectfully asked, not for shorter jiours, but that
the scale of wages be increased fifty cents per -day. The. Union
accepted the proposition, not thinking for a mofiient , that any em
ployer wuld seek to abrogate it as soon as it had gone into effect.
There is no reason for a return to the nine-hoar day, and the
only two excuses offered by those who want to soreturn are of fhe
flimsiest character. . . '.'i-
The first excuse is that they are not making a fairprofit with the .
eight-hour day. As we have hitherto pointed out,U.they did not '
make any more profit with the nine-hour day or theten-hour day,N
and wouldn't with a fifteen-hOur day, unless they' charge; a fair price
for their work, which they could easily get if thev had a scale of
prices, as the Unions have a wage scale", and live up to it, instead
of cutting each other's throats. S . ' ;
The second excuse is that they cannot successfully compete with
the East, unless they have the nine-hour day: ",Tb,ey complained that
they could not compete with the East "when the. ten-hour day pre
vailed here. If their claim were well founded, the Eastern employing
printers would not have sent their "walking delegate" here to insist
upon the nine-hour day. Eastern employing printers are just as
hungry for trade as are the employingvprinters of the West, and
would not be apt to help a cause which would take any of that
trade from them. ' :" '-?'r V. 3f..$ , ,
Once more we tell those employers vwhfirhave ldck.ed out their
employes that, vdo ..hatjeym, hehqjir day has pome to ,
stay."' - j. , - . ; Hr
We have made our last appeal to1fcose who are bent on strife
with whom justice and fair play and cordial relations between them
selves and employes count for nothing.There are others, however,
who mean right, but have been ledastray, ,We have always been
pleased to be numbered among their friends, and to number them
among ours. To them we now appeal to consider carefully what they
must have done without consideration. VThey have nothing to gain,
but everything to lose, by permitting themselves to be catspaws for
designing, selfish men, who have no regard for anybody's Welfare
but their own. In the name of honorable manhood, we appeal to
them to call back their locked-out men and let all be peace and good
will once more. In the end, even those who have sought strife must ;
yield to the power of right, supported by the might of public opinion,
which is unanimously on the side of the Typographical and rPess
rnen's Unions and the eight-hour day. San Francisco Star. 1
The Central Labor Union
The Central Labor Union benefit 'at
the Oliver Wednesday evening was the
most successful Jar . affair ever
pulled off in Lincoln, and that is say
ing a good deal.. By S o'clock not a
seat was left in the honse boxes,
loges and gallery being sold out and
not less than 300 people were turned
away. It was a demonstrative aud
ience, too, and it applauded every
point brought out in the plan. Espe
cially was this true in the great strike
scene in the second act, when Swartz,
the blacksmith, stood up for the rights
of labor as against capital, and War
ner, the young superintendent, turned
his back on the scene of his early
struggles and walked out with the
workmen in whose cause he had en
listed. "Lost Paradise" is a magnifi
cent play, and when, in the last act,
the daughter of the mill owner, see
ing her duty after personal investiga
tion took the side or the strikersand
ended the battle, the audience vented
its appreciation in round after, round
of applause. ': i '
The thanks of the Central ' Labor
Union are due to Mr. . Jess Ful
ton and the splendid stock , company
under his direction, and to Manager
Zehrung of the: Oliver,, for their kind
ness and liberality. They enabled the
Central Labor JCnion to clear a neat
sum of money, and their kindness will
long be reiriembered by the unionists
of the 'city. In this, connection It is
only just to the Fulton Stock company
to say that it has scored a splendid
and deserved success during its long
summer engagement, giving the best
of dramas in a style that would well
become the much vaunted "eastern
successes." It is only once in a long
while that a theatre-goer is permit
ted to witness such a uniformly good
company at anything like the prices
that are charged during this engage
ment. It would be only just to make
individual mention of each nembe
of Wednesday evening's cast, bin this
can not be done at this time.;-But
it.' will be said, and truthfully, that
there, was not a poorly taken char
' acter in the entire play, and the play
itself was presented with a wealth
pffjfeenery and detail that marked it .
arf-Tt" triumph for the company. .
ThC.iunionlsts of the city who toiled .
so earnestly to make the benefit a
success are. amply rewarded for their
efforts;' Several of them sold large
blocks of tickets, and there , was a
good natured rivalry started that add-,
ed largely to the profits of the bene- ....
fit The thanks of the Central Labor
nion are also due to the following bus- -iness
firms;, which purchased large ...
blocks of tickets Miller & Paine.,
Armstrong Clothing Co., Lincoln Gas
& Electric Light Co., H. Herpolsheim- -t
er & Co., and j the Lincoln Clothing
Co. It is only right and proper that
the unionists of the city bear" these ,
firms in "mind and show by increased .
patronage their appreciation of their
enterprise and liberality.
'AThe exact financial results are not
yet known, but it is safe, to say, that .
the Central Labor Union will have
100 more in its treasury as a result
tof Wednesday night's performance of
"Lost' Paradise."
"THERE'S A REASON."
Charles W. Post did not oppose his.
wife when she sued for a divorce:",!
''There was a reason."
The reason was a pretty stenog
rapher in his office. ! . .
" The . first Mrs. Post secured a di
vorce 6n the grounds of cruelty.
"There was a reason."
Mr. Post married the reason JtasV
as soon as his first .wife secured- her '
divorce. - " ,
i'i. ' ii- ;.- Conservative . .' r-
. "Is Blgga;!V conservative 'man?' , -
"I should . 'say;, he, is. ' , Why, Biggs
still -rides, one of those old-fashioned
... . . - ... ...
ordinary Tiicycles .and has nis-,nai .
'cut ;around tjife . edge orsV bowl.'
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