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A Newspaper with a Mission and without a Muzzle that U published in the Interest of Wageworkers Everywhere. ' ',.;.
VOL. 2 ElNCOIiK, NEBRASKA, OCTOBER 20, 1905 NO. 28
t , . ..... .... . .
Am Open Letter to the Woman's
CMb
S
To Mrs. J. C. Harpham, president; Mrs. Harry
1 Eames, vice president ; Mrs. W. A. Poin
ter, second vice president; Mrs. W. M. Wid
cner, recording secretary; Mrs. E. G. Tyler,
corresponding secretary; Mrs. J. L. Kellog,
treasurer; Mrs. V. C. Phillipps, auditor;
Miss Phoebe Elliott, honorary president;
Mrs. Lee' J. Dunn, leader of home depart
ment; Mrs. Ralph E. Johnson, leader of art
department; Mrs. J. W. Johnson, leader of
current events and, delsarte departments ;
Miss Blanche Garten, leader of parliamen
tary department; Mrs. C. E. Williams,' lead
er of literary department; Prof. Patterson,
instructor ; Mrs. O. J. King, leader of history
department; Miss Tremaine, instructor;
Mrs. A. M. Baird, leader philanthropic de
partment; Mrs. Louise M. Allen, leader
French department; Miss Heppner, instruc
tor; Mrs. R. G. Clapp. leader of physical cul
ture, and all members of the Lincoln Wom
an's Club Greeting :
At the recent state convention of the Wom
an's Clubs of Nebraska a prominent club wom
an from another state called your attention to
the great field of work lying before your clubs,
namely the abolition of the "sweat shop" and
the emancipation of thousands of white slaves
now suffering bondage worse than that suf
fered by the negro before the emancipation
proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln.
This wise and philanthropic club woman point
ed out the fact that there has been organized
a "Consumers' League" in the United States,
and that the league had issued a label to. all
manufacturers whose factories were sanitary
and whose employes were treated with con
sideration. Then she made the plea that the
women of the country demand this label, the
intention being to do away with the sweat
shop by refusing to purchase the products of
unrequited toil. ,
The Wageworker hastens to assure the
womanhood of Nebraska that this is a grand
move in the right direction, and will receive
the hearty support of this paper and the in
terests it tries to represent. But let us call
your attention to a few facts.
There is already in the field against the
sweat shop an organization much older than
the Woman's Club, and which has been fight
ing the sweat shop evil longer than the average
life of the members of all the woman's clubs
in Nebraska. This organization, made up of
scores of smaller organizations, has already se
cured the enactment of many laws in the in
terests of wage earners. It has compelled bet
ter sanitation in mills, mines and factories; it
has compelled the erection of fire escapes on
factories ; it has enacted laws against child la
bor and compelled the enforcement thereof; it
has reduced the hours of toil; it has bettered
the wages ; it has compelled the betterment of
school facilities in manufacturing centers. In
short, this organization has done more for the
great working class than all other agencies
combined, unless it be the spirit of the Naz
arene which is always working to the better
ment of mankind. This organization, made up,
as before stated, of a number of organizations,
is known in the industrial world as "Organ
ized Labor."
Organized labor presents itself to "you in
very many phases printers, garment work
ers, pattern makers, engineers, cigarmakers,
carpenters,, masons, plumbers, electrical- work
ers or any other of a hundred or more trades
and crafts' But although working under dif
ferent names all of them work along a single
line the betterment of the condition of those
who toil.
. The Union Label.
These crafts, in order to protect themselves
and the purchasing public, have adopted dis
tinctive labels, the label representing the craft
working upon the article presented for public
approval. Thus the allied printing trades label
appears on nrinted matter put out from a shop
conducted under union conditions. The gar
ment workers' label appears on all wearing ap
parel put out from shops meeting the tequire
ments of that union.
Now. what are the requirements of these
unions? Perhaps there are those holding mem
bership in your clubs who have erroneous
ideas concerning the labor unions. Some of
you may assert that the unions "deny the right
of a man to work where, for whom and for
what, he pleases." Nothing could be further
from the truth. As unionists we admit the
right of every man to work where he pleases,
for whom he pleases, as many hours a day as
he pleases and for what wages he pleases. But
we who have banded ourselves into labor un
ions and by collective strength, collective sac
rifice and collective effort bettered labor con
ditions and maintain those bettered conditions,
reserve the right to refuse to work with those
who selfishly profit by our efforts while refus
ing to help us bear the burdens of maintaining
them. The so-called "closed-shop" is merely a
shop where only workmen who have joined in
the effort to secure the bettered conditions are
permitted to enjoy them.
We have no desire or intention to antagonize
the "white label" of the "Consumers' League,"
but we do want to call your attention to the
union label, which means much more than the
"white label" can ever mean. The presence of
a union label upon' any article of merchandise
guarantees to the purchasers thereof a great
many things. Among them are these : The
article was not made in a sweat shop ; it was
not made by child labor; it was not made.
amidst unsanitary surroundings; it was rnacle
by men and women who received a fair day's
wage for a fair day's work, and it was made
by men and women whose organization ha.d
enabled them to make e'ugh in a short-hour
day to permit them a few hours of rest and
happiness around the fireside. In brief, the
union label has for more than half a century
been doing what the ''Consumers' League"
proposes now to do. . As the wives and mothers
of the land, we call these facts to your atten
tion and beg that yo give them your earnest
consideration. We further ask your support in
the work that we as union men and women arc
trying to do and are doing.
Let us call your further attention to a few
things accomplished by organized labor within
the last few years:
It was less than two years ago that the la
bor organizations of Pennsylvania and Illinois
secured the enactment of laws prohibiting the
employment of children less than 14 years old
in any mine. This law was bitterly opposed
by the mine owners, and the mine owners had
the support of manufacturers whose factories
were filled with boys and girls and who real
ized that their turn would come next. The
result of the enactment and enforcement of
these laws in Pennsylvania and Illinois was
that more than 10,000 boys were taken from
the.mines and put, into the public-schools to
be trained for useful citizenship in the future.
Do you realize that it has been less than two
decades since the first child labor law was en
acted? And there was never a child labor law
enacted that was not backed solidly by the
labor unions and just as solidly 'opposed b'
the employers.
The Menace to the Nation.
The great menace to the life of this nation
is not the prevalence of graft. It is not the
widespread corruption in politics. All this
can be cured by healthy public sentiment. But
the menace to this nation's life is that which
is threatening to destroy even public senti
ment. It is the industrial condition which is
destroying the unit of national existence the
home. Anything whichends to destroy the
home threatens to destroy the very founda
tions of the republic, for the home is the unit,
and the nation is made up of these units. What
must the future of that nation be whose' chil
dren are forced from the cradle into the fac
tory? What becomes of the home that is de
prived of the guiding hand of the mother be
cause she, too, must watch the whirring spin
dle or attend the insensate machine, alongside
of husband and children, in order that there
may be enough food to ward off starvation?
Yet this condition is the natural tendency that
the labor unions are fighting. The labor unions
contend that-' the- 'man is , the tiaturaKbread-'
winner, and that in a well ordered industrial
condition the husband and father is able to
make a living for his family. But recogniz
ing that this can not be brought about to per
fection, and recognizing that there will always
be times and conditions compelling women
to work,, the labor unions have met that con
tingency with the cry, "Equal pay for equal
work." Therefore, in nearly every skilled craft
a woman whose work is equal to that of her
brother receives equal pay. This is true only
of those trades that are well organized. The
woman , who operates, a typesetting, machine in .
a union printing office receives exactly the
same pay as the man who works by her side
if she does the same amount of work. The
woman who works in a union cigar factory re
ceives just as much for making a hundred ci
gars as her brother workman does. In this
wise union labor is combatting the home de
stroying tendency of modern industrialism, and
certainly every patriotic mother and wife in
America should give the unions a helping hand.
Some Mistaken Notions.
' Doubtless a great many of you have been
deceived into believing that the labor unions
are actuated only by selfish motives ; that they
are made up of agitators and , irresponsibles ;
that their weapons are sticks, stones and re
volvers; that their only object, is to secure
more pay for less work. This charge is brought
only by men whose greed for gain has been'
thwarted and whose conscienceless treatment
pf the helpless has made them rich. Perhaps
you have heard that the demand for an eight
hour day is made because men are so lazy they
want shorter hours. That (is the cry of men
who would compel workmen ito work so many
hours a day that they would bescourged from
bed to workbench and forced from workbench
to bed. The -unions have for' their chief ob
jects the same objects as the churches the im
provements' of the lives of their members, the '
betterment of their ..condition, the safeguard
ing of their interests arid the care of the help
less, the weak, the dependent and the widows
and orphans. The shorter work day is .de
manded not that men may work shorter, hours
but that more men may1 have an opportunity
to work and provide for those dependent upon
them. . ...
Is there anything in all this to which any
woman can take exceptions ? Is there any
thing in all this which does not deserve the
support of every true-hearted wife and mother
and sister in America? , ' . -. A-v
What We Ask of You. "
And now, members of the Lincoln Woman's'
Club, we ask you to help us in all our work'
that has. for its object the betterment of the
condition of the wage earner. Success to von
in your., efforts to push the '"white label" of
the ''Consumers'. League," but why not take 4
a weapon already at hand-7-the Union Label?
If you wear shoes bearing it you wear Shoes
made by a well paid workman in a sanitary ,
factory. , If you wear a cloak bearing it, you
dp not. wear a cloak into the seams of which 1
are stitched thd tears and heartaches of an'
illy paid mother who is striving to support her
fatherless little-ones, but you so wear a cloak
made in a well-lighted shop by a happy faced
woman whose short hours of work enable her
to provide bountifully for her little ones. In
brief, everything ;you buy with the union label
on it js,ja help to the grand organization that
seeks, to preserve the home, perpetuate the na
tion and make 'or better citizenship.
We know full well that there are those ,
among you who are prejudiced" against the '
labor unions. This prejudice may be the re
sult of ignorance or the result1 of misinforma
tion. The labor unions of America challenge
thorough investigation of their methods, their
rules, their objects and their achievements. Un
organized labor never' built a home for its ;
aged and indigent members organized labor
has. Unorganized labor never paid a sick or
death benefit- organized .labor has paid mil- .
lions. Unorganized; labor ' never cared for a
widow or orphan-j-organized labor cares' for '
hundreds and thousands. "Unorganized. labor'
never freed a -child from industrial slavery
and put it into a school organized labor has
freed thousands and given them a chance for
that education which is: the hope of the nation.
Unorganized labor never closed a sweat shop
foul with disease organized labor has driven
them from' the largest cities. .Unorganized la
bor never founded a, hospital,. built a school,
safeguarded health or protected life organized"1
labor has done all 0 these things.
We make rip jclaim that organized labor is"
infallible. We admit that it makes grave mis- '
takes. But it does not iriake mistakes because
it is organized, but because it is made up of
fallible human beings. Out of its mistakes are
coming better things born of experience, just
as the church has profited -by its mistakes. .
In conclusion, The Wageworker ask? you to
help us. to accomplish greater jthjngs in the fu
ture for the betterment of industrial - and' 53'-
cial conditions. ; If you should so desire, or
ganized labor in Lincoln will be glad to select
representatives to 'address you at any time and '
tell you what organized labor hopes to do in
the future and answer -any, and all questions
you may ask. u, . . ;
In. the meantime we ask you to demand the
union label on all that you purchase, for in
that way you are helping to build up the home
and bring sunshine into the lives of the toil
ers of America. . .- - '
THE WAGEWORKER., .
Carpenters Have a
Big Open Meeting
Curpenters and Joiners No. 1055 of
Lincoln has, as a local, engineered a
number of open meetings, and all of
them have been successful. But the
open meeting held last Wednesday I
evening set a mark that is a long
ways ahead of the marks set by its
predecessors. The carpenters have
been working it up for several weeks,
and when the advertised hour arrived
the question was not, "Will we have
a crowd?" but It was, "Where'n the
world will we put 'em all?"
Not only were the union carpenters
out in force, but a large number of
non-union men came in response to
hearty invitations and were treated
as guests. There was plenty, too, in
the nature of entertainment. A huge
tank of lemonade graced a table in
the center of the hall. It was flanked
by apples galore, yellow bananas and
crisp peanuts. Right where the hand
could be laid upon them without
trouble were pipes and smoking to
bacco union made, too and in due
time there were plenty of blue label
cigars In evidence, t Every arrival was
met nt the door and made to feel right
at home, and as soon as the greetings
were over the smoke clouds increased
and the card tables were all occu
pied. Bro. George Quick presided and an
nounced the various features of the
1 program. He extended a warm wel
come to all present and then S. J.
Kent responded In his usual forceful
and pleasant style. A "duplexophone"
the double-headed phonograph that is
manufactured right here In Lincoln,
was set Ngoing, and it ground out a
goodly prdgram of entertaining music
and songs to, the delight of those pres
ent. S. J. Knt, merely to show that
oratory was nal his limit, sang "Cot
tage and Mill," fflld the applause was
go deafening and Vjo prolonged that
he had to return alto sing 'Kittie of
Coleraln."
Hon. L. McReynolds.Vx-member of
h legislature from ClayVounty, who
Is the author of the freeVtext book
law. whb nrptiAnt and made stirring
address. He told what unl
ism had
done and spoke of what it proposed
doing, and he made a strong appeal
to the non-union men to get inside
the fold and help push the good work
along. Mr. McReynolds is a carpen
ter by trade and in love with the
craft. ' His short address was listened
to with deep interest and frequently
interrupted by applause. Silas
Schenck, one of the old-time union
carpenters, told of early struggles
and final triumphs, and Alex A. Cal
lahan everybody knows "Uncle Alex"
got down to brass tacks and gave
the boys a heart-to-heart talk. John
Pirn, another of the old-timers who
is as young as ever, made a stirring
appeal to his non-union brethren and
also warmed up the unionism of the
men inside by telling of the improved
conditions in Lincoln under unionism.
Mr. Maupin, of The Wageworker,
gave some information concerning
the printers' struggle for the eight
hour day and tried to tell from the
basis of his own experience what the
benefits of unionism , are.' He ' also
explained' the printers' methods of
raising revenue. This was in re'
sponse to a suggestion to that effect,
tho carpenters now being engaged in
an effort to increase the regular!
dues.
Then there was more music from
the "duplexophone" and the label ci
gars were handed around. Until long
after the cars stopped running there
was plenty of good cheer and com
panionship on tap at Carpenters' hall,
and the occasion will long be remem
bered as one of the most successful
labor meetings ever held in Lincoln.
A number of applications for mem
bership were received as a direct re
sult of the open meeting, but the
indirect effects will be felt for a long
time to come in the shape of stronger
unionism and more interest in the
work in hand.
Bro. John Badonsik, an old mem
ber of the Carpenter's Union, died at
7:30 Friday evening, October 13. He
had been Bick for a long time with
kidney trouble and had been -unable
to do any work to speak of this sum-
To ttie "Public
Union printers throughout the country are striving for
the Eight Hour Day. Strikes are in progress in Chi
cago, Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Buffalo and other
large cities. Printers point with pride to the fact that
they are conducting their strike in an orderly and law
abiding manner, and to the added J act that they are
winning. The justice of their demands cannot be
questioned. They ask the support of the public. You
can help the printers by demanding the Allied Trades
Label on your printed matter
Capital Auxiliary's
Successful Special
mer. Last spring he built a home
at Seventh and H streets. Bro.
Badousick was for a long time fore
man for John Traas, the contractor.
He leaves a wife and two children to
mourn his .; loss. The members of
union 1055 , extends , to- the bereaved
ones their heartfelt sympathy. Vi
Pursuant to call quite a number of
our members assembled at the hall
Sunday at 2 p. m. to pay their last
respects to Bro. Badonsik, deceased.
The chair appointed three pall bearers
who were sent to the home to attend
services there. A committee on reso
lutions and draping the charter were
appointed, and Bro. S. J. Kent was
appointed marshal. The carpenters
marched to the A. O. U. W. hall,
where they were oined by a delega
tion from the A. O. U. W. lodge. At
2:45 special cars were taken to the
cemetery. There our members
marched with the funeral cortege to
the grave. After the burial cere
mony, which was conducted by the
A. O. U. W., the marchers again fol
lowed the mourners to the gates of
the cemetery.
Bro. Ipson, who had such a narrow
escape from serious injury while work
ing at the postofHce, is reported by
the sick committee as improving
nicely.
Bro. James Leslie, a new member
of 1055, who recently came to this
country from Scotland, where he was
affiliated with the Associated Carpen
ters of Scotland, has taken a clear
ance to Billings, Mont.
It ia claimed that some, of our news-,
papers are publishing to the world
that carpenters in Lincoln get from
32 y to 55 cents per hour. Our mem
bers would like to- see the color of
the man's hair who is getting 55
cents in Lincoln. It is true that a
very . few foremen get 50 cents per
hour, but the average wage for jour
neymen in this city is 35 cents.
Work is not as. brisk as it was,
as many jobs are waiting on- mate
rial. Quite a few of our members allow
themselves to get three months in
arrears; then they will pay a little
along, still remaining in arrears. If
anything should happen them they
would , not get a cerit of insurance.
Remember, when' a member owes a
sum equal to three months dues he
is in arrears and cannot again be
in benefit until three months after all
his arrearages are paid in full.
The evenings are now getting long
and we should have some rousing
good meetings. Try and interest
every non-union man you know in the
benefits of unionism.
. t
. !
A certain ex-member of the union
was boasting the other day about the
money he was making by working
ten hours instead of eight. ' There
were many men during the civil war
who' stayed-' at home land made money
while their fellows went to the' front
and gave their lives ofr their coun
try's welfare. But there were few of
these kind of people who had the gall
to boast of it. s
Last month the 'United Brother
hood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America paid out in benefits the sum
of $20,000, which shows one .of the
benefits accruing to members of that
union.
Members of the Brotherhood of
Carpenters employed in the .Wana
maker store in Philadelphia were last
week ordered to work in the new
building, on which a strike has been
called by the Council of, the ' Allied
Building Trades. They laid . down
their t tools and - walked out. This
action is likely to be followed by oth
er trades employed on the old store
if similar orders are issued to them.
Kdward Ralston, a promising young
American, half owner of the Sierra
gold mine; forced to "buttle"....,;
Paul Riemenschnitter
Chauncey Oglethorpe,' Ralston's part
ner, second son of Lord Doncaster,
and very shy: . . .Victor Barngrover
Mrs. Ondego Jhones, a rank admirer
of all who bear titles . : .
. .'.Miss Emma Schaal
Sierra Bengaline, a prairie rose, who
knows how to sling, slang; niece of
Mrs. Ondego Jhones.....".....;...,
. . . ;.'... .' .'. V.Mlss Hazel Smith
Lady Guinevere ".. Llandpoore, an Eng
lish primrose ;in, search of .the Amer
ican "fascination;" daughter of the
Karl of Pay naught. Miss Clara King
"Bob". Buckram has returned to
Falls City, but will be back with his
family in a short time and will make
Lincoln his home.
Above is the cast of characters that
presented the charming little two-act
parlor farce, "A Box qf Monkeys'," at
Bohanon's hall last Wednesday even
ing under the auspices of Capital Aux
iliary No. 11. Despite the handicap of
having neither stage nor scenery the
presentation was a success, and an
audience that completely filled the
hall testified to its appreciation by
constant applause and laughter.. The
five characters were presented in a
manner that left nothing to be de
sired, and the lack of stage and scen
ery was compensated for by the clever
ingenuity displayed in using the mate
rial at hand.. , ,
The participants aVe all connected
with the Auxiliary a. fact" of ; which
the Auxiliary ;. is on'ow prouder 'than
ever and worked hard and faithfully
to make the occasion a success. The
Wageworker will not Undertake'-, to
make individual mention of the act
ors and actresses, but will content
itself with saying Athat "A Box' of
Monkeys" has seldom been presented
by amateur . talent in such a clever
manner. Every ' ludicrous situation
was made the mrist of, and the dia
logue never lagged. , A large number
of friends of the Auxiliary were pres
ent and they were, a unit in declaring
that the occasion was an unusually
was clearned and the remainder of
the evening was spent in dancing and
social intercourse. " The attendance
was unusually large, and as a result
everybody asserted that it was perhaps
the most successful social ever given'
by this enterprising organization.
Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Mickel, and two
children, Helen and Harold, came
down from Harvard to attend the so
cial, and their many' friends were de
lighted to meet them. Mrs. Mickel ;
and the children will remain for a '
visit of several days, but Mr. Mickel
returned Thursday evening to keep -.
his "mill gong." He im pleased with .i
his pleasant "sit" and makes a lot of
the Lincoln boys feel badly by telling
how he rents an eight room house tor.'-.j
17 a mjonth and buys potatoes for 20
cents a bushel. J ,
. ' All members of Capital Auitiliary' . ;
No. 11 are requested to meet at Hay-;
den's studio next Tuesday afternoon
at 2:30 for the purpose of having a
group picture taken" for the. forth-. "
coming number of ,Leaden's Annuar
Labor Directory v. s' v , i ,
The "permanent ' home '- committee"
of the Typographical Union will meet
with Mr; Maupin, 1216 G street, Sun
day evening at 7:30. V'
- Art Bowman, whose home is in
Omaha, but who is becoming the great
American .traveler,1 dropped into Lin- -coin
Tuesday and has spent several
day 8 hanging elevators. Vr . .; V
Ollie Mickel, after ' working tempo- ;
rarily in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Port-
land, Spokane, ; Oakland : and San
Francisco, is now operating a mill in
Sacramento and says he is weli' satis
fied with the "sit." . .. ' '
pleasant one. . . -
After the dramatic offering the hall helps.
. This week The Wageworker has no
apologies to make. It would have
carried more advertising if the man
ager could have found time to go
after It. The merchants of the city
are coming to realize this paper's,
value as an advertising medium. And J
you can help the realization along'
by saying that yotf saw the "ad" in
The Wageworker: "Every little bit'
1
