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About The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-???? | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1906)
r r? n r it 0 J -r& -j y . A Newspaper with a Mission and without a Muzzle that is published in the Interest of Wageworkers Everywhere. - ':, i VOL. 2 LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, APRIL-, 190 ,'.."'", :; ' ' KO, 52 ; ' i i " I i ..... . . . ' A Lesson in Having followed our youngsters to ' the Pacific coast and loeated myself on a suburban chicken ranch, I was surprised and pleased to find that one of our nearest neighbors was Billy Gorman. ' His father, a well-to-do farmer, had been my neighbor years ago" in western New York. Billy had at first made but poor use of his abil ities and opportunities, and after a : brief career as a country lawyer and ima11 politician had left his country for his country's good. But, soon tak ing a sudden turn for the better, he fchad learned the trade of a sawyer in 'a planing mill in Barberton, O., and had permanently adopted the life and -- habits of an industrious and thrifty . mechanic. With a view to more rapid accumulation of worldly goods he had followed the star of empire and of high wages to San Francisco, coming by way of Texas, where he worked two years in the Murray cotton gin ' factories in Dallas. I greatly enjoyed renewing my ac quaintance with Billy, who was at his worst ' a Tery interesting and likable boy. We had many good visits over our garden fence, In the course of which I learned much of his interest ing history since leaving his early home. I even advised tiim to shed his corduroys,' now that his steady habits must be fully confirmed, and take, up again the practice of the law, for which " he had shown a great, liking and apti tude even as a youth. But he claimed to be contented with his condition, and wished to take no further chances with the excitements and temptations of the forum and its environments. "Anything, fresh, Billy?" I asked him this morning. "Why, yes," he replied, "I have had a letter from my old foreman with Clark Bros. In Barberton. They are setting up a new plant In Fort Wayne, and directed him to offer me' a good place there, If my services are not too high priced," , ' I had previously known that the Murray company held out tempting In ducements to dissuade Billy from leav ing Dallas, which he did mainly on" ac count of the suffering of his family in the torrid summer climate of Texas. "Billy," said I, "you have been ' marked for promotion in every place where ycu have worked till you got to San Francisco. Here you have stood four years at the same set of saws, with no prospect In sight of ever ftein,-? offered a better position." . "But," Billy rejoined; "if Clark Bros, gave me a department in Fort Wayne, I should have to work at least an hour longer and for probably half a- dollar less a day than 1 get here at my saws." "That may be, but your position here U not so good but it might be better. What strikes me is that you have either lost your superior qualities as a man and a cutter and handler of fine lumber, or else they are not appre' elated here as they have been else' where.- Do you know the reason?" "Yes, I do," replied Billy. "It is the labor unions here, the same that se cure me better pay for hand work. than Clark Bros, would have to pay for my alleged superior capabilities in In diana." "As to your high wages, I under stand that they are at the mercy of those same unions, which may at any time, without your consent or ap proval, call you off from your work- altogether." "Yes, that Is true, and you can see Indicating his pretty home, and its ample surroundings,, "what provision I am trying to make against such an emergency. Throe-fourths ot our neighbors, - too, are worklngmen like me, and are throwing the same kind of an anchor to windward.' "Well, whether or no," I pursued, "Is not half a dollar a day poor compensa tlon for keeping at manual work which any man could do, and leaving your higher and more valuable capacities unused and undeveloped?" "O, I Rive my higher capacities their innings out .of work hours. I have found more than a plenty to do and to think of which has been profitable to me In one way or another." "Yes, Billy; but tow let -me ask Do you try as hard to do your best for your employer, now . that yoi are union man working In a completely unionized industry? And does your employer know or care If you do? In short, does not your union connection tend to make you no better than any one of a dozen sawyers In your shops?" "Perhaps: but at the same time it tends to make each of the dozen saw vers as Kood as I am. which on tie whole is a great gain, eh7 ur course the unions, like many modern improve ments. work Borne disadvantage to-1n ' dlvlduals, but we claim to show large balance of public benefit to tfelr ef ed It." v "But you-;it;ouldn't claim 'hat they have been !Sk peSWrt-Jn destioying all Unionism friendly personal feeling between em ployers and employes?" "Granting that they are to blame for this, which I don't admit," said Billy, why should there be that friendly personal interest between those who sell labor and those who buy it, any more than between those who produce and sell eggs and those who buy them? Except as a matter of policy I should no more give any employer more than the ordinary amount of effort in a day's work than you should count out 13 eggs for a dozen." 'And the incentive of good policy has-been removed through the influ ence of the unions," I added, inquir ingly. Yes, by making our proper rela tions, better understood. We no longer egard our employer as a patron to be conciliated by works of supereroga tion nor does he look us over, in search a good boy to pat on the head. My employer Is a very worthy man nd a member of the employers' asso ciation. He and I both know that we are liable to be some day engaged in a battle between our respective organiza tions, a battle caused by no fault 'what ever of his or mine. Of course this prevents any sense of friendly interest between us, for in war we must not love our enemies." "These flourishing and prosperous industries of Sah Francisco then are, in fact, in a state of war?" I asked. "That is about right. We work un der an armed truce." "Well, now, Billy, let us consider. The laborers must be employed, and the capitalists must employ them, if production and civilized existence are to continue. How do you justify the organizations which have brought about, a war between these two insep arable and indispensable classes?" 'On the ground that tkey haven't brought about the war. They have changed the conditions of it, from an industrial despotism tempered by riot and insurrection, ' to a comparatively equal conflict. They have made the numerical superiority of the workers count peacefully, in a dispute, as it ought to. And they have called the attention of the world to the fact thai: there is a war, an irrepresible con flict." Well, Billy, what would .you call the cause of the war between capita and labor?" "Why, I should call it just simply ignorance. Employers and employes fight each other because they haven't yet found out whom else to fight." - "Then why haven't your unions found the enemy?" ".Give us time," said Billy. "Have ou noticed the labor vote In all the great cities this past year? We Union men don't all think, but we all know who among us does think, and where to look for counsel , and leadership when we want them. And before you know it the employers' unions ahd the labor unions will discover what is really doing the mischiefs we have been blaming on each other. They will get sight of the common enemyi Then our guns are all mounted and loaded ready to train on him." Do you know 'his' name?" was my final Inquiry. . "Sure I do. It Is Prlivlege, Mr. Legal PrilvleRe, short shrift to him!" I took off my hat to Billy. E. P. Rounsevell, in The Chicago Public. THE MINERS' STRIKE. Many Operators Signing Up and the Outlook Is Good. The long anticipated miners' strike is on at last, but it is not, what' the public was led to believe it would be. Scores of operators in both the bitumi nous and anthracite fields are signing up, and the number of men out, while smaller than anticipated, is being les sened every day. So far the" strike has not been marred by any disturbances worthy of note, save in one or two places where the foreign and ignorant element, pre dominated. President' Mitchell is. handling the situation with his usual skill and the men are confident of winning. "THE BRYANITES." Col. Ducky" Holmes' Players Have Been Duly Christened. "Ducky" Holmes' baseball team has been duly christened "The Bryanltes," and will be known by that name during the season. That is the result of a vote taken by a local evening paper. The rerabers of the team have about all reported for bvrsffiemd practice at tni new parn is go jn pierriiy Mahager Holmes is not Juvlng Vent to any not air aDout winning tnc pen nant, but he avows and avers tftat t has got a mighty good club, amp that he is going, to give. Lincoln an imbibi tion of clean ball that will tick? "fans;-' mightily.. . ! the WOMAN'S HOME COMPANION. Reported That Its Management Has Signed with Printers. Word was received in Lincoln Wed nesday afternoon that the Crowell Pub lishing Co.'s successors in the publica tion of the Woman's Home Companion had signed up with the Springfield, O., Typographical - Union and that the strike has been declared off. All the union printers return te work, and the men in other departments who went ouc with the printers are back again. Full details of the whole matter will be given next week. If this report of victory is true and the:xs is no reason to doubt it the union printers of the country have their v. ives and sisters in the Auxiliary to thank for it. Acting alone the printers would have been practically helpless, for the magazine caters al most wholly to the women. And when 3,0M) earnest union women got busy with the advertisers and among the subscribers there was something doing in the financial department of the pub-, licatiou. - It is a magnificent tribute to the unionism of the women and shows clearly' that unionism can not win- its real victories without them. The Wageworker doffs its bonnet to the Auxiliaries to , the Typographical Union, and to the Auxiliaries of all trades anions everywhere. God -bless 'em! ' axxxxcococcxcxxxxxro A Remarkable Strike - - i (From the Lincoln Daily Star) Very few people, comparatively, outside of those directly affected, are aware that one of the greatest strikes in th history of trades tmionism has been going on in the United States and Canada for upwards of six months. The first skirmishes began last October, although the real battle did not begin until .Jan uary 2. It is the strike of the union printers of the country for the eight-hour day. The strike has been conducted in' a most orderly manner. Not one charge of rioting or assault as been proved, although several charges were made. Injunctions set ting forth charges of assault have been denied after full hear ing, and several judges have even gone to the length of uttering what might be constructed as compliments to the printers for their quiet and. orderly conduct in the face of great provo cation. , ' The printers have quietly submitted wherever they could not secure a modification of the injunctions, and have relied wholly on moral suasion and the justice of their cause. In the management of their strike they have set a splendid example to all trades union organizations. That the printers are winning is proof that their methods are the best. The general public hears very little of the struggle 'because it has very few "news features," but wherever ffeople understand the situation their sympathies are almost wholly with the. Typographical union. CXXXX)CXXDCOCCOCXXX THE BARBERS. Some Comments on Changes in the Craft's Condition Lately. Ever stop to think about what great changes have taken place in th: barber business during the last two or three hundred years?" queried the man on Chair io. s. uaroering is one ot the oldest trades in the world. It antedates mechanics of all kinds. There were hundreds of barbers bs fore printing was invented. For a thousand years before the steam en gine was invented barbers were doing business at the sign of the striped polo Long years before Moses lifted tip th ; brazen serpent in the wilderness, or Aaron made the golden calf, men wer-j engaged in the barber business. Our trade is one of the oldest in the wovl(i. and , yet greater changes have been made in it during the last half- century than in all the centuries that 'have gone before."-. "No, 1 don't care for any tonic," said the man in the chair. "Just tell me some more about, the barber business." 'AVell,' said the man on Chair No. 3, "in the old days the barber was a sort of surgeon as well. From the surgical end of the profession we get the pres ent barber sign--the striped pole. The stripes represent the bandages the bar- "bcrsi ;ised to v.ir.d around the subjects of their surgical skill. That knob at the top of the pole used to be a basin. representing the basin that the old barber-surgeons were wont to use to catch the blood of their patients. A generation or two ago bleeding wasva sovereign remedy for everything from fits to sore eyes, and the barber-surgeon was called on to do the lapping." And they do it yet," ventured the man in the cliair. " ' - "Yes, non-union barbers do," replied the man on Chair No. 3. "Union bar bers have quit the bleeding business. As I was saying, the bjirbgjiajused to be surgeons. In the eightenth century King George II ly royal edict separat ed the two' professions, and surgery as a part ot the barber business was pro hibited. For centuries the business was s ather looked down upon, and it was- a poor paying business at best. The hours were woefully long and the pay email. But gradually ' great changes have taken place. The hours have, been shertenec, the pay has been increased, and labor - saving . devices have been installed. The barber chair as we know it today la of . compara tively recent oriign. First came the moveable headrest. Then some inven tive genius brought in the ..reclining chair. Now we have ! the reclining chair with pneumatic cushions, folding rests for the feet, movable headrest and comfort beyond compare." "Mighty nice things to rest in," ad mitted the man in the chair. "That's what," said t the man 0,1 Chair No. 3. "And it helps the busi ness. Lots of men drop in for a shave because' they can snatch a few, min utes rest in the chair. Thirty or forty years ago 50 cents was about the limit for a man to spend at one time with a barber. Nowadays it is not uncom mon for a man to cheerfully give up a dollar or more. Shave,, hair cut, sham poo, face massage, hair tonic and mus tache curled all of which makes good business." "No, never mind .the shampoo to aay." "All right, sir. Comb wet or dry? All right. But one of the greatest changes has been in the personnel of the men wiio follow the. business. TUey are proud of their trade now, take a pride in being skilled workmen, and have an organization that benefits both barber and patron. Thank you, sir. come in again." "Who was the first barber?'' queried the customer. "Can't say, sir. But Jacob was an early one. Remember how he trimmed Lubuu in that cattle deal? And Jacob, you remember, got to heaven by a mighty close shave." THE PRESSMEN. A Little Explanation of Mr. Woodruff's Open Letter. L. D. Woodruff's letter in last week's Wage worker is calculated to do the Pressmen's Union of this city a grave injustice. When the pressman of whom Mr. Woodruff complains applied for his card it was lefused and the matter submitted to the president of the international. It was decided that the card could not be withheld. But the local union immediately imposed a fine of $25 on the derelict member and refused to issue him a card until the fine was paid. The derelict member then asked for a withdrawal card, and It was granted. But before he can again work at his trade as a pressman he must take oh I a new card, and he will have to pay the $25 fine before it will be granted to him. If he pays the fine it is the intention of the local union to reimburse Mr. Woodruff. The local union ot Pressmen tried every way possible to protect Mr. Woodruff, and the boys feel that their side of the case has not been given propei- publicity. , The Star pressmen have been doing extra duty for several days, getting ready to remove the press to the rear room. . They will have mucn Detter quarters when the change is made, The spectacle of a union pressman mounting a ladder and- doing electric wiring is not an edifying one. He would "hoHer his head off'.' if a union electrical worker subbed on the press. There are five web presses in Lin coln, one at the Free. Press, one at the Star, two at the Journal-News and one in tha Journal job departtnent. They turn out more Impressions, than any five web presses between, Chicago and the Pacific coast. IN LIVELY FREMONT. Unions in That Good City Hustling to the Front. There are six unions in Fremont, Nebr., and ail of them are alive and doing business: Enthusiasm is mani fest among the union men and they maintain a Central Union that leaves nothing undone to advance the cause in that city. A movement is on foot to have the unions of Fremont repre sented in The Wageworker every week, and the editor assures the boys that they ca nhave all the space they want. Twelve years ago the editor of this paper assisted in the organization of a 1 ypographical Union in Fremont. but owing to the panic of 1895-96 the union was forced to give up its char ter. However, the time seems ripe for the organization of another union among the printers of that city. All of Fremont's unions meet regu larly and keep a sharp eye on trade conditions. They are working in one of the best of the small cities of the west, and they have plenty of room to grow. Representatives of The Wage- worker are now there in the interests of the "Friendly List Edition," and are meeting with splendid success.' It ts to be hoped that the local unions will select a live correspondent and keep the Lincoln unions posted on what is doing in the lively little city on Jim Hill's new extension. LOCAL MENTION. A Few Brief News Notes About People and Things Hereabouts. Is the label in your hat? Is the label in your shoes? Got a label on your collar? If not, why not? Read what the Tribe of Ben-Hur has to say in this issue. Louis Maupin is visiting with rela tives In North Bead. Is the label in your coat? It is if you are a good union man. For union made shoes, best quality and style, go to Rogers & Perkins. Rogers & Perkins carry the "largest line of union made shoes in the city. Mrs. J. E. Mickel and her two, chil dren, Harold and Helen, of Harvard, are visiting with relatives and friends in Lincoln. Blufr Ribbon" cigars,' manufactured by Neville & Gartner, and sold by all dealers, are union made in Lincoln. Smoke them and be happy." Lincoln, Beatrice, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, Fremont and Omaha will be represented in The Wageworker's Friendly List Edition." ' And that edi tion will be a corker. Wait for it. You can usually tell-a Union Panter In Lincoln these days by the smile upon his face. The painters are meet ing with huge success in their cam paign for the closed shop the eight hour day and a slight 'increase in the minimum wage. The employers are coming across with enthusiasm, and the boys are giving them a . hearty Teeting. ' , A. T. Nelson, a member, of the Stereotypers' Union, h&s decided to be farmer, and has left town to -take up residence on his farm at Alice, Ne braska. Mr. Nelson has been in ' the employ of the Western Newspaper Union for twenty-one years, and is one of the best at the trade in the west. He will be followed by the hearty good wishes of all the. union men in the city. MAKE IT A GENERAL HOLIDAY. The baseball season in Lincoln will open on Wednesday, May 2, at which time f Manager Rourke will bring his Omaha Indians down'and let Manager Holn'es' Bryanites make monkies ot them. Lincoln has been ripe for pro fessional ball for three or four years, and now that it has it, it is up to the lover3 of ' the sport to give it hearty support. " '-. The Wageworker suggests that the opening day cf the season be made a half-holiday, that all the business houses close and everybody hike out to Antelope park and watch the Bryan ites fccalp the Indians. It will start the season off with a whoop and will make everybody feel good. Fifteen thousand people eught to be on hand to cheer "Ducky" Holmes' boys on to a glorious victory. Give us a half holiday on Wednesday, May 2. LET 'EM PAY WAGES. A lot of Eastern papers are crying about a possible shortage of men. to construct V etern railroads. There is no- trouble about men if swinish con tractors will offer decent wages and provide occommodations fit for human beings. The average Western railroad- contractor pays wages more suitable to China than to America and his camp would make a self-respecting hog long for home and mother. There are more men than jobs in this booming West of ours, and the railroads can hire them if they wilt pay living wages. Denver Clarion-Advocate. ! A Slap in Labor's Fac President Roosevelt's answer to the petition of the labor interests present ed to him Wednesday was character istic of some of his most exasperating traits. With all possible vehemence he' proceeds to claim that he is more devoted to the interests of the wager worker than anyone else can possibly be, and then proceeds to tell these elected, delegates," representing 2,000, 000 organised working people, that everything they ask Is either wrong or has been already granted by his own beneficent solicitude. . It-.is easy to see why the present chief executive often exasperates those who are his best friends. The positive opinions and self-assertion which have given him his power and his usefulness are not so pleasant to meet when op posed to what is desired by a given individual or organization.- ' ' The president is- nothing if not in fallible, and when this trait is exhib ited in accordance with one's own con victions it is admirable; when contra- wise it is enough to make one rage! The News is well content when this obstinate ' assurance of all-wisdom is fighting for rate control and corpora tion surveillance, but when it is used to insist: on lessening the stringency of Chinese exclusion,: approving a so- called anti -in junction law which vir tually legalizes " injunctions against labor and insists on an unlimited day for Panama labor, we could wish that his imperial mandates were' not bo emphatic. Labor pretested that Chinese labor er were already coming in consider able numbers because of the presi dent's insistence on more lenient in terpretation of present laws. The pres ident calmly denied the fact in toto, and said he should insist on more lib eral laws as well as more lax enforce ment. ' v ' While he still insisted that neither skilled nor unskilled labor should bt: allowed to enter .America: Christ and 'Labor troubles" come as the result of an advancing 'civilization. Social unrest is sometidfes an indication of social progres. There are no labor troubles in "Darkest Africa." There fore, the cloud on the industrial hori zon has its silver lining, if one will but look for it. . ,. r Many are the sighs of development on the part, of the working man, but most hopeful is the spirit of pride that he is taking in his position as a work er and as a citizen. Whatever may be said as to the condition of the toiler in some industries or in. some coun tries, his position as . the man upon whom rest the prosperity and . the hap piness of the whole people, is more and more being recognized. The brain of the country is paying tribute to the brawn. "That being so, the working man will soon come to his own. It is in this respect that he has for himself, that he is winning . the spect of others. ' re- While it is true that the mass of men must of necessity belong to that great company who toil with their hands, nevertheless, the dignity of , that toll has heightened the worker.. It is an inspiration to realize that all toil I even the manual work of the artisan may become as sacred as that of the preacher and of the priest. Men some times make a distinction between sec; ular and religious work. ; Jesus Christ nver did. ; , To him all work ; was sacred. ' Jesus Christ as a carpenter was just- as divine as when He cleansed the leper or preached to the multitude. In every case He was car rying out the will of God. When Jesus stood by the river Jordan, and the heavens opened, and the voice de clared: "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." , He had riever, so far as he knew, performed a miracle or preached a sermon. He had simply been toiling as a carpenter in the little town of Nazareth. . He had pleased God as a carpenter. Here is nerve for the arm and en thusiasm for the skill "I am work ing with God in carrying on His world" There was much more to the labor of Jesus, than mere food and clothing and money. ' The sound of that hammer meant more to the world than so many products in wood. Every nail reached down to the coffin lid of some old tyr anny or superstition. Every chip' of the chisel released a hundred slaves. Not so far-reaching will be the yesult of every ,, worker's efforts in thiji cen tury, but it is a privilege to have at least a part in the work of the "world's redemption by being a co-laborer with Christ in whatever field iie may send 1,0 ' I Helpful the thought tdo, that in the daily grind we" have One who has oassed through it all', so That He. can : Labor's delegation urged - that t anti-injunction bill tefore congress wis ' virtually a bill to authorize what h4 heretofore ' been unauthorized injan tion .restraining labor frdm striking. It was shown that it implied a property -right on the part' of 'capital ''in the la- borer.''" ':"..!""- '':''!" ' .; ' ' 'H Yet the president' quietly informed them that this was a bill he himself -' had worked out. "fhe'l8w''he!say ,'"' "-.vas 'whipped into its present shape at a number of conferences between representatives of the railroad organi zations and the department of justice and the bureau of corporations," and ' he thinks it is all right. The eight-hour law' issues were treated with equal contempt, yet he avowed that no one favored eight hours for labor so much as he? Km-, plovers of the government are refuted all right pf petition ;fqr legislation iu their behalf. Yet Roosevelt informs the 2,0p(.,0) men that appealed to hint -that this denial of petition is his will. Employes of the government must, be -as subservient to their boss as any other Wdgewoi-kers and could appeal only to the heads of their departments. " "Discipline "t must be maintained. . . Of the Panama ; eight-hour protest still less was made. Panama labor a conditions were peculiar to Panama. ' Nevertheless, what he jtaid' regarding' the, falling ntr i-"aP" West In dian negro labor suggests that need ef -an eight-hour regulation. These ne groes, he says, work very well Mon day 'and Tuesday, , but Wednesday there is a falling off, an by Saturday sometimes not more than one-fourth remain. Perhaps if they were worked but eight hours Monday and Tuesday they would stay on through the week. . and progress wonld be advanced thereby. .5 Br.t the 2,000,000 men might as well sent no delegation. ' There will be a yielding. The president will hold hi Own. infallible npintrm. Tien yer Vw - the Toiler sympathize with us in the abuse, the misunderstanding, the bitterness and all the suffering that comes to us 'in the performance of duty. . "This is the gospel of Labor, ? Ring it, ye bells of the kirk'! The Lord of Love came down from ,' above . ' .- . - To live with the men who work.. -This- is the rose He planted Here is the thorn-cursed soil; - Heaven is blessed with perfect rest, . But the blessing of earth is toil." Rev. Charles Stetzle. TRIBE OF BEN-HUR. One of the Great Fraternal Orders of -the United States. : If jou'were going away from your home and family to be gone for three ' or four weeks, you would most cer tainly- leave them enough money to - buy their actual necessities while you were away, wouldn't you? If yoff could know beforehand that you were to be called away from home and family by death and could never return to them. to aid them as you had in the past, wouldn't you do all 'in your power be fore you left to provide means for their - care and support after your departure? Fraternal ; insurance furnishes the easiest ;and best way to provide for them, because y6u can so easily meet the small, monthly payments required to provide a substantial: sum payabl-.v to your beneficiaries in the event your death, or' payable to yourself if -you reach thf age of seventy. The Tribe of Ben-Hur was organ ized . twelve years ' ago and now - has " over one hundred, thousand members. It. also has an ample; Reserve Fund, which is increasing' ih proportion as the membership increases, thus guar anteeing the payment of all claims, for all time to come. Capital City Court NO. 23, has nearly eight hundred members and at the present rapid rate of 'increase, will soon have the honor of being the larg est Court belonging to the Tribe of Ben-Hur in the United States. During the present month there will be no. membership nor initiation fees charg ed, thus making it easy to make the start and secure that much needed pro tection for yourself and family.. It is a sin to neglect it longer. Send your name to C. L. Meshier, Assistant State Manager, No. 115 . North Eleventh street and he will ,see that some good brother or sister .calls upon you. Auto phone 2714 .v- : You can get anion made shoes, men's and women's, at S. L. McCoy'B, 1529 O street. And when you buy them of him; you are patronizing a ood union man. t ' ' : 1 .-': .... - - '. .-.