The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, November 02, 1906, Image 7

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    HANDIWORK OF UNIONISTS.
A Walk
Will Save You From
$3.00 to $5.00
ON AN O'COAT
There are few people that have so much money
that they would not care to save that amount by a
few minutes' walk.
A step around the northeast corner of 10th and O
streets will bring you't" our clothing store just out
side of the high-rent district. That step will save you
from $3 to $5 on a Cravenette, Top Coat or a heavy
winter Overcoat.
Don't wait for "cut-price" sales they wont be
here till January, and you will need an Overcoat in
November and. December.
You can get it here NOW as cheap as you can get
it at the "cut-price" sales two moths later.
We don't pay O street rent you don't pay O street
prices if you buy here.
SPEIER & SIMON
104-106 North 10th Street.
COUNCILMAN WOODWARD'S
VIEWS.
Expresses Hearty Sympathy With
. Aims and Objects of Unionism.
Editor Wage Worker: I have been
carefully watching the editorials of
your paper. The doctrine you advo
cate meets with my hearty approval.
Organized labor comprises in its mem
bership good citizens, as good as any
municipality can boast of. It it were
not for strikes, the world would hear
but little of the good or bad of organ
ized labor, and yet the greatest of
American statesmen within the mem
ory of living men once said, "Thank
God we have a system where there
can be strtkes. Whatever the pres
sure, there Is a point where the work
lngman may stop." President Lincoln
made this vigorous declaration at
Hartford in 1860 when referring to
the Lynn shoemakers' great strike.
I believe every loader of organized
labor is opposed to strikes, but be
lieving that the only solution of a
difficulty lies. In a strike, reluctantly
consent as a last resort.
Our population is composed largely
of the so-called middle classes, and
the prosperity of those as well as all
classes depends on good wages. The
merchants, the professional men all
are less prosperous when the working
man has less money. We are apt to
lose sight of the all-important fact
that faces the whole people, namely
laboring men spend their money froe
ly and do not lock it up to rust. A
man in Philadelphia, who had a stall
In the market for over forty years,
said to me he would rather have the
trade of one laboring man that the
trade of three rich men. , Business is
sustained by the every day purchase
of the necessities of life and not by
the occasional purchase of luxuries.
Every business man owes a large debt
to trade unions, for they will insist
cm good living wages. The unions
have become a power and are growing
stronger every day, and their powei
i felt at the ballot box, and the party
that protects the labor element's in
terest is entitled to their support. Cap
ital no longer controls the system we
now hav in voting; it gives man the
light to vote according to his own
convictions.
In 1835 the laboring man was getting
but 65 cents for twelve hours' work,
this being a day's work. Girls re
ceived but $1.25 per week in factories
end worked from 5 a. m. to 7 p. m.
Wages were so low that they found
they must organize,' which they did,
and immediately there was a change
in the laboring man's home. In lo
calities where labor unions flourished,
wages went up and hours of labor
were materially reduced, business im
proved and prosperity followed. By
means of strikes, protests and peti
tions, the hours of hard labor were
reduced and all business Improved.
Organized labor has ever been a
school for its members. They are
taught patriotism and that law and
order must be recognized. Organized
labor has ever fought the battles of
our country. Free schools and free
books have come mainly through their
efforts. Every labor law on our
statutes can be traced to their efforts,
end when these organizations are
completely under the control of honest
men with honest intent, it will be the
Around the
WE SAVE YOU MONEY
strongest organization in the world.
Union labor is amply and justly
paid for; strikes and discontent are
sure to exist. The way to prevent
strikes and dissatisfaction is to keep
labor employed at remunerative
wages.
W. A. WOODWARD.
THE CARPENTERS.
Roster of Union Men Grows Longer
Each Passing Week.
There will be a special called meet
ing of local No. 1055, U. B. C. & J. of
A., at Carpenters' hall on Tuesday
evening, November 13, at 7:30 p. m.
sharp. AH members are urgently in
vited to attend this meeting.
Three new applications for member
ship were presented at our last meet
ing. Boys, we're growing.
Local No. 1055 has materially in
creased its membership during the
summer. Not only has it gained num
erically, but also in strength. Our
order is in every way stronger by far
than it ever was before despite the
opposition we were forced to meet,
and have met with practically a united
force. Not only is such the case in
Lincoln, but throughout the nation.
Reports coming to us are indeed grati
fying beyond expectation.
It has dawned upon workingmen
that they must stand together in order
to uphold the principles for which
we contend. Labor has come to
realize that in union is strength; we
realize that what we need most are
such law3 that will place labor on our
equal with capital, or else laws that
will place capital on an equal with
labor. We want special priveleges for
none, but we realize that whatever
we want we must get. No one will
give it to us. Labor now has two
candidates In the field for the legisla
ture. If workingmen do their duty,
they will have two representatives in
our next legislature, men upon whom
you can depend to look after the in
terests of labor, men who will begin
an epoch in legislation such as will
restore this nation to its fundamental
or cardinal principles, where it justly
belongs. Then, and not till then, will
labor have its just reward.
Remember the special meeting No
vember 13.
Everything looks promising and
everybody is busy.
Reports from the general office in
dicate substantial improvements along
the line of organization.
Gompers has hit Congressman Little
field pretty hard. What will he do to
Uncle Joe next Tuesday?
Where is labor next Tuesday? Not
north nor south, yet at the polls.
TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION.
Regular Meeting Next Sunday and
Attendance Should Be Large.
Lincoln Typographical Union No.
209 will meet In regular monthly ses
sion next Sunday afternoon. Every
member should be present.
Scattering returns of the election in
dicate that the salary proposition was
defeated by a vote of about 6 to 1.
Omaha beat it by a vote of 100 to 40.
Washington beat it by at vote of about
1,000 to 250. Chicago beat it 6 to 1.
Edwin R. Wright, president of Chi
cago Typographical Union, has been
elected president of the Illinois State
Corner
"Just Around the Corner."
Federation of Trades and Labor.
The "teapot" no longer has a shop
in Washington.
The "benefit list" is growing smaller
everywhere since the policy of pruning
went into- effect. The "quillers" must
either work when opportunity offers
or quit eating. The policy is a good
one, but went into effect about six
months too late.
Will Bustard returned Saturday
from Custer county, where he went to
investigate a farm proposition.
The George Bros, printery turned
out the Lincoln " postofflce souvenir,
and it was a handsome piece of work.
The North Printing Co. is hurrying
along its city directory, and is meet
ing with splendid encouragement,
every bit of which is deserved.
The Star force has been working
double "stunts" lately getting out the
anniversary number. The scarcity of
,-mill" men made the boys lose sleep.
The edition is a "peach."
- Ed. Howe has turned out his winter
crop of whiskers. That's an infallible
sign that it is time to lay in the
season's supply of coal.
CAPITAL AUXILIARY.
Te ladies in charge of the market
held October 20 have about $10 to add
to our bank account.
We are not doing so bad as we
might. At our last meeting there
were fifteen ladies out, and at the last
meeting of Nashville Auxiliary, No. 7,
there were only three.
A special meeting was held for the
voting of new laws, and five members
were out.
Mr. and Mrs. L. J. Pickett and baby
have been visiting -with Mrs. W. S.
Bustard this week.
Don"t forget when you buy coal to
see that the driver carries a union
card.
The November social committee
with Mrs. Smith as chairman are mak
ing great plans. I hope the memebers
of No. 209 as well as No. 11 will not
forget to come out and get acquainted
again.
Mrs. J. R. Sneath of Toronton, Can
ada, says their auxiliary cleared $86
on the quilt presented to the union
printers' home.
MRS. BUSTARD.
MOTHERS' MEETING.
Friday afternoon several "mothers'
meetings" were held in various parts
of the city, the subject under discus
sion being child labor. The editor
of The Wageworker submitted a few
remarks to a goodly gathering at the
home of Mrs. J. N. Hyder, 824 North
Fourteenth. Unionists who have been
interested . in this great problem for
years are gratified to see the women
of the country taking hold of it. It
means that something more will be
accomplished in the way of eradicat
ing this great evil. The Women's Club
is-1 doing a good work along this line,
and it will have the hearty co-operation
of every sincere trades unionist.
AN EVEN BREAK.
Which do you think is the meanest
the employer who tries to take an un
fair advantage of his workmen, or the
workman who tries to take an unfair
advantage of his fellow-workman?-Potters'
Herald.
I
Correct Clothes for Men) I
Shows to Advantage In the Woodwork
of New Postofflce.
There are three splendid points
about Lincoln's now government build
ing: First, the building itself; second,
the interior woodwork, and third, the
fact that the interior woodwork is not
only the product of a local institution
but the handiwork of union men.
Every bit of the woodwork in the new
postofflce was made by Lincoln union
men in a Lincoln mill, and nothing
handsomer or better was ever put
into a building. That is not only the
verdict of all who have visited the
building, but it is the verdict of-the
supervising architect, and he certainly
knows what he is talking about. From
the huge and magnificent front doors,
with their splendid carvings and high
polish,, to the flagpole that surmounts
the structure, every stick was turned
out of the Lincoln Sash and Dooi
Mills, and that concern employs only
union carpenters and joiners and
union painters. This contract was the
only one of any Importance carried
oil by a local concern. Quarter sawed
oak highly polished and hand carved
and fitted with the skill of highly
trained workmen, present an effect at
once rich and subdued, and make the
building's interior the handsomest of
any public, building in the entire west.
The Wageworker is not alone proud
that a Lincoln concern showed its abil
ity to turn out such a high grade of
work. It is even prouder of the fact
that it was turned out under union
conditions turned out by men who
are paid a fair day's wage for a fair
day's work, performed under satisfac
tory conditions and surroundings. It
proves that Lincoln has a mill that is
equal to the best anywhere in the
country, and it proves that Lincoln
union carpenters and joiners are the
best to be found in the business. This
i;s enough to make every unionist in
the city feel good.
When Mayor Brown, president of
the Lincoln Sash and Door Mill Co.,
secured the contract for this branch
of the work, he issued orders that it
was to be done in the very best man
ner. More than $2,000 was spent in
the carving alone. When the time
came to fit the panneling it had been
turned out with such exactness that
every piece fitted to a .nicety. Tbe
company's policy of securing the best
workmen by paying the best wages
and recognizing the unions has been
vindicated by the magnificent results
as shown in the -interior woodwork of
Lincoln's new government building
It will stand for decades as an ad
vertisement for the company- and for
the union men who - performed the
skilled labor.
IS THIS A SQUARE DEAL?
University Band, Maintained by State,
Displaces Musicians.
This is not politics it is a plain
matter of justice and fair play. The
University band furnished the music
for a political rally at the auditorium
Wednesday night. The University band
in maintained by the state. Its mem
bers are educated by the state. What
right has this band to butt in and dis
place musicians who earn a part of
the taxes they pay for the support of
the state university by playing in pro
fessional bands? Why shouldn't the
state university supply hod-carriers,
and bricklayers, and printers, and
pressmen, and other kinds of labor,
in competition with taxpayers, if it
is going into the competitive business
A lot of Lincoln musicians, many of
them taxpayers, depend for a consid
erable portion of their livelihood upon
their ability to secure occasional mus
ical engagements. Is it fair that a
band supported by the people at large
should compete with the very men
who suport It?
The Wageworkerp has every inter
est in the university. Its editor once
attended a university, and he knows
a thing or two about college life. But
he never "scabbed" on the men whose
money gave him a chance to secure
something of an education.
The University band should be used
exclusively for university purposes,
and it should never be allowed to come
into competition with men who earn
a livelihood by exercising their mus
ical talents. The university author
ities should think it over.
UNION'S DEMANDS REFUSED.
Railroads Renew Former Offer of Two
. Cent Raise to Men.
Chicago, Oct. 29. The railroads
have refused the demands of the
switchmen's union for an eight hour
day and an increase in wages. An in
crease of two cents an hour, already
offered the switchmen, was repeated,
but the men were told that this would
be all that would be obtained. The
refusal also applies to all organiza
tions of other employes who seek more
wages. The switchmen's officials say
that there will be no strike action until
a referendum vote has been taken.
For Quick Deliveries and Good Grades of
COAL
Hard Scranton and
Soft Coal
Gail Schaupp Coal Co.
Phones: Bell 18a
Auto 381a
1234
Some Fanny
Three hundred telephone girls em
ployed at the Chicago central exchange
who struck recently because they were
forbidden to enter by the front door
of the Title and Trust building, had a
genuine grievance compared with some
other strikers.
A force of carpenters and builders
once quit work in Pittsburg because
the boss refused to serve them lemon
ade. He thought to give the men a
treat one day and ordered a barrel oi
pink lemonade, and the men ' appreci
ated it so much that they quit work in
a body the next morning because the
second barrel was not forthcoming.
The officers of the union proposed to
arbitrate the question, but the con
tractor refused. "The men will be
wanting champagne next," he said,
"and I can't afford to arbitrate." After
due consideration the business agents
told the men they, would have to go
back to work on plain ice water.
One of the oddest one-man strikes
occurred when the machinists inaugu
rated their national movement for
shorter hours. In a shop' of -some size
at Atlanta the proprietor was congrat
ulating himself because none of the
men in his plant belonged to the union.'
But there happened to be one man out
of several hundred who belonged to
the organization. When this solitary
worker received a circular from union
headquarters notifying him Of thfc
strike he-called a meeting, appointing
himself a committee, called upon the
boss, and duly and formally made his
demands. He got his raise.
When the Methodist conference met
at Brooklyn several hundred ministers
stopped at one hotel. The waiters im
mediately went on strike. The won
dering hotel man let tn-em go and hired
a new force. After the first meal the
new men also took off their white jacfc
ets and aprons and left the hotel. Here
was a mystery. "What's the matter
with you fellows?" asked the steward.
"The preachers never give us any
tips," said one of the strikers. "We
won't wait on them unless you double
our pay."
In China the executioners once
struck because they declared business
had become so dull they couldn't make
a living at chopping off heads at 25
cents apiece. They laid their com
plaints before a -mandarin in thejr dis
trict and he carried the matter before
the empress. That grim dowager lis
tened in silence while he told his
troubles. "You may tell the men that
unless they return instantly to their
blocs there will be a great revival
of business for their successors:" The
hint was ' sufficient. The executioners
went back to work without even sug
gesting arbitration.
A deadlock recently occurred in New
York between the hod carriers and
wheelbarrow men engaged on a large
building. The dispute was without
precedent, even the union officers
could not cettle it for a time, and the
entire job threatened to be tied up.
At last somebody suggested flipping a
coin, heads or tails. The losers were
so much disappointed that they threat
ened to' Strike and with difficulty were
persuaded to accept this form of arbi
tration. During the St. Louis street car strike
there was one union motorman who in
sisted on working. He was threatened
and expostulated with by his comrades
but he turned a deaf ear alike to en
treaties and threats. "I've got a right
to work if I want to, and the whole
town can's bluff me," was the way he
put it. His wife thought differently.
She got a barrel stave and went to the
end of the line and met him on his
run. "Don't you work any more, Jim,"
she commanded. "Come right down
from that car this minute." Jim hesi
tated, and his wife she was an ath
letic woman dragged him from the
platform and chastised him with the
barrel stave. He followed her home'
meekly, and kept away from the car
barns until after the strike was set
tled. The woman was elected an hon
orary member of the union.
A lot of blind broommakers struck in
Philadelphia for an . increase in pay.
They paraded the street, led by a mem
ber who had one eye. Public sympa
thy was with the strikers, who pick
YARDS, 18th and
R Streets
Strike Stories
eted the place so effectually 'that the
manufacturers were glad to submit the
controversy to arbitration. 1 vi
NO PAUPER FUNERAL.
Union Plasterers Give . Unfortunate
"Scab" Decent Burial.
Wilmington, Del., Oct. 19. Benja
min Mulhoney, a non-union plastere),
3ied at the Homeopathic hospital. He.
was a stranger -in the place, and '.was
entirely without., frieads. Coroner
Purks- was making arrangement to
bury him in the potters' field-iwhe'n the
local Plasterers' . Union took up the
matter and defrayed all the necessary
expense to give him a respectable fu
neral and save him from a pauperis
grave. ' .
EFFORT TO SETTLE STRIKE.
Good Officers of National Civic Feder
ation Tendered.
In response to a telegraphic tender
of its good officers,, in the hope of
bringing about a settlement of tae .
strike of machinists in the shops Tot
the Southern railway, the Knoxville
board of" trade" received the following
telegram from H. B. Spencer, genera
manager of the Southern: ' ' ;
"The company and its officers 'ap
preciate fully the interest of Knoxville -in
the machinists' strike, and we. are
desirous of settling it promptly and
equitably. -It has been agreed, at the
suggestion of the Hon. Seth. . Low, .
chairman of the national civic feder
ation that our president will -meet the
president of the machinists' associa
tion and the local committee of the
machinists in an effort to make such
adjustment."
The local shops are still idle with
the exception of a few men.
. Icemen Must Serve Time.
The circuit court at Toledo, O"., iip-.
held the decision of Judge Kinkade
of common pleas court in the sent
ences he gave Reuben Lemon, Rollin
Beard and Joseph Miller, convicted of
conspiracy in restraint, of trade .in
the sale of ice. These, are the famous,
ice cases which were in common plead
court last summer. The sentences
given the men were $2,500 fine each
and six months in the workhouse, and
if the supreme court affirms the lower
court the ice men must serve their
sentences
THE PIONEER
CHARLES BOWEN, Prop.
Union Cleanly Handy
YOU ARE IMEKT
101 South Ilth, - Lincoln
Henry Pfelff
DEALER IN "
Fresh and Salt Meat
Sausage, Poultry, Etc
Staple and Fancy Groceries.
Telephones 888-477. 314 So. I!th Street
GliGap Soal
One or more can buy
a car of Coal, direct
from the mine, at
$3.50 PER TON
ON CAR AT LiNCOLU.
t
ADDRESS r
HARRY LITTLE, 0SKAL00SA, M.
Correspondence Solicited
O St.
1