fin
21
TOL. 3
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, DECEMBER 14, 190(
NO. HO
3
Tol fo)
S TRADES B COUNCILg)
7
1 1
U U
The Labor Fair
Up In
t The Union Labor Fair last week be
gun under such discouraging circum
stances and carried 'through until Fri-
day night without much to cheer the
promoters, wound up Saturday night
iu a blaze of giory. Despite indiffer
ence and "knocks" the fair was a
financial success, and the credit be
longs to a little "bunch" of loyal union
men and women who rushed into tho
breach and' carried the load through.
Some of these days The Wageworker
may give the names of this "bunch,"
but not now. However, each member
of it is conscious of having done full
tluty. As a result of the fair the Cen
tral Labor Union will, when matters
are entirely closed up, add about $200
to Its exchequer and that will help
some. It would have five times as
much if every unionist in this vij'.-iiy
had performed one-half duty.
In point of attendance Wednesday
night was the largest because the ad
mission was free. The baby show
attracted a great deal of attention and
the competition was very keen. In
the boy class the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Moll carried off first prize and the
son of Mr. and Mrs. Maupin carried off
second. In the girl class the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Glbbs carried off first,
and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Stone carried off second.
The "homely man" , contest was a
warm number. It started off with a
sharp contest between Rudy of the
Electrical Workers and Chapman of
the Barbers, and while It lasted it was
"give and take" with a vengeance. Ow
ing to a misunderstanding Mr. Chap
man withdrew towards the end of the
i ace and Mr. Rudy won by a handsome
margin. It must be understood that
Rudy won, not because he is homely,
but because he is a good fellow and
a favorite with his fellow Electrical
Workers, who rallied to his support
with a vim.
The "most popular union man" con
test grew red-hot towards the close
and the management had great dif
ficulty in preventing enthusiastic men
from handing In money after the of
ficial announcement that the contest
bad been ended. As a result of thia
contest T. W. Evans of the Cigar
' makers was voted to be the most pop
ular union man, and The Wageworkei
heartily endorses the choice. He has
carried a card fourteen years and
never missed a week's dues in that
time.
The "dinner set contest" wrought a
bushel of trouble. The settlement was
left- to a committee and then the
trouble grew. Neither side was satis
tied, and some lurid language was in
dulged in. The addition of the votes
was questioned, and in the heat of
anger there were Intimations of "mon
key" business. Finally the parties most
interested got together and after add
ing the votes on a machine, began
checking off with the ballots. And
then developed a queer situation.
When the checking was completed
each contestant had 2,919 votes, mak
ing it a tie. This Is a decided compli-
ment to both of the estimable women
who were leaders in the contest, Mr&
J. J. Stone and Mr. Will Bustard.
The solution of the tie was handed
over to the Central Labor Union Tues
day night and It was decided to solve
it by giving each one a set of dishes.
The piano content 1b still undecided,
''inouncement of time and place of
the decision will be given, and all in
terested will be asked to be present.
The stage attractions during the
week were above the average and en
tertained the audiences well. Karcher,
with musical specialties; Booth Broth-
ei-o, iu acrobatics; Sprague, in sleight-of-hand,
and Kimbro, in feats of leger
demain, made up the list. To Booth
Brothers especially is the management
Indebted for their willing efforts to
help out the fair.
, The music by Quick's Union Orches
tra was what might have been ex
pected from an orchestra made up of
uuloif musicians first-class. The
dancing floor was in abominable shape
the first three or four nights of the
fair, and this undoubtedly hurt the at
tendance. But it got into pretty good
shape at the last and the dancing
crowds grew larger and the enjoy
ment greater.
Capital Auxiliary met with good suc
Wound
T
Blae of Glory
cess with its refreshment booth and
bazaar,, and cleared a neat little sum
of money. The handsome table cover
disposed of was secured by Mr. Van
dercreek of the Star force.
The Woman's Union Label . League,
or rather three faithful members,
made a goodly success of its booth.
Mr. Rewick secured the handsome sofa
pillow.
The Building Laborers had charge
of the check room and it was well pat
ronized considering the size of the
crowds.
The following firms assisted in mak
ing the fair a success by taking space
and fitting up handsome booths: Miller
& Paine, Sanderson, Armstrong Cloth
ing Co., the A. D. Benway Co., Speier
& Simon, Nebraska Telephone Co., Lin
coln Clothing Co., Lincoln Milling Co.,
Mayer Bros., Lincoln Gas and Electric
Light Co., and the Lincoln Telephone
Co. These enterprising firms deserve
the cordial support of union men and
women because of the Interest they
showed and the work they performed
to help make the fair a success.
Fair Notes.
Thank goodness It's all over! .
After all it wasn't so bad for the
first time trying. - . . -
Not a single unpleasant incident
happened to mar the pleasure of the
fair.
Lin Fitch's pyrography concession
attracted a great deal of favorable at
tention. The Gas Co., handed out many good
things to eat to prove that their gas
ranges cook 'em.
It took a lot of conversation to ex
plain to some of the dancers why the
floor could not be waxed.
The telephone booths were well pat
ronized. The free 'phone service was
greatly appreciated by the visitors.
Some people expect a whole lot for
ten cents and put up a dollar's worth
of kick when they fail to get what they
expect.
O. M. Rudy invites all his friends
to come over and soak up the heat
from that ton of hard coal he earned
during the fair.
If your watch is not correct you can
get the exact time by calling on T.
W. Evans. His new watch regulates
the sun, the moon and the tides. .
The piano contest must be closed
speedily. It's up to the union meu
who hung back during the fair to
trke hold of it and push it to a close.
The number of season tickets sold at
the court house just' about corres
ponds with the number of friends of
organized labor holding county of
fices. "Ye Editor" rejoices greatly that he
was not voted the homeliest man, but
lie regrets exceedingly that he did not
get the ton of coal awarded to Brother
Rudy.
The Woman's Union Label League
desires to thank the cigar manufactur
ers whose contributions went a long
way towards making the League';
booth a financial success.
The dally papers gave the fair prom
inent mention during Its progress at
the rate of 50 cents an inch and 25
cents per line. Yet the bulk of the
subscribers to these papers in Lincoln
are workingmen.
Not a single solitary city official
attended the fair so far as known. But
a lot of them will expect to receive
our votes next spring and probably
will, if precedent is followed instead
of common union horse sense .
If every night had been as good as
the last night and every night should
have been better the fair would have
cleared upwards of a thousand dol
lars. And that would have been an
excellent starter for a labor temple.
Mayor Brown was unable to be pres
ent on the opening night on accouut
of a most important council meeting,
and the next day he was called out
of town on business. A personal letter
to the editor explained these things.
i ne oid-iasnloned quadrilles were
greatly enjoyed. By the way, what
has become of those pretty old dances
like the polka, the schottische, and the
"vasouvianna?" The abominable two
step is not to be mentioned in the
same day with them for grace and
rythm.
There were less than 1,300 paid ad
missions all told during the week, and
this, too, despite the fact that the
fair was held six nights and there are
3,500 union men within three miles of
the auditorium. Over half of these
admissions were on season tickets sold
at a reduced rate. Think it over.
Barber & Foster, who displayed a
lot of good flour at the fair, are friends
of organized labor, and because of this
fact, and the additional fact that they
are building up a big home industry,
they are entitled to the patronage of
the people. The champion bread
maker of Lincoln says that Lincoln
flour is as good as the best and she
knows.
Remember the "Lyric'
THE BRICKLAYERS.
Have Been Favored by Good Weather
and Plenty of Work.
The Bricklayers Union has every rea
son to rejoice over the conditions that
surround them. They have had an un
usually prosperous season, and the
GENERAL LABOR WORLD
The primary steps to the formation
of the present American Federation of
Labor were inspired by P. J. McGuire,
then of St. Louis, later general secre
tary-treasurer of the Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners, whp died re
cently. From letters addressed by him
to various labor organizations a pre
liminary meeting, but . the foundation
was laid which has grown into . the
colossal proportions of two million
members and adherents.
The Bogomir Jatitch Emigration
Agency, of Belgrade, which is the
largest in Servia, has for some time
past been inducing Bulgarian . work
men to go to America. Most of them
have been sent to Florida, and North
and South Carolina, where they are
said to have been insufficiently paid
and brutally treated. .
In order to meet the total expenses
of the thirty members of the English
independent labor party in the house
of commons, which run to about $30,
000 a year, it is proposed to ask the
unions affiliated with the labor repre
sentation committee to contribute an
other penny per member per week.
This would raise the total to $40,000.
Notices have been posted at the
Elizabeth mills, at Hillsgrove aud East
Greenwich, Rhode Island, announcing
an increase in the wages of the opera
tives to take effect at once. The ad
vance will be 5 per cent and will ef
fect about 4,000 operatives in the two
factories.
By 38G votes to 5, the recent confer
ence of social democrats in Germany
adopted a proposal in favor of con
certed action between the central or
ganizations of the trades unions and
the socialist party, in all enterprises,
such as general strikes, which con
cern the vital interests of both bodies.
A raise of 10 per cent in wages was
announced by the Calumet and Hecla
Mining company, of Calumet, Mich.,
recently. Between 5,000 and 6,000
workmen are benefited by the increase.
One thousand members of the
United Mine Workers in, Indiana were
expelled under a decree that all mem
bers owing the special assessment on
December 1st should not get their
working cards for December and
should be summarily expelled.
Consul Peter Lieber of Dusseldorf
submits a report on laborers' wages in
Germany in 1905 from recent publica
tions of the German Trade Association.
The net result cf the labor controver
sies were that 186,353 laborers ob
tained a reduction of 696,259 working
hours per week and an increase of
wages altogether of $270,704 per week.
Speakers at ' the English Miners'
Federation conference, which sat at
Swansea recently, denounced the ac
tion of Home Secretary Gladstone in
appointing a committee to inquire into
the probable economic effect of- an
eight-hour day in mines.
Count Andrasy, minister of the in
terior, declared recently in the diet
that ho had resolved to close all the
Cunard steamship agencies In Hun
gary because they were encouraging
immigration to America.
The Austrian law compels mine
owners to build- "rescue chambers"
underground. The room must be large
enough to hold at least twenty-four
people, and must be provided with
tinned foods, medicine chest, first aid
materials, inhalation apparatus, and
season has been unusually long. Prob
ably they will ..get in more days this
year than In any other year since the
union was organized. Some big build
ings have gone up in Lincoln this sea
son, not all of them yet completed.
The Sawyer flats, the university tem
ple, the Lyric theatre, the Elks' club,
the Hardy warehouse, the Western
Glass and Paint company building, and
several wholesale houses might be
mentioned without exhausting one-half
the list. Several big jobs are still
under way, and there are surface indi
cations of an even better year to come.
No trouble of importance has arisen
in the trade in Lincoln during the past
twelve months. Two or three little
misunderstandings .were soon cleared
up, and on the whole the best of feel
ing has been maintained. ,
The best show of the season at the
Bijou next week.
Be 3iire and read Erwin & Ellings
worth's ad in this issue.
compressed oxygen in cylinders suf
ficient to last at least three days.
TheYale and Towns Lock company,
of Stamford, Conn., announced recent
ly to 3 3,000 employes an advance In
wages and piece rates which will in
volve an increase of about $75,000 in
the pay roll of 1907, in addition to ad
vances recently made . aggregating
some $15,000, or a total of $90,000.
The British house of commons re
cently passed the third reading of the
trades disputes bill without a division.
It Is expected that the house of lords
will not materially amend the meas
ure. .,
The Brotherhood of Locomotive En
gineers will continue fighting for a
mileage basis and eight hours. A gen
eral strike is not contemplated at this
time, but tile fight will be carried to a
finish. '
The recent Sydney (Australia) eight-
hour demonstration was a decided suc
cess. Thirty-five thousand people at
thousand five hundred mem-
the Brotherhood of Chandelier,
Brass and Metal Workers of New York
city were locked out recently by their
employers-.
The Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern
road has granted the switchmen an
increase of 4 cents per hour. The
other roads are expected to follow.
Other railroad employes are also like
ly to get an increase. '
Welsh coal miners numbering 28,000
have given notice of their intention to
go on strike owing to the employment
of 400 non-unionists. ' ' , ,
Atlanta, Ga., will build "a $100,000
labor temple. ; ,
P. H. Morrissey, grand master of
the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen,
in discussing public reports from Chi
cago that a strike of switchmen from
the Pacific coast to Buffalo was con
templated, says that such a move is
very improbable., -, ' j
The Chicago Federation of Labor has
begun a crusade to advance the cause
of unionism. Meetings are held upon
the corners at prominent stref.-ts, ad
dresses are made, songs are
collections are taken up a;
crowds to help the local str
.Secretary Cable says that11'
national officers of the Coop8
have been working hand in 12;' ad with
President Samuel Gompers of the
American Federation of Labor in elect
ing trades union men to congress.
Woman Pawns Shoe-,.
With nothing but a pair of Jthin car
pet sappers 10 cover ner iaet. Mrs.
James Nelson, who lives in A humble
cottage at Eleventh and Charles
streets, Omaha, went to tl e police
station with a pitiful tale of aj husband
who spent all his money for liquor and
failed to provide - for his (wife and
three small children.' -Nelson went
home intoxicated and was cHeaf to the
entreaties of his wife for ai little mon
ey with which to buy coal and provi
sions. Mrs. Nelson said there- was
nothing In the house but a little flour
and a few sweet potatoes and that she
had pawned her shoes to obtain money
with which , to pay an installment on
some furniture. '
Judge Adams discharged the ury
that was trying tbi Barney Pearson
murder case at Hastings, Neb. The
case will be tried again next term.
tended.
UTwo
lers- of
wng and
rflng the
rs.
Ti! inter-
Union
Some General News
About Lincoln Unions
, The Carpenters' Unon elected offi
cers last Tuesday-Bight, and some of
the contests were pretty warm, al
though all of them were good natured.
The election resulted as follows; .'
President, Ross Shepard.
Vice president, O. T. Stone. "
Treasurer, Charley Smith.
Financial secretary, A. R. Gibson.
. Recording secretary, J. A. Chambers.
Trustee, F. R. Kates. '
Warden, John Quick. '.
As the year draws to a close the car
penters look back over the best sea
son in the history of the craft. There
has been more work, the men have re
ceived better .pay, and the prosnects
are ' brighter than ever before. The
union has had much to contend with,
not the least trouble being' with em
ployers and - interested ' parties bent
on flooding the city with non-union
carpenters willing to work long hours
for low pay. But the union has met
this condition with great tact, and as a
result many of the carpenters brought
to Lincoln by these methods have been
taken into the union .and have proved
faithful members. There has been no
trouble worth mentioning between the
union and any of the contractors. On
the other hand, more contractors than
ever before have entered Into agree
ment with the union, and relations
have been unusually pleasant .
The outlook for . next year is excel
lent. 'There is a promise of a con
tinuation ' of ' the building . boom, and
already a number of large contracts
have been booked. So far as anyone
can see there is hot a cloud on the
horizon. Due books must be in before
the first of the year. " ;-V"'i'. v ''
ELECTRICAL WORKERS.
Everybody Busy and Happy and Ready
for Merry Christmas.
The Electrical Workers are happy.
Every member of the local ' union Is
at work unless he- happens to be, idle
from choice, and even if he wants to
lay off he is compelled to keep dodg
ing. ; Three new street railway jobs,
added to . the telephone and lighting
jobs, has made work lively for many
months, and even now, when It might
be supposed 'that business would fall
off, the men are all busy. Wages have
been better this year than ever before,
and the , local union has grown in
strength and in union spirit. '
Next year it Is believed that there
will , be a sharper division . between
linemen and inside men. By this is
meant that the work will be more
sharply divided, and not that there will
be any friction. The union is In good
shape better than ever before and
the division will be merely to enable
the men to more satisfactorily conduct
their union affairs. . ., '.',.."
THE BARBERS.
Better Hours and Better Money Than
Ever Before for Them.
' Compared with former years the
barbers - of Lincoln are in splendid
shape. .They are working better hours
for better money than ever before, and
shop and union conditions are con
stantly improving. V The local Barbers'
Union Is' in better shape, numerically
arid financially; than ever before, and
the interest in union acalrs seems to
be improving with every passing day.
The two or three little troubles have
been amicably adjusted. '."','
"A good barber can make more
money ; now than ever before," said
one of them the other day. With
electrical massage, creams, tonics and
other v things he can take in . moro
money, i He does ' better work and
therefore has the opportunity of doing
more. He ' works 'better hours and
gets a better wage than ever before
Things might be better, but it is a
pessimist who will grumble 'very much
over present conditions." '
ALLIED PRINTING TRADES.
Will Have a Smoker and Review a
, Year That Was Prosperous.
Next Sunday afternoon the members
of the allied printing trades of Lin
coln will have a joint "smoker" and
engage in a review of what has been
the most prosperous year in the history
of the printing business in Lincoln.
The printers have been carrying a
-.1
heavy burden since the beginning'of
the year because they were called up
on to finance the eight-hour contest
throughout the country. For;,' nine
months they paid a 10 per cent assess
ment, then a 7 per cent assessment,
and are still' paying a 5 per cent as
sessment. In addition ' the Lincoln
printers have been financing their own
local's 'business at an expense of about
2 per cent. Despite this enormous
burden they lost but one man. They
rejoice that the long battle Is as good
as , won, and they will make the
"smoker" a sort of celebration on their
part. , ; , ' :: ;y
The joint meeting will take up the
matter, of, pushing the label, and will
lay plans to forward that. good purpose.
Every printer, pressman, bookbinder
and stereotyper in Lincoln should
make it a point to be present at the
meeting and join with his fellow crafts
men, in having a good time and for-
warding the interests of the- allied
trades. ...
THE RAILROAD MEN.
Wage Advances, All Along the Line
Bring Christmas Cheer. - ;
The closing days of 1906 have
brought a lot of good cheer to the
railroad brotherhoods. The organized
men in every department on all the
principal lines have had their wages .
increased, the average increase being
close to 10 per cent,. That the increase
was deserved long before it came -about
is generally admitted: Railroad
business has been ; unprecedented.
Nothing like, it was ever before known
in railroad history. The' roads for. a
year have been short of men and
equipment, despite tnelr most strenu
ous efforts to build new cars and get
a sufficient number of men. . The regu
lar men have been worked to a frazzle
in a desperate effort to prevent .con
gestion, and in hundreds of important
points the congestion occurred just
the same. The wage increase and the
good business is enough to make a
merry Christmas among the . railroad
ers. '., . :.- - .:. : !
1 E. B. . Barris, general chairman of
the joint protective board of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen,
was recently quoted as saying that the
firemen would be . ready to take the .
places of engineers in case of a strike
on .the part of the engineers. This
interview - was flashed all over the
country and backed' up by the rumor
that there was a breach between the
firemen and the engineers that could
not be closed. Among other things
Mr. Barris was quoted as saying;
, "It is a conservative estimate ,that
the Brotherhood of Locomotive Eire
men has at least 35,000 members' who
are competent engineers, and ' I have
good reason to believe that the ma
jority of these men are prepared to
take the places of members of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
if . that body declares a strike.' Our
reasons for taking this stand against
the engineers Is because we feel - that '
they have driven us to it by ' their
arbitrary methods In trying to coerce
our members to desert the B. of L F.
when they are permitted to join - the
latter's organization." '
Of course Mr. Barris never' said Any
thing of the kind.. .The Interview was
a "fake" of the most cruel tyind. And
although it was printed in nearly every
daily newspaper in the land, only three
or four were just enough to'., publish.
Mr. Barris' indignant denial, The pa
per responsible for the , "fake'" abso
lutely refused to give Mr, Barris space
In which to make a. correction. ;
4 The railway clerks are growing wise.
As a result they are organizing all
over the country. They have been al
most criminally negligent in this re
spect, the ! result being disastrous to
them and .detrimental to those in every
other branch of the service. , Their
efforts to organize ! will receive .en
couragement from every other railroad
organization except .that of the gen
eral managers. ,.
' CAPITAL AUXILIARY. -
Capital Auxiliary, No. 11, will meet
with Mrs. Freeman on Friday, Decem
ber, 21. A buffet luncheon will be
seryed at 2 o'clock. All members are
urged to be present promptly, as busi:
ness of importance is to be transacted.
1