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VOL. 4
.LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, AUGUST 9, 1007
NO. 19
v
How Fairbanks Loves
The Laboring Man
Vice President Fairbanks, second in
command in this great republic of
ours, was In Lincoln last Saturday.
While here he was warmly greeted
and he was awfully glad to shake tho
hand of every man and woman who
called on him. Mr. Fairbanks thinks
he is a candidate for president to suc
ceed Theodore Roosevelt. It is one
of the blessed privileges of our Ameri
can citizenship that every man who
has not been incarcerated in the pen
itentiary, and is not subject to con
finement in a hospital for the Insane
or the feebleminded, may aspire to
any old office upon which he may set
his mind.
Mr. Fairbanks has not been incar
' cerated in a penitentiary, and he is a
man of more than average brain power.
Hence it is all right for him to aspire.
Mr. Fairbanks is rich man. He is
worth two, perhaps three millions of
dollars, made In devious ways. He
Is, therefore, amply able to finance
his post-election Campaign for the
nomination, and he is doing it to a
finish.
Mr. Fairbanks is a tall, thin gentle
man, with a bulging brow that ex
tends from his eyebrows well up
ward, backwards and downwards to
the nape of his neck. A few hairs,
jealously guarded and zealously cul
tivated sprout from over each ear,
and are carefully trained up and
across with Intent to soften the bald
ness but la reality accentuating it
He has a firm handclasp, but owing
to his extreme height he cannot look
the average man square in the eye.
He has to make it a slanting-downward
look.
During the presidential campaign
of 1904 there fell into hands of the
Wageworker a little book called the
"Official Biography of Charles War
ren Fairbanks." It is a beautifully
written book, and the author there
cf could give the late , lamented
Baron Munchausen or the long
mourned Bob Mulhatton card3 and
spades.
But there is one interesting
chapter In the life of Charles Warren
Fairbanks that his official biographer
falls to chronicle, and it is the pur
pose of this humble little labor news
paper to give It to the worklngman
of the country, especially to the rail
road men, that they may know better
the gentleman who seek3 to succeed
Mr. Roosevelt in the White House.
The Wageworker preferred to wait
before giving this little chapter until
after Mr. Fairbanks had visited in
Lincoln and met the people face to
' face. It is an interesting story, and
It may serve to give worklngmen and
women a clearer insight into the
life of this presidential aspirant.
Neither is it a long story, but it is
a story of chicanery, double dealing,
deceit, trickery and absolute robbery
of hardworking men and wom.-n. By
the side of it the graft of "Boss"
Tweed looks Hko Sunday school
work, and Abe Ruef's dirty work ap
pears clean by comparison. Tweed
and Ruef grafted from men who were
willing v to pay for political favors
Charles Warren Fairbanks made the
poorly paid employes of a wrecked
railroad hand him the money.
Thirty years ago the cl'tor of TIp,
Wageworker, then a lust boy, lived
in the town of Farmer City, Illinois,
and the majority of his vlaymates
were the sons of men employed on
the Indianapolis, Bloomlngton &
Western Railroad. This enabled him
to eart: just what a card lime tle
fathers of those boys were having it
order to eke out a living. The I., B
& W. Ry. we used to call it the 'l
3Jeg & Wear Rags" was thrown into
the hands of a receiver along about
1H74 or '75, and Charles Warren Fair
hnnkM. hut- rfMnt1v rrndiintd from
law school, was made attorney for
the receivers by his uncle, or his
father-in-law we have forgotten
which who .was the chief mogul of
the road. , The pay car failed to
show up for four or five months, and
then, when it did come it paid off in
"certificates of indebtedness" Instead
of cash. These certificates were
really orders on the road's treasurer
for money due when the treasurer
had the money to pay it. For a few
months the merchants along the road
accepted these certificates at face
value, but as time went on and no
cash hove in sight they began dis
counting them. Finally these cer
tificates were being traded at 30 and
35 cents on the dollar. Section hands
earning $1.15 a day were paid in cer
tificates of indebtedness good for 30
cents on the dollar at the grocery,
but which the section men had to ac
cept at par.
In sheer desperation some of the
employes took the matter into court,
and this lower court decided that
the receivers would have to stop
sending the cash to New York to pay
interest on the road's bonds, and pay
it to the wage earners. The re
ceivers were so notified, but Charles
Warren Fairbanks, presldental as
pirant and "friend of the working
man," advised the receivers to pay
no attention to the court order, as he
would attend to that part of it. And
he did. He appealed to the next
highest court, and in the meantime
the cash went to the bondholders and
the certflcates of indebtedness went
to the employes always at par to
the earner but at 30 cents on the dol
lar at the grocery.
Fairbanks wept this up for nearly
two years. Of course he Knew mat
ha would be defeated in the end. but
he had money enough at his com
mand to wear out the little mer
chants and little bankers who held
the certificates. Mr. Fairbanks knew
his business all right, all right, and
don't you forget it.
Along towards the last was where he
got in his work. Some very smooth
spoken young gentlemen went out
over the Indianapolis, Bloomlngton &
Western system and began buying
up the certificates They bought
them cheap, too. A lot of small mer
chants had gone broke trying to
carry them, and they were glad to
realize ' any thing from the seemingly
worthless paper. In good time prac
tically every certificate was bought
up.
Then came the finale. And that's
where Charles Warren Fairbanks
made a bunch of money to finance a
presidential campaign.
THESE CERTIFICATES OF IN
DEBTEDNESS WERE TURNED TO
THE RECEIVERS 'AND THE RE
CEIVERS CASHED THEM AT 109
CENTS ON THE DOLLAR.
The employes who had toiled
through storm and stress did not get
the 70 cents. Not much, Mary Ann.
Charles Warren Fairbanks and the
ccterle of conscienceless financiers
gobbled up the unearned increment.
And they gobbled up millions of dol
lars by the trick, too.
As the railroad entered Farmer
City on the east it came through a
rather deep cut about a half-mile
long. The winter of the receivership
was a bad one, and one night a ter
rific snowstorm drifted that cut full
and packed it down. It had to be
shoveled out by hand. The local
agent, whose name is now forgotten,
wired the receivers , for instructions.
They ordered him to hire men for the
work. The agent tried to do so, but
nobody outside of the two section
ciews would work unless promised
cash. The agent so reported and he
was instructed to tell everybody that
they would be paid cash for shoveling
the snow., Under this promise a
couple of hundred men responded,
and the snow was removed in a
couple of days. The agent asked
that the money be sent by wire. It
never came. Instead he was told to
send in the time book. He did so,
and in return RECEIVED CERTIFI
CATES OF INDEBTEDNESS
WHICH THE BILKED WORKING
MEN HAD TO TAKE OR GET
NOTHING, AND THESE CERTIFI
CATES WERE WITH DIFFICULTY
TRADED AT 30 CENTS ON THE
DOLLAR FOR GROCERIES AND
COAL. 1 -
Bear in mind, that this "certificate
of Indebtedness" business was de
vised in the cunning brain of Charles
Warren Fairbanks, and by him
pushed through to a highly success
ful conclusion highly successful for
Mr. Fairbanks and his frlend3, but
almighty tough on the worlkngmen
This Is one chapter in the life of
Mr. Fairbanks that his official Bos-
well did not even allude to in the
biography. And Mr. Fairbanks did
not refer to it while in Lincoln.
Now isn't this little chapter enough
to make worklngmen and especial
ly railroad men snuggle up to the
Fairbanks' presidential boom like
sick kittens to hot bricks? Hadn't
the sons of those old I., B. & W. em
ployes ought to get right out and
help inflate the Fairbanks' boom un
til it lifts its owner into the presi
dential chair? ' ' ,
Charles Warren Fairbanks is a
millionaire several times over. But
there are blood and tears and heart
aches associated with a big lot of
those dollars and the blood of little
children whose barefeet were torn by
the frozen clods; the tears of mothers
who could not stay the sufferings of
their little ones, the heartaches ot
fathers whose unrequleted toil left
their wives and little ones in want
and misery.
Is Mr. Fairbanks ever worried with
memories of those days? We opine
not. Doesn't his official biographer
tells us that Mr. Fairbanks dearly
loves the workingman?
This is the Charles Warren Fair
banks who visited in Lincoln last
Saturday and talked in oily tone3 at
the Epworth Assembly in the evening
I the same Charles Warren Fair
banks who lunched at the Country
club and spouted about patriotism
and all that sort of rot.
The Wag-aworker can just see the
worklngmen of this country falling
over themselves in their eagerness
to make . Charles Warren Fairbanks
president of the United States!
PREPARE FOR
The mass meeting held Monday
night for the purpose of arranging for
Labor Day handed the Lincoln Trac
tion company a nice, large lemon when
it decided to hold the Labor Day
picnic at Antelope Park instead of at
Capital Beach. There was no dispo
sition to-antagonize the management
of Capital Beach, but on the contrary
great friendship was expressed for
that enterprise. But the union men
would not stand for a celebration that
would force all who participated in it
to hand over 20 cents each to a union
hating street railway company that
has only given unionism a slap when
ever it could, but has handed the city
the worst end of every deal in which
it, figured. The Citizens' Street rail
way now having lines to almost every
section of the city, it was decided to
make Labor Day arrangements that
would permit the unionists to patron
ize that company, and . in this way
show the appreciation of union men
and women for the company's evident
desire to be friendly.
It is a well known fact that the
Citizens' Street Railway company is
willing to sign up with a union of
street railway men as soon as one
is organized, and the officials are
nonplussed at the negligence of the
men who would be most benefited by
the organization.
It was decided at the meeting to
confine the Labor Day celebration to
a regular old-fashioned picnic at the
new city park. A committee consist
ing of Kelsey of the Leatherworiters,
Chapman of the Barbers and Swan
son of the Bricklayers, were appoint
ed to arrange for some attractions
during the picnic. There will be a
number of athletic contests, such as
tug-'o-waT, jumping, running, hurdling,
potato and sack races, wrestling, etc.,
and also some good union music, vocal
and instrumental.
Everybody wlll'be expected to bring
lunch baskets well filled, and be pre
pared to spend the afternoon and
evening at the park. The park com
mission has very properly adopted a
rule prohibiting the erection of re
freshment stands inside the park
limits, but every facility is offered for
picnics. There is plenty of fine shade,
plenty of soft, velvety bluegrass sod,
and an abundance of cold drinking
water handy to the center of the
park. The best way to reach the
park is to take the Citizens' cars
anywhere in the city and transfer to
the South Eighteenth street line. At
the end of the line follow the foot
path over across Twenty-seventh
street, past the park pardener's cot
tage, taking in the "zoo" on the way,
and across the Rock Island tracks to
the tract immediately in front of the
municipal lighting plan-t. Those who
want to play baseball will find a
WANTED THE CURE.
Willing to Take Same Medicine His
$ Friend Took.
A Well known artist was walking
with a friend one day when his com
panion suddenly discovered he had a
tooth 3n bad condition. As the pair
were passing a drug store the man
with the throbbing molar asked the
other
"What would you advise for the
toothache?"
"Why," innocently replied the
artist "the last time I had a tooth
ache went home and my wife kissed
it away."
Thel friend paused a moment and
then j asked "Is your wife home
now?' Fort Wayne Times-Herald.
. :
PROHIBITS PINKERTON THUGS.
Among the many labor laws passed
by the' legislature of 1907 and signed
by Governor Hughes, was one and a
very important one at that which
fcrbida the appointment as deputy
sheriff of any person not entitled to
vote as a citizen in the county where
appointed. This is designed to pre
vent j the appointment of "strike
breakers"' as special officers. :
t BID FROM BOSTON.'
i -
Boston Typographical Union wants
the 1908 convention of the Interna
tional Typographical Union. Norman
E. McPhail is Chairman of the Boost
ing Committee, and he says there are
many; reasons why Boston should
have ' the honor of entertaining the
delegates and visitors to the 1908
convention.
LABOR DAY
couple of good diamonds ' near the
center of the park. Perhaps a couple
of baseball contests will be pulled
off. . The 'Pressmen can put up a ball
team that they think"will be able.
to teach the great national pastime
to any trades union aggregation in
the city. . ;
There was some talk of trying to
have a barbecue on Labor Day, but
in View of the rule not to allow any
thing of the kind inside of the park,
it was decided not to undertake it.
By agreeing on this method of cele
brating Labor Day the unionists have
cut out practically every expense, and
at the same time arranged for a cele
bration that will appeal to everybody.
It will offer an opportunity for the
unionists and their families to get to
gether in social intercourse, and will
entail less work upon the good wives
than almost any other kind of a cele
bration of the day.
It now remains for the unionists
of Lincoln and their wives to pre
pare to participate in the celebration,
and to make it the best and most
successful ever held in the city.
The unions seem to be almost unan
imous in their objections to holding
parade this year. So far not a
single union has reported in favor
of a parade. ..
There will be another mass meet-
in to further the Labor Day arrange
ments next Tuesday evening at Cen
tral Labor Union hall, 1034 O street.
Remember, these meetings are free
to any trades unionist who cares to
participate, and all are invited to at
tend and offer suggestions that will
tend to make the celebration a suc
cess. The meeting will be called to
order promptly at 8 o'clock, and an
effort, will be made to complete all
business by 9:30 or earlier..
CANNOT DENY IT.
Why all ths opposition to , higher
wages for the mechanic. Has every
body forgotten that congressmen, be
cause of the increased cost of living,
raised their wages 50 per cent? And
can there be found one man who will
deny that one honest worklngman in
Wheeling does not do more real work
in the. world than any Congressman
ever sent from the First Congres
sional district. Wheeling Majority.
LEATHERWORKERS' STRIKE
Forty-eight men, employed in the
International Leather Company's mill
No. 16 at Caseyville, eight miles east
of East St. Louis, 111., walked out on
Btrike Wednesday to enforce a de
mand made a week ago' for an eight
hour day, instead of 10 hours. A fa
vorable reply was requested by Treas
day, and failing to receive this the
I men struck.
Section Men Make
The Wageworker was honored on
Saturday last by a visit from H. A.
Vurpia, vice president of the National,
Union of Railway Trackmen, who was
in Lincoln on some very important
business connected with his union.
Mr. Vurpia is a thorough unionist,
and he has had a prominent part In
the work of forming , a union among
a class of worklngmen who have
heretofore been looked upon as poor
material for the trades union organ
izer. The National Union of Railway
Trackmen is less than four years old,
but it already has a membership of
nearly 40,000, and it is growing In
numbers and strength every day.
As the name indicates, the union is
made up of men who are generally
known as "section men," the poorest
paid employes of any and all railway
corporations, and in reality the men
upon whom depends the safety of the
millions of passengers who ride upon
railway trains.
The Trackmen's Union was founded
four, years ago at Fort ScottyKansas,
by J. I. Shepherd, 'secretary and
counsel for the association. At the
time it I was launched Mr. Shepherd
was-: a practicing attorney at Fort
Scott. One day a committee of track
men came to his office, and asked
for some legal advice. They were not
satisfied with the scale of wages and
wanted an increase.
"Why doVt you go to your associa
tion?" ; inquired Mr. Shepherd.
"But we have no association," an
sewered the spokesman for the crowd,
, Then Mr. Shepherd began to study
over the matter. He thought that the
trackmen of the United States should
form a union or have an association
of some kind at least. He decided to
start a paper, and offered it for $2 a
year to the trackmen. Upon payment
of $2, the subscriber became - a mem
ber of the association. ; ,.- ';! ; . ,
As soon as the union was organized
its officials began the work of calling
the attention of the traveling public
to the meagre wages paid the section
men, the responsibility placed upon
the underpaid , toilers, and the nig
gardliness of the companies in pro
viding men and material enough to
keep the tracks . in proper shape.
Finding that a general campaign was
not effective enough, the union's offi
cials started to make a specific cam
paign, and began with the Missouri
Pacific. After showing up the dan
gerous conditions of tho Missouri Pa
cific lines in Kansas, and forcing the
Kansas commission to take action
looking towards a speedy repair of the
lines, the officials turned their atten
tion to Nebraska. .
On July 22, last, Vice President
Vulpia, accompanied by track ex
perts and representatives of the
union, started in at Falls City and
began walking the tracks northward.
They had their kodaks along, and
they photographed the rotten and
broken ties, the broken rails and
fish plates, and other dangerous
things. They assert, and offer to
prove their assertions, that the Mis
souri Pacific officials became aware
of their actions and ordered section
men to get busy and throw dirt oxer
ties broken in the center. Mr. Vulpia
declares that the following is a copy
of a "hurry up" order sent out to
section foremen by the officials just
as soon as the officials became aware
of what the .union representatives
were doing: - ,
"Please get out all broken end ties
you possibly can in next two days if
you have to truck ties; get out ties
that have ends broken off and where
they are broken in center of track
throw some dirt over center of ties
so they cannot be seen."
On Monday Mr. Vulpia and his as
sociates filed with the Nebraska State
Railway commission a complaint
against the Missouri Pacific, and pe
titioning the commission to order the
company ito immediately begin the
wbrk of , repairing its tracks in Ne
braska. Accompanying the petition
are, thirty-two photographs showing
the dangerous condition of the track,
these photographs having been taken
between Falls City and Lincoln. The
exhibits are telling bits of evidence
of official neglect and disregard for
the safety of the traveling public.
The Trackmen's Union insists that
the company employs but two or
three men to the section, where as
they should be from eight to twelve;
that there should be track walkers
day and' night, properly equipped with
Terrible Arraignment
flags, lanterns and torpedoes, whereas,
there are none at all.
The trackmen's representatives are.
anxious to have the -commission ac-,
company them on a personal inspec
tion of the lines and see for them
selves the dangerous conditions point
ed out. The commission has not yet
had time to consider the complaint
and commission.
PRESSMEN MEET SOCIALLY.
Entertain Their Printer Friends and
Offer Some Clever Attractions.
Lincoln. Printing Pressmen's and As
sistants' Union held a social meeting
last Sunday afternoon, and not' only
did they enjoy themselves hugely, but
they invited in some trades union
friends to enjoy it with them. There
were plenty of union made cigars on
tap, lots of good music and a social
good time all 'round. Messrs. Herbur
ger and Salsbury entertained with .
some excellent guitar and mandolin
music, and they were kept pretty busy
responding to. requests for' favorite
melodies.
The Typographical Union met Sun
day afternoon, and immediately on ad
journmenUresponded to an invitation
from the pressmen and assistants to
come over and have a good time.' One
of the cleverest attratcions offered 1a
a long time was a little scientific box
ing match, in which "Billy" King went
against Walters and'. Mayes for two
rounds each! Both of King's oppon
ents have been under hjs instructions
for some time, and both of them' re
flected credit upon their instructor.
Walters was the first, man up, and for
two rounds he kept King going some.
He had a little the advantage in reach,
but King had the advantage of weight
and, of course, superior science. Mayes
was introduced as a ."lightweig;ht,,
and. he extainly. is In the: matter of
avoirdupois. In tthe first round he
sprained his wrist badly, but he was
game to the core, and he made a
mighty rgood , showing against his
teacher.. He landed a few wallops that
were of the "peach" variety, and if
the gloves hadn't been something like
pillows the wallops would have
counted heavy. It was a clean and
clever exhibition, and was thoroughly
enjoyed. .
President Brooks presided over the
meeting, and Herman Werger offici
ated as master of ceremonies, and ref
eree. The pressmen and assistants 1
declare that they were so well pleased
with the results of their social meet
ing that they are going to make them
a regular thing, and in this they are
wise. Such gatherings make for bet
ter unionism. '
The pressmen and assistants of Lin
coln feel good over the outconfe of the
convention recently held In New York,
and are confident that the new offi
cials are going to make good all along .
the line. They are also rejoicing over
the fact that they have been permitted
to share in a large measure in the
benefits secured by the fight the
printers have put up for the eight-hour
day. ' They heartily cheered President
Bain of the Typographical Union when
he referred to the days when he was
a pressman himself and assured them
that he with them heart and soul inx
their efforts to secure the eight-hour
day and .better working conditions.
OFF ON VACATION.
Thursday evening W. M. Maupin,
editor of The Wageworker, accom
panied by Mrs. . Maupin and the baby,
Richard Metcalfe Maupin, started for
Hot Springs, Ark., where they will
attend the annual convention of the
International Typographical Union
and the International Auxiliary. They
will be absent about ten days. Dur
ing Mr. Maupin's absence, Colonel
Harry W. Smith, . foreman ; of the
Western Newspaper Union and 'a
member of the Typographical Union,
will be in editorial charge. All per
sons having grievances against The
Wageworker are cordially invited to
vent them on Colonel - Smith, as he '
will draw an enormous salary for be
ing the "fall guy" during the editor's
absence. -
Union labor is renewing interest in
a proposition to establish a labor tem
ple in Boston.
The International Photo' Engarvers'
union has signed a five year arbitra
tion agreement with National Pub
lishers' association. r
