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About The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-???? | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1907)
I t , LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, DECEMBER L0, 1007 NO. 3S ml Temple Boosters Still Boosting Away This is the way the Labor Temple siock subscription stands to date: Carpenters' Union Shares 115 -Tj pographlcal Union Shares 115 Electrical Workers' Union. Shares 128 Bartenders' Union .Shares 100 Omaha Carpenters Shares 5 Vallejo 1. B. E. W Shares 5 f'BnltAl Auxiliary Shares Barbers' Union Shares 100 , Painters and Decorators, No. 18 Shares 100 Leatherworkers Shares 100 Electrical Workers, Fre- ' mont ". ..Shares 5 , Cigarmakers Shares 10 Plumbers "....Shares 20 Individual subscriptions.. Shares 434 Total Shares 1,160 At the meeting last Monday even tug the Labor Temple Committee took the first preliminary step in the pub licity campaign that -will be started noon after the dawning of the new year. Five thousand copies of the articles of incorporation, together with a brier description of the plans union ists have in mind for a Labor Temple, will be printed and distributed to the general public. Just to show that trades unionists in other cities are interested In Lin coln's movement for a Temple, Fre mont Leatherworkers' Union No. 32 bought two shares of stock. Other unions are cordially invited to do the same. , The committee decided to skip next CAPITAL AUXILIARY. Electa Officers and Winds Up Its Work for the Year. Capital Auxiliary Xo. 11 to Typo graphical Union Xo. 209 met with Mrs. J. E. Worley on Friday of last week end elected officers for the ensuing, jfar. The officers-elect are as follows: President, Mrs. Fred W Mickel. Vice President, Mrs. J. E. Marshall. Secretary, Mrs. C. B. Rlghter. Treasurer, Mrs. C. E. Barngrover. Chaplin, Mrs. G. M. Walhan. Guide, Mrs. F. McKenney. Executive committee, Mrs. W. d. Norton, Mrs. August Radebach, Mrs. H. W. Smith, Mrs. Charles Simmons. ThlB was the last meeting of what lias been a very satisfactory year for the organization. The Auxiliary has pushed the label with vigor, has en joyed many social good times, and has added, much to the good work of unionism. The organization has not been depleted by death, for which the .members are thankful. However, death has visited several Auxiliary homes, and when it did the members , strove to exemplify the fraternal teachings of unionism by extending the hand of help and sympathy. The next meeting will be held on January 10 at the home of Mrs. Comp ton, and it is to be hoped that this first meeting in 1908 will find the ' full membership present There is much work that needs to be done which the Auxiliary can do, and every member should try to do her full share. 1 A committee has been apiolnted to assist No. 209 with the silver anniver sary ball on February. 25. . Have you. any stickers left Mrs. Tompson, 402 South Twenty fifth street, and Mrs. Peat, 1557, North Thirty-first street, have been on the sick list. Mrs. Radebach returned from her Chicago vlsft sooner than expected. Mrs. A, L. Com p ton has moved to 2029 N street. Mrs. Creal, one of our "used to be" members, has had a lovely Christmas present of a little daughter. LABOR SUNDAY. Rev. Charles Stelzle Want to Know Sentiment of Unionists. Shall we observe Labor Sunday on the Sunday before Labor Day in Sep tember, or on the second Sunday in May, which would being it In harmony with the resolution adopted by the last convention of the American Fed eration of Labor with reference to ! the observance of that Sunday as "Labor's Memorial Day?" For three successive years the Presbyterian Department of Church Monday night, owing to the nearness of Christmas, and the next meeting will be heid on December 30. Unions that hive not yet sent a representa tive to the committee should get busy before that time. H. J. Pickard showed up from the Plumbers' Union with the proper cre dentials and will take the place of former committeeman' A. V. White, who has left town. Mr. Pickard got the glad hand. ! Every member was present at the la3t meeting with the exception of Committeeman Walker of -the Bar tenders' Union, and he sent an excuse that was deemed amply sufficient. The committee is planning some thing big in the way of publicity soon, but until all arrangements are made and they are now under way nothing definite can be announced. But it will be a three times winner when it is pulled cff. Due notice should be taken of the fact that this committee has been meeting some ten weeks without a skip, and ' the absentees have . never numbered more than two. Chairman Dickson comes in from University Place every week, and other members often pass up social enjoyment to give their time to the good wwk. If 75 per cent of the union men in Lincoln would boom the Temple project as hard as the members of this commit tee have, we'd dedicate the Temple next Labor Day Instead of merely lay ing the corner stone. Fremont Leatherworkers. .Shares , 2 and Labor, of which I have the honor to be the superintendent, has been advocating, with considerable success, that the 11,000 churches in our de nomination discuss the labor prob lem on the Sunday preceding Labor Day. Hundreds of thousands . c'f workingmen, , besides large numbers of employers, have . attended churc's or. that Sunday, to hear the labor question discussed. It has been found, however, that on account of the fact that most ministers take their vaca tion during the weeks Immediately preceding the first of September, not sufficient preparation could be made to make the most of this opportunity. It has, therefore, occurred to me that the -second Sunday in May would be more advantageous, first, because we shall have a better chance to gei leady for it, and now, second, because the American Federation ef Labor has decreed that the second Sunday ir May shall be observed as indicated above. But I desire to get the personal opinion of those who are directly in terested, and I shall be glad to have the' readers of this journal write me very frankly as to what they think about having the churches of America, not only the Presbyterian, but the other denominations as -well, declare that the second Sunday in May shall hereafter be known as "Labor Sunday" throughout the churches of America. Address me at 156 Fifth Avenue, New York. Rev. Charles Stelzle. KILO-ED CHILD LABOR LAW. Ohio Circuit Court Declares the State Law Unconstitutional. An Ohio circuit court has pro nounced unconstitutional the auti cklld labor law of that state, which prohibits the employment of minors under 14 in any factory, mine or other establishment. The court regards the act as an unwarrantable interference 'with the liberties guaranteed to tho people of Ohio by their state consti tution as well as by the organic law of the United States. . This decision will ' astonish all friends of child labor legislation and a good many legal students of the 'questions involved in such legislation. 'Certainly the precedents are all 'against the opinion of the Ohio court. Legislation restricting child labor and prohibiting it entirely under certain ages and conditions has been the rule, rather than the exception, for a num ber of years, and decision after deci sion from the highest state courts has sustained such interference with "lib erty" as an entirely valid exercise of the police power of the state the power to safeguard the health and moral welfare of the community. The Ohio child labor law is hardly more advanced than the child labor laws of other northern states. New York by no means a "radical" state has re cently strengthened its child labor law, at the instance of Governor Hughes, by providing that no minor under the age of 16 shall be permitted to work in any mine or quarry. vIn factories children between the ages of 14 and 16 may be employed, but not at night that is, not between the hours of 11 p. m. and 6 a. m. . Even , the south is no longer ' enemy's country" for the earnest ad vocates of restriction of child labor. Of late, progress in that section has been gratlfyingly rapid and substantial in the premises, and it is hoped that in a few years its child 'labor laws will be fully abreast of those of the states that have taken the most ad vanced position in opposition to this evil. Chicago Record-Herald.. THE CARPENTERS. General. Organizer Michler Works Up Renewed Interest Here. . William d! Michler of Kansas City, general organizer of. the United Brotherhood of Carpenters' and Joiners, has been in Lincoln for sev eral days, assisting the local union in many ways. Mr. Michler has strength ened the lines in many places and has succeeded . in removing several diffi culties that lay in the way of further success. The good results of his work are already manifest. Mr. Michler conveys the welcome information that the American Fed eration of Labor is preparing, to put an organizer in Nebraska early in the year for the purpose of organizing a state federation and putting a numbe of local unions Into the harness. This is something that has . been long needed. The meeting of the local Tuesday night was addressed by Mr. Michler and his talk was listened to with great interest and approval. He will" go to Kansas City this week and remain with his family until after the holi days, and expects then to return to Nebraska to do same work in various cities where the carpenters main tain organizations. Brother Flynt, who has been work ing in Lincoln for some time, bid the boys- good-bye Tuesday -and on Wed nesday started for his old home in Paughkeepsie. N. Y. The first of the week ; Mrs. Frank Methodist Church and Labor To the Editor of The Wageworker: The Xebraska annual Conference of the M. E. church sends the following memorial to the General Conference, which sits at Baltimore, " Md., ' next May: ' , "To the General Conference of 1908. Dear Fathers and Brethren, Greeting: The Nebraska Annual Conference hereby sumbits to your judgment tfnd action the following memorial : ' "Believing that the prevailing con ditions and current changes of the social system indicate imperative and specific duty of the church in the in terests of the kingdom of God, it is therefore our petition that you do or der and appoint a commission, . to which shall be referred the considera tion of the relation of the church to the social -problem -with specific re gard to the moral aspects of the rela tions of capital and labor, the promo tion of international peace, the puri fication of politics, the problem of in toxicating liquors, the protection of the Sabbath, of the family and of the youth and other questions of urgent moral import. We further suggest that the said commission be instructed to' deliberate during the ensuing four years, and also, during that time, to inove the church at large to vigorous and purposeful thought concerning these themes and at the end of that time to report to the general confer ence of the year- 1912 in the follow ing particulars, subject to the final ex pression and action ot said general conference: 1st. What principles and measures of industrial, political and moral re form are so evidently Christian and righteous as to warrant the specific endorsement and support of the church? 2nd. How can the existing agencies of the Methodist Episcopal church be wisely used or improved with a view to promoting the principles, and meas ures thus endorsed? 3rd. To what specific co-operation in Xaracong , of University Place re ceived a telegram from Oklahoma an nouncing the sudtlen death of her younger brother, Mr. Irwin. Mrs. Xaracong is the wife of the president elect of the local carpenters' union. Business Agent Dickson says that when he is in his office he often re ceives calls for union workmen1 of other ' crafts.i He suggests that the local unions giva him the address of their secretaries and information as to how he can locate men when they are ealied for. In this way he can be of great service -to all the unions while taking care of the business of his own union. , WRONG MAN SENTENCED. Operator Sentenced for Forgery Par doned by Governor. Governor Hoch of Kansas has granted a pardon to James G.' Jarboe, a telegraph operator sentenced to the penitentiary for forging a telegram on which he tried to secure transporta tion, from Dresden, Kansas, to Colo rado Springs. Jarboe asked the Rock Island for a job as operator and was sent to Dresden. When he got there he found the job filled, and nothing was open but a night job as watchman and mail tender. He de clined and asked' for return transpor tation, which i was promised. He 'waited for four or five days at his own expense, but the transportation did not come. So he fixed up a fake telegram authorizing conductors to carry him to Colorado Springs and signed the division superintendent's name to it. He got as far as Good land when the operator at Dresden, mad because Jarboe had refused to stay, thus throwing the night work on ' him, "flagged" Jarboe and Jtb conductor handed him over to the f officers. Jarboe was advised to fight the case, but declined, saying he was guilty of forging the superintendent's naiwe. He received an. indeterminate sentence of from one to seven years. Now that he is out his first duty should be to return to Dresden and throw the switch for1 the dirty pup of r.n operator who peached on him. GOOD MAN SICK. 1 Robert Strain, member of the Bar bers' Union, is quite sick at his home in University. Place. Brother, Strain is one of the old union standbys, and he has a host of friends who are wish ing for his speedy recovery- '" ' this behalf shall we invite the several evangelical denominations? ' "4th. How can our courses of min isterial study in seminaries and con ferences, be modified with a view to better preparing our preachers for a social ministry and for efficiency' in moral reform?" The following' comments may ren der the foregoing more interesting to the readers of The Wageworker: First, the General Conference to which this petition is addressed is the Supreme legislative body of the M. E. church. It meets once in four years, remains in session for an en tire month and represents a constitu ency of more than three million mem bers. There is probably no other body which can express or influence so large a portion of the public senti ment except the Federal Congress and the National Conventions of two great parties. '.,'" Second, The action 'petitioned for would, touch several subjects of vital moment to the laboring classes, such As the rights of organized labor, the hours of work, the employment of children, the Sunday, rest, the living wage, qp-operation and profit-sharing and the relation of the liquor question to the labor question. Third, It should be noted that the action indicated is not yet taken by the General Conference but is merely petitioned for toy -the Nebraska Con ference. Hence it is desired that this petition be as strongly supported as possible. Any expression of approval which may emanate from lahor organ izations or the labor press will be yery helpful to this end and will be regard ed with great Interest and respect by lUe General Conference. The writer of this article will be grateful for any expressions of this kind that may be forwarded to him and will see that they are put to effective use. Ever a friend of labor, ' WILLIAM N. BALCH, 1601 So. 16th. St. Lincoln Made i The Wageworker , has taken occa- 1, . . e T" : . 1 l t 11.. : sion to speak of Richard L. Metcalfe's now famous book, "Of Such is the Kingdom," and in its humble way do something to add to its sals. On merit alone the book should sell by, the hundreds of thousands. , In senti ment, in inspiration Wd' in helpful ness it has Rev. Charles Sheldon's 'In His Steps", backed oft the board which is expressive even if not in harmony with the spirit of both books. But there Is another reason; why "Of Such is the Kingdom"! should be boost ed for fair by union men and women it is a union made book "from kiver to.kiver," and it looks it. ' It .is as pretty as a book can be made and sell for a dollar. The man who wrote it, while not a trades unionist by mem bership only because he is not a craftsman is a trades unionist in sen timent and in practice., When he got ready to "have the book printed he submitted the manuscript to union print shops and asked for estimates, It is not strange that two or three shops employing "free and indepen dent workmen" , asked . for a bid and offered cut prices. Such shops can bid low because they don't, pay wages. But the author refused to, consider their estimates, declaring that it had to be put out by union men. And It was. The printers were members f the International Typographical Un ion, the pressmen were ( members of the international Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union, the hinders were . members of the International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, and he ! ASSESSMENT REDUCED. Pressmen Get a Christmas Gift of Five j Per Cent. , ' , , 1 The union pressmen of Lincoln were gratified last week by receipt of , an official notification that on and after December 18 the . strike . assessment would be only 5 per ent. It has been 10 per cent. The notice is posi tive evidence that the strike is being won despite injunctions and threats of imprisonment for contempt. .''' Local pressmen are - feeling' ' good. The benefit list is practically nothing, and overtime work has been common for several weeks. V'-"' ,-' ' .'''" ; A former member of . the union is serving as a strikebreaker in a local "rattery'V He is a prominent church worker who selfishly seized chance to benefit at the , expense of his fel lows. ' ; ' ' ' f:'rl ' -,,'(',';.- , NOT ORGANIZING JAPS. San ' Francisco, . Dec. , 14. Advices from Honolulu state that' it i denied officially by the secretary of the Hono lulu trade and labor assembly - that any representative of the American Federation of Labor Is i in Hawaii seeking to organize the Japanese plan tation labors into a union allied, with the federation. ; ';'' .,- AFTER STILLINGS. ) ' ; . .... .... ... Incompetent Public Printer is Having .a 'Heap of Trouble. The following special dispatch to the Omaha World-Hearld appeared under a Washington date line on Decem ber 16: " :' ,' '-';' "Organized labor is actually on the trail of Public Printer' Charles A. Stillings, ' who is charged with being hostile to organizations in the great printing office. . Senator Burkett the other day presented a resolution passed by the Central Labor Union of Omaha.-praying for legislation under which Stillings will have to be re moved. . , .. j"Some serious charges about the Stillings administration are made, one just came to light Last summer sev eral hundred people in the bindery at the big establishment were laid off indefinitely on the ground that there was no work, for -them. ' Right after wards, members of congress who had business at the congressional library discovered that it was Impossible to consult bound volumes , of recent periodicals, because these ' had been held up at the printing office for a year or more. There was no sufficient force in the bindery to bind them, and the library's facilities were badly crippled i as a result. It is charged that hundreds of tons of unbound by Lincoln Unionists engravers were members of the union c i , ... ' ; . of that craft. The sale of this book has not been more than it deserved not by some million or two copiesbut when the average sale , of the average book is considered if has been phenomenal. It , is now in its tenth thousand, and still going like buckwheat caltes on . a December morning. ; - Recognizing Mr.' Metcalfe's friend ship for union labor the following re solution has been, adopted by. the Lin coln Allied Printing Trades Council 4 and Local No. 120 of the International "Brotherhood of Bookbinders: ' ' ' "Resolved, By Local No. 120, Inter national Brotherhood of Bookbinders and Lincoln AWied. Printing ; Trades Council, that we congratulate our fel low townsman Richard L. Metcalfe on the great success of his book, 'Of Such is the Kingdom'; that we con gratulate Lincoln on being the home town of a .; volume that Is' destined to be known the world over, and that we point with pride to the fact that all who worked upon that famous pub lication were union printers, union pressmen,, union bookbinders and un ion engravers." . :. ; . X . ' , This resolution will be suitably en grossed and signed and .presented to Mr. Metcalfe. ; .; ' . , "Of Such is the Kingdom",, is ad vertising Lincoln the world over, and while doing that it is also advertising that Lincoln's union 'men in the al lied printing trades are first-class me chanics and capable of doing the 'best work in- their line. ) magazines and i thousands of books ' that need rebinding are stacked up. both at the library and at the print ing office, awaiting attention, while it is given out that there is no work for the binding force. ' Congress Is going to find out, if possible, what the facts are, and there may be legislation of tee sort the unions want. Last ses sion it was charged that incompetency at the printing office delayed adjourn ment many hours, to the great disgust of members.". - , .. WASTING THEIR TIME. Corporation Promoters Waste Time and Postage on Wageworker- The "M. OA Publishing Bureau, 119 Nassau Street, New York City, is wasting a lot of valuable time and considerable postage in sending The Wageworker 'its mess of'predlgested editorial" in opposition to municipal ownership. The stuff comes in the ; shape of t newspaper clippings "and al leged facts in opposition to the mu nicipal ownership of public utilities.. The Wageworker gently, fires the stuff into the waste basket without opening it. We opened the first batch or two and that, was enough. The gentlemdn; who collates . the "copy," Mr, Grant, has got a nice, easy job, and we congratulate 'him. . But The AVagewoTker man is more than seven years old. - .. " -- The labor paper that would print any of the dope sent out by Mr. Grant needs an editor who is not in the habit of buying gold bricks and biting at the padlock game. The "M. O." Publishing Bureau is expensive, but the eminent corporationists who are footing the bills evidently think they are getting their money's worth. ; But the small amount they Invest in send ing their stuff to this humble little labor paper is not well invested. FALSELY ACCUSED. Charges Against Union Men at Gold . field Were Unfounded. Goldfield, Nev., Dec. 18. The dis covery was made today that the union miners or their sympathizers had nothing to do with the cutting off of light and power through a break in the Nevada & California Power com pany's wires. Armed repairmen, re-. turning from a search for the break, -reported that an ice and snow slide in the White mountains had caused the poles to collapse, the impact snap-, ping the wires. ' ' A SURE GO. It looks like the Lincoln 'Labor Tem ple would be a go. The Wageworker is booming ' it for fair. 'Western La-, borer.