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VOL. 4
LIXCOIjX, NEBRASKA, MARCH 14, 1:08
NO. 50
An Open Letter to
Rev. Mr. Batten
Lincoln, Nebr., March 13. To Rev.
Samuel Zane Batten: I have your let
ter of recent date, addressed to me
aa editor of The Wageworker, and
printed in my humble little labor
lnper on March 7. You "note with
surprise and regret" that I have taken
an adverse posftion with' reference to
the "no-license" campaign in Lincoln.
ermit me to reply to this by stating
that I note with surprise and regret
that yau have taken what I honestly
believe to be an adverse position with
reference to the speediest and best
solution of a very vexatious question
temperance,
You further state that "in another
editorial I seek to belittle ' the whole
movement for temperance reform by
legislative action by carrying the
principle to an absurd length." I
assure you that If I have carried this
or any other temperance reform prin
ciple to an 'Jabsurd length" I have
but followed the example of others
who go to an absurd length in their
denunciation of those who may differ
from them in matters of policy. When
you say that I "seek to belittle this
vhole movement for, temperance re
form," by legislative enactment or
otherwise, you merely follow the usual
logic ot those who believe all guilty
or criminal folly who .do not agree
with them. I have yet to learn that
Infallibility iijan attribute of either
pieachers or prohibitionists.
There are those who insist that
when they have voted to close the
licensed saloon their responsibility
ends, but my observation of social
nd economic conditions leads me to
believe that that is merely the be
Kiuning of their responsibility, and
tisat they are verp apt to be premium
isl'irkers.
Doubtless you know among your
parishioners many parents who shirk
' upon the Sunday school the work
of religious' Instruction which parent?
owe their children. There are llke
v.;e those who would shirk their per
ianal responsibility for genuine tem
perance work by securing the enaet
taent of a prohibitory law and then
forgetting straightway that law. en
actment and law enforcement are
vastly different things.
I must confess that ministerial
Jjjic IS very ontsn oeyumi my cuui-
l rehension. You cite the fact that thn
luw does seek to prohibit the sale
of adulterated flour and sour bread,
aad then offer that fact as an argu
ment for the prohibition of the sale
of liquor. But that is beside the ques
tron. Because adulterated flour is
made and because sour bread Is baked,
has not. yet led any reformers to stand
forth and demand the prohibition of
flour manufacture or break baking.
Of course I am in favor of pure food
laws and I am also in favor of sane
ti-mperance agitation. Being forty-five
years of age, a newspaper man of a
quarter of a century's experience, the
recipient, of a fair education and the
possessor of average coramonsense, I
,im of the opinion that I have as much
light to assume that my position on
Ite temperance question Is right as
you. or your ultra-prohibition friends
have to ussume that( your position
i right. I would, if I could, wipe
out the liquor business tomorrow
or today. But I cannot do it, and
I know I cannot do It Neither can
. you ; neither can .both of us. But
1 can help those who work by edu-
-.'itional methods to minimize the
raffle along constantly increasing
lues. There is not a man in Lincoln
..ho would not complain before the
court if he saw a man commit a bur-
g'.ary. There is not. one in a hundred
who would enter complaint if he
knew of an Instance of violation of
the liquor law. Perhaps your experi
ence in prosecuting the Riggs case,
or your observation of the result of
the Wo?mpler trial, will lead you to
admit that 1 am wel! within the truth
when I make that statement. And
why this difference? Simply because
men are educated up to the burglary
question, and they are not educated
tip to the same point on the illicit
vending of liquor. Your Sunday base
ball prosecution is another case In
point. Bless your soul, Brother Bat
ten, you cannot enforce a law which
legalizes the liquor traffic. Now tell
me, pray, how you will enforce a
law that prohibits it entirely. I, and
my parents before me. was born In
Missouri.
Further along in your interesting
letter to me you say:
"Again, you say that every preacher
who is beseeching the aid of man
made law is confessing that the Gos
pel of Jesus Christ has failed. Now
that is one of the most surprising
statements I have seen in print for a
long time, and I can hardly believe
that it reflects your maturest judg
ment. You ceem to suppose that the
Ccspel of Christ is a kind of weak
milk and water doctrine, a goody
goody sentiment, a vague and indefi
nite influence that remains up in the
air and never gets down to real life."
Pardon me, Brother Batten, but you
have your cowcatcher on behind. In
stead of supposing that the gospel of
Christ is "a kind of weak milk and
wtter doctrine, a goody-goody senti
ment, a vague and indefinite influ
ence that' remains up In the air," I
believe it is a living, brep.thing, vital
force in the regeneration and salva
t.'.on of men. Because I so believe 1
do not deem it necessary to supple
ment it with a legislative enactment
and a constable's club. Because I
believe it sufficient for the regenera
tion and salvation of men I believe
impliclty in the truth of Christ's ut
terance, "And I, if 1 be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unfb
ne" John 12:32. He nowhere says
that if He is lifted up, and properly
icinforced by statutory prohibition,
sheriff's writs, hired spies, and con
siable's clubs, He will draw all men
unto Him. "For I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, for it Is the
power of God unto salvation to every
or.e that beliaveth." Romans' 1:16.
I'ecause I am not ashamed of it, I
am not ready to confess that it lack?
pewer and must be supplemented with j
legislative writs and made dependent
upon fallible officials.
If either of us Is supposing that
the gospel of Christ Is a kind of weak
milk and water doctrine, I submit that
iv- the face of the facts it is no I,
but rather you, who confess by your
public utterances-that It needs bolster
ing ul by legislatures, city councils
and hired informers.
Further along in your interesting
letter you say:
"Jesus of Nazareth, as you very
well know, was no harmless dreamei-
and visionary recluse;' the fact is He
was a terror to evil-doers and was
killed on that very account."
I know that quite as well as you,
Brother Batten. Slavery was com
mon in Hia day show me if you can
one word He uttered In denunciation
o" slavery. Yet Hia whole doctrine
and His whole life was a living, vital
protest against . slavery. Before He
came the law, of force the law of
"Thou rhalt not" was In force.
This law He superceded with the law
oi love.. Not because He roundly
denounced and bitterly condemned;
not because He prohibited and prose
cuted not because of these .things
was He crucified.' He W83 crucified
because His precept and His example
impelled the evil-doers of His day to
rid themselves of His presence so it
might no longer reproach them. A
"weak milk and water doctrine"?
Without a court in the land to aid
Him, with man-made law against Him,
He wrought out the. plan of redemp
tion and salvation, and shall we now
confess that it has lost its power?
Not I, Brother Batten.
I have no desire to lengthen this
controversy, although I assure you the
columns of" The Wageworker are
open to you, subject to reasonable
limitations . as to 'space. I merely
went to add that not all, those who
may oppose prohibition are "hire
lings of the liquor interests," nor are
a'.' prohibitionists Christian or tem
perate. Not all opponents of prohibi
tion are actuated by a desire to. per
petuate the saloon, nor is the judg
ment of all prohibitionists as to rem
edy infallible. With renewed assur
ances of my distinguished considera
tion I am, yours very truly,
WILL M. MAUPIN,
Editor The Wageworker.
THE MACHINISTS.
The Baltimore - &'smohep SRltoi
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad has
issued an order which places all ma-
chine shops on an eight-hour basis.
For some time a part of the shops of
this system have been working on
short time, but now all are includad.
Thirty-five strike breakers working on
the Erie Railroad at Huntington. Ind.,
have gone on strike. They were
brought into the city to take the place
oi" the machinists who had gone on
strike against the piece system, and
now in self-defense against this curse
oZ the machinists, they have had to
strike.
TRAINMEN WILL DANCE.
Will Usher in St. Patrick's Day to
the Sound of Music.
Capital Lodge No. 170, Brotherhood
of Railway Trainmen, has completed
rli arrangements for what it. believes
will be a record-breaker in the line
( f Brotherhood balls. The ball will
be held in Fraternity hall on Mon
day evsning, March 16 with "St..
Patrick's day in the morning."
If the dance programs are as fetch
ing as the placards announcing the
event they will be worth keeping as
a souvenir. The placards are unique
in their way and reflect credit upon
the genius of the man or men who
cr.nceived.
The Brotherhood of Railway Train
men always makes a' success of its
annual ball, and this one will be no
exception. A cordial invitation is- ex
tended to all friends to attend an!
enjoy a pleasant evening.
THE CARPENTERS.
Educational Sessions Proving Enter
taining and Lively.
The Carpenters of Lincoln -made a
good move when they decided to ar
range for a course of talks alcng edu
cational .and industrial .lines. Last
Tuesday evening the editor of The
Wageworker appeared before the local
by invitation and read a paper on
"Man's Inhumanity to Man," which
appears in this issue. After the read
ing was finished there was a warm
but good' natured discussion of the
paper. Dr. P. L. Hall is slated to ap
pear before the local union, and The
Wageworker guarantees the member
ship that they' will hear something
worth while.
The Carpenters are arranging for a
THE LABOR TEMPLE
't- iiwTr -r ------- ' ''t
It is with a great deal of pride that
The Wageworker this week presents
to its 'loyal army of union readers a
picture of the proposed Labor Tem
ple. It is a picture of what will sure
ly be if union men do their duty
and they will.
The exact location of the structure
has not yet been decided, but the di
rectors have three or four fine sites
In view. The matter of site will be
arranged to the satisfaction of the
majority just as soon as the money
for the site is forthcoming. And that
is coming at a gratifying rate. ,
The board of directors met last
Monday evening and districted the
city for the purpose of the financial
campaign. All the necessary Infor
mation for prospective subscribers is
embraced in a neat folder, and these
are being distributed among business
men and others whom it is sought to
interest. Blank pledge cards have
also been ' provided, and quietly and
social Session to be held some time
in Apifcl, and there are dark hints
that H will 'be "something different."
The ' following is from the Oklahoma
City Labor News: "Local Carpenters
No. 273, at their regular meeting last
Tuesday night, voted down the propo
sition to affiliated with the State Fed
eration of Labor. The membership of
276 may think they have done the
right thing not to affiliate with the
State Federation of Labor, hut we
doubt .their wisdom in this instance.
It Is the duty of every local union to
affiliate with the State Federation,
and we know of no union that needs
affiliation more than the carpenters.
Come, i brothers, reconsider 1 your ac
tion and vote to affiliate."
Col. Charles' Woodward came down
from Omaiha and attended the meet
ing Tuesday night.
ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN.
Paper Patterns That Are the Product
of Union Labor.
The. last issue of the Typographical
Journal contains the following, which
will bej of interest to the wives of all
union men: ,
"In response to inquiries, The Jour
nal desires to announce that the pat
terns printed by the McCall company
of New York are the product of union
labor, 'though they do not bear the
label. This company has issued a
circular denying the charge that it is
a part of the pattern trust. An effort
is being made to have the label placed
on the McCall patterns."
SCHOOL FOR STRIKEBREAKERS.
West Virginia unionists are after
the Moler barber school, truthfully
declaring it's enly , a strikebreaking
incubator. - Efforts will -be made to
keep the institution out of the state.
The Barbers' Union has spent $50,000
fighting this institution.
A WOMAN ORGANIZER.
The executive council of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor has appoint
ed Missj Annie Fitzgerald of Chicago a
general organizer. She will devote
her efforts to trades in which women
are employed.
The socialist party of Indiana will
hold its State convention at Indian
apolis, March 15. ' ' .
without any flourish of trumpets the
campaign is now under way. A little
later the campaign will take on the
nature of a circus parade, and then
there will he 'plenty of noise and en
thusiasm. .The board is in receipt of several
handsome offers of "benefits" for the
Temple fund, and these will be acted
upon in due time. One of these con
templates a grand' "Labor ' Temple
Ball" and it is considered by the 'board
to be about the most promising propo
sition in sight. ' -, ' . . :
A number of professional men who
are interested in church work have
also interested themselves in the Tem
ple project, realizing that such an in
stitution would be a splendid factor
in the moral uplift of the city. ; Said
one of these men recently:
"My wife and I have considered
your Temple proposition carefully, and
we have decided that it merits our
support. I can conceive of no move
Man's Inhumanity to
His Fellow Men
(Paper read before the Christian
Citizenship League of the East Sida
Christian church of Lincoln, March
:V 1908, by Will M. Maupin.)
"The sun that overhangs yon moors
Out-spreading far and wide,
Where hundreds labor to support
A haughty lordling's pride;
I've seen yoh , weary winter sun
Twice forty times return:, ,
And ev'ry time has added proof
That man was made to mourn.
"See yonder poor, o'erlabored wight,
So abject, mean and vile, ,
Who begs a brother of the earth
To give him leave ' to toil.
And see hi3 lordly fellow-worm
The poor petition spurn,
Unmindful though a weeping wife '
And helpless, .offspring mourn. 1
"If I'm designed yon lordlings' slave,
By nature's law designed, ,t
Why was an independent wish
E'er, planted in my mind?
If not, why am I subject to '
His cruelty or scorn?
Cr why has man the will and powe:-
To make his fellows morn."
, ; ;' " .. Robert Burns.
The great mining magnate, seated
h'. his palatial office, was telling th
visitor about the operation of the hi
dustry. " v, ' . , t
"Every spring we take them (out
of the mines," he . said, "send them
irto the country for a couple of
months, have them examined by an
expert and every little wound and
bad symptom attended to. When we
bring them back to work they arc
in prime condition." 1
"I am glad to hear that,", saidt the
visitor. "I have so often heard that
the men employed in the mines were
cruelly treated." . ' ',
"O thunder!" exclaimed the mag
nate. "I was talking about the min-?
nuiles, not the miners!"
Under the impetus of greed for
gold, our modern industrial system
has developed with such rapid strides
ment better calculated to advance the
best interests of the workers, and
therefore the best interests of the
municipality. , When you get ready to
receive "subscriptions, call on me, and
I will do all that I can to help push
thds magnificent enterprise to , suc
cess." '" : '
This is only a sample. A business
man who employs a number of skilled
craftsmen, said:1 -'
"Count me in on that Temple propo
sition. It looks good to me. ', It will
pay cash dividends as well as moral
and economic dividends. Every em
ployer of labor in Lincoln ought to
get behind this project and help the
wage earners to make it a glorious
success." ' ' ;
, , , . . . , , . . . .
The board of directors will meet
again Monday evening, and at that
time will listen to - reports of the
week's work and arrange for a more
enthusiastic hustle- during the weeks
to come.
that human life is no longer a factor
in the - equation. Abraham Lincoln
said he could" make a brigadier gen
eral with a stroke of the pen, but it
took' $150 in gold to buy a mule. The ;
cheapest thing on the American mar
ket today is human life. We con
tribute our money to send mission
aries to India and to ' China where
to , the Ganges crocodiles, seemingly -unmindful
of the .fact that in f re .
America 1,750,000 children under 11
years of age are daily offered )as sac-,
rifices to greed, and 300,000 of them
claimed annually. We read with a
shudder of horror that an American J
missionary and his wife have been
cruelly ' murdered , in ? some lar-off 1
heathen ' land, and immediately" send ':
others to shed light into the darkened
minds of the slayers. y But we read
with calm equanimity that on the day
this missionary and his wife .were ,"
murdered in benighted India or China,
36 citizens were murdered and 50-1
others seriously injured in free Amer
ica by enlightened, Christian, church- V
going, missionary-supporting men who
would rather put; human . life into
danger.,than to spend a small percent
age, of their profits in safety appli-
ances Puritan Massachusetts fur
nishes 1 the capital to operate south
ern cotton mills because, forsooth :
the laws of unionized Massachusetts
forbid the employment ' of childreu,
while the southern mills can and do
employ thousands of children between
the ages of five and twelve. , Humane
men in j.eDrasKa asK tne enactment
of a child labor law, looking to pre-'
vention rather than cure, and from a
Nebraska city with one church to ,
every 300 'of population comes a pro
test that the enactment of such . a .
law will, compel, the; abandonment of,'
lis canning factory. . 1
The. church thunders against' the '
iniquities of the modem saloon, not
withstanding the fact that 300,000;
American workingmen dally, find the
saloon the only place where ''they can
have companionship, bright lights, -good
cheer, warmth and a few hours
cf fprgetf ulness. ; " And the church i
silent about the iniquities of the
sweat ; shop wherein daily 300,000
women and children work afh aver
age of fourteen hours a day for an
average of less than $1.20 a week, sur
rounded by filth unspeakable, crimes ,
unmentionable; never seeing a . tree
or - a blade of grass; never hearing
the name of God save as a curse;
never , having hunger thoroughly ap-
peuseu,' ana never Knowing wuai sul
ficient clothing means. ,
A little band of workingmen, driven, '
mad Jy abuse, commits some overt
act, and immediately the newspapers -are
filled with denunciation of the
".'inn rtiieHf laW ' nninn " HTulH.
millionaires, a majority of whom oc
cupy prominent pews in the churches"
plunge two nations into war in order
to further ' fill their fat coffers, and -'
lri'mediately , the newspapers appeal
to our patriotism and we. rush to arms
"for country, and for God.":
Chinese Boxers, maddened by preju
dice, murder a handful of missionaries,
and immediately the armies of six
great nations 'are sent into the coun
try of the Yellow Dragon and a hor-.
rible penalty exacted, while indem
nity amounting to $200,000,000 is
levied.. , v- - "
American Captains of Industry, mad-f.i-ned
by greed, massacre . 36,000 .
American workingmwi a year, malm-
ing 170,000 others, and we read the
figures with equanimity and postpone
the enforcement of safety appliance
laws already enacted and postpone the ,
enactment of other laws looking to
the - same end and' why? Because '
human life is cheaper than safety ap
pliances. ,' The gold dollar, held close,
to the American eye., shuts out the!
Sight of suffering widows and children, -and
a liberal check in the contribution .
box turns our thoughts Africaward in
stead of inward. j . 1
Let. me give you a leaf from my
own experience as a union man. Time '
and again I have seen union - men
appealing to a, legislature for laws
that would compel protection for '
them safety appliance' laws, sanitary '
laws, liability laws. I never in my
life saw a committee from a church :
advocating these humane snd benefl
V (Continued on Page 5)