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VOL.3
JLINCOIiN, NEBRASKA, SEPTEMBER 26, 1908 ,
XO. 2
OJ I? jo)
Bunch of Live Ones
Hold Bully Session
There waa a bunch of live ones seat
ed In The Wageworker office Friday
afternoon of last week. First in
walked 8. J. Stearns, the label boostar
of the United Garment Workers. Be
fore he had fairly seated himself Col
onel Steiner of the local Clgarniakers'
Union pranced in, escorting Organizer
Derniody. Before they had finished
their greetings in walked General Tom
" Kelsey, who has carried a union card
more years than a majority of Lin
coln union men have lived. Before
General Ketsey had been searched and
all bombs and infernal machines re
moved from his person, the doorway
was darkened once more and in
walked H. C Peate, who would rather
miss a meal than a chance to boost
the label.
There wasn't chairs enough to go
around, so Peat perched himself on a
bulging mall sack. Sterns pre-empted
the editorial chair, Steiner occupied a
chair that had about as much bottom
as Taft has love for organized labor,
and Derniody was given the "guest
chair." The editor perched precari
ously on the corner of the typewriter
table.
And then and there was pulled off a
talkfest that listened good to all pres
seut. Derniody told a lot of experiences
as. a journeyman cigarmaker, and ex
plained the difficulty with the La
Axora cigar company in Kalamazoo.
"Some of our fool memoers," said he,
"went around town bragging about the
big wages they made, and as a result
every time we went into a store to
purchase something we had the price
cracked up on us. I tried to rent a
tniall cottage and when the landlord
told me what the rent would be I
said, 'all right, but who will I beat.
Sou or the grocer?" He asked me what
I meant and I to'.d him that if I had to
lay that much rent I would have to
beat somebody. ot of. A -Part, of the
money. Then he said. 'Why. you cigar
makers are making from $28 to $30 a
week. And yet the average wage of
the clgarniakers In Kalamazoo was
less thau $13 a week.
Stearns related some of his expe
riences as a label booster, and said
that the United Garment Workers
were in better shape today thau ever
before in their history.
Kelsey told of his experiences while
was on the blacklist for nine years.
" I was offered a dozen jobs if I would
work under an assumed name, but I
told 'em I had never done anything to
disgrace the name of Kelsey, and I'd
be gosh-hanged if I'd trade it for any
other name I ever heard. As a result
I didn't pull a stitch for nine years,
but I managed to making a living by
soliciting subscriptions for labor pa
pers, selling books, doing odd jobs
and making a tew s)eeches now and
then."
Peat told how Templeton of the
Buck Stove and Range Co., came all
the way from St. Louis to warn him
against "knocking" VanCleave's "scab"
stoves, and then gave a lurid descrip
tion or what he conceived VanCleave
to be.
Steiner tpld of some exieriences in
Lincoln, and the editor sat and lis
tened with satisfaction while that
bunch of live ones talked singly. In
duets, trios, quartets and choruses.
The whole union labor game was
played to the final button, and the
session might have been going yet if
the janitor hadn't shown up and raised
ich a dust that everybody had to
skldoo.
from a real city, and incidentally to
see the finest electrical parade ever
pulled off in the country.
THE MUSICIANS.
Some Bits of News About the Boys of
String, Brass and Reed.
The Musicians' Protective Union
met Sunday, it being the regular semi
monthly session, and transacted a lot
of business. One of the important
things was to issue notices to other
jurisdictions to steer clear of the Lin
coln jurisdiction for the time being,
business being rather dull.
Since Labor Day the appropriate
committee has been doing some tall
hustling with a view to Increasing the
membership, and in pursuance of that
plan several visits were made to
Havelock.
It having been reported by Secre
tary Kates of the Central Labor Union
that the Musical Union's delegates had
been remiss in their duties, the old
delegates were discharged and new
ones elected with instructions to get
busy and keep busy on penalty of se
vere displeasure.
From Kansas City comes the report
that there are three roller skating
rinks in that city, all of which employ
union musicians.
After several attempts to make Ell
ery, manager of the Royal Italian
Band, keep faith with the union, the
musicians made him put up a bond of
$1,000 to keep his contract with the
association.
BARTENDERS' PICNIC.
Enjoy a Pleasant Outing With Their
Wives and Little Ones.
Last Sunday the Bartenders' League
enjoyed its annual picnic, and the out
ing was a success in every way. The
picnic was held at Bruse's park and
was confined strictly to the member
ship of the union and their families
and to their employers and their fami
lies. The weather was of the genuine
picnic brand, and as the committee in
charge had attended to the arrange
ment of every detail, there was noth
ing to stand in the way of a full en
joyment of the outing.
The day was spent in dancing,
games, and social intercourses, and at
just the psychological moment the
well filled baskets were opened and
the contents spread upon snowy
cloths. The luncheon was ample and
thoroughly enjoyed. The recreation
continued until a late hour, and on
the trip home all joined in the ex
pression that the outing had -been a
splendid success.
The Wageworker is in receipt of an
other fcard from the Irrepressible Jere
Sullivan. Jere is always boosting.
This time he sends us a card bearing
the inscription, 'Don't let the devil
divert your attention from patronizing
skilled; union labor wearing these but
tons." ; Then follows the four buttons
of his craft. It's a cold day when Jere
can't think up something new in the
advertising line.
"Weil," said "Sunny," ,"if there'd
been a prize offered for the biggest
flag in' the Labor Day parade, the Bar
tenders would have won it.
Mr.
SAMUEL GOMPERS.
! Gompers is 58 years of age.
and has been a mernber of organized
labor forty-three years. He was born
in London and came to America at
the age of 13 years. At 11 years he
began to work in a cigar factory, and
since he was 15 years old has been a
member of the cigarmarkers' union.
Lincoln Bakers Get
Into the Union Game
' Last Sunday afternon Herman Ross, ,
organizer of the Bakers and Confec
tionery Workers Iutern'atiol Union,
instituted a local of that organization
in Lincoln. Mr. Ross came to Lincoln
about two weeks ago and proceeded at
once to arouse interest among the
bakers of the city. He found them
ready to listen and to act,, and results
were soon achieved.
Several years ago there was an or
ganization of the bakers in Lincoln,
but owing to internal strife and the
Lwiles of some of the employers the
local was disrupted. Happily these
conditions have all been changed, and
everything is now plain sailing for the
new organization, provided its pro
ceeds along well charted union lines.
This, if there is any reliance to be
placed on the evidence, will be the
case.
Last Sunday's meeting was held at
Carpenters' hall, and upwards of
twenty bakers were present when Or
ganizer Ross called the meeting to
order. It had been' arranged before
hand to organize, and the real work
of the meeting was to perfect organ i-'
zation and elect officers. This- was
proceeded with at once alter the pre
liminaries nad been attended to. The
following officers were elected and
duly installed:
President, John Snow.
Vice-president, Sid Drew.
Recording secretary, Tom Wheeler.
Financial secretary, George De
Vore. ,
Treasurer, J. J. Johnson.
Trustees, Messrs. Wissler and Hub
ster. The new union will at once enter
upon the work of getting every eligi
ble worker in the city into toe fold,
and an active label campaign will be
inaugurated.
Organizer Ross left on Wednesday
for St. Joseph, Mo. He was present
at the meeting of the Central Labor
Union Tuesday night and made a short
and interesting talk on the subject of
his craft organization.
GOING TO OMAHA.
Musical Union Band of Lincoln Will
Be In Ak-Sar-Ben Parade.
Lincoln unions will be represented
in the great Ak-Sar-Ben parade in Om
aha on September 30 by the Musical
I'nion band. This organization, twenty-five
strong, uniformed in union-
made uniforms, will leave for Omaha
on the 4:30 Burlington train, and be
fore departing will parade a few
blocks in Lincoln.
The Wageworker has no fears about
Lincoln's showing in that great elec
trical parade. The Musical Union
band will reflect credit on Lincoln, on
the union and on the' good judgment
of the Ak-Sar-Ben management that
secured Its services.
The Indications are that Lincoln will
' send a thousand or more visitors to
Oiiixha next Wednesday, just to show
the Omahacs a bunch of live ieople
MO TACT eiOTieiHl RUffi MEUM
Stung by the flashing of his official record as a prosecutor
of organized labor, William Howard Taft has undertaken to
prove the righteousness of his now famous injunctions in
labor disputes. His first departure from glittering generalities
in referring to labor was taken at. Chicago last Wednesday,
when he undertook to justify his actions by citing the ease
of Frank Phelan.
Frank Phelan was an organizer of the American Railway
Union who was sent to Cincinnati to organize the railroad
employes of that city and to enlist their support of their strik
ing brethren in other parts of the country. Phelan was cited
" To" appear 'bef ore' Judge Taft on the'charge of contempt in
that he had violated an order not to' interfere with the opera
tion, of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, then in the hands
of a receiver appointed by the United States court.
Phelan was not allowed a jury trial. It was not charged
that he had committed a crimj, save that contempt of court
is a crime as defined by the judges of the Taft brand. In
the decision handed down by Judge Taft, Phelan was abused
worse than the average prosecuting attorney abuses a crim
inal on trial before a jury. On the evidence adduced at the
hearing. Phelan was sentenced to jail for six months.
What was the evidence! In his Chicago speech last Wed
nesday Mr. Taft said:
"On an affidavit charging him with contempt in attempt
ing by such methods to defeat the order of the court directing
the receiver to run the road, he was breaking' into court. The
. evidence clearly established his guilt. It therefore sentenced
him to' jail for six months."
And now for the evidence that "clearly established"
Phelan's guilt:
Phelan and several other members of the American Rail
way Union testified that Phelan had done none of the things
i
charged against him. The witnesses for the prosecution were
a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer and a man named
Dormer. The reporter's evidence was mostly hearsay apd a
repetition of some conversations he had with Phelan. Dormer
was tie chief reliance of the prosecution. Who was Dormer?
DORMER WAS A DETECTIVE IN THE EMPLOY OF
THE FIELD DETECTIVE AGENCY OF ST. LOUIS, AND
IN THE EMPLOY OF THE RECEIVER OF THE CINCIN
NATI SOUTHERN RAILWAY. DORMER WAS GIVEN A
POSITION AS BRAKEMAN BY THE RECEIVER. HE
JOINED THE AMERICAN RAILWAY UNION AND MADE
DAILY . REPORTS TO THE RECEIVER. IT WAS UPON
THE TESTIMONY OF THIS HIRED SPY KNOWN BY
JUDGE TAFT TO BE SUCH THAT FRANK PHELAN WAS
SENTENCED TO J ALL FOR SIX MONTHS.
How do we know that Dormer was a detective in the
employ of the Field Detective Agency ?
BECAUSE JUDGE TAFT SPECIFICALLY SAYS HE
WAS, AND THE STATEMENT IS MADE BY JUDGE TAFT
IN THE VERY DECISION .IN WHICH HE ADJUDGED
PHELAN GUILTY.
And Judge Taft admits that he knew Dormer was a de
tective, that he knew Dormer was masquerading under the
name of Williams, and that Dormer joined the strikers under
orders from the receiver, who thus became a party to Phelan's
alleged crime and was therefore equally guilty with him.
And this Judge Taft who sentenced a man to jail for the
crime of contempt on the testimony of a man whom he knew
to be a hired spy, is the same William Howard Taft who is
now posing as the friend of organized labor and the thief hope
of salvation for the toilers of this country. ; '
The union man who is deceived by such pretensions is
deceived because he would rather be wrong than to make any
mental exertion in an endeavor to be set right.
THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND
Robert Hunter in New York Daily Call
If trade unionists only understood the FULL meaning
of union and solidarity, their power would be invincible.
Today union men often spend $40 a mouth to destroy
unionism, where they give up one dollar a month to build
up unionism.
I'nion men as a body spend no less than $1,500.000 .(KM) a
year to purchase the necessities of life.
Every dollar of that immense, sum spent for non-union
goods is spent to break down unionism!
If a strike is on in a shoe factory, union men all over the
country send their contributions to support the strike. If
the strike fails and scabs are employed, union men often buy
the product of that scab labor.
What "with one hand they try-to build up. with the other
they try to tear down.
If a union man gives a dollar a month to support his
union he thinks he has done a great deal. By paying these
dues he expects to build up -t powerful trade union move
ment. At the same time he often uses his immensely more
powerful purchasing power to defeat the aims of unionism.
Suppose every man of the 3,000,000 trade unionists in
this country considered it a crime to buy non-union products.
Suppose the merchants and employers knew that and were
trying - to attract union buyers. Suppose they knew that
every penny of this billion and a half dollars would be SPENT
ONLY FOR UNIOX-MADE GOODS. What would you see?
Every store patronized by workinginen would have a
union label sign at its door. The merchants themselves would
advertise the union label : the employers would advertise
that their shop is a closed shop. All the industries that pro
duce products for working class consumption would employ
union labor or go bankrupt..
This great lesson is constantly preached by labor leaders.
It is the lesson of unity and solidarity. It means instead
of a few million dollars going to the support of unionism
that over a billion dollars every year would go to the support
of unionism. '
Back of every union fighter,' back of every strike, back
of every industrial battle, would be the power of this billion
and a half.
The dues paid to your union are nothing compared with
the 'immense purchasing power power now often" frittered
away and wasted when it is not ACTUALLY USED to break
down unionism itself.
LABOR TEMPLE ASSOCIATION.
Directors Expect to Resume Regular
Meetings First of October.
The board of directors of the Lin
coln Labor Temple Building Associa
tion has not held a meeting for fire
weeks. This, however, was not doe
to any lack of enthusiasm, but due
wholly to the fact that the weather
was warm and Labor Day coming on
to divide attention. As the weather
since Labor Day has been unusually
hot it was thought best to wait until
cooler weather set in, and then re
sume meetings and mo ahead with the
full determination to get everything
in shape so as to. begin building opera
tions next spring. It is expected that
the secretary will issue a call for a
meeting on the first Monday evening
in October, and from that time for
ward the directors will meet regularly
every week.
During the vacation of the directors,
however, something was being done
every day to boost the Temple project
along. As a result, when the board
meets again several projects will be
submitted. One of them' will be to
start the winter campaign off with a
grand ball at the auditorium. It is be
lieved that practically every expense
will be taken care of by donation of
services, and that a handsome sum
can be cleared while at the same time
arousing great enthusiasm in favor of
the undertaking. A gentleman who
has had great experience in the work
has offered to direct and produce a
minstrel entertainment that will be
worth going many miles to see and
hear, and this will add materially to
the building fund. The various local
unions will be asked to make their
annua balls "feeders' for the building
fund.
Just as soon as the election is over
an effort will be made to secure a lec
ture from some noted labor leader,
and charge a small admission fee, the
idea being to not only arouse a greater
interest in unionism and set its prin
ciples clearly before the people, but
to add some more to the building
fund.
But it must be remembered that the
dhectors can do nothing unless they
have the undivided support of the
rank and file of the unions of the city.
CENTRAL LABOR UNION.
Anticipated Visit of Business Man Was
Not Realized.
The delegates who were present at
the meeting of the Central Labor
Union Tuesday night were cflsa point
ed in not being allowed to listen to
a Lincoln business man who had
agreed to come before them and ex
plain certain things. The business
man was called out of town, but has
assured The Wageworker that he will
be present at the next meeting.
Herman Ross, organizer for the
Bakers and Confectionery Workers
International Union, was present and
made an interesting talk which was
heartily applauded. Considerable rou
tine business was transacted and the
available time left was devoted to
talking politics without trenching on
partisan grounds. -
V