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K TRADES
COUNCILS
VOL,. 5
L.I3STCOIN, NEBRASKA, IfOVEMBEB 28, 1908
NO. 35
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ll'ARFI I
WITH LIVE ONES
Speaking of "live ones" the boys
who edit and publish the Daily Ne
ttraskan may not be members of trades
unions, but they certainly up and com
ing. The Thanksgiving "football edi
tion" of the Daily Nebraskan was a
hummer. And it was the product of
union labor from "kiver to klver."
There are thing doing in union, prin
ter circle In Omaha. A few weeks ago
the committee of 190 closed a two
years' contract with the World-Herald
at an Increase of 25 cents a day for the
first year and 50 cents a day for the
second year. Then it closed one for
three years with the Daily News on
the same terms. - This made ' 'em so
enthusiastic that they went over to
the Bee office and closed a five-year
contract on the same basis.
After four years of fighting with re
sults that were not pleasing, the Om
aha union has decided to change Its
course of action. As a result of the
determination the strike management
"has been taken out of the hands of
the executive committee and put in the
hands of a special committee of eigh
teen. C. C. Vaughan has been made
chairman and F. A. Kennedy secre
tary of the special committee.
All of which reminds us. A few
years ago Omaha union men of all
erafts were in the habit of pointing
to Lincoln, as the "jumping off place"
of unionism." They were always com
plaining that the Lincoln situation
made it hard for them to get results.
It's different now. In these good days
a lot of Omaha men feelingly point to
Lincoln as a sample of what Omaha
ought to do along union lines.
atlon in Omaha will be speedily bet
tered. There ought to be a spirit of
"forget and forgive" up there. This
Is not time to cherish animosites; no
time for the recriminations; no time
for personal grudges. There'll be glory
enough for all if the situation up there
is cleared up without further loss of
time.-
The Electrical Workers of Lincoln
are determined to have some benefi
cial changes made in the matter of
wire inspection. What they want is an
inspector of outside and inside wiring,
and they are going after it in a sys
tematic way. By the way, speaking of
"live ones," the Electrical Workers
are setting an example that a whole
lot of other unions and union men
would do well to pattern atter.
In the course ' of some remarks on
the proposition to have union men take
part in the charter revision work, Dele
gate Kelsey raised a laugh at the meet
ing of the Central Labor Union Tues
day night. He told of a visit to Des
Moines and related what he heard a
union man say in criticism of the com
mission plan.
"I spent considerable time discuss
ing the plan with a friend of mine who
was opposed to it. This friend was a
republican, and he was a perfect gen
tleman, too," said Mr. Kelsey.
After the laugh subsided Mr. Kel
sey explained ' that he didn't mean ' it
just exactly like It sounded.
Here's hoping that the printing situ-
This is a fact: The other night the
editor of The Wageworker stood In a
cigar store and saw a man who car
ried a union card come in and buy a
package of scab" tobacco, a plub of
"scab" chewing tobacco and a "scab"
cigar. And this man has been heard
to spout about his unionism until' the
dictionary retired exhausted.
The Painters and Decorators are pre
paring to have another "smoker " and
when they do have it there will be
plenty of ' good cheer. The '' Pain ters
and Decorators know how to have a
good time.
Wouldn't it be fine business if we
could class among the "live ones" the
sheet metal workers, the teamsters,
the garment workers, the glove mak
ers, the motormen and conductors, the
retail clerks, the stationary engineers
and several otners? The apathy of the
street railway men is hard to under
stand, especially the employes of the
Citizen's Railway Company. The com
pany has actually advertised in The
should organize.
Wageworker that it is more than will
ing; that its conductors and motormen
should organize.
The British trades unionists have
upwards of sixty representatives in the
House of Commons. American trades
unionists have two in the American
' (Continued on page 8.)
JUDGE LEE ESTELLE COMING.
One of the Leading "Juvenile Judges" of America Will Speak at the
Oliver Theatre Sunday Afternoon.
Judge Lee Estelle, judge of the juvenile court of Douglas county,
will speak at the Oliver theatre Sunday afternoon, under the auspices
of the Y. M. C. A. Every young man, and every father in Lincoln,
should hear this splendid man. No man has devoted more thought
and study to the child problem than Judge Estelle. No man's heart
beats warmer than his for the boys and girls the future fathers and
mothers of the republic. No other man has had more experience in
juvenile court work.
Lawyer, judge, lover of humanity Judge Estelle is doing a
magnificent work, a work for God, for home and for country. His
earnestness grips you from the start; his message holds you; his
oratory fascinates you and his appeal finds ready response in every
honest heart.
. The editor of The , "Wageworker has known Judge Lee Estelle for
twenty years, and every year Judge Estelle has grown bigger, better
and of more service to humanity. He is dealing with the problem
of the "Now," and that is the way to solve the problem of the Fu
ture. Lincoln audiences have heard the world's greatest orators,
thinkers and students. But Lincoln has never heard a man with a
bigger message than Judge Estelle 's, nor heard a man better able to
deliver his message.. . "
The Oliver theatre should be packed to the doors next Sunday
afternoon and the father of a boy who fails to seize the opportunity
is untrue to his obligations to the boy, to the community and to the
country.
CENTRAL
UNION
The meting of the Central Labor
Union Tuesday evening was full of
lively interest, and the results of two
or three of the moves initiated will be
benficial If the delegates do not get
"tired" and lay down before the game
is ended. , !
It was decided that organized labor
ought to be represented in the framing
of the new city charter preparatory to
going to the commission system of city
government, and in accordance with
that decision a committee of five men
was named. The committee consists
of Messrs. Locker, Betz, Pickard,
Schwab and Kelsey. This committee
will ask to be. permitted to participate
in the deliberations of the joint com
mittee named by the city council and
the Commercial club.
The central body also decided to get
busy and enforce the plumbing ordi
nances of the city or have the ordi
nances repealed. The Plumbers'
Union will immediately prepare com
plaints setting forth specific violations
of the plumbing ordinances, and these
complaints, together with the wit
nesses and the specifications, will be
filed by the secretary of the Central
Labor union, who will immediately file
the complaints and take charge of the
prosecution.. There is going to be
something doing with the people who
have flagrantly violated the plumbing
ordinances to the detriment ot public
health. There is ho "bluff" about this
the Plumbers and the Central Labor
Union means business.
T. C. Kelsey, who represented the
central body at the recent Denver con
vention, made an interesting report of
the convention proceedings. Delegate
Kelsey enjoyed the distinction of be
ing the oldest union man in point of
membership at the convention. He
proudly showed a card bearing date of
1864. He paid a glowing tribute to
the intelligence of the men . who made
up that convention, and his. report was
full of lively interest. .
The central body means to be repre
sented at future meetings of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor, and a "dele
gate fund" will be started at once.
From now on five per cent of the or
ganization's gross receipts will be set
aside for this purpose. The next an
nual convention will be at Toronto,
Canada, and a Lincoln man will be
there. , Perhaps the 1910 convention
will be held in Lincoln. Who knows?
The central body unanimously en
dorsed the candidacy of Will M. Mau
pta for deputy commissioner of labor
by appointment of Governor Shallen
berger. The resolutions of endorse
ment were strong, and were ordered
forwarded to Governor Shallenberger
at once.
It looked good to see a delegate from
the Horseshoers' Union present at the
meeting. Now let the Sheet Metal
Workers get busy.. And let the Musi
cians enforce the attendance of their
delegates. The regular attendance
ought to be not less than double what
it is now.
Two dollars was ordered sent to the
central body at Akron,. Ohio, for the
place of Mr. Peterson; who has left
'the city.;..; .i-:':'"'!'-',:
To dollars was ordered sent to the
centrol body at Akron, Ohio, for the
defense of the two union, men charged
with murder. This case bids fair to
equal the celebrated Idaho case of the
Western Federation of Miners. : v..
President Rudy is absent from the
city, and in his absence Vice President
Quick presided. ,
(Continued on page 8.
HOME INDUSTRIES
WORTH
FOSTERING
A Series of Articles Relating to Lincoln Business Enterprises That
Should Command Lincoln Support
THE FARMERS AND MERCHANTS INSURANCE COMPANY
When one sits down with statistics at hand and
figures on the amount "of money sent from Nebraska to
foreign insurance companies, one is astonished at the
total.
. Then, after one figures out how much of this money
is returned in payment of losses, one gets mad to think
what a lot of financial suckers the people of Nebraska
have been all these years.
Go back east, to the big insurance centers, and see
the huge granite buildings five, ten, fifteen, twenty-five,
thirty stories high 'chat are owned by insurance com
panies. Millions and millions of dollars invested in these
huge buildings and Nebraskans who should have had
more business sense have furnished a goodly portion of
the money. Year by year the golden tide of money has
flowed into the coffers of these big eastern insurance com
panies, and year by year there has been a thin trickle
westward the paltry return these companies have made
in payment of losses. But there is, to be sure, a larger
trickle westward. It is money sent eastward by Nebras
kans in the shape of insurance premimums, and then bor
rowed back on farm mortgages the interest on which
goes to swell the coffers of the insurance kings, to furnish
them with money to speculate on Wall street, to buy big
-automobiles, hold "monkey parties" at Newport, tour
Europe and do the high society act in winter.
Actually, in our blindness, in our fetich worship, we
have actually come to believe that we just had to con
tribute Our money to those big eastern companies. So
we've scraped and toiled and moiled to keep those east
ern insurance companies stocked with good money, and
then we've toiled and moiled some more to pay the in
terest on that same money after we have borrowed it back
on mortgages on our farms and our little homes think
ing all the time what a fine lot of unselfish patriots those
eastern magnates were for loaning us our own money.
Now on the dead square, Mr. Nebraskan, don't you
think it high time that we commence to get wise to this
financial game, and learn to keep our money at home,
where it will fill the channels of local trade, build big
buildings in our midst and keep Nebraska and Lincoln
labor employed ?
For every dollar Nebraska sends east in the way of
fire insurance premiums less than 2(Tper cent is returned
in the shape of policy payment. Eighty cents, less the
local agent's commission, is retained in the east. Any
wonder they build thirty-story buildings and play high
jinks in the speculative markets?
There are fire insurance companies right here at
home that are just as safe or safer as the so-called big
companies in the east. The premium 'you pay these home
companies is retained at home. The surplus of the com
panies is loaned to local people, who build homes, employ
labor and engage in business enterprise. These local in
surance companies employ labor and pay good wages that
are in turn spent to the advantage of every citizen. They
spend a great deal of money with local printing concerns.
In short, every dictate of commonsense, every dictate of
civic pride, every dictate of state enterprise, demands that
we give our insurance business to the numerous local in
surance companies that have demonstrated their sound
ness. Now there is the Farmers and Merchants Insurance
Company, for instance. Founded in 1885, it has enjoyed
nearly a quarter of a century of business success and has
made a record that is not excelled from the policyhold
ers' standpoint by any fire insurance company in the
whole country. In its twenty-three years of business it
has paid more than a million and a half in losses. It has
total assets approaching half a million. Its whole busi
ness career has been marked by conservatism, enterprise,
promptness and concern for the welfare of its patrons.
It has money invested in buildings that are a credit to
Lincoln. Its chief officers live here, patronize local busi
ness concerns and are a part of the life and energy that
are making Lincoln a great city. The money you pay
the Farmers and Merchants Insurance Company is not
sent east to improve eastern cities. It is retained at home
to further develop Lincoln and Nebraska; retained here
to keep moving in the channels of trade, and thus keep,
labor employed and business active. .
Mention some big Lincoln enterprise of the past ten
or twelve years and then inquire concerning some of the
men who have had a hand therein. You'll find officials
and stockholders of the Farmers and Merchants Insur
ance Company in every one of them. Read the company's
record and you will discover that its policies are as safe
as the safest. ,
Really, now ; can you not see where it is to your in
terest to give your business to a home concern?
The officers of the Farmers and Merchants Insurance
Company are George W. Montgomery, president; M. C.
L. Funkhouser, vice president; L. P. Funkhouser, secre
tary; Louis E. Wettling, treasurer. The headquarters
are in the handsome five-story brick and stone building
at the corner of Fifteenth and O streets a building that
is a credit to Lincoln.
Hartford, Conn., has been made a city of millionaires
by reason of its prestige as a center of insurance business.
The millionaires have been made by the unwise western
policy of continually sending moneyeast for something
that the west could and should have furnished for itself.
And why shouldn't a Lincoln-made fire insurance policy
issued by a Lincoln company that has a record of twenty-three
years of square and successful business be just
as good for you as a Hartford-made policy ? If for ten
years Nebraska would retain at home the money annually
sent outside the state for premiums on fire and life insur- -ance
policies, the amount would run into the millions,
and Nebraska's business would be the wonder of the
country. "
Perhaps some time we'll have sense enough to fur-i
nish ourselves with what we need and are able to furnish,
instead of sweating to raise the money and then send it
off for others to use to their profit.
Look up the expiration date of the policy on your
little cottage, Mr. Workingman, or upon your big house,
Mr. Businessman, and then make a note to have the next
policy written by a local company. It will be to the ;
mutual benefit of all of us.