Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-???? | View Entire Issue (July 31, 1909)
W7A A V TRApgjgg TOUNalk 0) l( V a a a U ikxCOIiX, XEBBASKA, JULY 31, 1909 VOL. 8 PAGES '0. 1 Among the live Ones In This Good Town The Labor lgr committee met Fri day evening at the. labor commission er office ana permanently organUed by electing C. H. Chase chairman, 7T. Parker secretary and G. A. Walk er treasurer. It mas decided by unanimous vote to engage Miss Mary McDowell as the orator of the day. Miss McDowell will be In Lincoln the Sunday before and arrangements will be made to have her occupy the pulpits ot a couple of down town churches. The Casework er assures the churches that grant her the use ot their pulpits that she primaries on August 17. Dailey is the kind of a man it will do to tie to. Tomorrow night General Thomas C. Kelsey will turn the keys of the city scales over to his successor. If the city gets as good a man as Kelsey to succeed him it will be entitled to con gratulations. Kelsey took the position of city weighmaster four years ago, and brought the job out of obscurity and made it a source of goodly rev enue to the city. His accounts were always in splendid shape and the scales never run on a more business- will preach a gospel ihat will appeal i m;e basis. It is to be regretted that to the hearts of men and women. I Mayor Love did not see fit to re-ap- There Is no better speaker on pressing topics of the day than Miss McDowell, and she will tell a story of human in terest that will benefit all. The following comwittees were ap pointed: Prcgratu Kelsey, Clarke. Ransge. Sports and Contests Walker. Geller. Garrison. Printing Yates. Walker, Green wood. Arrangements Rudy. Kelsey, Beard. C. A. Yates will have charge of tne dancing arrangements and will select his own assistants. Several new committeemen appeared at the last meeting, and it is hoped that by the first meeting in August every union in Lincoln and Havelock will be represented. point him. but the mutations of poli tics prevented. But General Kelsey retires rightfully proud of the record he made in the office. Miller & Paine, who -recently pur chased the Lindell hotel, are prepar ing to remodel the building and make it a hotel equal to the best in the west. Halls will be straightened, new exits created and the building renovated from top to bottom. An experienced hotel man has been placed in charge. and the Lindell will doubtless soon re same its old place in the affections of the traveling public. dence on which to found its petition for a reversal, but the supreme court refused to go behind the records of the trial court, which awarded dam ages on the theory of a gas explosion. MARGARET HALEY AGAIN. The Chicago School Teachers union and other trade unionists have been investigating a little, and as a con sequence sixteen corporations are to be callel upon by the state of Illinois to pay J14.000.000 in taxes which they have managed to escape paying here tofore. It is a safe bet that every member of those tax-dodging corpora tions is an advocate of the "open shop idea. Detroit Advocate. SEVERELY SCALDED. Lorena Maupin, the eleven-year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Will M. Maupin, seriously scalded her right hand last Friday evening. The injury was so serious as to require the ser vices of a physician, and it will be some time before the little miss will be able to use the injured member. The union carpenters of Lincoln . have been swelling around a bit of late, and they have a right to feel iikukL Last Thursday their Interna tional dedicated a new $100,000 head-jrer part quarters building in Indianapolis. The buiMing is tour stories high, finished in the best style of workmanship and when it was dedicated it was free of encumbrance. The work of illuminating the state house grounds is now under way. and in a few weeks that beautiful park will be one of the handsomest places in the west. The wires are being placed under ground, and handsome electric !ight posts will be erected in A special meeting of street railway men was held at the labor commis sioner's office last Thursday ereniug t which time several new names were added to the roster and the interest of at targe number of men still outside the told was enlisted. This enterprising new union Is going about its work in a systematic manner, and the indica tions are that long before Labor Day it will be what is commonly called, a "one hundred per cent union. Col. Will Norton, formerly of Lin coln, bui now ot Humboldt, was in Lincoln one day last week renewing old acquaintances. Norton is still a member ot the Typographical and Mu sicians' unions of this city. He is now editor, publisher and proprietor of the Humboldt Standard, and he says he Is "cutting the mustard in that progressive community. I-ast spring he was elected city clerk, but he soon restfjcned. as he found the city printing more profitable than the clerk's salary. He stopped off in Lin coln on his way back from Omaha, where he went to purchase a lot of ma terial, "I am going to bate a "Merg" la there before long. he said. There are a lot ot people in Lincoln who hope that "Billy" Norton -will make a wagon load of money in the news paper business. ECHO OF ORCHARD'S LIES. In a San Francisco court last week final judgment for S10.S0O damages against the San Francisco Gas com pany for the wrecking of the flat in which Fred Bradley lived, and -which Harry Orchard, self-confessed assas sin of Governor Steunenburg of Idaho, declared was blown up by a dynamite bomb placed by him as a trap for Bradley, was awarded to W. H. Lin torth, owner of the building, by the IN BANKRUPTCY. The ""Fashion suit store on O street has gone into bankruptcy, with liabili ties approximating $20,000 and liabili ties of about $10,000. It may be only a coincidence, but the bankruptcy of this firm followed upon its failure and neglect to advertise in The Wage- worker. FREE HIDES OR FIGHT. Delegation of Shoe and Leather Workers Want Free Hides. That New England does not stand alone in the demand for free hides has been made clear by the events of the past week at Washington. Dele gations of shoe and leather manufac turers from Chicago and Milwaukee, who arrived at the capital a few days ago, stated emphatically; that the in this country which " handle heavy hides and leather. If the tariff on hides is not abolished it will be only a step further for the packers to engage in the retail shoe and leather business. The story of the Amer ican Tobacco company will be re peated. Controlling the hide market as they do and rapidly monopolizing the tanning industry, the packers will before long establish shoe factories and retail shoe and leather stores throughout the country, driving the present manufacturers and small re tailers out of business."" The accusation that the shoe and leather manufacturers are unmindful of the welfare of the farmers is ut ter": absurd, for no one "knows any better than those who employ- this sta'stnent that the farmer never has received and never will receive the slightest -benefit from the duty on hides. Furthermore, if those who are strongest in their protestations of friendship for the farmers are really sincere, is it likely that they would hesitate to advocate a duty on pig skins and goatskins. The senators representing the beef trust are the backbone of the o posi tion to free hides. The beef packers do make money out of the duty on hides. It has created the sole leather trust as a branch of the beef trust. It promises if continuel to create a shoe trust as a branch of the beef trust. The ways and means committee of the house did its work well. , It brought forth a bill which would un doubtedly have met the needs of the country for years to come. The bill submitted by the finance committee o fthe senate can only be described as atrocious. That It can run the gamut of congress and the white house in anything like its present form seems almost incredible. But one thing is certain. If the unmodi fied Aldrich bill ever becomes law the tarij, question will continue as un serar as it was before the present of congress was convened. Labor Unions Stand For Self Respect, Intelligence west wants free hides as much as New England does. Speaking of the j thereby retarding the return of tnevitanie results or me retention or I business prosperity. Incidentally, ir the present duty, J. Harry Seiz. one of the delegates, declared: "The importance of the issue can not be over-estimated. The packers are rapidly monopolizing the tanning supreme court. The gas company of- business. Already they own or con fered Orchard's confession as evi-! trol 4? out of a total of 66 tanneries the republican party intends to break its solemn pledges to the country at ths instigation of a few leaders to whom private interest is paramount over party honor, what will be the result when the country againj regis ters its verdict at the polls? Ex. The labor union does not make any pious pretentions and it makes no claims as a religions institution. It has been too busy to build ceremonies and creeds. Its hands have been so busy lifting up the weak and feeding the hungry and wiping away the tears from sad human eyes that it has not schooled itself in sanctimo nious attitudes. In its devotion to the busy and prac tical things of life it has often made mistakes. Its leaders do not have much leisure o study or weigh phi losophical or theological distinctions. If religion means a selfish seeking for personal salvation a desire to get to heaven at any cost; if sancti ficaiion means getting away from the scenes of sin and suffering snuggling the soul in some secluded sanctuary sealed against the sighs of sorrow and want then the labor union is the most irreligious and unsanctified in stitution in the world. Carlyle says that all true work is religion. The labor union aims to make good work of them. It asks that the man who works shall have good pay for his work and a say In his work. It insists that the -worker shall be intelligent and self-respecting; that he shall think and hold his head up beside his employer as a Christian and citizen. It teaches the strong to help the weak, each to con tribute to the good if alL It takes the child from the factory- and puts ! it in the school. It takes the woman! from the sweatshop and puts her in the home. It places chairs behind the counters of the stores for the weary girls who are obliged to work long hours for small pay. It places vestibules on street ears for shivering motonnen. It finds jobs for the idle, builds homes .for the widows and orphans. Could a Holy God ask mare of a human institution? Ex. independent concern kas received a 10 per cent increase ia wages. Prominent -women's orgaaizatioea of Los Angeles. CaL. are co-operatiatC with trades unions to secure shorter hours for working cornea. They wast stores to close at 5 p m. The quarterly audit cf the books of the United Mine Workers of America, which was ended May 31. shows tha the organization has voted ta apart' priationo of $4,500 for hats to be worm in the Labor day parade. The men employed in the iron trades in San Francisco have received a re- -duction of IS minutes a day. Tats reduces the work day aader the iirr meat with the metal trades associa tions to eight and one-half hows a day. Practically al the independent steal and iron companies that redaced their wages last February have retarued ao the old schedule. More than IMjMe men were affected by the redaction, and they will receive the increase. Five thousand two hundred aad thir ty -seven carpenters are bow affiliated with the Carpenters' District Council of Pittsburg. Xo strike of any charac ter is on at the present time, and a -very small perceatage of the area are oat of employment. Daring 1903 the Boot asd Shoe Workers International aaioa) paid 155 death benefits, which aggregated I1&2O0; six disability benefits. T7i. and a total of 13.783 weeks' sick, beae fits. aggregating SJ17J. making a total for beaefits expended The anion working women of Boa- tea have organized a chorus to stag the songs of labor. It has fifty mem bers and is being coils tartly increased from the ranks of the women and girls who belong to the various anions of the city. Competent instructors are training the chorus. The Amalgamated Carpenters of Great Britian by a referendum vote have decided on establishing offices in the United States, and they expect in the next two years to increase the membership to 100.000. Twelve hundred employes of the Sharon ( Pa.) Steel Hoop company, an THEIR- NEFARIOUS SCHEME. The Saloons and The Workers By Rev. Charles StelzJe Will M. Maupin. deputy labor com missioner, left last Saturday morning on what will be something of a tour. Sunday and Monday he spoke at Springfield, NelK, Tuesday he delivered an address at the "Home Coming" cele bration In Oregon, Mo. From there tie went to Scotts Bluffs, Neb-, and from there we wlli visit Sidney, North Platte. Kearney, Grand Island, Colum bus. Spalding. Albion, Norfolk Fre mont. Omaha and then back home, fart ot the time will be spent in look ing after the hotel inspection law, part to fire escape Inspection and part to securing material on the forthcoming bulletin, "Resources of Nebraska. I'niOB mea who affiliate with the republican party do not want to over Is the fact that Clark liley is. so tar as knowa to The Wageworker, the only union man who Is a candidate tor county offlce. By that is meant that he Is the only candidate wha carries a union card. Brother t"wlley is a number of the Machinists Union and he Is asking his republican friends to nominate him for county commission er. He la well fitted for this imports--., fitce. and he should have the earnest support ot union men at the The brewery worker and the men which have come to many lives on account of its influence. Scarcely one of us but what has felt the grip of its slimy claws, or seen the agony of loved ones who bave been helpless in its power. Can we. as men and women, remain indifferent to such an institution? Dare we, who are pledged to seek the welfare of every fellow trades unionist, declare that, as the saloon does not hurt us. therefore we shall make no effort to assist him whom it does injure? I do not argue here for prohibition. That isn't the question before us. It is a question as to whether we shall countenance and worse still, endorse a certain business in our midst which is doing more to unfit men for their life's work; which is doing more to bring disgrace upon the- labor movement than any other enterprise known. We are our brother's keepers. Not only are we pledged to be such, but we shall be held responsible for our brothers. But what is to become of the bar tenders and the brewery workers and the men who are now benefiting from the brewing and the distillery, inter ests. In the first place, it must not bo imagined that the saloon and the employed In the distillery are work ingmen. Most of the men are en gaged in these industries, not because they want to be. but because they must. It is not their fault, but their misfortune. But since they are work ingiuen, honestly trying to make a living, and since they are now affili ated with the American Federation of Labor, it is our duty, as fellow workers, to see that they get a square deal from their employers. Just as we must insist upon a square deal for all other workers. . This does not mean that we must endorse their business, any more than we would eudorse the rascality that is practised in connection with other enterprises. but with which some of our fellow- members are helplessly identified. However, it Is our right to stamp out the rascality, and if. in order to do this, we must also stamp out the busi ness, so much the worse for the busi ness. If we must accept with the saloon, ail of its accompanying evils. then it becomes a question as to whether the benefits which it brings comparatively Tew workers, is real ly worth while. Organized labor can not afford to stand for any sort of enterprise, nor for any institution, liquor interests are the only consum- which results in the degradation ofjers of the materials manuiactured by the workers or of the people as a ! the gl.iss battle blowers, the harness- whole. No man can successfully deny that the saloon, as an institution, is one of the greatest curses of modern times. There is scarcely room for ar gument ou this point. Everybody knows of the suffering and hardship makers, the wagon-makers, and all the other industries more or less re lated to a saloon. The monev now spent in the saloon will be spent for other goods, or in other places, which will bring these workers at least as much profit as they- now receive for their product. As a matter of fact, the amount of money now spent in the saloon will purchase or will cause to be purchased more of the same ma terial that these workers are produc ing than is the case in the liquor busi ness. It will require more bottles, more wagons, more harness, and many more men than is now required to supply the brewery and the saloon. So far as the bartenders are con cerned, it is a well-known fact that very few men have been brought up in the -business. They have had other trades or occupations, but on account of their personal popularity or their natural ability as salesmen, they either opened saloons of their own or became employes of those who did. In any event, they may either go back to their trades or they may- become salesmen in other enterprises. The class for whom it may be most diffi cult to provide are those who are di rectly engaged in the manufacture of beer and whisky. But after all the outside craftsmen who are affiliated with the brewery-workers are elimi nated, such as engineers, firemen, car penters, drivers, horse-shoe rs, grain handlers, and many others who really have nothing to do with the manufac ture of beer, it will be found that there are comparatively few workers left. Like all other industries, the brewing industry is depending less and less- upon men, and more and more upon machinery. The old-fashioned brewer has gone -out of exist ence. The chemist is the big man in the brewery today. Therefore, the number of men who are directly in volved is not as great as is generally supposed. It should be remembered, also, that these very men receive a smaller percentage of the profit than is paid the workingmen in any other craft Furthermore, if the breweries should erer be closed, this event will probably not take place for some time to come, and they will not all be closed at once. The change will no doubt come through a gradual pro cess, which will permit those era ployed In the breweries and the dis tilleries to adjust themselves to the new conditions, just as was the case, for instance, with the members of the Typographical Union when the linotype machine was introduced. The men. simply were compelled to learn a new trade, and those who learned it soonest were most greatly benefited. The brewery and distillery workers must face the fact that, for most of them, at any rate, their business is doomed. There are too many agencies at work against them. The railroads and other corporations are sounding the note of warning. Their men must not drink intoxicants. The doctors through their studies of hygienics are delivering sledge-hammer blows. The legislatures, regardless ot the "plead ing of "cranks," are rapidly closing up the saloons the "cranks have little to do with it. The people their constituents demand it . and they dare not disobey. As to their right to do this, we shall leave that for further discus sion. Steel Trust Will Break Un on The Reduce Wages. It is a bold-faced lie that t&7 United States Steel corporation Is not at tempting to reduce wages by dec-tar ing war upon the organized workers In its mills. The trust magnates waat to destroy the union first aad enforce a general cut at the same time. Their j'own figures speak for tbemsetvesc, i Based on 30-gauge upon which the I wage scale is always based they u mand a reduction ranging from 2 per cent for rollers to over S per Cent for heaters. On 26-gange and heavier the redactions run rfom IV: Pr cent to over IS per cent. Besides tKs the trust magnates waat to eUmiaate foot notes and extras aad deliberately stent 5 to 1ft per cent In gauges after the above-mentioned reductions have hem made. What do you think of that tor nigh-toned liars aad thieves? The open shop is only a mask for capital istic cannibals and industrial hixa way men. They possess no honor or de cency and are absolutely shameless.' Cleveland Citizen. T POGRAPH ICAL. UNION. August Meeting Will Be Held Rat Sunday Afternoon. The Typographical Union win meet at Fraternity Hall Snaday afternoon, it being the date for the regalar Aug ust meeting. So far as knowa the only business outside of the routine will be to give instructions to Messrs-. Locker and Freeman, the delegates ta the St. Joseph convention, w h i.-b meets on August 9. It is hoped by a number of the members that the local will see fit to instruct the delegates to support aad work for the acceptance of the Lewis pro position- Mr. Lewis, of St. Loan. offers the International a building site in his suburb to the Missouri metru polis. conditioned apoa the Interac tional erecting a headquarters build ing. The International is bow spend ing $3.(00 a year for the rental of room in the Newton Claypooi bcild-Eg ia In dianapolis, and the quarters are re stricted. This rental represents five per cent interest oa XIZJ and that amount would erect a haadsome build ing. The site offered by Mr. Lewis is said by real estate experts to be worth not less thaa S5d.00tL His propo sition looks like a good cne. aad it cer tainly deserves though tfui ccasidera-tion. k