W7A c&Mmj.
l TRADE?B COUNCIL
r n
0
VOL.. ti
LIXCOLX, NEBRASKA, AUGUST 28, 1909
8 PAO"P
REAL TRUTH OF THE LABOR SITUATION L? SjtiMCQLN
lu his rapavity of lVputy 1'ouiniisj.ioner of the Bureau of
llmr miuI liuiu.strial Kiati.xt'u-s. the editor of Tho Wasreworfcer i
in constant rveeipt of letters "relative io the industrial conditions
in Nebraska. This is eseeial.v true just at this time, owing to
the constant reiteration in eastern papers of the statement that
there is a dearth of laborers, skilled and unskilled in Nebraska at!
tho present time. The constant repetition of this statement has j
caused the labor bureau to le flooded with letters from eastern j
workers asking alont the la'oor market in this section of the conn- j
try. A sample newspaper story will be found in the Brooklyn j
laily" Kaglc of August :. under a Washington date line. It J
starts off by saying that "indisputable evidome is at band that j
the country is rapidly recovering from the effects of the recent I
tinancial depression." Then it says: i
"The greatesc cry for labor comes from Lincoln, Nebraska.
The commercial bodies of that city made a similar appeal before
the panic, but following the '.slump countermanded the order.
v Then what may, be an expose of the whole business is j;ivei
in the following very ititcrcsting words interesting to the workers
f Lincoln who are unable to notice any such demand for labor
a is indicated by the Washington dispatch to the Brooklyn
laily Kagle:
"In a letter received from W. S. Whit ten. secretary of the
Commercial Club, of Liucolu. it is asserted that 'there is a great
'need of labor, both skilled and common, throughout the state, par
ticularly in Lincoln and Omaha, and the smaller cities where
more or less manufacturing is done.
The Eagle further contains the interesting information that
Secretary Whitten submits a scale of wages paid, showing that I
'god money is aid laborers. j
lVputy Commissioner of Labor Maupin submits in all candor!
that he is perhaps as well acquainted with the labor situation I
m Lincoln. Umaha. and Aeuraska. as Secretary bitten of the
IJncoln Commercial Club, lie is acquainted with about as many
workers, knows about as much concerning wages, hours, conditions
and state of employment as the secretary, and is in as close touch!
with the industrial situation as a man can well be.
It all depends upon the point of view.
Some men are inclined to think that labor is scarce if they are
unable to immediately find some idle man who is willing to tako
a job that will last perhaps a day or two. And there are men who
are willing to spread the story of "demand for workers" if by so
doing they can tlood the community with workers, thus beating
Jr. - - i - -r
'"Ov I
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f . it,- .' - -
7 LV " ' ." ,
miss mary Mcdowell
Who Will Be the Orator of the Day at the Labor Day Celebration in Lincoln
down the wage scale by competition and thereby in-r-ans their
own profits.
Bnt there is no great demand for vr orkersj skilled nr Kiiskilied.
in Lincoln or Omaha. Neither is there any great demand for
workers in any section of Nebraska. The supply w quite equal Xo
the demand, Secretary Whitten. the Brooklyn Easle. Temmee V.
Powderly and the I'm ted States Department of Comraerro ami
Labor to the contrary notwithstanding.
I laoor, especially the building trades, m qntte well emploYcrf in
Nebraska at the present time, but the demand m not so great that
it can not be supplied withont flooding the country wiih t.i-'
of a dearth of labor in Nebraska.
The Wageworker has Ik-cii hearing nnoim from diferet!f
surccs for some time to the effect that a concerted effort t be
ing made to break down the wage scale in IJncoln and Omaha, ami
other Nebraska centers, by widely advertising for worker, thus
flooding the labor market and forcing the workers to engage in
a cut-throat competition in order to seenre a bare existence. SYnee
getting this direct evidence from the Brooklyn Eagle the editor of
this paper has been scanning some of the big eastern publication,
and to his surprise and disgust he has fieen advert isement after ad
vertisement to the effect that "labor is needed in Lincoln.'"' Sofa-,
times the ad takes the form of a demand for bricklayers, some
times a demand for carpenter, sometimes a demaixl for painter
and eleetrieal workers. But these advertisement, ami these spe
cial dispatches appear with such regularity and over such a wide
expanse of territory that they give color to the claim that it r "
all a concerted program having for its ultimate aim th hreakmir
down of the present wage scale, which is not by any mean rs
If Secretary WMtten is giving aid to this program, either witt
ingly or unwittingly, he is doing the workers of Nebraska a grave
injury, and working a future injustice upon the business interests
of the state. It will not help business condition any t f.tml a
community with labor, thus breaking down wages, filling the com
munity with unemployed and causing distress. Neither will it
help business to fill the' places of resident workers, most of them
home owners, taxpayers and men of family, with workers from
other states who will spend only enongh of Lincoln or Oatab
earned wages to pay their board, and send the rest to their boca:
towns back east to be spent with merchants in those localities.
There have been times diirini the past year when the demand
I Continued oa Pa?e 3l
THE ELECTRICAL WORKERS.
T"
D:!Txulty in Omaha and Council Bluffs
Settled at Last.
For upwards of two months the in
slii !renen and shopmen, members
of tae Klectrlcal Workers' Unious in
Oniatta aatt Council Bluffs, have been
on strike or rathe locked out. Their
dentaail for a shorts d:y and better
par waa denied, and the trouble has
leea on at a lively rate for some
time. The locked -out niea actually
agreed to leave the whole matter to
a conmiittee of employers, provided
the hearings should be public. iThey
apreed to leave U to the proprietors
of the four daily papers in Omaha
and Council Bluffs. In fact, they tried
every honorable means t" reach a
settlement. But their efforts were
nnavailiug until last week, when a
settlement was reached. The terms
of the selUement were not made pub
lic, but the men sm to be well
satisfied with its terms. Something
like seventy men In the two cities
have returned to work.
The inside wiremen of Des Moines
have cut loose and organiaed a local
of their own.
O. we Ruess Lincoln isat so aw
fully slow in the matter of unionism.
Xot only has it aot the largest local
or Electrical Workers in the three;
states ot Iowa. Nebraska and South
Dakota, but a larger proportion of its
local unions have affiliated with the
Nebraska Stte Federation of Labor
and paid la their initiation fees and
the first quarter' dues. Guess that
souuds Kood, eh?
Lee Huff, tor several years manager
of the Bell Tclephoue Co. in Lincoln,
has severeJ his connection with the
conipaay and goos to Omaha to be
come manager of a large automobile
business. The first of the week the
employes of the Bell company in Lin
coin were entertained by Mr. and Mrs.
Huff, and before departing the guests
surprised Mr. Huff by presenting him
with a handsome diamond pin.
Lalbor EMy lira Imccfa
OF COURSE!
The employers" liability act passed
by congress in April. was held
to be unconstitutional by the supreme
court ot Connecticut on the 20th. It
provides that employers shail be liable
to employes for the negligence of
fellow employes.
DONT LIKE THE CZAR.
" A huge demonstration by the organ
Ued labor party was held in Trafalgar
square, London, recently, to protest
against the visit of the emperor of
Rassia to England.
Labor's Annual Holiday will be celebrated in Lincoln, under the auspices of the
affiliated Trades Unions of Lincoln and Havelock. The
celebration will be held at
Beautiful Capital Beach
Where the workers and their families will spend the day in rest and recreation.
There will be no parade, but there will be plenty of
SPORTS AND CONTESTS
With handsome prizes for the winners in each contest. Ladies Base Ball Throw.
Sack Races, Potato Races, Novelty Races, String Cutting, Nail
Driving, 50 and 100 yard Dashes, etc. Only
Union Men and Their Families Eligible to Enter These Contests
THE STAGE EMPLOYES.
Miss Mary McDowell
OF CHICAGO
Will be the orator of the day. Miss McDowell is prominently connected with the Woman's Trades Union
League movement, and is at the head of the University of Chicago Settlement Work. She is a loyal
unionist, a woman of rare ability and a public speaker of more than National reputation.
Miss McDowell organized the women workers in the Chicago Packing Houses
and helped them to win a fight for better conditions. Lincoln workers
never had an opportunity to hear an abler champion of labor.
GRAND BASKET SUPPER Bring your
baskets well filled and eat your Labor Day
Supper in the green grass and under the cool
ing shade. .
DANCING AT AIR DOME in the evening
Come out and enjoy a rare good time on
Labor's Greatest Holiday. It will do you
good.
II
II
L
Sign Up With Every Theatre a t)
Ctrjr of Lwicailn.
For a live bench of thorough wa
ists commend oa to th loeal organ
ization known as the AITiaace . ot
Theatrical Stage Empioyea- It Is not
the lareest local of the oaft fa the
whole United States, bat there is aot
one in the Jurisdiction that has aay
tbing on the live ones of the craft ia
this little old banc. The local anion
has Just signed ap eTerr theatre fs
the city the Olirer. the Orpheam aad
the Lyric. By the terms of the coo
tract only members of the toe are
to be employed and ia retara the
local agrees that it til famish aaly
masters of the craft to do the work.
This means a tot b the theatre
goers of Lincoln. It sieaas. in (he
first place, that there will be so kmc
delays between acts by reason of
the incompetency of the stage han.fa.
It means that superior stage settiags
will be provided. And it aseaas that
superior attractions wtQ be more
easily induced to date ia at LfocofB
because they win be guaranteed ade
quate stage service.
The organization experienced no
trouble whatever ia making the agrwt
ment with the local managers.. The
beat of feeling exists aQ around. The
Wageworker congratulates both env
: plovers and employes apoa the friend
ly status that exists.
GLOVEWORKERS PICNIC
Lively Little Union Enjoys Onting at
Capital Bnach.
The members of the doveworfcers'
I'nion were the guests of the Depnty
Spangler Co. at Capital Beach last
Saturday afternoon and evening. Ti"
lady members of the organization
provided the solids, aad the firm
provided the ice cream and the trans
portation. The Jolly crowd went to
the Beach in plenty of time to enjoy
a picnic supper, and the remainder
of the evening was spent hm igbe
seeing and general pollity.
The picnic was given as a sort of
farewell to a coopie of the lady mem
bers who are about to retara to Chi
cago after working some seven or
eight months in Lincoln.
The members of the Depaty-Spaag-ler
firm spared no efforts to make the
occasion an enjoyable one. aad the
happy occasion only cemented more
S roily the friendly relations esistin
between the employers .and the
ployes in this institution.
There are more than 1.4 0 girl
Icing to the Women's Bindery V
in Xew York City.