in
LINCOJLN, OCTOBER 2, 1009
8 PAGES
XO. 26
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JUL. 1-V
Justice Outraged Again in
State That Gave Lincoln
Last week Judge Tuthill of the cir-1
cult court of Cook county, 111., granted
an Injunction restraining the state fac
tory inspector, Edgar T. Davis, from
enforcing the recently enacted law
prohibiting the employment of women
more than ten hours in any one day.
The last legislature of the sjate
passed an act limiting the hours of
employment for women in factories
and other industries to ten a day, and'
prescribed severe penalties for viola-
. lions of the law. The employers soon
afterward began to busy themselves
with plans to overthrow the law. W.
C. Ritchie & Co., a box manufacturing
concern, prayed the circuit court for
an injunction against the enforcement
of the statute, uniting in the petition
as complaining parties two women
who have Jseen in its employ for a
long time, one of them , thirty-two
years and the other sixteen. These
women swore that they could not
. make a living at the work they were
doing unless they were allowed to
continue it longer than ten hours a
day. '
Judge Tuthill promptly acquiesced
in the contentions of the petitioners
and declared the law unconstitutional
on the ground that it interfered with
the right of women to make individ
ual contracts and work as many hours
as they please. In rendering his deci
sion he said: "To deny this injunc
tion would put woman back one hun
dred years. The law as it now stands
virtually relegates woman back to de
pendence. It deprives her of the
power to exercise the right of con
tract, which ls-m her by the con
stitution."
The utter sophistry of the plea of
the employes, and the utter disregard
of common" sense, if not of judicial
procedure on the part of Judge Tuthill,
is eo much better explained by Louis
F. Post in the Chicago Public than
The Wageworker could hope to do it,
' that Mr. Post's words are here quoted
In their entirety:
"Upon urgent petitions Irom working
women, the legislature of Illinois last
winter enacted a law limiting the em
ployment of women in factories to ten
hours a day. As the law met opposi
tion from the Illinois Manufactuerrs'
Association, it was with great diffi
culty that its enactment was secured;
and in order to secure it the working
women were obliged to modify the
limitations they desired, from eight
hours to ten. The Illinois Manuufac
tuurers' Association is now checking
the opeartion of this law as unconstl
tuutional. It has applied for an in
jnction to restrain the criminal courts
from enforcing the penal provisions of
the law aealnst the employers. This
would have been to laugh a few years
ago the bringing of a suit in chanc
ery to restrain public prosecutuors and
grand juries and criminal courts from
enforcing a criminal statute! But since
the Judicial innovation known as 'gov
ernment by injunction,' such a proceed
ing is no great novelty, and one of the
judgea has granted the injunction. His
expressed reasons are that the law
prevents a woman from exercising her
right of free contract.
"A stupid reason that, for any really
intelligent Judge to give. The law in
question is essentially in the inter
est of free contract; its nullification
is in the interest of economic coercion.
Mrs. Raymond Robins, president of
the Women's Trade Union League,
drives' this point home when she
says: 'Everybody who knows what is
going on in the world (except judges
and lawyers) knows that f.reedom of
contract can exist only between par
ties ion an economic equality.' It is
manifestly true, as Mrs. Robins im
plies, that working women and their
employers do not contract as economic
equals. Jbe employers can wait; the
workers wait at peril of starvation.
The employers command working op
portunities; the workers are cut off
by privilege-fostering laws. And in
asmuch as this economic inequality is
intensified by long hours and modified
by short hours, laws limiting hours
are in the direction of freedom of la
bor contracts, while injunctions against
the enforcement of such laws are
away from freedom of labor contracts.
Under existing economic conditions
the theory of free contract as applied
in this ten-hour case, brings a mere
phrase of industrial freedom to the
aid of actual Industrial despotism. ;
"Regardless however of that view
of the matter, what is there severe
enough to say of the hideous confes
sion of the Illinois Manufacturers' As
sociation in this case? Neither the
Association nor its members could get
into court technically without going
through the form of appearing to
make the court believe that its law
suit is in behalf of working women.
What it wants is an injunction that
will give its members the power to
exact long hours of their workers.
But what it had to show, technically,
was that the right of workers to work
long hours was at stake. So a couple
of1 workingwomen are induced to lend
their names to the suit. And now,
thoughtful folks, think of thi fact
which this employers' association it
self discloses through the affidavit! of
those unfortunate workingwomen.
Think of the hideous confession which
it makes ! It proves by that that
neither of the two faithful working
women, mind you that neither of
them, although one has worked faith
fully at her trade for sixteen years
and the other for thirty-two years,
and given satisfaction yet that
neither of them gets for ten hours a
day of faithful work, enough wages to
live upon! Isn't this confession of
the Illinois Manufacturers' Associa
tion hideous enough to , make baby
farming and the 'white slave' traffic
seem tolerable by comparison?
"When women of long experience
and expert and faithful at their work,
are not paid enough wages to live
upon for ten hours' work a day, there
is something rotten in the industrial
Denmark. When these -conditions ex
1st, workers must be at an economic
disadvantage in selling their work;
for no one would voluntarily contract
to work ten hours a day for less than
a bare living. When this is so, there
is a higher duty for judges if they
wish to be regarded as intelligent, or
humane, or even as 'learned in the
law' than driveling about 'free con
tract,' and granting injunctions
against the criminal clauses of labor
limitation laws. And when manufac
turers confess to paying to women
who work for them faithfully and com
petently, less than a living for a ten
hour day, it behooves manufacturers'
associations to do something better
than whine about the despotism of ten
hour laws. If there are' any decent
men in the Illinois Manufacturers' As
sociation, they should be glad to es
cape the odium of this wretchedly
hideous confession, by explaining why
they do not pay better wages. And
if it is because they cannot, then by
trying honestly and fairly and with
as much energy as they now expend
in invoking 'government by injunction'
against workers in duress, why it is
that they can not? Is it because they
are sordid and greedy? or is it be
cause they also, as well as their hired
people, are plundered?. There are
open minds for explanations from
them. ' But they deserve the severest
censure for giving countenance to the
gross inhumanity which' their own
association attributes to them by Us
hideous confession in this ten-hour
case. ,
LABEL BACK IN DANBURY HATS.
According to the terms of the tem
porary agreement entered into be
tween the hat manufacturers of Dan
bury, Conn., and the union hatters
three months ago, last Monday was
the day on which the union labels
were to be restored to the hats. Sev
eral of the firms complied with the
terms of the agreement at once, and
it is thought that the label will be
restored within a few days by all
the manufacturers in that city.
LABOR AGITATION COUNTS.
Many Reputable Newspapers Refuse
the Advertising of Crazy Men.
Grape Nuts Post is the last man
one would expect to acknowledge
that union label agitation amounted
to anything. But the constant de
mand has pierced the thick skin of
the Battle Creek union buster. He
is now running a large advertise
ment in any paper that will accept it,
in which he charges all manner of
crimes to the emblem of fair deal
ing. Many newspapers are refusing
to publish the screed. Every Toledo
newspaper has declined his business
which will amount to hundreds of
dollars. Last Tuesday the Detroit
News, in a leading editorial, questioned-
Pest's sanity and refused space
for the four columns of tirade.
All of which should urge unionists
to greater label activity. Attention
is called at this time to the Teams
More
Daylight
By THURDE
N MY TEAVELS I have read with great interest the many
articles appearing in the different newspapers: and other pub
lications on the use of more daylight, and have been pleased
to see that the press has not only been liberal in the space
devoted to this subject but that the vast majority of the pub
lications are favorable. However, quite a few fall into the
common error of thinking that the same thing could be
accomplished without complications by changing the hour'
of work and that the advocates of securing more daylight by
I
changing the clocks during the summer time fool themselves'.
They overlook the fact that suburban trains are run to-day in accord
ance with the present schedule of hours in the commercial world. Mail
trains are regulated to a large extent along the same lines and the office
force as a rule time their arrival with the first mail. Therefore if the
hours of beginning the day's work were advanced an , hour everything
would be out of line. lf it became an established custom to advance the
hands of the clock May 1 one hour, allowing them to remain until Octo
ber 1, when they would be changed back to the present standard of time,
it would not be necessary for theailroads to change their time tables and
all schedules would be kept by tns clock, the same as to-day, and the
change would be forgotten almost immediately. In the summer at least
those sections of the country that
hour by the establishing of standard time would have this time restored
and every one given an additional" hour during ,the summer time to devote
to rest or recreation, as. they may elect.
It must not be overlooked that as this proposed
reform contains no politics or religion Isind is not of
profit it is everybody's business and therefore nobody's
business. Yet it is unique, inasmuch as it injures no
one and does not call for the expenditure of Uncle
Sam's money. So every one should do what he can
to ajd it. It affects every man, woman and child in the
United States and it is a subject worthy of strenuous
activity on the part of ppliticians, the press and all'
who act for the good of humanity. "
More-daylight associations should be formed in
every section of the country, as it is only concerted
action that changes which are not of profit can be
brought about.
Modern
Public
Desires
Popular
Melodies
By EDWIN L. ARKINS
';, the modern songs could not comprehend
the beauty and uplifting character of such as "Drink to Me Only with
Thine Eyes," Silver Threads Among the Gold" and "Mary 'of Argyle."
In order to cater to the degraded tastes of the majority of the people of
to-day the maudlin songs are composed. "
, Nevertheless, those who have charge of these concerts should give to
the public a serjes of numbers that have nothing of the itebasing charac
ter in them, but which will have an elevating influence on the minds of
those who appreciate them, regardless of the likes and dislikes of the
rabble. ' . ., .
What Is
Use of
Getting
Married
more
dren
By SIDNEY BELL
lov them, watch over them, seek to make
them happy, and teach them to ILre the home. They won't love home
unless home is made attractive for tlem. Neither husband nor wife alone
can make home happy and comfortable. -
: If you will try to make your hora as happy and comfortable for the
other inmates of it you will do a great 'leal toward making it happy and
comfortable for yourself. Then if the ohers will do the same and you
must got them to you will no longer jisk "What is the use of getting
married t
ters' label. Demand the button when
Ordering your winter coal. Don't be
satisfied with the "almost union"
story. Insist on a union teamster.
The proof is the button.
Post's squeal is the best proof of
the label's power. Toledo Union
Leader
It Affects
Every Person
in United States
RAYLE BRUCE
were robbed of a good portion of an
A writer speaks of the low nature of
many vocal solos rendered during bands
concerts and asks if we lack composers of
more inspiring songs.
It is not so much the lack of composers'
as it is of the people who appreciate higher
class songs. The modern public desires
melodies of this nature ; in fact, the ma
jority would not understand any other. If
the songs that were popular two score
or more j'ears ago were produced to-day
they would, no doubt, be jeered at and
ridiculed. Surely the admirers of most of
What is the use of getting married?"
asks a correspondent. I'll tell you. It is
to have a happy, comfortable home. ' That
statement looks , selfish, too, doesn't it?
But look farther. To have that kind of a
home there must be love, and that takes
unselfish regard for each other.! To make
a home comfortable it must be comfortable
for your husband or wife. That takes
unselfishness on your part. Chil
are the greatest blessings that can
ome into a. home. They take still more
unselfishness. You must care for them,
Church and Labor;
Have Work iri Common
There may be many points of dif
ference between the Church and
Labor as to specific aims and meth
ods, ,but there are enough points of
agreement and a sufficient number d!
fundamental principles , for 'whict
both stand to; warrant Church ana
Labor in uniting for the purpose of
carrying out a common program.
Church and Labor should be sym
pathetic one toward the other, first,
because of their common mistakes.
Both organizations have been con
trolled : by . men and. women who
were Very human and therefore fai-
llable. There are still occasions when
a criticism on of the other is justi
fiable. But this criticism should be
sympathetic, because it will no doubt
be discovered that the critic has been
guilty of the same offense. - f'
Church and Labor may co-operate
because they tooth believe in the sal
vation of society, although they may
not agree in every particular as to
how this salvation is to he accom
plished. C No one can successfuly
deny that the influence of the Church
has extended infinitely beyond the
comparatively narrow limits of its
own institutions and organizations.
A city without a Church would pre
sent a hopeless situation. The un
conscious influence of Christianity
cannot be measured. The principles
of the Church have so permeated so
ciety, that the great mass :' of men
have come to accept them as a mat
ter of. course. ' But even more sig
nificant is i the . positive influence of
the Church upon society. ' Hoyever
menective ; it may . be in some re
spects, the Church may well be proud
of its history in the matter of social
reform.. The labor movement, - if it
counts for anything at all, mustbe
considered as a social 'movement. In
a very important sense, the individu
al is absolutely lost in it. There
is no term that is more frequently
employed to express the significance
of the movement than "the solidar
ity of the working-class."
Church and Labor may co-operate
because they both believe in the
emancipation of the individual. They
both demand that a man shall rise
up and be counted as one. There
was a time, when nothing was quite
so cheap as human life. Kven today,
many large "employers of labor con
sider it cheaper to run the risk, of
killing their " employes and paying
the slight indemnity than to go to
the expense of introducing safety ap
pliances. Labor has long been 'fight
ing for the recognition of the value
of the individual human life.j- It has
insisted that a man is of more value
than a machine. The ancient philos
ophers declared that a :J purchased
slave is better than a hired one, and
in accordance with ' this principle,
they compelled half the world to live
behind prison bars. They" insisted
that the workingman had no soul.
Then came Jesus Christ. He showed
the world how highly God values the
individual. And the Church has ever
since advocated this 1 principle.
Church and Labor may co-operate
because they both believe in the care
of the human body. ' It would not be
very difficult to produce proof texts
from scripture in order to indicate
that the Bible teaches this doctrine,
"Ye are the temples of the Holy
Ghost" was the statement of the New
Testament writer when , he argued
for bodily cleanliness. Labor is try
ing to secure higher wages and
shorter hours in order that living con
ditions may be improved. In such
matters as sanitary reform in , tene
ment houses and factories, in the
securing of suitable social and rec
reative centers for the people, and
in ' every other particular that " in
fluences the physical conditions of
the masses, Church and Labor may
present a united front. ' '
Church and Labor may co-operate
because they are both aiming at the
development of the human soul. One
takes it for granted that the Church's
work is soul development. It must
not be assumed, however, that the
Labor movement is simply a bread
and-butter question. It is more than
that, and always has been. The
trades unions have not only raised
the standard of living, they have not
only ; improved the morals of the
workers, but they have given them
aspirations and ideals which are in-,
fluencing the soul life of the massj
, REV. CHAS. STELZLE.
HAYS HAS OPPOSITION.
Thos. P. Curtin, of Boston. Wishes
to be Secretary of I. T. U.
Thos. P. Curtin, , for many years
secretary . of Boston Typographical ;
Union No. 13, has formally an
nounced that he is a candidate for
the office of secretary-treasurer of the
International .Typographical union.
the place now held by John W. Hays.
Mr. Curtin is ' a very active member
of. Boston union, and, besides "being
secretary of this powerful union, in
which position he has shown .splen
did executive ability, has twice rep
resented Boston in the conventions
of the 1. T. U., at Birmingham and
Colorado Springs. Other positions of
trust were membership on the board
of ' trustees and chairman of the
scale committee of No. 13, the first
committee to secure a signed scale
with Boston's employing printers,1 a
splendid piece of work in itself, and
one which readily gives Mr. .Curtin
the reputation of being a diplomat.
Curtin has .manv frlATin thrrkiiftimit
the country, especially in the east
and New England.- Minnesota Union
Advocate. L 1 .
IN AID OF WOMEN WORKERS.
Meeting at Chicago Discusses ' Their
' Betterment.' '
Chicago, Sept. 27. The betterment
of the condition of women workers,
their children and their homes, both
in this country and in Europe Is
the central Mdea of the second bien
nial convention of the national
women's trade union -league, which
began here today. A hundred dele
gates from all parts of the United
States are present, and two dele- -gates
journeyed . from ; foreign coun
tries to attend. f! '
Mrs.' Raymond Robins, president of
the league; outlined the future work
of the league,' recommending indus
trial education, persistence in the
fight to obtain shorter hours and the
increase of the number of women
factory inspectors . as most Import
ant. She also urged the formation of
a body composed of women to study
the industrial condition of women
and children, the body to he a branch
of the goverment department of com
merce and labor, with a woman at
the head. The convention will be
in session " for several days.
TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION.
October Meeting Will Be Held at
; - Fraternity Hall Sunday Afternoon.
' Lincoln Typographical Union No.
209 will hold ' Its October meeting
Sunday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the
usual place of meeting. One or two"
proposed amendments to the constitu
tion are up for consideration. Aside
from this there appears to be nothing
much "on the hook." The referendum
vote on matters submitted, by the St.
Joseph convention will come up in
the very near future, and the mem
bership should be investigating. v
'Gene Lyman has gotten as far as
Omaha on his way to. the Pacific
coast. At this rate of progress he
will land in Portland about July4i
1927.v f - "
ine Jjauy NeDraskan nas again ap
peared. It means more work for the
pritnerman - and pressman during the
winter. ; It is again issued . from the
office of the Western Newspaper
Union. ' ' :.l . ..-....
s President Conway ' of the Retail
Clerks' Protective association is the
only candidate for the position of
secretary-treasurer of that organiza
tion, made vacant Vy the death of
Max Morris. Conway's home is ' in
Chicago, but - se will move . to Den
ver. ' - ft ' ' k.
