TEE
WAGEWOE
V
VOLUME 7
UNCOLN, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, JULY 1
NUMBER 15
sition. Instead of frowning upon the
men who enlist in the militia I would
have workingmen enlist and officer
the militia. But I would rather have
General Hartigan give his views.
What say you?
I
I
j HITTING THE POLITICAL PIPE J
J A FEW STRAY BITS OF GOSSIP CONCERNING MATTERS THAT j
HAVE TO DO WITH RUNNING THE CITY, COUNTY AND STATE I
RTTJ.Y MA TOR'S DOPE CARD
THE SAME CONTAINING A FEW UNBIASED OPINIONS ABOUT
jj MATTERS OF MORE OR LESS INTEREST TO THE PUBLIC
11
The firm of Curtis, Towle & Paine
or lit least one member of it is of the
opinion that The Wageworker is a
detriment to Lincoln. To so think is
the blessed privilege of any firm or
i
o
c
c
individual. If to strive to the best of
one's ability to promote the interests
of the toiler; if to endeavor as best
one can to protect the worker against
he greed and rapacity of conscienceless
employers; if to voice the sentiment
that the men with labor to sell have
the same right to organize to protect
that commodity as the men with man
ufactured products to sell have to or
ganize to better promote the sale of
those commodities if in short, to
light for equal justice and a square
deal is detrimental to a city, then The
AVage worker pleads guilty. And yet,
somehow or other, The Wageworker
can not help feeling complimented
when some long-hour, low-wage con
cern rises up on its hind legs and hol
lers that this humble little paper is
a detriment to the city. If it is now,
ever has been, or ever will be
detrimental to business concerns that
"sweat" their employes, refuse them
the right to organize, take advantage
of their pressing necessities or decry
the effort's of toiler to act together for
mutual benefit, then its mission Bhall
not have been in vain. My respects
to Curtis, Towle & Paine, or any mem
ber thereof, and may it or he prosper
just as it or he deserves.
The "Trade Extension Boosters"
have returned, claiming to have had
a pledsant and profitable trip. Perhaps.
But this I do know, that if the work
in men of this section of the country
who buy goods of the retailers who
patronize the wholesalers on that ex
cursion made an average of 93 cents
a day the amount paid by these
"boosters" for their bandsmen
there would be an almighty falling off
in the business done by the aforesaid
boosters and their retailing custom
ers. The men responsible for this lit
tle stunt ought to be ashamed of them
selves. They gave visible evidence of
contradicting what they preach, stulti
fied themselves by going back on their
slogan, "Let us all boost together for
Lincoln," and put themselves on rec
ord as favoring the. "importation of
cheap foreign labor. That is the plain
a-b-c of the whole matter. In this
connection I take pleasure in reproduc
ing this extract from the Fairbury Ga
zette and the city of Fairbury is one
of the best of the "little cities" in
Nebraska :
"The Lincoln Commercial Club
adopted a slogan, Lets all work to-'
gether for Lincoln,' and when they
needed a band to accompany them on
their boosting trip this week, hired
one from outside the city because they
could get it cheaper than any of the
numerous bands which hold forth at
home. Tltere is considerable of the
selfish spirit abroad in the land when
it comes to saving the dollars, whether
it springs from the farmer who patron
izes Roars & Seabuck or the commer
cial club of a city. It is always a pret
ty good system to practice what you
preach, either as an individual or as
a club."
And what the Gazette says must
of necessity be the opinion of every
business man in every other town vis
ited on the trip, providing they under
stand the matter in its true light.
The lie by intimation is worse, often
than the lie direct. And the man who
states a half -truth, with the intention
of deceiving, is the worst liar of the
whole outfit of liars. Among this class
I want to place the persistent "knock
ers" who, because Lincoln went "dry''
are saying the town is dead and point
ing to the number of empty houses as
proof. "Why, there are more vacant
houses in Lincoln tha never before!"
shrieks this cheap Ananias. But he
carefully refrains from stating the
whole truth, which is that there are
more houses occupied in Lincoln today
than ever before in its history. There
are more people buying their own
homes today than ever before in Lin
coln's history.
,' f
I know of but one industry that has
been crippled by the "dry" policy
the cigarmaking industry. And yet
there is just as many opportunities to
day for buying Lincoln made cigars
as there ever were. The trouble is, a -vast
majority of the fellows who be
wail the hard luck of the local igar
makers are men who never think of
buying a. Lincoln made cigar anyhow.
Others who are always shrieking,
"Stand up for Lincoln," do it be
tween puffs on cigars made in eastern
tenements, and still others are men
who love to prate of their unionism
and habitually smoke "scab" cigars cr
cigarettes made from "Puke's Mix
ture" or "Bull Scraps." Let's be fair,
gentlemen.
On the square, while on a train the
other day I heard a Lincoln man cuss
ing the bankers of Lincoln because
none of them would loan him $750 to
make the first payment on a $1,500
automobile. He said they were "cheap
skates"; that they "lacked enter
prise"; that they were a "lot of
'grafters;' " and he cussed them from
Dan to Beer-Sheba. All of which con
vinced me that when I get a dollar or
two ahead I'm quite sure it will be
safe if deposited in any one of Lin
coln's banking institutions.
I am prouder than ever today of my
membership in the Fraternal Order of
Eagles. After it has been roasted and
toasted to a frazzle as an "organiza
tion of booze fighters," "saloonkeep
ers" and "liquor touters" I desire to
call attention to the fact that the
local aerie has notified the public that
its buffet has been closed, and that it
will not even institute the locker sys
tem. Other organizations that have
consumed more booze than the Eagles
ever tried to consume, and which have
posed as being made of men of better
clay, are putting in the locker system.
And now I am waiting for the roasters
and toasters to make proper acknowl
edgment of the action of the Fraternal
Order of Eagles. And I expect to
keep right on waiting, too.
It is just a bit natural, of course,
that a reference to the Eagles should
call to mind the Anti-Saloon League.
Have you noticed the recent flare-up in
that organization! "When men like
Senator Patrick, and Rev. Mr. Batten,
and ex-State Superintendent McBrien.
and Lyslie I. Abbott pull out of an or
anization and give as a reason that
the at the hrd-oi it faiWl to k--p
his promises, then there is ample room
for the suspicion that fighting the sa
loon is somewhat secondary to the
main issue the collection box. I'm
not interested in the Anti-Saloon
Leane nor in the County Option
League, but in common with all other
men who want things done on the
square I'd like to have all the facts
presented to an anxious public.
If Adjutant General Ilartigan of
the Nebraska National Guard will
agree to talk to the union men of Lin
coln as he has talked to me privately,
I will undertake to get him a hearing
before the Central Labor Union some
time in the future. I don't think
much of the militia system as at pres
ent coBstituted, but I do believe that
workingmen have taken the wrong po
This week The "Wageworker pre
sents its annual "Friendly Business
Men's" edition, and it is cordially rec
ommended to the careful review of the
workers of the city. It is pleasing to
the editor to know that there are
many business men in the city who
are anxious enough for the patronage
of union men to ask for it through a
newspaper that tries its best to stand
for the best interests of the organized
workers. Such men the men who
show by their actions that they are
friendly to organized labor are the
men who should receive the patronage
of organized workers. The sooner or
ganized labor begins recognizing and
standing by its friends, rather than
boycotting and "knocking" its ene
mies, the better it will be for the labor
monument.
Let each one of us breathe a sigh
of relief. Teddy is back and the
country is safe again. Let every work
ingman rejoice that his destinies are
once more in the keeping of the man
who preferred the society of drunken
THE UNION SHOP.
The following editorial from the
Boston Globe portrays in graphic
manner the difference between
the contract of the union shop
and the non-union or so-called
open shop:
"Persons who are opposed to
the union shop because it inter
feres with individual liberty
either forget that there is
such thing as individual liberty,
or they never given sufficient
thought to the subject to reason
out the fact. National,' State and
municipal law is an interference
with what is called individual
liberty. Individual liberty is an
archy under another name. The
union shop says to the man whose
standard of life is low and whose
environment is degrading and who
has no home or family ties, that
the citizen having high ideas and
responsible family ties, shall not
be dragged down to the level of
the irresponsible and shiftless.
The non-union shop, which is
termed the open shop, is desired
by some employers because the
non-unionist can be used to tear
down the living and normal stand
ard of the better class of workers.
In the social life the handsome
streets, dwelling and restricted
districts of the so-called better
classes represent the union, whi-e
the slums represent the miscalled
free workman or non-unionist.
The union shop protects the home
and keeps the children at school.
The non-union shop degrades the
home and furnishes a treadmill
for the children who should be at
school. .The union shop forbids
one to burn his home in the exer
cise of his individual liberty be
cause he endangers the property
of his neighbor. The union shop
forbids one to maintain a nuis
ance of any kind which endang
ers the health of the community.
What any community may do to
protect itself against danger of
any kind and to advance its mat
erial interest the trade unions
may justly do, and may with the
same legal and moral right frown
upon, resent and prevent any in
vasion of its rights as can any
community, State or nation. For
reasons herein given and for many
others, the union or contract shop
is just, hence elevating.
cowboys to that of city mechanics, and
who declared that those of us who de
fried "government by injunction"
were worse than anarchists and de
served to be executed. Teddy will
shoot you in the back if you donrt
watch out, just like he did that fleeing
Spaniard. .
BILLY MAJOR.
The amendment providing that no
part of the money appropriated by
congress for the enforcement of the
Sherman anti-trust law should be
used in prosecuting trades unions,
was lost in the senate. President Will
iam Howard Taft, whose love for us
is so well known, used the power of
his high office to defeat the amend
ment. The only organizations that
have been prosecuted under the Sher
man anti-trust law have been labor
organizations. The trusts and corpor
ations have been allowed to go scott
free. How do you like it, Mr. Work
ingman ?
Richard L. Metcalfe, who ought to
be the next United States senator from
Nebraska, is about as levelheaded a
political writer as there is in the coun
try. "Met" is awfully "soti' in his
views, but they are the views of a
man who can not be purchased or in
timidated, and he stands for the best
interests of the people all the time. He
is a county optionist and a democrat,
but he is opposed to endorsing county
option by a platform declaration. He
offers as a solution of the vexed ques-.
tion this proposition: The democratic
platform to favor relegating the ques
tion to the legislative districts, pledg
ing the democratic candidate for gov
ernor to sign a county option bill if it
shall be enacted in response to the
will of the majority as expressed at
the polls. That is democratic, and
therefore fair.
For the ninth consecutive time A. L.
Urick has been elected president of the
Iowa State Federation of Labor. Some
of these days the organized workers
of Nebraska will quit "beefing" about
their woes and proceed to make a state
organization that will come within
gunshot of being the effective fighting
force that the Iowa State Federation
of Labor is. Al Urick is one of the
best labor leaders in America, and the
Iowa Federation honored itself vastly
more than it honored Urick when i:
gave him a ninth term.
Sheriff Hoagland, stand - up ! It is
openly charged that you appointed
deputy sheriffs -on the recommenda
tion of Superintendent Ackerman of
the Havelock shops, and that while
these men are exercising the authority
of the county they are being paid by
the Burlington. Is it true? It is
charged that some of these deputies
are fighting, drunken, brawling pugs
who are continually seeking to nag
the striking boilermakers to the point'
of fighting, so that they may be
jugged for contempt. Is it so ? And
it is charged that a murder was com
mitted in the stockade at Havelock a
week or two ago. Is it so? And by
why right do you provide a corpora
tion with deputy sheriffs to act as pri
vate policemen and "persuading com
mittees?" Stand up, Sheriff Hoagland!
You are going to be put on the rack.
S
It is said that petitions out asking
Bryan to become a candidate for Unit
ed States senator already contain up
wards of 30,000 names. This may or
may not be true, but there are few
who will have the temerity to deny the
assertion that if Bryan would an
nounce himself as a candidate for the
senate the "stuff would be off" with
the rest of them.
A couple of weeks ago The "Wage
worker noted the fact that Omaha Ty
pographical Union No. 190 had always ,
endorsed Hitchcock when he was a
candidate for congress, and asked i?
No. 190 was going to do the same
thing for him, now that he is a candi
date for senator. The Omaha printers
answered that question last Sunday
by endorsing Hitchcock's candidacy
Mr. Hitchcock has been publishing a
daily newspaper in Omaha for more
than twenty years. During that time
he has paid out millions of dollars in
wages, and every dollar paid to print
ers, pressmen and stereotypers has
been paid to union men.
The Omaha printers also endorsed
the candidacy of Laurie J. Quinby, a
union printer, wrho is a candidate for
the democratic congressional nomina
tion in that district. But we still hold
to the opinion that Quinby is such a
good man, has the makings of such a
splendid representative of the people
in congress, and is so thoroughly im
bued with the desire to be of service to
his fellows that he don't stand the
ghost of a show to get the nomination.
"We pray that we are mistaken.
President Coffey, Secretary Hart
and Vice President Maupin; of the
Nebraska State Federation of Labor
will get together in a short time and
prepare a list of questions to submit
to every candidate before the primar
ies for legislative nominations. If the
union men of this state vote blindly
this year they will have no one but
themselves" to blame. And the candi
date who refuses to answer, especially
if they live in the state's largest indus
trial centers, are going to hear some
thing drop. ;
The Beatrice correspondent of. the
Omaha Bee charged that Governor
Shallenberger, dismissed for political
reasons a complaint filed by Deputy
Labor Commissioner Maupin against
a Beatrice milliner for working his
employes over time. The answer is
that the Beatrice correspondent of theu.
Omaha Bee was guilty of writing a
falsehood. The deputy labor commis
sioner dismissed the case on his own
motion, and for good and sufficient' .
reasons, the defendant paying the
costs. If ever the time comes when the
present deputy labor commissioner's
efforts to enforce the labor laws are
hampered by political exegencies, at
that moment ths deputy labor commis
sioner will tender his resignation, and
don't you forget it!
The sympathy of the entire eommun-.
ity will go out to Hon. Charles O.
"Whedon, who has just suffered the
most' grievous loss than can , befall
a man the death of the wife who was
his close companion for many years.
Mrs. "Whedon 's long illness from an
incurable disease will explain ; why
Mr. Whedon has not been more active
in pressing his senatorial candidacy.
His lack of interest in politics during
the illness of his wife is a tribute to
his love for her and his tender thought
fulness for her welfare and comfort.
The election of Charles O. Whedon
to the United States senate would
greatly raise the, average of honesty
and intelligence in that body, and it
certainly would serve to put Nebraska
in the running more than it has been
since the state was honored by the ser
vices of William V. Allen.
Despite his 300 rounds President
Taft presents the unusual spectacle of
being about the lightest-weight presi
dent this country has had since Jeems
Buchanan.
The initiative end referendum is the
thing! Let's get that, and with it we
can f get many reforms that are now
impossible.
William Peruna Andrews has been
delegated by the administration to
come to Nebraska and prove that the
Aldrich-Cannon tariff law is a revi
sion downward and the most equitable
tariff law ever enacted. If Andrews
has the nerve to come out here and
take a stand like that we'll have to
grudgingly admit that his favorite
medicine is a great nerve tonic.
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