WAG
TH
VOLUME 7
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 1910
NUMBER 22
! CURT CURRENT COMMENTS
THE SAME CONTAINING A FEW
MATTERS OF MORE OR LESS
Begging pardon of my ministerial
friends for the presumption, but 1 am
going to make a suggestion to them.
As they perhaps know Sunday, Sep-
tember i the day before lva'hor my
uas been designated by the Ameri-
can rvuerawon oi uwir s , jinuui
Sunday." The Federation has asltea
he ministers of the I nitect btates ana
Canada to observe the day by" deliver
ing sermons appropriate to" the idea
,of industrial organization . and ex
.pounding the -principles of trades .un
ionism. Hut I have a better scheme,
even if I do say it. as shouldn't. I
wonder how many Lincoln ministers'
will drop me a note saying that they
will gladly, give some representative
trades unionist' the opportunity " of
.standing in the pulpit on Labor Sunday
for the purpose,' of telling the people
what trades unionism really stands for?
A note addressed "Editor Wagework
er, 240 North' Thirty-third street," will
reach me.
V I know a number of trades unionnsts '
in this community who are abundantly
able, and I believe wilting, to occupy
Lincoln pulpits and endeavor in the
short space of thirty-five minutes to
outline the real principles upon which
trades unionism is based. Among the
number I - recall the names of such
unionists as Fred Miekel, who is no
stranger to the puipu. anu wnose un
ionism is of the right brand. Then
there is Frank M.' Coffey, president of
the State Federation of Labor. He is
well grounded in unionism, and could
if he would, end I ibeleive he will if
given the opportunity, speak by the
card and with credit to any minister
who invites him to the pulpit. Then
there is General Tom Kelsey, than
whom there is no better union man in
this country, and who can talk to the
edification and interest of any as
sembly. "Doug" Smith of Havetoek
w a i.lmwVi wnnrlcM us well as a worker
at the anvil and forge, and 1 know that
"Doug" would reflect credit upon any
pulpit he occupied. He is zealous,
earnest and tireless in his unionism an!d
with him uniomism means tihe practical
Christianity of doing good. Another
Havelock man who could deliver the
goods fro'n a pulpit is my good friend
Green vjkh1.
W. S. Brown might be persuaded to
occupy a pulpit, and if he could talk
as interestingly to a congregation as
he can to me in private, he would ac
complish a good work while reflecting
credit upon the pulpit and upon his
union. But it is difficult to recall
names offhand in connection with a
matter like this, and I can only add
tliat if a dozen ministers will agree to
step aside for one service on Labor
Sunday and let some union man oc
cupy the place, I'll undertake the task
of finding that many men for the as
signments. And I'll guarantee ye
selections will make good. Doubtless
they would tell some wholesome truths
that would not "set well" on the minds
of some of the pcw'holders, but I am
of the opinion that rt wouldn't hurt
church work a bit in this city to have
a few home thrusts delivered from be
hind tliu pulpits of the city.
Wouldn't it be fine to hear some
eloquent minister get up and denounce
some of the abuses that exist right here
in Liintln, and instead of doing it in
general terms do .it specifically, point
ing the-' ministerial fingers straight at
the pews arid saying "thou art the
man!"
You've doubtless heard the story of
the minister who was preaching a trial
sermon in a country . vinage. lie
thought it would be wise to get a little
nifonnation before band, so he in
quired of a good brother. "Well, par
son," said the good brother, "you'd
better be easy on the Methodists, for
there a lot of them in this community.
And on the Presbyterians, too, for they
are not scarce. Ami the Baptists are
pretty strong, too, so don't say much
about them. But there ain't a Mor
imm in the county and you can give
tlunn hell straight from the shoulder
without doing a bit of harm."
Ian 't that too often the ministerial
rule denouncing the wrongs that ex
ist far away, and skating -away from
any particular reference to the wrongs
that abound at hornet a
UNBIASED OPLNIONS ABOUT
INTEREST TO THE PUBLIC
If the charge against Hoy Wilscam
i.s true, and he really did try to des--troy
his home as charged by the au
thorities, then he ought, in my humble
judgment, be -cited, to appear 'bef ore the
lunatico inquirendo instead of a magis
trate. Any man who would be guilty,
of trying to commit arson as Wilscam
is charged with doing certainly is too
crazy to be wholly responsible.
Now that it isall over, will some
body please tell me what -it mattered
whether Will Hay ward did or did not
own a little. stock in a brewery. I have
'rather a poor opinion "of aman who'
owns stock in a brewery on Nebraska
these days and wouldn't sell it aft a fair
price if he got a chance, but so 'far as
owning it is ' concerned I'm blest t if I
: can see any higih crime in that. People
who are well acquainted with me know
something about the opinions I bold on
the liquor question,' but right here and !
now I desire to state that I'd rather
own stock in a brewery than to hold
stock in' a manufacturing concern
Whose profits were wrung form the.
underpaid toil of women and children.
The man who manufactures whisky is
a mighty good man in comparison with
the man who "sweats" the life out
of helpless womanhood and childhood '
in order to enrich himself. IVe seen
"sweat shoppers" by the score who
could pray loud enough to raise the
roof, and who would pass the box for
a collection for the heathen with a'
smug and sancitimounious air that
would shame a house cat guilty of
having swiped the cream.
A few years ago. while I was doing
the "federal run" on the Omaha
Wtorld-Herald, I . saw a lawyer step
forward as a case was called and state
that he represented the" defendant.
Just as he was well started in the
presentation of his ease Judge Dundy
asked: "Have you been admitted t)o
practice in this court?" The lawyer
blushingly admitted that he had for
gotten that little matter. Whereupon
Judge Dundy made him sit down, and
the defendant would have been forced
to secure another lawyer had not a
well known member of the Omaha bar
moved to admit the forgetful lawyer,
testifying to bis legal ability. Where
upon the lawyer was sworn in and
given his "union card." Every lawyer
in the country will insist that this is
all right, and yet ninety-nine per cent
of them will denounce the "closed
shop" idea in trades unionism. It'
beats thunder how easy it is for a law
yer to argue himself into believing both
sides of almost any question.
Here's a rich joke. The merchants
j A QUIET TIP TO SOME MERCHANTS j
IAN OKLAHOMA PAPER HANDS OUT A FEW THAT' MERCHANTS IN LINCOLN MIGHT I
THiNkT OVPR WITH PROFIT TO THEMSELVES AND TO THE CITY AT LARGE I
Already the talk is current that a
movement is on foot, under cover, to
make Oklahoma City an "open shop"
town, and there is a probability that a
whole lot of merchants and other busi
ness men might be jerked inito such a
tight who are sincere yet entirely inno
cent. Leaving aside all question of
justice and whether it is the merchant's
business to trouble about the "open
ahp" still, merely, as a business hunch,
it might be well to remember that
shoes and groceries and patent medi
cines and clothing are used chiefly by
mn who earn a living, and as these
humble chaps are about ninety- nine
hundredths in the majority over the fel
lows who exploit workers, and make
"profits by' paying less than a man.
should get, it might be possible that a
declaration for the "open shop," what
ever that is, would have a very per
ceptible effect on trade.
The average retail merchant gets his
money by hard work and business
ability; he has little time to study or
worry over wage and hour problems
and chiefly takes the higher-ups for
it. We would suggest, for simple busi
ness reasons, it would be well for the
business man to discover what the
workers of any town thought about
the open shop before they were coaxed
of Fort Smith, Arkansas, organized a
"home patronage" club, and proceed
ed to plaster the billboards of the city
with four-sheet posters tirging every
body to " patronize home industry."
And the posters were printed in Mem
phis. Tenn. That's almost as good as
Clinton R. Lee heading the list when
an attempt was made to organize a
"patronize home industry" club in
Lincoln. For the benefit of my out-of-state
readers I'll say that Mr. Lee is
the man who has the Nebraska peni
tentiary, broom contract.
While The Wageworker , was for
Metcalfe, as between Burkett - and
' Hifcdhcock, there is one; thing about '
Hitchcock that commends him to the
support of organized labor. He ' em
ploys an army of union men, has never
had a strike, has never had even the
symptom of a strike, has always been
thefirst to sign increased jWage scales, ;
- and has been in every way a fair em-
ployer. In addition to that, his record
iii congress is, insofar as it? relates to
the principles espoused by organized
labor, absolutely clean. He has voted
for the things ' that' organised' labor
favored, and has voted against these
things that were calculated to injure-
- the army of toil. He is the realr father.
' of the postal saving bill-although he
" may not now be able to recognize-his
progeny. The Wageworker simply
asks union men to scan the official
records of Hitchcock and Burkett, and
then vote without partisan bias and
with an eye to. the best interests of or
ganized labor.
There is no use' mourning over the
result, but when the democratic voters
of Nebraska turned "Met" down they
did an ill turn to a man who has made
more sacrifices for democracy than any
man in the west and wh; at the same
time has done more for Ni jbraska demo
cracy than any other onefman. There
are no exceptions to thatfstJatement.
A. E. Cady got into the race too
late. His vote is an indication that
if he had started sooner he would have
won out. But Aldrich had too great
a lead to overcome. .There is one plank
in the Aldrich platform that ought to
condemn him in the eyes of union men
his declaration in favor of compul
sory arbitration. .A governor wields
a powerful influence over legislation,
and if elected Aldrich might be able
to secure a compulsory arbitration law.
The enactment of such a law, under ex
isting conditions, would be a calamity
to every wage earner. Union men,
no matter what trade or occupation,
ought to consider this matter very care
fully. The attempted assassination of May
or Gaynor means that this same Mayor
Gaynior is going to be a mighty big
faetwr in the next presidential cam
paign. BILLY MAJOR.
into the fight by the pleadings of a
few big bosses whose nests would be
feathered to the disadvantage of the
workers and the merchants themselves.
Fairness never really does hurt and
learning both sides before passing
judgment is an excellent thing as well
as a diplomatic thing. A picked dele
gation from the Trades Council would
probably court the privilege of appear
ing before any organization of business
men and meeting in argument ahy dele
gation on this subject.
Going whole hog blindly quite fre
quently proves unfortunate for the fel
low who recklessly butts in. This pa
per hopes that no innocent man in
Oklahoma City will be shunted into
a fight, the inner reasons of which and
the ultimate outcome of which he
knows- no more about than the chief
of Timibuctoo, or will suffer from his
abrupt injection into a contest that
does not concern him, but if some few
folks do get stepped upon this word
may prevent them from being sur
prised when it happens.
In a question of this kind the open
shop is never considered at all and the
few men behind it know it. It is a
question m to whether a few big em
ployers would pay fair wages, submit
to arbitration, do the honest, fair, hon
orable and decent thing, or else go it
blind, import thugs, hire detectives,
! HITTING THE POLITICAL PIPE
5 A FEW STRAY BITS OF GOSSIP CONCERNING MATTERS THAT I
I HAVE TO DO WITH RUNNING THE CITY, COUNTY AND STATE
There need be no surprise over the
defeat of County Attorney Tyrrell.
There were powerful special interests
arrayed against him. Not because
those special interests believed they
could expect any favors from Mr.
Strode, 'but because - those special in
terests were out for revenge. And the
way Tyrrell was traded and exchanged
in certain sections of the city was
something fierce. Some mighty funny
things have happened in some- of the
"God and morality" precincts within
the past few days.
While this little newspaper was hop
ing for; the re-nomination of Mr.' Tyr
rell because, cf good work he had done
and of i still better work that he had
under way, it felt confident that what
ever the . result, the next attorney of
Lancaster county would be a man of
ability and integrity. Mr. Strode will
be the republican candidate and Mr.
Meier will be the democratic candi
date. "' Voters who are unable to get
to the polls on election day need not
worry about "the county attorneyship
it js a cinch that it will continue to
be in the hands "of a competent man.
AVhile we regret that it will not be Mir.
Tyrrell, we are mighty glad that his
successor will be either Mr. Strode or
Mr. Meier.
Dahlman's vote in Lincoln and Lan
caster county is the surprise of the
primary yet why should it be? There
are always enough men ready to ex
press their resentment against officials
in power even to the extent of sacri
ficing those who have proved faithful
and efficient. The trouble with Lin
coln is that it is now in the control
of a lot of goo-goos. The city is so
thoroughly sissified, so completely dom
inated by a lot of effeminate reform
ers, that . almost any man with red
blood in his veins would be excused
for registering a protest. . So thorough
has this resentment permeated the rank
and file of Lincoln citizenship that it
found expression at the polls -Tuesday
by votes against the best governor Ne
braska has ever had. The "drys" of
Lincoln have only themselves to blame
for the predicament in which they now
find themselves. If they expect to
keep Lincoln out of the "wet" column
next spring they would better begin
perfecting their organization and soli
citing subscriptions right away.
Ten days before the primary it
looked as if George E. Tobey had a
cinch on the republican congressional
nomination. Then began the ' usual
foolish breaks in the shape of personal
attacks on a rival candidate. As a
result the Hayward forces got busy
employ dynamiters to stir - up trouble,
and -generally prove that they could
run the town or wreck it.
And the only slogan they ever have
is the pestiferous, lying, double-crossing,
hypocritical fake, open shop.
Open shop is a ghost, a jest and a
dreams. When a big employer uses it
he itieans that he demands the right to
bring in Greek and Greaser labor, , to
cut. wages to the bone, to violate all
sanitary working laws, to keep women
on the job all night at five cents an
hour, if he sees fit. to hoot at demands
of fair play, to prevent his workers
banding together for a square deal, the
while he organizes and plots and con
tributes to the election of various city
and county officers to assist' him in
carrying out his nefarious practices.
'Many business men do not know
these things, but labor does and the
workers of Oklahoma City do, and it
is entirely passible that despite the
very excellent and lady-like objection
to boycotts on the part of business men
that labor will be just mean, and un
kind and wayward enough to use this,
and other sharp weapons, against the
men it considers fighting for the tuber
culosis shop, the ten hour day, the for
eign wage serf, the woman and child
mill and the arrogance of the man on
the top with a wad and a pull.
Oklahoma Labor Unit.
i
and they were sure busy. The prettiest
local imaehine that ever turned its
wheels in Lincoln was the Hayward
machine last Tuesday. It ran rough
shod over the Tobey forces ; it mangled
them beyond hope of identification. In
addition to being some smooth politi
cian himself, Will Hayward had the
assistance of some mighty clever poli-
ticians, to say nothing of a lot of warm
personal friends who showed their
friendship in a substantial way mean
ing that a lot of primary expenses were
provided for. - v
'Mr. Hayward advocates some things
that this newspaper opposes, but little
things like those will not prevent 'The
Wageworker from being fair. The
fact is that Will Hayward is a mighty
able young man. But why should he
not be? He comes of mightyr good
stock. Senator Hayward Was' one of
the big men of Nebraska and the west.
It was the good pleasure of The,Wage
, worker's editor to have known person
ally and enjoy the friendship of the
older Hayward, and no finer gentle
man, no more loyal Nebraskan, no more
enthusiastic builder of the west) ever
lived than ex-Senator Hayward. If
the son measures up to the standard
of the father or even approximates
it there is no danger that ' the First
Congressional district will be misrep
resented in congress, be it either John
Maguire or Will Hayward. '
Just as soon as the sore spots are
healed the writer is going around to
the Commoner office and hear "Diek"
Metcalfe repeat the old story that we
have so often exchanged: "Don't be
gin oountin' yet; this is me again."
After all, it would seem, too, that
county option was considerable of a
political issue last Tuesday. And the
returns indicate tJhalt those who
thought that by both parties endors
ing it the question would have been
taken out of politics were sadly mis
taken, i
Though defeated C. O. Whedon made
a race that was surprising in the face
of what he had to meet. Firstly, he
had to meet the opposition of the en
tire federal machine. Secondly, he Was
handicapped by a late entry into the
race on account of private and per
sonal matters that eould not be re
sited. And thirdly, he had no news
papers back of him, his opponent hav
ing the newspaper support because he
had postmaster-editors behind him.
But the Whedon vote is evidence that
the "insurgent" feeling in Nebraska
is growing, and that two years from
now Whedon will be a bigger factor
than ever in the republican senatorial
equation.
The whole primary was a queer mix
up. The political prophets and seers
were all at sea. The only thing of
which we may all be reasonably sure
is that under the open primary sys
tem party lines are going to be shot
all to thtnder, no matter how solid
they may be on election day. Maybe
the open primary will educate the
voters up to independent voting on
election day. If it does, it will have
served at least one good purpose.
y One' will search in vain through the
primary returns for any mention of
the Sorenson vote. While in Omaha
the , other day the writer heard a man
offer , to bet a dollar that Al Sorenson
wouldn't even vote for himself. If
that man offered now to bet that Soren
son didn't vote for himself I wonder
if Sorenson would take it?
It seems an immortal cinch that a
"wet" legislative ticket, nominated by
petition, will be put up in Lancaster
county. A week ago it would have
been considered a crazy notion to say
that there was any possible show of
electing anti-county optionists to the
legislature from Lancaster. Today the
"wets" have every reason to believe
that they can elect more than " .one
"wet" representative. Indeed, the
primary returns would seem to indicate
that the "wets" have caught Lancaster
county where Caleb caught the hen.
Does any one to this day know how
Elmer J. Burkett stands on county op
tion ?
' ?
4