THE WAGEWORKER
Published every Friday by The Wageworker Publishing.
. Company, 1705 O Street, Lincoln, Nebraska
WILL M. MAUPIN, Editor
E. L. GRUBB, Manager
n CURT CURRENT COMMENT D
V, , : J
There died in Lincoln a few days ago a moterman in the employ
of the Lincoln Traction Co. He had been in the street railway
serxice for tv.enty-four years, beginning in the days of the old
horse cars. lie was a faithful and efficient employe. When his
dea:h was made known at headquarters Manager Humpe paid the
dead motern.an a high tribute. "He was a faithful and dependable
en ploy e," said Manager Humpe, "and had rendered good service
for tver,ty-three years." All that Manager Humpe said of this
fai.hlr.l e.: ploye was true, and well deserved. But Manager Humpe
eov.ld have said a lot more. He could have said that after twenty
three years of faithful and arduous service the motorman was mak
ing the magnificent wage of 24 cents an hour. He might have said
that had the dead motorman saved one-third his wages all these years
he might have died with $3,500 in the bank after living a quarter
of a century lil e a recluse, depriving himself and family of needed
food ard clothing and enjoyment nothing of the luxuries of life.
This amount invested at 6 per cent would earn the widow less than
h2C0 a year. "He was a faithful and dependable employe." And
:fter twerty-three years of that kind of service he was working
t. .velve hours a day to make less than $2.50!
It is an erccuragiEg sign when the voters of a legislative district
select such n.en as H. C. Taylor of Central City to, represent them
in the legislature. Mr. Taylor is one of the progressive republican
nevspaper men of Nebraska. His record is as clean as a hound's
tooth, ard he is level-headed, sincere and willing. Nebraska
would have nothing to fear' from unwise legislation from a legis
lature made up of such splendid young men as H. C. Taylor.
lard Commissioner Cowles, who has just been re-elected to
succeed himself, is inclined to favor the establishment of a state
prir.tery. But the kind he favors will not meet with the approba
tion of n en who have given the labor movement their best efforts.
Mr. Cowles would have the boys at the Kearney Industrial school
ar d the prisorers at the State Penitentiary man the printing plant
ard do the work. He thinks this could be done by employing some
experts to oversee the business. Perhaps if he could get the ex
perts, ard enough of them. But it would be cheaper and a great
deal better to man the plant with experts. And we can see the
political finish of any legislator of governor who would agree to
the eractrr.ert of a law providing for the establishment of another
state shop employing convicts in cotnpetition with free labor. Mr.
Covles ought to take a -running jump and try to land in the pre
sent. -
Every now and then Col. Al. Sorensen, never-will-be-'senator,
springs a joke that keeps us laughing for hours and hours. He has
just sprung one. Col. Sorenson says that the county optionists are
going to try and buy enough legislative votes to insure the enact
ment of a county option law. The Colonel is altogether too humor
ous. -
The Fremont Herald suggests Latta for governor in 1912 ; Shallen
berger for United States Senator and Dan V. Stevens for.congress
n an from the Third district. We are in favor of just two-thirds of
the proposition. We prefer to watch Mr. Latta 's record for a couple
of years more before endorsing him for any other office than the
one he now holds.
The Mir den Courier is for Shallenberger for United States senator
to succeed Senator Brown. The Courier says the Shallenberger
Ibom will have something more than "near insurgency" behind
it. Kclilor Richmond has a political head upon him, so long that
1 e has to go out of doors to turn it around.
Tao months since the Los Angeles Times building was wrecked
by an explosion. The police were going to arrest the guilty parties
t ithin twenty-four hours. Not an arrest has been made. The
v.crraph operators employed by the Western Union and stationed
ir Jhe Tin es building who testified that they had smelled gas in the
i ' ihlir.g f r several days, were discharged. The "rat" linotype man
ho tctiHed that the presence of gas enough anywhere in the
1 - iMirrr to r ause an explosion would have put the linotypes out of
Lu&iueas that "rat" is still on the Times' pay roll. Every ex
pert in explosives testifies that the wreck could not have been
caused by any high explosive that it was a gas explosion. Yet the !
papers tnat so louaiy spread tne report tnat union men wrecKea tne
"Pimps TvnilrHnof n aa silent oa nrnvp nVinnt Vip rovolatimia flint.
Vinvp fnllfttvprl Vip invpotitrninn
Here is a new item that will "listen good" to union men and
women everywhere : Spokane unionists are striving to raise money
to erect a Labor Temple. At a meeting of the Central Labor Union
of Spokane, a week or so ago Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Hutton handed
in a check for $500, the same to be used in the erection or purchase
of a Temple. Mr. and Mrs. Hutton thanked organized labor for
its part in giving the women of Washington the ballot, and pre
sented the check as a token of appreciation.
Just what a little personal work will do in an election is evidenced
by the fact that Addison Wait is elected secretary of tate by a
mapority of 97. Had Charley Pool's frierds hustled just a bit more,
or Wait's friends a bit less, Pool would have been elected. A
differerce of only 97 votes in a total of r240,000 is getting down
pretty close. - , ,
me oinciais 01 me winuow glass irusi. are in an awiui as., xney
formed a trust in restraint of trade and by hoisting prices made an
extra profit of $1;000.000. For this they were arrested, tried and
convicted. Nire officials were fired $1,000 each, and the corporation
itself fired $1,000 $10,CC0 in all. Wasn't it awful. Mabel! Only
allowed to keep $C90.000 of the $1,000,000 made in defiance of law!
Will some one please set a "tag day " for the benefit of the poor
officials of the window glass trust. They have been so hard hit
i j i n 1 i i 1 1 i -i j j i r1 1 1 i
uy Hie lixie txictb iuc uiive icuuccu nie vajjes ui men cuipiu,y ca
from 35 to 50 per ceEt to make good. The price of window glass,
however, remains the same.
All of xrViif h roTYiirrls n t.Tint flip villniTi.nns socialist, wlm InaA
the temerity to offer to pay men to do what other men had al
ready done with the sanction of the federal judiciary, was fined as
much as a window glass magnate, and also sentenced to six months
in jail. But if you assert that there is ore law for the rich and an
other law for the poor you are an anarchist,1 a traitor to your country
and deserving of punishment by boiling in oil or something linger
ing, you know.
Young man, you'll miss the treat of a lifetime if you fail to hear
Edmund Vance Cook at the Oliver Sunday afternoon. He is a
platform artist with few equals and, fewer superiors. He is a poet,
a philosopher ard a humorist. His religion is the religion of doing
good, ard his heart is big erough to encompass all humanity. We
want you to hear Cook, and if you do and then say you were disap
pointed, we'll beg your pardon every time we meet you.
For a coiiple of hours last Sunday we en jo ved the society, of
Strickland W. Gillilan. Say, what an inspiration it is to listen
to "Stride!" Did you hear him at the Oliver last Sunday? If
you did, we know you laughed "fit t' kill," even. though the laugh
eame forth before you could. get the iears wiped out of your eyes-
tears brought forth by the sweet sentiments of his little verses. Tell
you what. boys, it's not often in a lifetime that we have a chance to
meet up with fellows like "Strick." God only makes one like -him
every decade.
. The Traction Co. is managed by men who almost begged the
city council to enact a six-for-a-quarter ordinance. It is managed
by men who insisted that if relieved of its occupation tax it could
continue the six-for-a-ararter fare. It is also managed by the
same men right now. ard they insist that the six-for-a-quarter fare
is confiscatory, although they secured the reduction in the occupa
tion tax that thev asked for. We commend to the people County At
torney Tyrrell's presentation of the case against the Traction Co.
The companv is entitled to a fair hearing ard a square deal. That
it is in trouble everybody knows but it will have to convince the
people that the trouble is not of its own making.
The Wae-eworker will rot insist that the charter proposed for
Lincoln shall be exactly to its liking. But it will insist that what
ever charter is proposed be submitted to a vote of the people, that
it shall provide for a commission form of srovernment. and that it
shall provide for a salaried commission. Here and now The Wage
worker pledges its best effort to beat the stuffing out of the pro
position to have a council of fourteen elected at large.
The Omaha Bee is opposed to the enactment of a law providing
for the initiative ard refererdum. ; Of course f-4 But in heaven's name
what would the people get if every legislature was made up of memr
bers like the burch Douglas county usually sends down? It is
eourties like Poue-laf ir the several state" that are responsible for
the demand for the initiative and referendum.-
- Now comes the rumor that a move will be made to prevent Victor