Newspaper Page Text
Advertising Rates Made Known on Application. I IP ijf'' THE LABOR WORLD Published Every Saturday, established in 1896 by Sabrie G. Aikin. Builncu Office. Suite 610 Manhattan Building:, Duluth, Minn. Zenith Phone, Grand 65. Duluth Phone, Melrose 1-S SUBSCRIPTIONS. One Year, in advance Six Months, in advance Three Months, In advance Single Copies, Cents. W. K. McEWEA. Publisher. EDWIN T. HARRIS. Editor. THIS WEEK'S THOUGHT. A man takes contradiction and advice much more easily than people think, only he will not bear it when violently given, even though it be well founded.—J. P. Richter. PASS .THE JONES "EMPLOYMENT" BILL. "Do it for Duluth" is a happy slogan- but very fre quently is perverted and made to mean "do it to Du luth." This applies particularly in regards to the bill ^introduced in the senate by Senator Jones relating to the collection of fees from applicants for jobs by pri vate employment agents. Senator Adams has stated that Commissioner Hicken is oppossed to the bill and he is therefore doing his utmost to have the measure killed. The Commer cial Club has sent a communication to the senators from this district urging them to oppose the bill. With the evident intention of having the bill killed in committee and if possible preventing the matter from being debated on the floor of the senate, Senator Adams succeeded in having the bill sent to the judiciary com mittee, in order "to learn whether or not such a bill is constitutional." It's the old, old game of hiding behind the cloak of "constitutionality" whenever the welfare of the work ers is concerned. Whatever is deemed to take money, no matter bow justly, from the pockets of the employer and in any way strengthen the position of the workers, is stifled by misled representatives and lobbyists of the employers association. It is because the organized labor movement is behind such measures as the Jones' Employment Bureau bill, "that the Merchants and Manufacturers association are in favor of crushing'the unions. Because organized labor enables the worker to stand alone and secure for the workers the right, to live and to live decently is the reason we hear so much about the misnamed "open r.hop" policy. We also hear a great deal from these men about labor keeping out of politics. The reason the "econ omists and the Merchants and Manufacturers urge against the workers assuming the role of lawmakers is because of such measures a the one herein referred to. As long as^ the votes of workingmen sent Senators Adams, Jones and Peterson from Duluth to the senate let labor tell them where the unions stand on the mat ter of the private employment bureaus. The law as drawn by Senator Jones does not de clare the operation of the private employment bureau illegal. Commissioner Hicken, the Commercial Club and Senator Adams should know this. The bill merely shifts the burden of responsibility of paying the em-! ployment fee from the worker to the employer. This in itself will wipe out the several evils complained of in the report of the Commissioner of Labor. State Free Employment Bureaus such as have been partially installed in the State of Minnesota and which through competent supervision are being rapidly per fected in Wisconsin should be encouraged. Let each labor organization in Duluth and the state have a letter written to the senator from its district urging upon him the necessity of passing this bill. Labor should bear in mind that the "other fellow" is on the job and wide awake. Organized labor cannot afford to be inactive. ISN'T IT A PUZZLER? Simon Newcomb, the American astronomer, who turned his mind to economics and wrote a book on that subject, imagined a visitor from Mars conversing with a man on earth to some such effect as this: "Why is everybody so terribly depressed?" "Because there is a great depression in trade and in dustry." "And why is that?" "There has been a great overproduction of things people have been thrown out of employment, and everybody is poor." "Overproduction of what?" "Of everything, nearly—of food, which is so cheap that agriculture is ruined of manufactures, which are &o low in price that there is no longer any profit in production." "Then the reason everybody is poor is that they have produced more goods than they can consume? Your country is overflowing with goods, and yet you think yourselves poor?" And the man of earth was puzzled how to answer The Citizen. LOCAL LABOR HISTORY. Entered at Postoffiee at A first attempt is made in this week's issue of The Labor World to tell briefly the history of labor union ism in Superior. Undoubtedly many errors have crept in because of the lack of time to verify the records of the several labor organizations in the city and also be cause of other "duties" the editor encountered in pre paring the paper for publication. Duluth, Minn., as second class matter. It is one of the aspirations of The Labor World to gather data on the lab6r movement of Duluth and Su perior and publish it in such style that it will be a last mg BemcBto to be handed down to the generations that will follow. Inadequate as this labor review of the Su perior unions may be it is the beginning of a task that when completed, should prove to the people of each city at the Head of the Lakes the valuable service that has been rendered to the building up of the "Gate-ways to the West" by the labor organizations. The Labor World would appreciate corrections froii any of the older men in the labor movement in Superior or from those who may have access to the records of their respective organizations and would welcome any other Information that may be furnished regarding the history of Superior's labor unions. ••.ft..' v.- '-i if-y~. y.'V.T'. It h-'t $ 1.00 .50 .23 a 3VHJBRE THE WAR DANGER LIES. Senators Smoot and J. Ham Lewis cry out that war threatens the United States. They want an immediate increase in the appropriations for ships guns, armor, forts and military stations. There is no doubt of the immediate danger of war. These gentlemep are even now leading the bold buc caneers of steel. in a desperate raid upon the national treasury. Smoot and Lewis have never failed to answer "Here" "when the corporate interests of America called for a mobilization. That they instantly volunteered in this crisis was but natural.. In such a powder mine as the world is today this sore of fireworks has its dangers. Even.in time of peace these continuous plundering expeditions of the steel and powder trusts upon the treasury, with their accom panying martial ^chin music, are a peril to •everything that is best in our national life—is the blackest treason to any real and worth while patriotism. Just now there ia a double danger in the display of red whiskers and oratory that constitute the aura of the senator from Illinois. Some of the governments whose belligerency is extremely charged with electricity right now might not know that he is the national jester and take him seriously. Therefore, in the interests of strict neutrality, as well as for the protection of the treasury, someone ought to tell Jim Ham to confine himself to scarlet waistcoats, flowing ties and the other sartorial displays for which he is famous and keep the soft pedal on his oratory.—Milwaukee Leader. MANY, MANY THANKS! The Labor World is deeply indebted to the Superior Evening Telegram for the loan of the several cuts used in this week's supplement. The management and editor at this time also ex tend their heartiest appreciation to the several mer chants and wholesalers, and other business institutions, who have so kindly aided us in making this issue a success. We urge especially upon the members of the labor unions of Superior that this edition. be read most care fully and special note taken of the institutions identi fied with this issue. Another labor paper with a "dream." The Indiana polis Union which in a short time has doubled the size oi the paper and considerably increased its circulation has a cartoonist dream "for a daily" and possibly "a ten-story building occupied by The Union." A LESSON FOR THE UNORGANIZED. Frequently do we hear employers of labor argue against unions. The argument usually amounts to the statement that the employer can better deal' with the individual than a group. In other words a greater con trol can be employed by the powerful employer over the individual whose existence depends on his employ ment. It is possible, under such control, for the em ployer to exact almost any hours he desire's at any wage he may stipulate. There is no freedom of control involved under such a condition. From the standpoint of the worker it is purely a contract of necessity. Aesop's story of the fisher carries with it a moral which should be considered by all men. The story follows: "A fisher once took his bagpipes to the bank of a river, and played upon them with the hope of mak ing the fish rise but never a one put his nose out of the water. So he cast his.net into the river and soon drew it fo.rth filled with fish. Then he took his bap pipes again, and, as he i^ayed, the fish leaped up in the net. 'Ah, you dance now when I play,' said he. 'Yes,' answered the fish. Moral: When you arc in a man's power yon must dp as he bids you." Don't allow corporate interests to get a power over you by staying on the outside of the union. Get into the union of your craft and there will be no danger of you dancing to the master's music. SELF-UPLIFT. Speaking before the "City Club" of Chicago, last Saturday, Mr. Frank P. Walsh, chairman of the Federal Commission on Industrial Relations, made the plea "that all the forces which are striving for human bet terment join in an attack on low wages, with its re sultant indecent standard of living." Mr. Walsh has evidently reached the same conclu sion as George Bernard Shaw, the witty Irish dramatist and economist, "that the main thing that is wrong with the poor is their poverty." Charity-mongers and paid apologists for the present system of heartless exploitation to the contrary, we hold that the conclusion arrived at by Mr. Walsh is absolutely correct that low wages is the first, and main cause of all the ills that beset the propertyless class the class that produces, but does not own. Wherever the workers have been able, through or ganizaticta, to raise their standard of wages, in every instance they have improved their moral and intellectual standards. Child-labor, with its resultant stunting of the minds and bodies of the unfortunate victims, is itself only a result, and not an original cause. We could well depend on the love, and the ambition for the future of their children of the average working class parents, to keep the children in the schools and on the playgrounds until they reached a comparatively mature age were it not for the fact that the low wage paid to the father, the natural breadwinner, forces the child into the factory to help eke out an existence. Disease, caused often by close herding in ill-venti lated rooms crime, the result often of persistent neces sity which the inadequate wage paid cannot supply. Vice in its every form even drunkenness can be traced to the meager pay envelope. The only practical society for the alleviation of the deplorable conditions in slums and tenements, in out lying industrial camps, is "the labor union," the objeet of wftich, frankly stated, is to secure mpre pay, and better working conditions. The well-meaning efforts of societies for social betterment of the workers and their families can lead nowhere. "Give us a fair day's wage the means to live decently to support our fami lies decently *we will attend to our own social uplift." That is the demand of the trades unionist. The non-union man is in the same position as a bankrupt king without a throne. The "scab'.' is like the man without a country. And we were led- to believe the range was a unit for county division. Some seem to thihlc that it is really a game to divide the spoils and "iiisrupt the county. "Ail hell is open and the devils are loose," was said by Shakespeare. There are,'those who feel like repeat ing it at this time of the year when-the politicians of various stamps begin buttonholing them for votes. EVOLUTION OF THE W. W. When the I. W. !W. was founded several years ago by some well-mean ing intellectuals, who had found the evolution of the established unions into industrialism too slow for them, it was intended to be the means of uniting thc, workers of the world Into one great industrial union. This industrial union was to elimi nate the A. F\ of L. in a short time, relegate all the corrupt labbr leaders to the acrap pile, and by "direct ac tion"' accomplish what the "parlia mentary" Socialists had tried to do, but had been too slow^jBi accom plishing. A't first the idea of joint political and "direct" action was not incom patible with the program of the new! organization, but the idea of revolu tionizing the world in a short time in spite of the slow processes of evolu tion drew to the ranks of the I. W. W. a lot of impatient idealists, who were not well acquainted with the law of economic, determinism and thought that "direct" action would brings home the bacon, without the trouble of se curing a voting residence, educating a majority of the people to the bene fits of 9. co-operative instead of a. competitive system, or of even build-1 ing up a strong and experienced union I organization, with adequate dues for' its efficient administration. As these impatient idealists in a! hurry to bring the "revolution" took mental short cuts to their utopia, it gradually drove the experienced! unionists out of the ranks and left a jfcb lot of ex-S, L. P. members, and plenty of anarchists, as well as sonio I of the self-appointed "intellectual: leaders" from the professional ele-! ment, together with many nomads, who have no fixed place ol: abode, to carry on the propaganda for "one big union." As the personnel of the member ship changed in character the psychol ogy of the "organization" changed to fit their material interests. Old "Eco nomic Deterrplnism" always gets in' his fine work. At the present time the I. W. W. has a comparatively small dues-pav ing membership, practically no shops: organized industrially under its con trol, but with a large number of un employed men calling themselves ad herents of the I. W. W. The tactics and philosophy of thej I. W. W. has now conformed largely to the ideals of the permanent "out-! of-work" traveler, and it is anarchist ic to the last degree. You may now truthfully call the I. W. W. "The voice of the unem ployed." Either as a voting factor or as a labor organization, using the strike or boycott or supporting their fellow workers with funds during strikes againsts capitalists, the I. W. W. has ceased to function. Its enemies are now the police au thorities and the "charity" organiza tions who exploit the "down-and-out" man by making him chop much wood for one-half the pay that a person who did not ask for charity would demand. Its advocates talk in grand iloquent tonesj off the revolution be ing brought aibout by the "general strike," when, but a small per cent, of those advocating these tactics have any power to strike, for lack of a job. There is no doubt that there are more people today than five years ago who are in agreement with the senti ments advocated by the I. W. W. speakers upon the street corners, and the number will increase somewhat in the next five years, for the reason that the total number of the unem ployed will increase, but that the I. W. W." will ever be a 'factor upon the s'de of organized labor, or that it will ever bs anything but a drag upon the revolutionary movements of the working class, is more than doubtful. The unemployed people do not bring revolutions, but they do become individualistic lawbreakers, and so prey upon the rest of society. Capitalistic society is now very much bothered with the increase of unemployment and the consequent in crease of crime. The captalist feels himself unsafe, both in life and prop erty, nowadays, and the signs of de cay in the capitalist system are every where apparent, but we cannot expect the I. W. W. to change conditions for the better, because it lacks organiza tion to do anything. The I. W. W.'s very psychology is individualistic, and consequently its actlvites are not constructive, but are composed of complainings, individual reprisals, sabotage and revenge for injuries received. These are the tactics of the beaten slave, who fears open warfare, but seeks revenge In secret ways. The life has passed from the I. W. W. as a constructive force, and it has become the wail of the unemployed, beaten man. The Socialist party and the A. F. of Li. are far from perfect, and the workers have much to learn in the matter of securing control of the or ganizations which they have created, but both of those organizations are composed of the economically neces sary actual workers, without whom industry would be at a standstill. When the A. F. of L. calls a strike it has men to come out, and when the Socialist party decides upon a policy it has representatives in the legisla tive bodies to express those policies and to secure at least some measure of the things demanded. The working class has many bitter experiences to go through before it will be emancipated from .wage slav ery. It only learns by experiences, and the fact that'it is having a lot of these expierences need not discourage us in the least. .» CARPENTERS MEET. STANFORD, Conn., March 5.—Fra ternal delegates from New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts attended the state convention of carpenters and joiners, held in this city. A resolu tion wag adopted which proposes an amendment to the workmen's com pensation act, whereby the length of time between disability and 'beginning of compensation shall be shortened from 17 days to 7 days, and also that the rate to be paid the Injured worker during his conflriment be increased Greysolon Cigars are •mild. We practice econ omy with you in our Profit Sharing Plan by 'giving Se it with every 10c or more. New Spr THE VOICELESS We count the broken lyres that rest Where the sweet wailing singers slumber, But o'er their sister's breast The wild-flowers who will stoop to number?.. A few can touch the magic string, And noisy fame is proud, to,,-win them:— Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them. Nay, grieve not alone for the dead alone Whose song has told their hearts' sad story,— Weep for the voiceless who have known The cross without the crown of glory! Not where Leucadian breezes sweep O'er Sappho's memory-haunted bil low, But where the glistening night-dews weep On nameless sorrow's churchyard piflow. O hearts that break and give no sign Save whitening lip and fading tres ses, Till Death pours out his longed-for wine Slow-dropped from Misery's crush ing presses,— If singing breath or echoing chord To every hidden pang were given, What endless melodies were poured, As sad as earth, as sweet as heaven' —Oliver Wendell Holmes. Greysolon Cigars, 4 sizes. NOT IN STOCK. The apoplectic little man pounded the counter, with his apoplectic little fist. "I never dealt here before and I'll never deal here again!" he shouted. "The managemnt hre is rottn. You have nothing, nothing! I'll try once more. Have you any tomatoes?" "No, sir sorry sir," replied the clerk. "What? Not even in cans?" "Not even in bottles." The apoplectic little man crushed his hat down further on his head and bit his mustache until the blood came. He consulted the list in his hand. "I'll give you another chance! Have you any potatoes? Think carefully now!" "Not a potato in the place," said the clerk apologetically. "Ye gods! Well, I'll give you one more chance. I'd like to see the end of this. Have you any sugar?" "Not a grain, sir. Sorry, sir." The apoplectic little man sank down on a stool and let his list flutter to* the floor. "And you call this a grocery store!" he said tauntingly. "No, sir," corrected the clerk, mildy. "This is a cigar store." The apoplectic little man rolled off the stool in a fit.—Detroit Free Press. MONEY on' hand to loan on Du* luth Real Estate at the lowest rates, Pulford, How & Company 609 Alworth Bldg. Opening Display of the in Numberless Different Weaves— Hundreds of Colors and Designs The choicest of Fashions latest pronouncements in new Wash goods will greet you here today. Fabrics that are adapted to all the frills and furbelows of. fashion, beflowered with designs of daintiest colors, pretty stripe effects, dotted novelties and many other favorites of the new season. All can be seen here. "Never before," said out silk chief, "htive, we shown such an extensive range of patterns, while the quality of the materials qnd the beauty of the designs are of surpassing excellence." Come and view this grand display. Embroidered Voiles—White and tinted grounds price, yard, 75c to 91.75. Embroidered Crepes—Shown in all the new tints the yard, $1.00 and up. Printed Swibble Silks—In be flowered designs of pretty colors yard, 25c to $1.00. Wash Goods Dept.—Main Floor. Satin Stripe Voiles—Shown in Tan, Canary, Melon, Cadet, Light Blue, Pink and Lavender, 75c the yard. 37-inch Brilliant Silks the yard, at 50c. STORY W0ETH READING Down in Oklahoma a man went into a store to buy a saw. He saw the kind he wanted and asked the price. It was $1.65, the dealer said. "Good gracious," said the man, "I can get the. same: thing from Rears, Sawbuck & Co., for $1.35. "That's less than it cost .me,", said the dealer, "but, I'll sell it on the same terms as the mail order house just the same." "'"AH right," said the customer. "You can send it along and charge it to my account." "NoiNon your life," the dealer re plied.1 "No charge accounts. Yqu can't do business with the mailorder house that way. Fork over the cash." The customer complied. "Now 2 cents for postage and 5 cents for a money order." "What—" "Certainly, you have to send a letter and a money order to a mail order house, you know." The customer, inwardly raving, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. Bureau of Mines. New Publications. (List 34.—February, 1915.) Annual Report Fourth annual report of the Director -of the Bureau of Mines to the Secretary of the Interior. For the fiscal year ended June'30, 1014. 101 pp. Bulletins. Bulletin 84. Metallurgical smoke, by Charles H. Fulton. 1914. 92 pp., 6 pis., 14 figs. Bulletin 85. Analyses of mine and car samples of coal collected in the fiscal years 1911 to 1913, by A. C. Filedner, H. I. Smith, A H. Fay, and Samuel Sanford. 1914. 444 pp., 2 figs Technical Paper. Technical Paper 80. Hand-firing soft coal1 under power-plant boilers, by Henry Kreisinger. 1914. 83 pp., 32 figs. Miners* Circular. Miners' Circular 21. What a miner can do to prevent explosions of gas and of coal dust, by G. S. Rice. 1915. 24 pp Note.—Only a limited supply of these publications is available for free distribution, and applicants are asked to cooperate in insuring" an equitable distribution by selecting .publications that are ot espe cial interest. Requests for all papers can not be granted without satisfactory reason. Publications should be ordered by number and title. Applications should be addressed to the Director of the Bu reau, of Mines, Washington, D. C. POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT. Hairdressing aid Manuring Inserted by W. A. Hicken. Amount to be. paid $5.25. Parlors^ Second Floor. Expert- operators in attendance, Seeded Voiles—In pretty soft colorings yard, 39c and up. Belgian Stripe Crepe de Chine-— In dainty stripes of .pretty colors. ,Price, yard, 98c. 36-inch Crepe de Chine—-In-, Batr tleship Gray, Putty, Wistaria, Slack, Plum, Tan and White the yard, 50c, -Shown in pretty stripe effects 36-inch Voile—In stripe and floral design, every con ceivable color the yard, 25c. Irish Linette—With pretty rosebud designs the yard, 19c. Loraine Tissues—the yard at 25c. Polka Dot Voiles—yard, 29c and up. In this vast display are many other new fabrics such as E 6 id re Crepe Voiles, Brussels Crepe, French Ginghams, Poplins, Sew Silks, etc. kept to his agreement and. paid the nickel. "Now 25 cents expressage." "Well, I'll be—." he said, but pati it. "Novf hand me that saw arid I'l take it home myself and be rid of thii foolery." "Hand It to you? Where do you think -you are? You're in Oklahoma and I'm In Chicago, and youm have to wait two weeks.for "that saw." Whoreupo^ dapjtar,&iAa£- 4:he MLCT op a asg'ima -put" the- money lit?-his cash drawer. "That makes $1.67," he said has cost you 2 cents more and take: you two weeks longer to get it than if you had paid my price in the first place."—^-Square Dealer. PAPERMAKERS ARE ACTIVE. I FITCHBURG, Mass.. March 5-—Of ficers of the International Brotherhood of Papermakers i*.re assissting this I city in an organizing campaign. At af mass meeting International President Carey protested against a so-called "dividend system" and wage scale one of the mills, which, he contended," J| is from 25 cents to $1.25 per day under tho prevailing rates. W. A. HICKEN comssuB OF II PUBLIC SAFETY r"V' Candidate for, Re-electpf Election April 6,1915 Registration Day March 9 and 13 zA/') e-