The Butler County press. [volume], December 26, 1913, Image 1

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VOL. XIII. NO. 38
LESSONS Iif EXPERIENCE.
Only the Bitter Pangs of Defeat Show
ed Organized Labor Wherein It Erred.
Hasty and HI Advised Action Brought
Ita Own Reproof.
From Its beginning the trade union
movement has wltnesaed the launch
ing of other types of labor organisa
tions, which enthusiastic and Inexperi
enced men expected would replace It
•nd enable the workmen to secure the
fall measure of Industrial and eoo
nornlc Justice through one rapid and
revolutionary stroke. There has al
ways been something connected with
the extravagant promises and the nov
elty of the doctrines and policies of
the leaders
of
ROAD TO SUCCESS
Experience and not theory has been
the teacher of the men and women
who form the backbone of our move
ment. and it is the lessons learned in
this school, the lessons learned from
hasty and ill advised strikes, failure
to consider problems fully before un
dertaking their solution, overlooking
the necessity for discipline and sound
financial systems which has kept
them from being carried away by the
noisy appeals of those who have en
deavored to lead them into other labor
movements in the Industrial field.
TRADE UNIONISM PROFITED BY ITS EARLY MISTAKES.
them* movements which
attracted the uninformed and those
Who were naturally Inclined to allow
others to do their thinking for them,
and more than one such movement has
gained considerable temporary head
way before llsanter overtook it and its
lenders proved their inability to make
good, which, while not any proof of
the correctness or error of their doc
trines, was at least evidence that they
lacked the ability and capacity to apply
them successfully.
Through ull the years that the trade
OSiou movement has existed It has had
to contend dally with forces which
were bitterly opposed to Its existence
and to encounter the problems created
by the introduction of machinery and
the rapid changes taking place in meth
ods of production.
It has been forced to be constantly
on the alert, like an army continually
tn the field, facing the possibility of
battle on every day of its march. It Is
these experiences which have made the
trade union movement practical in its
affairs above all other things and de
veloped men who are trained by ex
perience to assume responsible posi
tions.
Great oaks do not grow from acorns
In a day neither do men acquire
knowledge without study and experi
ence. What we have as policies and
methods in our trade union move
ment w»"v not formed overnight nei
ther did they spring fully developed
from the mind of some genius. They
are the result of years of experience
on the part of minions of workmen
who have been continuously engaged
in an effort to Improve their condition
and who from the beginning have been
forced to deal with practical questions
which affected their daily labor and
their standard of living. Gradually
and steadily they" have been building
op their organisations, profiting by
their experience. Many of the lessons
they have learned have been expensive
ones, but they have been worth the
price paid for them, great as it may
have been, for they have learned to
carry on their movement along such
practical lines that It can no longer be
endangered by passing efforts to or
ganize other industrial organizations
founded on visionary schemes.—Mov
ers' Journal.
8eoretary Morrison's Report
In his annual report Secretary
Frank Morrison of the American Fed
eration of Labor says: "it is with sat
isfaction that 1 report at the close of
this fiscal year $10.r.063.05 In the treas
ury. Of this amount on hand $84,
024.82 is In the defense fund for the
local trade and federal labor unions
and can be used to pay benefits only
In case of a strike or lockout of the
members of these local unions. The
balance, $20,188.23, In in the general
fund. Of that fund only $13,192.74 la
available for the general expenses of
the American Federation of Labor.
The balance. $0,945.49. is In the fund
created by the one cent assessment
levied Aug. 4. 1913. to defray expenses
of appeals In the United Hatters and
contempt cases The total receipts
from all source* are $244,292.04. The
total expenses are $258,702.92. which
makes an excess of expenditures over
receipts of $14,410.88."
Business and Poetry.
Not every one can successfully com
bine banking and literature, as did
Lord Avebury. William Sharp (Fiona
MacLeod) attempted It when a clerk in
the London office of the Bank of Mel
bourne, with the result that the man
ager quickly gave him choice of ac
ceptlng an agency in an out of the way
place in Australia or quitting the serv
ice. Sharp took French leave for a
day In order to think the matter over
and went intq the country to hear the
cuckoo. Next day the manager de
manded angrily why he had been ab
sent from his post. Sharp explained.
"We can't do with one who puts the
call of a cuckoo before his business,"
said the chief coldly. and—Sharp left
the baAk.—Tendon Chronicle.
PURPOSE OF UNIONS.
Organized Labor Demands the RigHft to
Put a Price on Toil.
To secure for rli* workers an im
proved eouditlou under whUh to work
and a more equul Mhnre of the products
of toll for the workers is rhe purpose
for which the trade unions have been
organized, says the Tubucro Worker.
There wax no simple fun. uo fancy
Idea woven into the work of organis
ing the wage earners Into a protective
asHocntion. The realization of the ne
cessity for an instrument of protection
grew up under the hardest kind of
trials by those In whose minds the con
ception took place.
A brief review of some of the early
history of guilds and later the trade
unions will prove that it took men of
stout hourt and at times stout frames
to uphold and stand by the principles
that had%een grouped In the early as
sociations of artiHuns. and many a
member of the«e associations suffered
severe penalties for their adherence to
the vows that hud been taken to sup
port at all hazard* the underlying
principles of the associations of the
workers who had been forced to or
ganize by reason of the brutal treat
ment that was meted out to the wage
earners of those days.
Since the days of the secret guilds,
when it was unlawful for the workers
even to meet and discuss the condi
tions under which they had to work
or the pay they were getting, the proc
ess of evolution has been steadily at
work, aud an the years went by condi
tions were bettered by condescension
here and by force of circumstances
there until the workers got strong
enough to have an Influence on legis
lation. to cause the repeal of some of
the laws of feudal times, which held
men as serfs and chattels, subject al
most entirely to the will of the mas
terg.
Next was wruug from the employing
class by forces from many sides the
recognition of the right to organise
and protect the organization after It
had been institute, and now we are In
the thick of the tight for rights that
give the incentive for organisation
and the right of peaceful assembly and
collective bargaining for the workers
In the Bale of the only thing they have
to tell, which is their labor.
HINDU LABOR BARRED.
Commissioner Caminetti Heade Off a
Threatened Invasion.
Immigration officials of the United
States are busy with efforts to frus
trate the plans of a secret organisation,
with headquarters at Manila, to flood
the Pacific coast states with Hindu
laborers, according to Anthony Cami
netti, eommlBuloner general of Immi
gration
Advices had reached the Immigra
tion service, Mr. Caminetti said, that
arrangements had been made at Ma
nila to send East Indians from the
Philippines across the Pacific with cer
tificates obtained from the Insular gov
ernment. On the strength of such cer
tificates a party of five Hindus gained
admission to the United Statea at San
Francisco, establishing a precedent, he
said, nnd preparations were made Im
mediately for sending forward many
laborers in the same way
The American Immigration depart
ment became active as soon a9 the plan
became knowu, and the majority of
the Hindus applying for admission at
San Francisco were afterward rejected
as likely to become public charges
The same treatment met them at other
ports.
Child Labor In a Tenement.
Marietta was the youngest skilled
worker found by the national child
labor committee In a recent Investlga
tion of the New York city tenement
home Industry. Marietta was too
young to tell what time It was. She
couldn't even count the petalB of the
artificial flowers she handled. But her
fingers were not too small to put to
gether the 1,620 different pieces It took
for the 540 forgetmenots she made In
a day. Her baby eyes could still se«
by the light of the evening lamp to
put the tiny blossoms together, ai
though they could not read the hands
of the clock pointing to 8
The pay to Marietta's family for her
day's work was 6 cents. Ontll the
state legislature of New York passed
drastic laws against It this sort of
thing was not uncommon In the tene
ment houses of the nation's largest
city. Similar conditions are to be
found in every large city and many
small ones In whUb prohibitive legis
lation has not been enacted.
Ragtime Oratory.
"Why do you refer to that speech of
mine as ragtime oratory?" asked the
statesman.
"Because," replied the musician, "it
was written strictly with a view to
pleasing the popular taste."—Washing
ton Star.
Got Hia Lessona.
Brews—You seem mom satisfied
with your wife's cooking than former
ly. Has she learned with time? Smith
—No, I have.—Women's Home Com
panion.
I V K
*s
GOOD UNION MEN"
ii
Many Reap Benefits Who Have
Not Earned Them.
OVERLOOK THE UNION LABEL.
"Confession of a Hypoorite" Puts the
Matter In a Clear Light—How Every
Organized Worker Can Help His
Brother Toiler Qet Inoreased Wages.
On being asked to write an article on
the use of the union label, It occurred
to me that a personal confession would
be of more benefit than an essay.
The reason why any one. particularly
a union man. should be insistent upon
the label may be stated in a very few
words: 1 ought to be sure that when I
employ labor 1 am as fair to my em
ployees as 1 want my employees to be
to me. When 1 buy any article which
la the product of labor 1 employ labor.
The only way I can be sure that the
labor whi 1 employ Is performed un
der the best conditions and paid for at
the best rates which collective bargain
ing has been able to obtain for it is by
seeing the label of the union which
exeivises Jurisdiction over the produc
tion of that article.
And there you are. So if you have
seen the light and become convinced
that it is your duty aud your privilege
to be against the men who are striving
to better their condition in life you efln
spare yourself any further perusal of
a screed which you may find more or
less tiresome If not, perhaps you can
benefit by the experience of one who.
after a considerable number of years
aa a member of a union and consider
ing himself a pretty good union man,
has gradually awakened to the knowl
edge that he could qualify as a first
claea hypocrite.
What kind of unionism is It when a
man contents himself with paying his
dues to bis union, attending its meet
ings when It la not too much trouble,
never kicking about a necessary as
sessment and obeying the laws of the
union? These things are all right to
do, but the uulon pays ua cash for do
ing them, whether we do them or not
If we do these things we do only our
duty. If we do them not we are reap
ing where we have not sown.
In all theae years during which 1
have beeu calling myself a good union
man i have looked at things only from
the standpoint of the typographical
union. To be sure, my hat has—al
most- always had a label in It my
shoes generally and sometimes my col
lars have borne the labels of the crafts
which produce these things. But tn
many cases this only happened so.
The uniou» which control these crafts
bad so developed themselves that In
many cases the merchants sold me the
articles bearing the labels without my
asking for them. lu such cases I bad
not helped any.
But did not when I went to buy
bread make sure that the bakers' label
waa on the loaf. I could, you know,
but I did not. When I went to the
barber shop I did not think to look for
the shop card on the wall. The butch
ers' shop card was a total stranger to
me—and Is yet. I am sorry to say. but
I ask for it That has a tendency to
help, you know. When I went to buy
a suit of clothes 1 looked at the qual
ity of the cloth, and i looked at the
price tag. but I never looked just In
side the pockets for what should be
one of the chief requisites in the eyes
of a man who considers himself fair to
those who work for him
As for underwear and socks and
neckties with the label on—why, 1
didn't even know there were such
things. And yet there are such things,
and I can get them by taking a little
extra trouble to find them.
And yet I was a "good union man."
What do you know about that?
Now, I wonder Just how lonesome 1
ought to feel in making such a confes
sion as this. I am inclined to suspect
that If there were not quite a lot of
onion men like me these unions which
are now having so fierce a time to es
tablish conditions and wage scales to
lift them Just a little way out of their
misery would find their road a good bit
easier to travel.
Look the field over for yourself and
see If there is not some place where
you can help, somewhere you ought to
help, some way in which you want to
help.—Charles P. lngalls In Organised
Labor.
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1 UNION LABOR NOTES,
n i n
i i
11 hi
n u n
i
More worklngmen are Idle in New
York city now than at any time since
1909.
In Argeutlna, South America, the
calling of "scab" at a strike breaker
may be punished by Imprisonment for
three years.
Owing to falling off of business some
of the eastern railroads are discharg
ing men. The Baltimore and Ohio has
dispensed with about 4,000.
Organizers representing a number of
unions report success tn unionising the
12,000 hands at the Lynn (Mass.) plant
of the General Electric company.
Employers of labor In Ohio have
made formal request for the amend
ment of the workmen's compensaticm
law. claiming that It works injustice
Boston Bricklayers' union has de
cided that no member can take any
contract for furnishing labor only. If
taking any Job he must take It entirely.
Thirty-two employers of labor in
South Chicago have discharged recent
ly R.498 men. while a much larger num
ber of employees has been placed on
fcatf Hat or -hMM»
Uui"
I'lLli BUTI.ER COUNTY PRESS
HAMILTON, OHIO, FEIDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1913.
DEMAND THE LABEL.
The man who belongs to a
union and buys nonunion goods
In preference to union Isn't much
of a union man
1 If the 2,600,000 organised work
ers would consistently demand
union labeled products for the
good money they pay out the
present number would soon
reach 3,000,000 and no harm
4» would be done.
Nothing helps more than your
demand for the union label on
the products you buy. It helps
you, it helps the worker who
y, makes the goods you purchase,
and It helps the dealer into be
lieving that union labeled goods
are in demand.
Neglect on the part of union
men to demand the union label
on the purchases they make low
era such a man In his own estl
mstion. If it does not his union
ism has not yet found entrance
under the skin.
CHILD LABOR LAW VALID.
Supreme Court Deoiarea llllnole Statute
Constitutional.
Hie Illinois child labor law has been
declared constitutional by the United
States supreme court
In the cause at issue the court held
that the state was within ita rights In
prohibiting the employment of children
under sixteen years of age In hazard
ous occupations. Moreover, decreed
the court, any person employs a youth
under such circumstances at his own
peril, even If the employee represents
himself as more than sixteen years old.
The case was that of the Sturges &
Burn Manufacturing company of Chi
cago, which employed Arthur Beau
champ as a press hand In stamping
sheet metal. The boy was injured and
sued for damages in the Cook county
superior court. He showed he had
been employed In a hazardous occupa
tion, although under sixteen. He was
awarded damages, and the Illinois su
preme court affirmed the verdict
It was on the appeal of the company
to the United States supreme court
that this tribunal affirmed the decision
ot the state supreme court.
WOULD HELP LABOR.
Former Railroad President Qounaeta
Union Men to Be Loyal.
Charles S Mel leu. former president
of the New York, New Haven and
Hartford railroad, addressing the
heads of all the labor organizations
connected with the Boston and Maine
railroad, spoke of the tremendous la
tent iower in the labor organizations
and said that the reaBon It did not re
celvo greater reward was because of
Jealousy between the different bodies
and lack of loyalty to the common
cause.
"Exercise your power with pru
dence." he said, "and remember that
haste makes wasta Be fair, be pru
dent, be sure, but be steadfast one to
the other. You hnve the power, and
others muHt pay the price.
"I would rather have your good will
than all the salaries that could be paid
me by all the corporations in the coun
try. I would like to lead you, I would
like to advise you, I want to help you.
Possibly the time will come when 1
can do so, and when you call you will
not find me wanting."
A C'ty Labor Department.
A department of labor Is contemplat
ed In the charter which is being draft
ed for Detroit. One of the chief duties
will be to furnish legal aid to workers,
to start and defend suits for them
when necessary aud aid In the collec
tion of wages Another duty of the of
ficial in charge will be to "adjust the
labor market through co-operation with
the large employers. He shall try to
find at what time large bodies of men
are likely to be laid off, so far as pos
sible to Induce other employers to
start new Jobs at about the same time,
and by keeping in touch in this way
bring unemployment to the minimum."
Convict Made Goods.
With stroDR adverse criticism of
manufacturers making use of convict
labor, the house committee on labor
has reported to congresB the Booher
Hensley bill authorizing states to pro
hibit the salt- of convict goods in orig
inal packages Imported from another
state. It Is believed that the passage
of the bill will cure many of the
•vlla now complained of by states
which have prohibited or regulated
convict labor within their own borders,
but whose products Ruffer In competi
tion with goods made at cheap rates by
convicts of another state.
1 1 I I 1 1 1 1 I i I N 1 1 1 I
LABOR BREVITIES.
n 1 It I H-H-HH-H't
Building trade unions of St Paul
have launched a campaign for a forty
four hour week.
Sixty thousand dollars a day la the
estimate of the loss due to the recent
strike at Dublin. IrelanA.
lu fifteen years Boston uuion carpen
ters have increased wages $0 a week
and work ten hours lesa a week.
Eureka tCal.i Typographical union
has a 100 per cent membership, includ
ing every member of the craft in that
city.
Wages of seafaring men who ship on
the shores of toe marine provinces of
Canada are now nearly double what
they were ten years ago.
It is reported that 172 organizations
of employers, employing 80 per cent of
the union men in this country, have
combined to reelst demands for in
creased paj.
TO THE
NONUNIONISt.
Heed the Suggestion of Former Gov
ernor Brown of Georgia.
No more glowing tribute was ever
delivered, although it was uninten
tional, than that which was paid to or
ganized labor by former Governor
Joseph M. Brown in his farewell mes
sage to the Georgia legislature. Mr.
Brown is a bitter enemy of organized la
bor. He looks with serious apprehension
upon its development. He believes that
it is the horrible octopus that Is wag
ing war upon all social liberty. He re
grets Its progress. He deplores its con
tinued acquisition of the unorganized
In part he said:
'The labor unions by combinations,
which they work through Btrlkes and
kindred methods, are levying toll upon
all other elements of our citizenship.
They have organized a trust and de
mand that all other people buy labor
at whatever price they choose to put
upon it. and contemporaneously they
are trying to force from employment
all similar workmen who do not join
their orders."
Governor Brown has contributed
much to the future life and activity of
organized labor. If his speech can only
be placed in the hands of every non
unionist it will add to the awakening
of those who are not yet organized.
The doors of trade and labor unions
are open to every wage earner. Mr.
Brown has told you the truth when he
charges that the trade and labor unions
are aiming at a monopoly of the price
of labor. The trade unionist is work
ing to the end that the time may come
when all wage earners will be organ
ized, and the organization of trades and
labor may be so well established that
the men or corporation employing la
bor for profit must pay the price fixed
by the wage earners themselves In
their trade and labor assemblies. But
those of the organized trades and labor
unions know very well that it Is Im
possible to get so much for labor as
would obtain were it not for the com
petition of nonunionlsta In the labor
market Taking that for granted, isn't
it clear to the nonunionist that the
door of the organisation of his trade or
calling Is open to him and that there
is a standing invitation to become a
member of his trade or labor union?
Every member gained, in that measure
competition is lessened.
Yes, Mr. Nonunionist Governor
Brown has told you some very impor
tant truths. The most important to
you is that those trade and labor un
ions "have forced their wage above
that received by workmen who have
not formed these aggressively militant
combinations." Governor Brown tells
you in that expression substantially
that unions in employment of public
service and other corporations have
forced their wages above those re
ceived In the employ of public service
and other corporations where unions
do not exist It is your duty to your
self, to those dependent upon you and
to those in the same class of employ
ment with you, to see to it that the
corporation for which you work, Mr
Nonunionist, pays to you for your la
bor the very best wages available In
your class of employment. You are
not getting that wage by being a non
unionist Governor Brown has told
you so most emphatically. He also
tells you that the unionists are getting
no more In wages than the Job will
pay.
Accept the suggestion deduced from
Mr. Brown's anti-union message and
get into the union of your craft. Mr.
Brown can't destroy or deter the un
ion. Better men than he and many of
them have tried. Tt will live and
thrive, and It offers to you a haven
from the oppression of low wages.—
Motorman and Conductor.
Telegraphers Report Gains.
An approximate increase of $60,000 a
year in salaries and the granting of an
entirely new working agreement
through the efforts of the general com
mittee, according to a report submitted
by that committee at the recent ses
slon at Reading of the Independent Or
der of Railroad Employees of the
Reading railway system, an organiza
tion of telegraphers, marks the order's
first year's work as successful in every
way. The report was received with
applause.
LABOR'S SHEET ANCHOR.
In these days of questioning
and testing the worth of present
Institutions and of search for
better ways the trades unionists,
too, feel the impact of the pre
vailing desire to "take stock."
Though there have been many
criticisms of the labor move
ment. though It has been pro
nounced too conservative, too
narrow, too Inflexible, too radi
cal. by those who know It has
never been pronounced ineffec
tive.
The labor movement of Amer
ica is not made of talk alone, bat
It is founded upon deeds. It is a
real force that secures for the
worker one more hour from the
day's toll, an hour that can be
spent In the home, in study, in
world's uplift work or In recrea
tion. It gives him more money
to spend for food or clothing it
gives him better, safer working
places and working conditions.
Materialistic? Yes. but a mate
rialism that is surely and contin
ually making it possible for the
working people to live better
each day. to be happier and to
think better, larger thoughts and
then to plan greater things for
tomorrow's realization. The
trades union movement Is practi
cal idealism within the reach of
every one.—Samuel Gompers.
Japan's Dummy Editora.
There Is a peculiar person on the
staff of some of the Japanese news
papers, known as the "dummy editor."
whose sole duty it is to go to Jail In
the interests of the Journal. Whenever
a paper publishes something unfriend
ly to the government it is suppressed
and the "dummy editor" sent to prison,
while the real editor simply changes
the name of the paper and continuea
to publish It as before.
Restaurants Unionized.
The fCnab string of restaurants In
Chicago has signed up with the allied
union crafts of cooks and pastry cooks,
agreeing to use union labor. A ten
hour working day was stipulated, and
the workers are to get one day off
each week. A few days earlier the
John R. Thompson lunch rooms signed
with the Chicago Bakers' union No. 2.
Waitresses No. 484 and Cook and Pas
try Cooks No. 865. and It is believed
by the unions the foundation Is laid
to unionize every restaurant in Chi
cago.
Praise For Women Union lata.
wjiJUvbq. «w»cretarv-treaaurer
or tDe Hotel ami Hestaurant am
ployeeR* International alliance, praised
the women workers of Chicago, "who
had forced the signing of better work
ing conditions by men long opposed to
anion labor. It is nearly time the
men are waking up to conditions,H he
said.
The
i Merchants' Dinner Lunch
I Served every Day I
-. mr '•rj? t»
$1.00 PEE TEAE
Spider Charms.
Spiders, like worms and snakes, were
formerly used as charms to cure dis
ease. The spider was worn In a not
which was suspended around the neck.
When the spider died the disease, it
was affirmed, died with It, aecof4*flff
to the claim* made.
Talked a Lot.
*1 never say all that I think," «be
remarked.
"Then." he replied, being unwilling
to miss the chance, "you most think
an awful lot"—Pnck.
Double.
"What vegetables serve a doable
purpose?" asked the teacher.
"Cucumbers." yelled the class.—Cin
cinnati Enquirer.
Industry Is the right hand and fru
gality is the left hand of fortune.
We know best what we are least ee»
ecious of knowing.—Samuel Butler.
Poverty No Help.
The reason girl's mother is wlllitt
for her to marry it |K»«»r but hunt*,
young man is because he Is hottest, uoi
because he's poor.-Dailas News.
In PI ace of the Watchdog.
They manage somehow to get along
on shipboard without a watchdog, but
they have two dog watches.—Somer
ville Journal.
HolbrocK Bros.
Reliable Dealers in
Dry Goods, Carpets, Cloaks, €tua#)QBware
Millinery. Heuse Furnishing*
foss-Holbrock Stamps with
all Casb Purchases.
Meet him at
f's Cafe
Cor. Front and Hieh Sis.
Lunch Counter Connected
1 i
TRY
The H.H.Jones Service Disinfeclors
Used by all the leading Cafes
and Business Houses in the city
No Bad Odors and Perfect San
itation at All Times
338 East 5th St. CINCINNATI, SHII
Just Bear In Mind
The Ohio Union Bottled Beer
When you want a good Beer, all who have drank
it ar« delighted. Nothing but Hop* and Malt of
Quality are used in making eur
Zont-Heit, Special Brew and Tannhaaser
£So!d by all Leading Cafeg In Hamilton
Ohio Union Brewing Co.
Cincinnati, Ohio
READ THE
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