The Butler County press. [volume], April 19, 1935, Image 2

About The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946

Image provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH

                
mm
[HI
Z.
i
THE PRESS
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF ORGANIZED LABOR
OF HAMILTON AND VICINITY
jiHIO ^tSS ****1
Members
Ohio Labor Press Association
THE NONPAREIL PRINTING CO.
PUBLISHERS AND PROPRIETORS
Subscription Price $1.00 per Year
Payable in Advance
We do not hold ourselves responsible for any
views or opinions expressed in the articles
or communications of correspondents.
Communications solicited from seeretarie
of all societies and organizations, and should
be addressed to The Butler County Press. 326
Market Street, Hamilton, Ohio.
The publishers reserve the ngrht
cation
to
any advertisements at any time.
Advertising rates made known
reject
on
appli
Whatever is intended for insertion must
be authenticated by the name and address of
the writer, not necessarily for publication, but
as a guarantee of stood faith.
Subscribers changing their address will
please notify this office, giving old and new
address to insure regular delivery of paper.
Entered at the Postoffice at Hamilton
Ohio, as Second Class Mail Matter
Issued Weekly at 326 Market Street
Telephone 1296 Hamilton, Ohio
Endorsed by the Trades and Labor
Council of Hamilton, Ohio
Endorsed by the Middletown Trades
and Labor Council of Middletown, O
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 1935
WOODFORD FITCH AXTON
Woodford Fitch Axton, founder
president and chief stockholder of the
Axton-Fisher Tobacco Company, died
in Louisville recently at the age of
63 years and with him passes one of
the very remarkable men of his gen
eration.
Mr. Axton founded the Axton
Fisher Company, and brought it to a
point where it is the largest inde
pendent tobacco company of Amer
ica, employing nearly 5,000 workers
and doing a large and prosperous busi
ness. That is an achievement in itself
but it is the least of Mr. Axton's titles
to remembrance.
He ran a union factory from the
very start. For 36 years the Axton
Fisher has had a contract with the
Tobacco Workers' International Unoin
of America. At the last convention of
the A. F. of L. in San Francisco, Mr
Axton was invited to speak by Presi
dent William Green, and recalled how
E. Lewis Evans, now president of
the Tobacco Workers, had come to the
newly opened Axton-Fisher factory
to organize it.
That is a record worth studying
Here is something more. Axton, as
said, was president and controlling
stockholder of the company. His sal
ary was $10,000 a year—and he would
take no more, even when his directors
and other stockholders asked him to
do so. That was enough, he said, and
he did not believe corporation officials
had any right to take fantastic sal
aries. Meanwhile, George Washington
Hill, head of the American Tobacco
Company, bulkiest of the Big Four
was making over a million dollars a
year in salary and bonus—and other
sums in stock deals on the side.
Perhaps the best idea of Axton's
life can be gained from bits of the
speech he made at the A. F. of L.
convention. Saying that men are pro
ducing fully ten times as much as they
did 50 years ago, he went on:
"If men are producing ten times
as much as they did 50 years ago, they
must have ten times as much pur
chasing power, for if labor produces
ten times as much and can buy back
only five times as much, we are going
to have so-called overproduction, and
unemployment is sure.
"If we are ever to have a return
of prosperity in this country, the pro
ducer must have enough to buy back
the product of his labor.
"If I am unable to manage a fac
tory without taking our profits out
of the pay envelopes of the workers
or chiselling the consumer, the
sooner I get out of business, the bet
ter, That's what brought on this de
pression. There has been too much
'take out' in business."
The man who, in Axton's position,
can talk like that, and who has back
ed all his words with deeds, is a man
for labor to remember.
:o:
A WELCOME CHANGE
Alfred P. Sloan, president of Gen
eral Motors, calls the Wagner labor
disputes bill "most unfair and one
sided," and a law that will put all
power in the hands of "professional
labor leaders." Not true but if it
were true, what of it?
Auto workers now are in the hands
of professional labor exploiters. The
auto industry, which Mr. Sloan rep
resents, is the world's worst social
criminal in the matter of irregular
employment, and is charged by a gov
ernment board with maintaining a
speed up system which wrecks men,
and a spy system that will not let
them call their souls their own.
"Professional labor leaders" would
be a welcome change.
:o:
It is the duty of everyone who is
working, no matter how short time
to give his quota to the Community
Chest.
:o
Give and help those who devote
their time to making the Community
Chest a success.
:o:
It is your duty to give to the Com
munity Chest.
:o:
WHAT NEXT?
Russian inventors are working on
the problem of producing a mechan
ical cotton picker, and are reported to
have made considerable progress
They have already invented and
manufactured ''shuttle cotton harvest
ing machines" which have been used
for picking cotton for several year
in Central Asia, taking the place of
hand labor.
———:o:
WISDOM
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong
Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
—merson.
Junior Meteorologist
Examination Canceled
The United States Civil Service
Commission announces that, because
of tha fact that there are no vacancies
at the present time, nor any contem
plated vacancies in the near future,
in the position of junior meteorologist,
the examination recently announced
for this position will not be held.
THE PROPERTY OF AND ISSUED BY THE
Retail Clerks International Protective Association
A
A
%s
AFFILIATED WITH AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR
THE BUTLER COUNTY PRESS
The Cherry
I I W e e w i o u
Little Hatchet
we tell the truth
about many things, sometimes pro
foundly, sometimes flippantly,
sometimes recklessly
So many things are so very wrong
that we cannot expect complete re
construction in a day.
But we cannot expect reconstruc
tion at all unless the job is tackled
with reconstruction as the objective.
Repairs do not lead to reconstruc
tion.
Quite possibly they lead to a more
complete breakdown.
Whatever may be the contention re
garding the system as a whole there
are major parts of it that never will
work, except for the production of
injustice, without complete recon
struction.
Tinkering, for example, will not
solve the problems of the coal mining
industry.
Tinkering will not solve the prob
lems of the textile industry.
And these are two of the largest
industries in America, counting num
bers of persons involved.
The tendency to cast a mantle of
sacredness about old things persists.
"It always has been it must con
tinue to be.'
What a queer notion this is in an
age that counts its motions with an
electric eye, sends great airplanes over
oceans and looks to the zephr train
as logica 1 latest successor to the
covered wagon.
However, as long as there are work
ers who actually do not want to join
unions, we cannot allege that all of
the blindness is on the side of "employ
ers.
What we can ellege, though, is that
employer blindness is a blindness that
dominates, because employers have
power to say '"there is work," or ''there
is no work."
The competitive order also pits em
ployer against employer and a great
many who would like to exercise vi
sion dare not, for fear of extinction.
One set of employers, hoping to
check the avarice of competition, tell
congress they would like to have the
Wagr.er bill become law.
Another set, devoted to the strug
gle for the survival of the wicked
est, clamors to the contrary.
Unity of purpose exists only among
groups, and even in groups there is
often much disunity.
Not only does the nation not know
much about where it is going, but
it doesn't have any one purpose to
go in any one particular direction.
The air is filled with the noise of
dispute, debate, disunity.
In time, so we hope, a definite
opinion will crystallize in a major
ity, and then a definite direction will
be possible—IF we make it impossible
for a minority to seize control and
compel obedience by the majority.
Even in that event we should have
direction, but we do not want to
achieve "direction that way, and the
majority would continue to resent un
til it could unhorse the minority.
It seems a difficuult time in which
to be too sure of very much.
A great many persons are sure
much of the time, and all of the time
there are some who are very sure.
Some are sure of everything at 20,
sure of nothing at 50—sure of noth
ing except possibly their own mind
and their own bleiefs, but even these
are more than likely subject to modi
fication as new facts come to light.
At the base of everything today—
the ferment, the debate, the desire to
get going—probably is the fact that
the masses of the people are coming
to know more about their economic
order, its good points and its faults,
than they ever have known before.
The economic order is being "taken
apart" in the public mind more than
ever in our history.
That probably is the best of all the
signs now visible. It is the prelude to
the establishment of a direction.
FORTUNE SMILES
On Two Picker Machine
Workers
Ludlow, Vt.—Old garments that
had come in a package from New York
city were being loaded into a picker
machine by two operatives in the
Ludlow Mills and ground to bits. Sud
denly the belt began to spil, and then
the machine came to adead stop.
The workers opened the machine
and found a big wad of green paper
between the teeth, and already cut
into small bits. They removed it and
found it to be a roll of greenbacks.
They took it to the mill office, where
the manager told them to take it to
the local bank and have the bits
pierced together.
The bank's tellers worked for
hours, but unable to complete the
task, sent the money to the United
States treasury to be redeemed. Thev
estimated that the denomination of
the bills would amount to more than
$1,000. The mill manager announced
that the amount of the redeemed
bills would be equally divided be
tween the two picker machine oper
atives. The bills apparently had been
sewed into the garment by someone
who mistrusted the safety of a bank.
There was nothing to indicate the
original owner of the garment.
IDLENESS IN FEBRUARY
ESTIMATED AT 9,898,000
New York City (ILNS)—The total
number of unemployed workers in the
United States in February was 9,89.
000, the National Industrial Confer
ence Board estimates. This is a de
crease of 242,000, or 2.4 per cent fro:i
the preceding month, but an increa
of 25,000, or 0.2 per cent over Febru
ary, 1934.
FIRST UNION
BANKING
PACT
Amalgamated Bank Signs
Agreement With
Workers
New York City (ILNS)—For the
first time in the history of banking
in the United States, a financial insti
tution has signed a contract with its
organized employes providing for a
classified minimum pay scale, closed
union shop, overtime and vacations
The agreement was signed by the
labor-controlled Amalgamated Bank
of New York and the Bookkeepers
Stenogrpahers and Accountants' Un
ion, Local 12646 ,A. F. of L., as a
result of several months' negotiations
The pact gives the bank employes sev
eral important concessions. In the
first place, a new wage scale has been
set up. According to this scale there
are three different types of workers
defined, as:
(1) Apprentices, who are those only
employed as messengers, are to re
ceive a minimum salary of $15 pei
week. (2) Junior clerks, who are for
mer messengers advanced to clerical
positions or newly hired clerks with
no experience, are to receive a mini
mum salary of $21 per week. The
number of junior clerks employed in
the bank shall at no time exceed 10
per cent of the total number of em
ployed. After a year's junior clerk
ship, the juniors automatically be
come (3) Journeymen with a mini
mum salary of $1,200 per year with
high resalary brackets for tellers and
department heads. The new contract
also has an overtime clause which
stipulates "time and a half for over
time, double time for Sundays and
holidays." A further clause takes
care of vacations, ''two weeks vaca
tion with pay."
The agreement provided for a
union shop, the bank to hire all
new employes through the union
office.
The union issued the following
statement: "This agreement although
not the best possible for white collar
workers goes a long way in setting a
precedent for new agreements in sim
ilar institutions. It is the first of its
kind.
"We feel that although this is
tremendous step forward, until the
great masses of white collar worker
become union conscious and begin to
organize, and not to fight organiz
tion, then and only then will we I
A Leader for
able to obtain for these workers far
greater concessions, and really decent
working conditions."
Anti-Fascist Chest
Expands Activities
New York City (ILNS)—The activi
ties of the "Chest for the Liberation
of Workers of Europe" are continually
expanding, reports Dr. Harry Lee
Franklin, executive secretary. An
swers of labor organizations to the
calls sent out by the office, William
Green, and other officers of the chest
have been extremely satisfactory. La
bor chest committees are being organ
ized in many places.
Considerable impetus to the labor
chest drive under the chairmanship of
Matthew Woll, had been given by the
$5,000 contribution of the United
Mine Workers of America. John L.
Lewis, president of the U. M. W., is
a member of the chest committee, and
RED JACKET
COAL
POCAHONTAS
ANTHRACITE
KOPPERS COKE
Ambulance Service
Phone 35
cAsk Tour
has been conspicuous in furthering
organized labor's fight against Fas-
Schwenn Coal Company
5th and High Streets PHONE 23
THE C. W. GATH CO.
Funeral Directors
Regulation
Now Available For All
These "Sales Tax Punch Cards" are invalu
able to grocers, druggists, and all merchants
having small unit sales.
They enable the customers to save money
by paying one tax only.
To wide-awake merchants they offer oppor
tunities of getting and holding the custom
er's trade—in short, they are a real "SALES
BOOSTER."
These "Sales Tax Punch Cards" are made to
conform to the Ohio Tax Commission rul
ings. Made in different denominations.
Printed on stiff bristol. Each card num
bered. Ready for immediate delivery.
Phone 1296 for additional information.
ecca Cafe
38 High St.
Next to New City Bldg.
and Bus Station
Beers, Wines, Liquor
We Serve a
25c Noonday Lunch
Also Complete Line
of Other Orders
Tables for Ladies
H. C. VANNES, Prop.
W.
H.
STEPHAN, Prop.
Robert G.Taylor Mortuary
Formerly
Chairs and Tables Rented
17 So. Street
NONPAREIL
Printing Company
326 Market Street Phone 1296
HAMILTON, OHIO
ji JEI*
#rfg
IfMSr
Forty-Five ^Kears
Grocer
am
Wm life tilt