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DENVER LABOR BULLETIN Covers the Labor Field Like the Dew ENDORSED AS THE OFFICIAL PAPER OF THE COLORADO STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR AND DENVER TRADES AND LABOR ASSEMBLY VOL. XIII. THE NEW POLITICAL LABOR PARTY ABSORBING TOPIC IN WASHINGTON In the Coming Reconstruction and Readjustment, Concerted Politi cal Action of the Workers Will Be More Necessary Than Ever Before to Bring About the Desired Results. By LAURENCE TODD. (HptrUl Uilrf The l>rovor L»k«f BalMta.) Washington, D»*c. 20.—Out of the first ISo local unions affiliated with the Chicago Federation of Labor to take a referendum vote upon the es tablishment of the Independent party with a complete and permanent precinct organisation, and supporting "labor's Fourteen Points" as its plat form, only eight or nine have failed to give it their approval. That is the word brought here by Secretary Ed. Nock»*ls. who Is one of the prime mov er* In tht plan A similar referendum is now being taken by lb* Illinois State Federation of Labor among all] Its affiliated locals and central bodies, since the convention of the State Fed eration voted unanimously to organ isc the political movement thruout the entire state "If we have guessed right as to what the membership will do," said Nockels, "we shall win the spring « ampaign for control of the municipal 1 government of Chicago. If we have guessed wrong, then we who started this movement have lost our heads The organized labor movement of Chi cago has enough \otes to win when ever It gets ready to cast them for , Its own candidates. We have pro posed a program a platform. We have asked the membership to stand together for that program. If they do. as we believe they will, then our judgment will have been endorsed. We thought the membership of the unions were ready to act. The refer endum thus far seem* to show we were right." Among the other tig industrial cen ters that have followed tho lead of Chicago in this regard. Detroit may now be counted. Its central labor body has endorsed the plan "in prin ctple," and has ordered that a pro gram be drafted and submitted for discusskm. There are unofficial re porta that similar action has been voted In a number of Middle Western cities during the past week, while the workers in the Eastern region where most of the war industries were lo cated seem to be awaiting only the last hours of the National War Labor itoard to Join the political movement. That the country Is about to witness a tremendous increase in the sclf-de t• rininntion of labor, politically as well as industrially, and that all the old landmarks of labor's power will be left behind, was the warning delivered to a meeting of nearly a hundred public officials, labor officials, and moderate liberals of various sorts, yesterday, by Charles Edward Russell of the Amer ican Alliance of l,abor and Denioc racy. The occasion was the fortnight ly lunch of the National Popular Gov ernment league, which is calling a big Reconstruction Conference of the lib eral forces, to l»e held hero January !» to 11. Russell was Invited to tell what he thought would have to lx? done to ward reconst ruction In America. "Congress Is trusting to luck." said Russell. "England Is not. In England and In France and Italy they are work ing hard on these problems of demobil isation. They know that It will be mighty dangerous to try to ‘muddle thro.* Congress ought to know that it is dangerous to try to ‘muddle thru’ the turning of three or four millions of soldiers back Into civil life without a definite plan to safeguard them against unemployment. Our situation Is not so serious as England's, but be lieve me it will be serious enough be fore we are thru. "England has agreed to keep every soldier upon the nation's payroll until a suitable Job Is found for him. Eng land has discovered that her working people are not going to agree to any reduction In the standnrd of living that they have reached during the war. Met) in some of the trades have been making dollars where they used to earn shillings. They kave learned to live bettor than they ever dreamed of living, before the war. Their chll dren are getting better food, better clothes, some are even getting music lessons, and then? are thousands of planoa today In the homes of British wage-earner* —a thing unheard of be fore 1914. "At the same time, the jobs of the millions of soldiers hove been tnkeu. More than a million and a quarter of women have gone into Industries where no women were employed be tore the war.’ Women now vote in Britain, and they cannot be put out of their Jobs by a wave of the hand. Industry must be reorganized . on a basis which will permit the returned soldiers, and the workers who have been employed In the Industries during the war, all to be taken care of. The government has got to aeo that that is <lonc, "But the manufacturers In England are declaring that unless the wages come down, unless the workers will go back to the Tower standard of liv ing that prevailed before tbo war, mg uuiv jimmuuu utuuiu iuu war, (Coat Is tied oa Pago Four) A Happy, Prosperous and Successful New Year is the wish of o The Denver Labor Bulletin to its readers SUBSCRIPTION (?1 KA PBB Till «pl.dU TEXTILE WORKERS WANT EIGHT HOURS ORGANIZATION IS THEIR ONLY SALVATION. , Legislation tn Shorten Hours of La bor Has Not Proven the Suc cess Anticipated and Work ers Must Look to New Remedies. That our eight-hour day can only , be obtained through the organization of the workers and not their legisla tion becomes plainer every day. The ' United Textile Workers <>f America have just issued a circular letter to j their membership explaining that their only safeguard for better work ' ing conditions depends upon organi zation. The letter reads as follows: New York. Dec. 18, 1918. Dear Sir and Brother: At the convention of the United Textile Workers of America, held in New York City during the wee* be ginning November 18, 191©, a resolu tion was unanimously adopted to , make a demand on all employers for i an eight-hour day for textile workers to go into effect February 3rd, 1919. We reahre that if we depend upon legislation to secure a shorter work day for the hundreds of thousanus of women and children employed in the textile industry, the eight-hour day will never come. Even if su:h law were secured by Federal Legislation, it would undoubtedly meet the same fate as the National Child Labor Law which was recently declared unconsti tutional by the Supreme Court of the Unites! States. The United Textile Worker* of America are therefore determined to depend upon their economic efforts, backed up by the co-operation of the Trade Union Movement of the coun try, and its friends, to briftg about this humane and ideal work day for all those employed in the textile mills in the country. Working behind walls where in many places the sunshine never pene trates and where fresh air is shut out by closed under hygenic con ditions that are not always conducive to health, no one, unless governed by sordid and selfish motives would at tempt to deny that if any class of workers are entitled to the eight-hour day, surely it is the textile workers. We therefore earnestly request thut j your body give this eight-hour cam- I palgn your hearty endorsement and ' support, and we further request that you appoint a special committee to render all possible assistance in this campaign for the eight-hour day for all textile workers on February 3rd, 1919. Fraternally yours, JOHN GOLDEN. International President. SARA A. CONBOY, International Secretary-Treasurer. UNITED TEXTILE WORKERS OF AMERICA. SECRETARY WILSON REQUESTS CONTINUANCE OF LABOR BOARD The continuance of the National War Labor board until the definite ar rival of peace has been requested by Secretary of Labor Wilson in the fol lowing letter to the board dated No vember 21: “While an armistice has been de clared, we have not yet reached the 1 status of peace. That will not be 1 reached until the president’s proclama tion has been issued after the peace treaties have been signed and approved by the'senate. In the meantime many problems of production and readjust ment will have to be dealt with. For these reasons it is desired that the Na tional War I*abor poard continue its activities.” 66,000 WOMEN PLACED BY SER VICE IN OCTOBER. The extent to which the women's employment activities of the United States Employment service have grown is indicated by the fact that in ctober alone the service made more than 66,000 placements for women. With the support of the women’s organizations of the country, it is ex pected that the employment service will be increasingly useful in the fu ture development of the women in in dustry movement. DENVER, COLORADO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1918 Build the Moffat Tunnel by Popular Subscription It’s a Safe Investment and Will Benefit All The building of the Moffat Tunnel in again before the Denver Public. This time It comet* an a war recon structive measure and financed by popular subscriptions. This plan is outlined by Thos. F. Dawson to the Ovic and Commercial Association. Or ganized labor of Denver always has been in favor of buiV.ing the tunnel and is now ready and willing to lend all aid in tbetr power to the project. In a recent article on the s' bject Mr. Dawson said in part: Like others. 1 was pleased at the announceme.it that the national gov ernment had decided to take over the Moffat roa L I do not doubt that the line will be put in better condition for the transaction of business than it has been for some time. Hut, much as the government may do, it is hard ly to be expected that it will do the one thing essential to the success of the road aid the on*- thing necessary in the interest of the peoole of north | ern Colorado. That thing is the con struction of the James Peak tunnel. 1 speak without authority, but from firm eonv‘ ;tion, when I say that the I United States cannot be .depended up on to construct the tunnel. 1 shall not undertake to give my reasons for this statement, but will devote myself to the question of the alterative pro j position that Colorado mi st face the ; problem of tunnel oo .struction Itself — 4 1 not only must face it. but must solve It. While in Colorado recently 1 jour neyed over a lar»e | ortion of the Moffat line and was imj .recced more than I eve.- hrd been before by the vast possibilities of the region be*- CONSERVING NATION’S LABOR POWER Former President United Mine Workers; (hairmar New York Industrial Commission and State Food Administrator. The great war has sent across the nation a wave of realization that hu man life is not cheap, but dear; that labor is no longer to be exploited and cast aside, but safeguarded as our most valuable resource. We have successfully resisted mis guided and unjustifiable attempts to overthrow the protective standards of working and living built up thru long years of intelligent effort—attempts that were made under cover of “war necessity” right in the face of Presi dent Wilson’s declaration to the coun try that no such necessity had ap peared. We are extending and improving the protection of workmen’s compensa tion. We are making enlightened headway toward state funds for insur ing the workers adequately against the casualties of their employment. Public sentiment in this country is de veloping rapidly in favor of universal , health insurance for wage earners, in cluding maternity benefits; and my j own observation, thru long experience i with ravages of accident, trade dis ease and sickness among working peo ple and their families, leads me to the conviction that health insurance is even more important than workmen’s compensation. STREET CAR MEN UNDERPAID. In the course of a hearing on a street railway case. Joint Chairman Taft of the national war labor board said: “Mr. Walsh and I have had a great 1 deal of experience in fixing these i wages, nnd while, of course, we have j made mistakes in the past we are only . * too glad to admit it. If possibly we - fix too low a n»te or too high a rate— \ too high for the conditions of the , company and for the real exi- \ gencies under which the men have , worked—there is this to bo said, that , the street railway men ought to real- , ize thut; but 1 think we have the right Ito say that we have found them under- , paid everywhere. We found that they , had been underpaid by reason of a , situation in the public service com panies that had pressed them down to . something that was quite unjust, ortd \ the general range of our rulings has , been ta bring them up, quite beyond, | probably, what they would have been , had our board not been instituted and , that has brought about a financial sit- , uation ip the companies that is de- • plorable, but that does not make us , feel that we are at all departing from i equity in what we have done in the \ raising of these wages, for the reason \ that the low wages for the men have been the result of an unsound eco- , nomic policy which the streot railways j have got to reform or go to the wall.” , TRACKMEN IN LINE. Maintenanco-of.wav employ os of I the Santa Fe and Southern ’Pacific i railroads have affiliated with the TJnited Brotherhood of Maintenance- i of-way and Railway Shop Employes. I yond th** range—th*- over the top region. In many r* spects it is one of the most attractive portions of the whole, and with the proper facilities it will show a magical development. Tills no one can doubt who gives the least study to the great coal and oil deposits, who investigates the agri cultural possibilities, or who pene trates in the most casual way the wonderful stock ranges hidden away in the valleys and one the mesas. In ail these there is wealth untold, and it lies at Denver** door. The Salt road has done much already to justify the vision of its originator. But it has failed to do all that it might do. and all because of the difficulty of its grades. If this were an iu-irmounlable ob stacle we Colorado people might be justified in acepting the situation. Hut it is not. There is nothing insur mountable about it. Only a single mountain range stands in the way. We have gone OVER the range, but that course has proved incapable of pro ducing the best results. We have got to go THRU it. Ttaa- Is the situation and the time has come to face it. Other Effort* Failed. Of course. I ain not unaware of the fact that effort already has been made to that end. But I also know of the failure of these efforts—all efforts to have the state or the city do the work. I am firmly convinced that the way to do is to do as war done in the case of the other roads to do it in the good old way. as we did when, under the leadership of Governor Evans. General Palmer and Mr. Moffat, we went down into our packets and raised By JOHN MITCHELL. Among measures of labor recon struction now pressing for immediate action is the development by legisla tion of a federal-state plan for restor ing to economic usefulness all work ers who have been disabled in indus try and establishing on an adequate, permanent basis the ihachinery for placing them again in productive em ployment. A congressional hearing was held at Washington December 10, on the Smith-Bankhead bill to provide voca tional rehabilitation for the large and permanent army of maimed victims of industrial accidents, similar to that re cently extended unanimously by Con gress to disabled soldiers and sailors. Public interest in this meritorious bill should not be allowed to lag. Prompt action should be urged upon all mem bers of Congress in advance of the legislative sessions to convene in forty states in January —most of them not to meet again for two years. The way should be opened immediately for state action to provide the neces sary co-operation with the federal government for the restoration of the crippled industrial workers to physical fitness, trade skill and useful, self-sus taining occupations. UNEMPLOYMENT A MENACE. A surplus of labor during the next four months seems likely, declared Assistant Director General Smyth of the United States employment service in a speech in New’ York. "The great danger in the coming four months.” he said, “is that there won’t bo jobs enough to go around; that unemployment will come with at tendant misery and social unrest at a time when anarchistic tendencies are contagious. Let us hope that this sit uation will not arise, but let us guard against it. “The remedy of building public works is not available on a large scale until spring. Hie farms will not call urgently for men till frost thaws out. Building can not for a season be re sumed to any great extent. Chiefly must we look to our manufacturers to carry the burden. But they are hesitant. Taxes are not yet deter mined. The cost of money is high and credit timid for a while. The prices of raw' material and labor are high. The pHxlucer hopes that they will fall nnd manifests a tendency to wait till they do. To meet each of these de terrent features is an immediate na tional task.” The speaker predicted that unless remedial measures are promptly taken the sight of workless, mon eyless soldiers will be common thru out the land, as thoj’ are being mus tered out and giver money to pay their transportation home. This money is quickly spe it. Director Smyth expresses the opin ion that a shortage of labor would be the rule after the four-months’ period. the money without state, municipal or national help. I have a plan. My plan is to do the job by means of popular subscription. This is not quite the way it was done in the other instances, but in the old days the men of wealth did not seem to be so much impressed with other in vestments as they do now. I don't believe that any of the Colorado road builders lo6t money, and I believe that the builders of the proposed tun nel would receive good returns on their investment; but certainly if any of the wealthy men were disposed to come to the front and take up the task they have had abundant oppor tunity. Their failure is the oppor tunity of the masses. Let Everybody Help. Let us common people build the Moffat tunnel and thus open the great Northwestern Golconda to Den ver and the people of the Northern counties. I get my idea from the methods pursued in connection with the Government loans. These loans owe their success largely to their pop ularity with the people of raoderat** or small means; they have demon strated the wealth of the unrich. More than that, they have developed the fact of the public spirit and patriot ism of this class. They have shown that when there is sufficient magnet ism money can be drawn out of un expected places. It has been shown that almost anything can be done that should be done. I believe that a drive organized much on the lines of the Liberty Bond drives would insure the tunnel within very short order. N The Denver Labor Bulletin is one of the brightest and best of our many valued exchanges and is deserving of success and prosper ity under its new management.— Newark Leader. i - SHIPPING BOARD EMPLOY SOLDIERS DISCHARGED ARMY MEN GIVEN PREFERENCE. Rfttimated That 200,000 Jobs are Open In The Shipbuilding: Industry to Be Filled by Returning Ma rines, Sailors and Others From the Expedition ary Force. Plans have been agreed upon by the United States Shipping Board and the War *E>epartment thru which men of the selective army now in camp wait ing demobilization will be given offi cial information regarding jobs in shipyards and in the crews of mer chant vessels that will be waiting them when they lay aside their uni forms. In each of the 31 military camps in the country there are hun dreds of skilled mechanics or former sailors or landsmen with a liking for the sea. to whom it is believed the Shipping Board’s proposition will appeal. Plans for employing these men in shipyards and at sea were encouraged by the War Department and con firmed in a general ottier issued re cently by Roy H. Harper, adjutant general, directing commanders of camps and military posts to take an active part in placing the needs of the shipyards and merchant marine before the soldiers. The Shipping Board es timates that 200,000 jobs are open in the shipyards and on merchant ves sels which will be available to re turned soldiers. Agents in Each Camp. A special issue of the Emergency Fleet News, containing details of the Fleet Corporation’s need for skilled help and the Shipping Board's demand for seamen will be circulated. The Shipping Board will send a committee of three special agents to each camp representing the industrial relations division, the merchant marine recruit ing service, and the combined employ ment services of the shipyards. Each committee will be assigned an officer to assist in its work and it will look after the distribution of statements setting forth the needs of the ship yards and the merchant marine. .The Shipping Board’s agents also will be permitted to speak at meetings of soldiers and to exhibit motion-pic ture films, showing the details of shipyard work and various picturesque aspects of sea life in the merchant marine. There will be no actual re cruiting at the camps, but the men will be fully informed as to how to 5 Cents REQUEST FOR HELP IN ORGANIZING THE DENVER TELEPHONE EMPLOYES The Organizing Committee of The Denver Trades and Labor Assem bly Issues a Circular Letter, Asking Union Men and Sympa thizers for Co-operation in Their Work. Denver, Colorado, Dec. 21, 1918. Fellow Trade Unionists anti Sympathizers. Greeting: It is a fact beyond dispute, that it is absolutely necessary for workers in any industry to bargain collectively for the price of their labor thru a trade union organization in order that they may receive a just and proper compensation for their daily toil. ‘‘Man buys in the cheapest market and sells in the dearest,” is an axiom that applies to employers of labor as well as to buyers of commodities. As an individual, we are not on an equal footing with DENVER UNION LABEL LEAGUE ESTABLISHES NEW RULES FOR VISITING REPRE SENTATIVES. Delegations Desiring to Address the Meeting Must Show That They j Are Wearing Union Label Goods or Else They Will Not Be Granted the Floor. The following circular letter was addressed to all unions in Denver and is self-explanatory: Denver, Colo.. Dec. 18, 1918. To All in Denver. Greeting. In accordance with instructions from Union Label League No. 1, I take this means of earnestly request ing that your local enact a by-law, creating a standing committee to ex amine all representatives from any union who desire the privilege of ad dressing any of your meetings and to refuse to grant them the floor unless they can show at least five union labels on their wearing gpparel. Our principal reasons for this re quest are: First, because if any visiting com mittee from any union would estab lish their right to ask any favors of your local they must first be con sistent by proving that they are not spending their union wages to help maintain some scab institution. Second, because we must use every means at our disposal to steadily in crease the consumption of union label goods. Third, because every union made ■ article that is sold means that much ! added strength to organized labor. If all local unions in Denver will adopt i this rule it will mean a substantial increase in the sale of union made goods. We ask that you grant this request without delay and we especially urge that you instruct your secretary to no tify us of what action you take in or der that we may keep a careful checw on wrhat organized labor of Denver is doing to co-operate with us. Some local unions have never answered communications which we have sent out in the past and we ask a reply to this letter if only as an act of com mon courtesy and appreciation for the work we are trying to carry on. Awaiting your early reply and with best wishes, I am. Fraternallv yours. (SEAL! T. C. GREENE, Sec.-Treas. L T nion Label League No. 1. S. B. T. and O. A. U. No. 14491. YOUNGSTOWN FIREMEN RAISED. Passage by council of a measure in creasing the city firemen of Youngs town. Ohio, from $125 to $l5O per month ends a series of frequent wage increases in city departments in the last two years. From the landlord’s point of view’ the man with a large family of small children is a flat failure. go about getting a job after they are discharged from the service. Seafaring men with experience will i be particularly urged to “sign on’’ in crews at the most convenient port and J go to sea at once, while men without experience will be given special in struction on board training ships. These ships have their bases at var ious Atlantic and Pacific ports and make short cruises to sea while the apprentices are getting their “sea legs.’’ After six weeks training the apprentices are sent on a deep water voyage with crews composed in part of veteran tars. Fearless Truthful Progress ive NO. 22 ■hour employer, hence, he can name the ; price of our labor and we have no al ternative but to accept, if we are not organized. We. undersigned committee, repres enting the parent body of organized labor, in the city of Denver, have started out to organize the telephone employees of this city, which includes the telephone operators. As with the } organization of any movement for good, the committee has been con fronted with many obstacles, particu larly from the Telephone company it self. Naturally, the company, realiz ing that if their employees are organ ized. they must pay them a just and | living wage, they are doing everything in their power to obstruct the work of organization. We are appealing to you as a trade unionist or a sympathizer with the struggling workers, to use your per sonal energies to the end that all tele phone employes become members of organized labor. You, perhaps, have a daughter working for the Telephone company or perhaps have some Mend or neighbor working there. May we not ask you to speak to them of the benefits of drganization with the re quest that they attend the next called meeting for organization ? You will never regret having placed your shoulder to the wheel to give im petus to the movement for the organi zation of the telephone employes for if ever the workers in an industry needed organization and protection, it is the telephone employes. Help the telephone workers to get a living wage. Do your part today and you may rest happy in the thought that you have done your part i# rais ing a group of your brethren to a higher plane of citizenship and living Thank you. We urgently request that you read this communication at your first meet ing. Yours fraternally, EARL R. HO AGE, W C. THORNTON, FRED WESSELL, CLINT C. HOUSTON, JAMES C. BULGER, C. W. CRUM. Committee Representing the Denver Trades and Labor Assembly Address: Rpx 1016. EASTERN LABOR BACKS THE MOONEY CONVENTION (By W. D. Patterson of San Francisco) Word comes from the Atlantic states that the eastern labor movement veil be well represented at tae Moorey conference which has been called to meet at Chicago commencing Januaiv nth. Fully one thousand delegate's will go to Chicago to add to the rrow injr demand that Mooney and Billing*, convicted by means of perjury and imprisoned for life be granted new tnais. Lnder the directin of the Central (-..derated Union of Creator New * ***• ««« represents almost half a million organized workers, has an ac tive committee at work in visiting the unions of New York city, and latest advices indicate that the big town will send three hundred delegates to the Mooney conference aboard a special train to be run over the Pennsytvan a lines. Stops will be made at Phila delphia Baltimore and Washington. *{|f h ? delegates of these cities will be taken aboard. Prank P. Walsh recent vice chairman of the war labor board, has been invited to journey on the Mooney Special as an invited raest of organized labor of New York city. falfmore Washington. Pitts burg, Philadelphia, Boston, Buffalo, and a score of smaller cities, active Mooney committees, working under the direction of the central bodies of the American Federation of Labor am at work to insure big delegations from their respective communities. Gigan tic meetings are being held to thoroughly arouse the union member ship to the necessity of making the Chicago conference the greatest as semblage of the rank ami file ofrbdkor ever held. Prohibition will come into effect in Florida January 1, 1919; in Wyoming January 1, 19S0; in Ohio, May 27, 1919; and went into effect in Nevada November 5, 1918.