PROCEEDINGS
Trades and Labor Assembly
Regular meeting of the Denver
Trades and Labor Assembly, Oct. 24th.
Meeting called to order by President
Alger, with a large attendance being
present. The attendance seems to be
* much better of late.
Credentials were received from the
Cement Workers and Paperhangers and
the delegates were obligated.
Mr. Edwin Brown, better known as the
millionaire tramp, was introduced and
mude a very interesting talk about Den
ver securing a municipal lodging house
.and asked our cooperation, after which
favorable action was taken by the As
sembly.
Judge C. A. Irwin was introduced and
In one of the finest speeches ever heard
in the Assembly he held his audience
spell bound for three-quarters of an hour,
talking upon the subject of the employ
er's liability law. showing where our
laws are first made good for the protec
tion of the workers, but before our Jaw
makers get through legislating they have
so amended the law that it serves to
only one class of people for good, and
that is the employers. He also urg* d the
workingmen and women to support The
United Labor Bulletin, stating that with
out u mouthpiece of their own. they need
never expect to secure the necessary
Jaws for their protection.
After the two speakers were through
talking, a rising vote was taken, thank
ing them for their fine addresses and ex
tending them an invitation to be with us
any time they could.
Upon motion the Assembly decided not
to send a delegate to the A. F. of L. con
vention. which convenes in Toronto,
V Nov. Bth.
The organizing commit tee ana the ar
Miration board made a report upon the
Hillers’ and Musicians* grievances, which
was received as progressive.
Water committee mude a report stat
ing that they were meeting with great
success in collecting figures and facts
about the water company.
The Assembly decided to give some
kind of an entertainment and appointed
the following committee: Bessie Miller
of the Tobacco Strippers' Union. Sadie
McManus of the Garment Workers, Fntx
Henning of the Bartenders'. Geo. Blaler
of the Typographical Union and I*. J.
Devault of the Musicians' Union.
Resolutions were indorsed condemning
the Spanish government In their execu
tion of Mr. Ferrer.
Walters' Union reported that they
would give a grand ball on November
€th at East Turner hall, and that they
are not sparing any expense to make
this their finest one they have ever held.
The Cooks reported that their Interna
tionai board had reconsidered the action
of the last convention when an assess-
WOMAN'S AUXILIARY TO GIVE
A DANCE.
♦
Woman’s Auxiliary to the Typograph
ical Union are having good meetings and
taking In new members every meeting
They have started a great campaign foi
the label.
*’ They will give their annual ball on No
vember 10th, in the New Duncan hall,
when a fine time Is guaranteed all who
I attend.
I♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
NUMBER MUST APPEAR WITH THE
LABEL.
♦
In behalf of the Denver Allied Print
ing Trades Council. I desire to call tho
attention of every label office, and also
the different chairmen, to a unnnlmouH
decision of tho Joint Conference Board,
formulated for the guidance and instruc
tion of local councils, viz.:
"Decision no. 7.—The Allied Printing
Trades label shall not be plnced on work
subcontracted by label offices from non
label offices."
This decision was caused by a practice
of label offices in taking work from un
fair printing establishments that solicit
label work and farm out jobs (some
times) in part or In whole to a label of
fice, if it is not thought advisable to take
Job in their own office,
ft"' Besides, it is an ndvantago t.r an un
fair offleo to show receipts for work
* done in label offices, and claim that all
their label work is thus farmed out.
* when tho officers of this council are con
vinced the label is often Illegally dupli
t' cated by theso unfair offices that are
♦oo slippery to bo caught, and are pro
tected In their criminal practices by this
l sort of cooperation from label offices.
Isabel holders who do this blindly and
stupidly injure themselves ns well as the
Council, for a little common-sense roflec
UNITED
Labor Bulletin
Boost the Label
VOL. IV.
ment of one dollar was levied against
all unions that did not have delegates to
the convention.
A communication was received from
the strikers of Sweden asking for aid
and upon motion a liberal amount was
ordered sent to them.
A communication was received from
the secretary of the A. F. of L. asking
our secretary to forward to that office
the hours of labor per day. the hours per
week, the amount paid per hour, per day
and week.
Secretary J. F. Bedford requested that
each secretary in the city send the same
to him as soon as possible as he wants
, to send the answers into the A. F. of L.
office before the Toronto convention, if
possible. Address all communications to
J. F. Bedford. Secretary. F. O. Box 1372.
The following resolution is being sent
. out to the various locals by Secretary
. Bedford for referendum vote:
’To Affiliated Organizations:
» "At the meeting of the Denver Trades
I and Labor Assembly, October 10th. 1909.
• an amendment to Article IV, Section I,
t of the Constitution was unanimously
■ adopted and the same is submitted to
I your organization for approval or rejec
• tlon. To strike out the following para
graph: ‘Also one delegate shall be
i elected to represent this Assembly in the
■ Chamber of Commerce.' "
1 would respectfully call your attention
\ to Article VI. Section IV. Constitution.
which require# that this change be sub-
L milted to affiliated organizations for their
• approval and that the vote upon the
, same must be returned within 30 days
and simply state the number of votes for
- and the number against the proposition
j (Vote Yes or No.)
> Communication from Editor Warren of
"Appeal To Reason.' thanking the As
• sembly for their resolution sent some
t time ago in his behalf. The letter Is as
i follows:
"Dear Brothers: Permit us to thank
• you in behalf of Editor Warren of this
l paper and through you the members of
r your unions for your resolutions of sym
• pathy and support at a time when such
i an expression from the organized work
r era was worth more than gold. Mr. War
. ren appreciates fully, we assure you. the
spirit of Justice and fair play which
; prompted your members to put them
• selves on record in such manly* terms
against the tyranny of the federal court
• in sentencing him to Jail for no other
• cause than that he fearlessly defended
r the rights of the workers and protested
• against having their leaders kidnapped
and threatened with death because of
- the sturdy loyalty to organized labor,
i Yours truly.
•‘APPEAL TO REASON."
tlon will prove that a refusal to subcon
tract label work from a non-label shop
will bring the label customer directly to
the label office, the whole profit of the
Job and In all probability all other work
of such patron will continue in this fair
shop.
Another evil acompnnying these meth
ods is the fact that many non-label shops
thus accommodated do not have to or
ganize their office to hold their patrons,
but if this privilege was denied them
they would immediately unionize their
establishments.
This subject has been called to the at
tention of the council quite frequently
and in future will be rigidly enforced.
The label number designated by the
council for each office must appear with
the label when the Imprint is omitted.
JAMES A. CONKLE.
Secretary-Treasurer.
* * * + *
ELECTRICAL WORKERS’ CONVEN
TION.
♦
‘ To State Federations. Central Bodies
and the Labor Press.
t Greeting:—The tenth convention of
• the International Brotherhood of Elec
■ trlcal Workers convened in Chicago Sep
> t ember 20th, 1909, and adjourned Oct.
2nd, 1909. This convention was the most
■ important in tho history of tho organiza
: tion, and one of the most, representative
l evor held by tho 1. B. K. W.
At this convention legislation was en
acted of great benefit to tho Electrical
■ Workers of the United States and Con
• ada nnd of benefit to tho general labor
• movement.
i Tho report of the auditors of tho I. B.
E. W. and tho Certified Audit company
of Springfield, Ills., shows tho financial
affnlrs of the Brotherhood to be in ex
cellent condition, though hampered by
DENVER, COLORADO OCTOBER S&, 1909
injunctions secured against the I. B. E. !
W. by the seceders, and tne books of j
the Brotherhood balance to the cent. |
This report was presented and read to!
the convention by the auditors and unan
imously adopted and concurred .in, as
was the report of the grand president,
F. J. McNulty, and grand secretary, 1
Peter W. Collins.
Every insinuation and misrepresenta- ‘
tion made by the seceders against the 1
officers of the Brotherhood was brought 1
before the convention in detail and dis- 1
proved by the officers, and the conven- *
tion emphasized the confidence of the I.
B. E. W. in these officers by re-electing 1
them without opposition.
Copies of the reports and proceedings :
of the convention will be forwarded to ;
the state federations, central bodies and ;
the labor press.
At this convention provision was made
giving the men misled by the secession
movement, headed by J. J. Reid and oth
ers, an opportunity to return to the fold
of the I. B. E. W. without hardship be
ing imposed upon them, they being al
lowed to return upon payment of the:
current month’s per capita tax.
The fight which the I. B. K. W. has
made against secession during the past
12 months has been made for the pres
ervation of the ideals and progress of
labor against the forces of disruption. In
this fight the 1. B. E. \Y. has been loyal
ly sustained by the American Federation !
of and affiliated organizations.
As officers of the 1. B. E. W. we would,
therefore, ask the continuance of that
cooperation and assistance to the end
that the progress of our Brotherhood may
go on apace, so that all Electrical Work
ers can be brought into the fold of the
Brotherhood and under the banner of the
American Federation of I>abor.
Fraternally,
PETER W. COLLINS,
F. J. McNULTY. Grand Sec'y.
Grand Pres.
IRON WORKS' FOUR l EENTK
ANNUAL CONVENTION ADJOURNS
♦
Legleitner Is Re-elected—Rochester, N.
Y., Gets the Next Convention—All
Old Officers Retained.
The fourteenth annual convention of
the International Association of Bridge
& Structural Iron Workers, which just
concluded its labors at Minneapolis. I
Minn., after a two weeks' sesion was un-1
doubtedlj the most important and suc
cessful gathering of bridgemen in the
history of the organization.
The convention was expected to out- j
line the future policy of the association *
as regards its protracted fight with the
American Bridge Co., and right nobly
did it arise to the occasion. The fight,
which was not of its own seeking, but
rather was precipitated by the Bridge
Co., will be fought to the bitter end. and
no matter how long it may take. There
will be no surrender of principles held
most sacred by every true bridgeman en
listed in the cause, and. judged by the
spirit shown by those in attendance at
the convention, the cause of unionism
has no truer exponents than the mem
bers of the Bridgemen’s Union. Just one
symptom of weakness developed during
the session in the shape of a resolution
introduced by a Brooklyn delegate, in
effect that in specific instances a local
union should be allowed to permit its
members to work for the American
Bridge Co. simply for the purpose of do
ing missionary work with the end in
view of winning the nonunionists over to
the union. What the delegates thought
of this proposition is made perfectly
clear by the overwhelming vote against
its adoption.
Many constitutional amendments were
adopted and will be submitted to the
membership for ratification, and a large
volume of other important matters were
referred to the incoming executive board
for consideration. The report of Secre
tary-Treasurer McNamara showed that,
despite the heavy drain on the treasury
of the organization resulting from the
long struggles against nonunion condi
tions which the American Bridge Co. en
deavors to introduce, this department is
stronger now than at the inception of
the struggle. The membership is just
as large and generally employed under
union conditions, in many instances, un
der sub-contractors for the American
Bridge Co.
The following officers were chosen for
the ensuing term: President, Frank
Hyan of Chicago; first vice-president, E.
A. Clancy of San Francisco: second vice
president, J. T. Butler of Niagara Falls;
executive board. Charles Beum of Minne
apolis, H. W. Legleitner of Pittsburg. H.
S. Hockin of Detroit and M. J. Young of
Louisville.
J. J. McNamara of Indianapolis was
re-elected secrotary-troasurer and editor
of tho Brtdgemnn’s Magazine.
Rochester. N. Y., was the unanimous
of the delegates for the next con
vention.
THE JAPANESE QUESTION.
By C. D. Shields Before Los Angeles
Labor Council.
The subject that ha* >een assigned to
me for this evening’s is that of
local Japanese conditions, as they now
exist within our great s'.ate of California.
I know of no greater subject that is be
fore the people of our state, or in fact
the Pacific coast today than the Japan
ese question.
Going back no furth* r than 1893 and
following the immigration of Japanese
into our country up to the present the
figures from the repor of the commis
sioner of immigration of the United
States are very strikin during the year.
In 1893 there came 1 80; 1894. 1.931;
1895, 1,150; 1896, 1.110 IJ>97. 1,526: 1898,
2,230; 1899. 2,844; 190' 12,635; 1901, 5,-
269; 1902. 14,270; 1903 19,968; 1904. 14,-
264; 1905, 10,331; 190< 13,835; 1907. 30,-
226; 1908 16,000.
Remarkable as are t figures bearing
upon the immigration (Of Japanese to our
country, I do not thiui that they repre
sent the true increase as thousands of
Japanese have doubtless come to our
country of whose entrance no record has
been made. They have come from Can
ada and Mexico. It pas been estimated
that the number who have entered in
this manner for man> years equals the
I number who were admitted through the
custom house. Upon this question the
commissioner general of immigration of
the United States says in his report for
the fiscal year ending June 30. 1907:
. Japanese laborers in large numbers are
and have been for months flocking to
. both Canada and Mexico.
That in the vast majority of cases
their intention t usually formed, it is be
lieved before embarkir-L for the voyage
over) is to enter the United States, the
bureau is convinced. In other words,
these laborers merely use foreign con
tiguous territory as a place of temporary
I sojourn wJhile portefe/ng plans for pro-
I ceeding to points in this country. Re
.! j>orts received from immigration officials
located in Canada and along the Mexi
j can border show beyond question that
i such is the case, while California leads
f the list in the great* st number of these
I I Oriental subjects.
The relative proportion of this Orien
• tal population when .compared with the
• population of our own state, is compara
■ lively small, yet in spite of this, resent
ment is felt towards 'hem very generally
by certain sections of this state, that
• have any considerable numbers of these
i Asiatic people. This resentment is deep
f rooted and is not the passing sentiment
' of a restless day. The Japanese coming
. here, look upon this country a> a place
t which will furnish men w*ith immediate
■ work at good wages, and probably with
I some remote, or uncertain idea of mak
’ ing this their home The immigrant from
l the Orient has livet 1 in a conutry where
■ he has received something like 10 or 15
‘ cents per day for K- labor. He is will
: ing to work long i 'Urs. and is willing
1 to accept for his ibor less than the
• minimum wages paid to the white la
> borer. Certain hand aps that exist com
: pel him to do this. He does not know
1 our language. He > not as skillful at
1 first as our own laborers. He is not sup-
I plied with a large amount of money, and
i is compelled to earn the means for his
i subsistence. The r< ult is apparent. He
establishes a scale of wages that ho can
with difficulty raise ifter he does know
’ our language, and a:ter he has become
proficient as a workman. He labors for
a rate far lower than the wages paid to
white laborers for doing the same work.
The office of the Asiatic Exclusion
League, from estimates based upon the
wages received by thousands of laborers
in the city of San Francisco, does not
hesitate to say that the wages which the
Japanese receive ar« from 40 to 50 per
cent, lower than the wages received by
the white laborers d> ing the same char
acter of work.
This is not the only way the presence
of the Oriental labor r is detrimental to
the interests of the "hlte workman. For
years the American laborer has been
struggling for a shorter workday. He
has desired more time away from daily
routine for himself or for his family. Ho
has so far succeeded that the eight-hour
day is becoming more and more univer
sally recognized. Kom statistics care
fully prepared by the Asiatic Exclusion
league of San Fram isco covering thou
sands of Japanese workmen, it is shown
that the Japanese laborer works from 10
to 14 hours per dnv. where the white la
borer works about nine hours. No one
can successfully maintain that such com
petition as this does not tend to lower
the condition of the white laborer. The
white laborer is not accustomed to liv
ing as the Japanese laborer lives. He
demands better food and better homes.
A single room will furnish all there Is of
home for from six to ten Japanese, and
this poor accommodation would not be
considered as worthy by the most mod
est American workman. Living in such
quarters, working longer hours for lower
wages, the Japanese laborer is a menace
to- the great body of American working
men, and a great menace to the best in
terest of our entire people. It has been
said that the Japanese laborer does the <
work that the American laborer will not 1
do. Yet such is not the case. The bright '
Japanese has entered the lists against '
workmen in almost every line of labor.
There are tailors and there are printers,
there are engineers and machinists;
there are miners, clerks, shoemakers,
barbers, jewelers, office boys, hotel and
restaurant keepers, photograpbers, sec
tion hands, carpenters, painters, brick
layers,* paperhangers, plasterers, garden
ers and farmers, and scores and scores
of other workmen who are Japanese and
they are in our own state of California
competing with our own American labor
er. and in some instances have succeed
ed in driving the white laborer away j
from certain sections of this land, espe
cially in the fruit districts. So they are j
finally coming to monopolize first one i
line of business, then another, and buy- j
ing land and homes and eventually pos-j
sessing the country. Already in some!
parts of this state this process is well i
advanced. In several places the Japan- j
ese not only do nearly all the work, but j
they own or lease- a majority of the farms !
and homes.
The Asiatic can live so cheaply that
no white laborer can hope to compete
with him in the cost of living, and most
right thinking men agree that it is not
best that the white laborer should be
forced or expected to compete with him
in this regard. Besides the Asiatic has j
usually no family to support and no chil
dren to educate. As a result of these
conditions, whenever Asiatic laborers in
vade any field they soon come to monop
olize the farm and other common labor,
and so the white man is driven out en
tirely. This is the case in the fruit or
chards of Vacaville, largely in the raisin
vineyards of Fresno, and wholly so in
the berry fields and apple orchards of
Santa Cruz county and also the seed
farms of Santa Clara county. So disas
trous to the white laborer of California
has this Asiatic competition become, that
just in the past year soup houses were
opened in San Francisco. Oakland. Los i
Angeles and other cities of California, j
to feed the unemployed white laborer.
On the other hand, it is claimed by i
some employers of labor that Oriental
labor is absolutely necessary to the de
velopment. even to the existence of their
industries on the Pacific coast, and that
only with this labor can they resist the
unreasonable demands of the labor
unions None of this is true. Farm and
common labor has never been excessive
ly high on the Pacific coast, and as yet
the Japanese laborer here has not en
tered the mechanical trades to any great
extent. It is in these occupations that
the higher wages are paid, but that says
nothing for the future. If it were true
that our Pacific coast industries cannot
be developed without Oriental labor. I
think it were better that they never be
developed at all. than that our white la
borers should be degraded or driven out
by contact with these Orientals. It is
the stock argument of the selfish who
wish to add to their profits by bringing
in cheap labor that unless they can get
it they cannot keep on with their busi
ness.
The Americau slave buyer of the last
century satisfied his conscience and an
swered the objections ot the opponents
of the traffic in human fiesh by the same
kind of arguments. He loudly proclaim
ed that without the slave trade he could
not procure his house servants and cul
tivate his cotton fields.
\Ve still have the race problem which
his selfishness imported, the ultimate so
lution of which no man can see. And
we shall import into the Pacific coast an
other and a worse race problem than
the South had to solve unless the result
is prevented by wise and patriotic legis
lation.
But it is not true that Oriental labor
is necessary for the development of the
Pacific coast. Of course if the Oriental
is allowed to go there freely, the white
laborer, knowing that he cannot com
pete with him. will not go there. It
would be foolish to expect him to do so.
But if you keep out the Oriental there
is no possible reason why the white la
borer should not go there and receive a
better wage than paid the Orientals. It
has been said that people of different
color and widely separated racial ten
dencies do not live side by side under
the same flag in peace and harmony.
The conditions of a few to whom
wealth has been granted bears little re
lation to the welfare of any nation. Our
nation cannot be higher than the gen
eral conditions of the masses of our peo
ple. If the masses of our people are
prosperous, our country Is prosperous. If
(Continued on page 3.)
DO IT NOW
No. 12
EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY
By C. A. Irwin.
In the year 1890 a fireman on the Den
ver & Rio Grande railroad was working
on an engine which was attached to a
passenger train. Ahead of the passenger
train was a freight train which took the
sidetrack to allow the passenger train to
go by. The brakeman on the front end
of the freight train had opened the
lwitch. It was the duty of the rear brake
man to close it, but he was asleep in the
caboose, and the switch was left open.
The red light which signified danger had
been left at a station for repairs several
days before, hence the approaching pas
senger train received no signal to stop.
The rules of the company provide:
"Conductors will be held responsible for
the proper adjustment of switches used
by them and their trainmen except
where switch tenders are stationed."
The conductor on the freight train hav
j ing been overworked was also nearly
i asleep and forgot the open switch. The
I passenger engine was derailed by the
! open switch, the locomotive demolished
: and the fireman killed.
The widow brought an action for dam
; ages against the railroad company in
j the District court of Denver and recov
! ered a verdict. The case was appealed,
j Finally, after six long, weary years, and
after paying out large sums of money,
which she could ill afford, for exorbitant
docket fees and costs, the Supreme court
of Colorado decided that the case should
be reversed and dismissed because the
sleeping brakeman and the half-sleeping
j conductor were "fellow servants" with
the deceased fireman.
What a travesty on justice: The fel
low servant law is a disgrace to the clv
- ilization of the age. The railroad com
, panv was a corporation and must, there
fore, act through agents and employes.
- It cannot act otherwise. It has no per
i sonality. It has neither body nor soul,
i If it operates its road at all it must be
[ done through the agency of human em
[ ployes. It was the employes in charge
-of the freight train whose negligence
l killed the plaintiff's husband. If they
: did not represent the company, the train
• they were running was being operated
; j without any responsible agent of the
. j company in charge. Such a doctrine is
I monstrous.
Those employes were rendered unfit to
1 carefully discharge their duties because
of the long continued service required of
■ them. That they should sometimes fall
; asleep was to be expected. The officers
> of the company knew of these things;
• the fireman did not. Without fault or
I blame, he lost his life. Although entire
■ ly to blame the company lost nothing.
: Another fireman was hired and the busi
ness of the railroad went on as though
; nothing had happened.
Human life is so cheap and property
; is so dear! In the business of operating
« railroads, if a locomotive is destroyed,
i the company must buy another. Loco
[ motives are expensive, men car be had
> for the asking. If a man is destroyed
- they get another for nothing, and eon
: sider it rank impertinence that they
s should be asked to pay anything toward
) the support of the widow and orphan.
What think you. became of the widow
; and children? Lawmakers and courts
- pay little attention to the ultimate re
sults in such cases. It seems to be taken
; for granted that they should be left to
• take the downward course to poverty,
i vice and degradation.
■ Society. through corporation-made
- laws, takes the bread from out the
1 mouths of children and the clothes from
■ off their backs, and when one of the
number driven to desperation by cold
i and hunger, violates the law of the land
that he and those he loves may live, the
[ well-fed and well-clothed members of so
ciety who have never felt the pinch ot'
i cold and the gnawing of hunger, are hor
rified that the children of the poor are
so depraved.
Let us shift the scene to the criminal
courts a few years after the incidents
above described. It is a cold winter
day. A small boy has stolen a lump of
coal from the railroad yards to build a
fire in the miserable hovel where his in
valid mother is slowly dying. The com
pany spies arrest him and he is brought
before the same court to which his
mother had. years before, vainly appeal
, ed for redress for the slaughter of her
husband. To the usual question. “Are
i you guilty or not guilty?” the boy an
. swers in tremulous tones: "Yes. jedge,
• l took It." He then bursts into tears
and cries as if his little heart would
i break, murmuring audibly, as so often
. happens with grief-stricken children who
• think and feel aloud, ‘‘But ma was so
. cold." The bailiff pompously orders him
. to keep quiet and listen to the court. He
. tries to listen, but realizes little of what
f Is going on. The Judge severely lectures
him on the scriptural commandment
“Thou shalt not steal," but he does not
Incorporating the
Denver Label League
Bulletin
IMOUIJJ rr.,n it: \ J S3
Owned anu published by
the Denver Label League
No. 1, in the interest of
Organized Labor.
hear. His mind is afar off The sen
tence he does not unders and. The un
feeling bailiff seizes him and brutally
drags him back to jail to serve his sen
tence. He is now a convict, with all of
the consequences of that terrible experi
ence. Henceforth he will be an outcast,
with the finger of suspicion always
pointed at him. So long as he shall live,
he will be hunted down by the author!-
. ties, like a wild beast, with little oppor
tunity to live uprightly, little opportu
[ nity for honest employment. Such is
[ the lot of those who have been convicted
. of a public offense. They may leave the
jail behind, but not the record.
Kind reader, what do you think of the
- sequel? Who was the real criminal?
I Was it the unfortunate child, or was it
• those who placed him in the circum
stances that made it necessary for him
. to steal? Would not any one of us have
• stolen a lump of coal or a loaf of bread
? under like circumstances? Put yourself
» in the boy's place and answer the ques
1 tion to your own conscience.
Was it not quite as culpable for the
. railroad company to take from that little
i family its means for support as for the
. child of that blighted home to take a
lump of coal from the corporation that
1 killed his father? The corporation killed
the father because it was cheaper than
i to protect him. The child was prompted
t to take the joal by that impulse of filial
i tenderness which is the purest and holi
? est impulse of the human heart If the
; boy should be punished, what should be
j done with the railroad company? Is the
life of a man and the welfare of his fam
. ily worth as much as a lump of coal?
. That depends. It depends whether the
- man happens to be a laborer slaughtered
at his post of duty by an employing cor
i. poration and whether the coal happens
•. to be taken from a railroad company by
a friendless child.
? “Plate sin with gold
And the strong lance of justice, hurt
p less, breaks;
s Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw doth
y pierce it.”
i The few decisions related are fair ex
1 amples of the thousands that are occur
? ring every year. They are not exagger
s ated, but, on the contrary, have been se
lected almost at random from the re
o ported cases. They have been cited to
s illustrate our system of legislating for
f property and not for men. Our lawmak
1 ers have assumed that the value of a
s man depends upon his commercial rating
; instead of upon his character. We turn
r out with brass brands if a Rockefeller
>- comes to town, but if Jesus w’ere to re
:. turn to earth prosperous citizens would
i- refuse to be seen in His company,
h Emerson said; “The true test of civ
ilization is the kind of men the country
y turns out.” The current notion is that
g the true test of civilization is the size of
l, the fortunes that can be turned out. The
e real business of organized government
j ought to be to make it as easy as possi
d ble for men generally to enjoy life, lib
i- erty and happiness, and as hard as pos
y sible for the ill-disposed to destroy life,
i liberty and happiness. Our lawmakers
seem to have assumed that it was their
v business to enable the prosperous few
s to ride rough-shod over the less favored
t- many.
j The question of obtaining just laws
j for the protection of laborers against in
. juries in the service is closely linked
with the larger question of free govern
e ment. We boast that this is a govern
e ment in which all men are free and
a equal. No greater delusion ever pos
? sessed the minds of men. The working
1 class. In this country, have attained a
1 certain bastard freedom. They are In
i' dividually free. and. within limits, polit
- ically free. They are not free socially
f ror industrially. The question of a Jus’
- employer's liability is but one phase of
3 t'ie greater question of placing iudustr'
turdens on the shoulders of those Who
1 are justly entitled to bear them, and of
i distributing the rewards of labor equit
r ably among those who do the work.
♦ + ♦ ♦ ♦
i
WHAT A UNION CAN DO.
♦
L Robert Glocking. president Of the
? Brotherhood of Bookbinders, sayn “It
- is now seventeen years since the Inter
r national Brotherhood of Bookbinders
? started business. What have we accotn
• pllshed during those seventeen years?
, We have advanced the price of our labor
• from # 11 to $17.50 for males and from $4
l to $7 for females per week. We have re
l duced our hours of toll from sixty to
> forty-eight per week. To summarize;
> We have advanced the wages of our
l craft, male. $260 per year; female, $159
5 per year, a reduction in hours of one
t fifth, or 312 per year, equal in value to a
» further Increase in wages of one-flftb, or
t a total advantage of $312 for male and
t $187 for female "