United labor bulletin., November 12, 1909, Image 1

About United labor bulletin. (Denver, Colo.) 19??-1915

Image provided by: History Colorado

                
Employer’s Liability
By C. A. Irwin.
In our previous articles we have at
tempted to point out some of the reasons
why the laws permitting an employer to
Interpose certain defenses in personal
Injury cases are grossly unjust. Let us
now briefly turn our attention to the rule
of law relating to what are termed the
risks ordinarily incident to service. I'his
rule of law as recognized and enforced
in America may be briefly stated thus:
Where a person voluntarily enters Into
a contract of employment he assumes
all the risks and hazards ordinarily and
usually incident to such employment and
will be presumed to have contracted to
take such risks and hazards upon him
self. This rule of law in its practical op
eration is most iniquitous. Courts have
been ingenious in finding excuses to de
feat injured employes who sue for dam
ages. by finding or pretending to find
some plausible reason whereby to ex
plain the Injury as a usual and ordinary
risk of the service.
This defense, the assumption of risk,
as it is sometimes called, has been ap
plied to all sorts and conditions of in
juries Railroad employes have been de
feated in suits for damages, in many
cases where their injury resulted from
sudden Jerks and movements of the
train; coupling of dangerously loaded
cars; collision with cattle or other ob
stacles on the track: switch rails un
necessarily lower than they should be;
falling Into excavations; defective run
ning boards, on engines, and ladders on
the cars: and innumerable other defects
which have caused the injury in the
thousands of similar suits which have
been brought in the courts of this coun
try. This defense Is quite usual in ac
tions by miners, and is one of the most
common defenses in personal Injury ac
tions generally. It is based upon the
theory that one seeking employment is
not bound to accept a position which he j
knows or ought to know involves risks
and perils and that if he chooses to
work In a dangerous occupation he has
no right to complain. This theory as-1
siimes that the employe Is free to accept
the employment or not. It assumes that
employer and employe are on equal foot
ing; but master and servant in such
cases are not on an equal footing. In
these modern times production and trans
portation nre controlled by a compara
tively few persons. The safety of em
ployes depends upon the employers. It
Is not true that the employe need not
engage in the service unless he chooses
to do so. There nre large classes of la
boring men. women and children who
are compelled to earn their living in
dnngerous work. They nre compelled to
work In such places and under such con
ditions as the employer chooses to fur
nish In order to keep their Job. when to
lose their Job would brine themselves
and their families to poverty and want.
To sny to such persons, "If you do not
like the conditions of your Job you mny
quit,'* Is hollow mockery.
Agnln. many lines of employment are
inherently and necessarily dangerous,
such ns mining and railroading, yet the
performance of such dangerous work is
beneficial to the public at large, highly
profitable to the employer, and often a
public necessity. In such cases the pub
lic Is interested in the work being done;
the employer reaps the profit of it; and
tho employe takes all the risk. Why
should the employo assume all of tho
risk? Naturally nnd inevitable If anyone
Is killed or injured it Is the employe. If
ho is killed, nothing which either the
public or the employer enn do will re
store him to life; nothing this side of
tho grave enn heal the broken hearts of
a grief-stricken household. If an em
ployo is Injured and crippled for life, the
feelings of shnme. humiliation, and in
dignity on nccount of ouch crippled con
dition must bo borne by him nnd by
those nenr nnd dear to him. These risks
of the service in the very naturo of the
case can neither be borne by the public
nor by tho employe. Why, in the name
of common fnlrness and Justice, should
not the employer benr the bulk of the
financial loss resulting from such Injury?
Tho employer renps tho profit of the em
ployment. If he chooses to embark in a
dangerous enterprise, why should he not
assume tho risk of injury to his work
men?
Upon what principle can an employer
ask to esenpe the financial burdens of
personal injuries nny more than tho risk
of Injury to his machinery nnd appli
ances and the general risks of his busi
ness? He voluntarily operates the busi
ness for gain; he selects the machinery;
UNITED
Labor Bulletin
Boost the Label
VO I IV.
he establishes the condition under which 1
the work is to be done; he employs the
fellow servants as well as the men in ‘
authority; he is the master of the situa- 1
tion. The employe has neither choice; 1
nor opportunity for choice, excepting to ‘
choose between working where he is *
placed and enforced idleness. Enforced 1
idleness means starvation to him and his '
family. Surely, no right-minded person
who has given any careful thought to the 1
relation of employers and employes can ;
honestly say that the employe voluntar- 1
ily assumes the risk of the employment. !
Why should the employer be required to 1
replace a bursted boiler or a broken belt !
or disabled machinery of any kind and '
not be required to compensate the em- 1
ploye who is injured by the same accl- 1
dent? Why should he be required to '
pay for machinery, and be permitted to '
get men for nothing?
The harshness and injustice of the law (
declaring that employes assume the nat
ural and ordinary risks of the service ,
would seem to be apparent to the dullest
mind. No one can study the conditions ,
without arriving at the conclusion that ,
the law of assumption of risks has out
lived its usefulness even If it ever had j
any virtue. Many legislatures have at
tempted to abolish this law. The fellow
servant rule which is only another phase
of the same law has been largely abro- ,
gated in some states; others have passed
statutes preventing an employe from as
suming the risk of dangerous appliances
which hre expressly forbidden by statute.
Some courts have even become sufficient
( ly enlightened to declare that such stat
utes abolish the defense of contributory
negligence; but Judges are merely men
placed in office; like other men they are
influenced by their environments. A few
judges and courts have construed the
remedial statutes which have been passed
for the protection of employes rationally
nnd according to their evident intention,
j For instance, a statute of Indiana makes
| certain specific provisions requiring mine
owners to provide for the safety of their
I employes and makes a failure to comply
j therewith a public offense, and the Su
i pretne court of Indiana Justly decided
j that an employe injured by a failure to
disregard such statutory requirements
could not be held to have waived his
right to recover, the court holding that
the state has an undoubted right to re
strain the freedom of contract in the in
terest of public safety, public health and
public morals.
The Supreme court of Vermont justly
t held that a statute making It a public
. ofTense to have railroad cars equipped
, with side-ladders a dnto have posts dan
[ gerously near its tracks was intended for
, the protection of employes against in
. jury from such dangers. A few other
. American courts have been equally con
i slderate in construing penal statutes of
i this nature, but the majority of Amerl
, can courts, if we mny judge by their ut
; ternnees, have had their cars more dell- 1
cntely attuned to the melody of capital
istic smrgestions than to the agonized
, .rles of the wounded and dying, who
have been Injured In their master's serv
, lee. it is not uncommon for judges to
, try to Justify their decisions by declar
. ing thnt tho servant ought to assume the
_ risks of his employment when he has
equal moans with the master of knowing
them. Such reasoning is calculated to
I mislend those who are looking for an
, excuse, but it can have no influence with
, the honest nnd Intelligent. The Supreme
, court of California, in discussing this
. question, used the following sensible lan
, gunge: "The master hnd no right to as-
aninlal Reception and Ball
= GIVEN BY ■
THE DENVER TRADES AND LABOR ASSEMBLY
THE EVENT OF THE SEASON
FRIDAY EVENING, NOV. 19, 09
Cad well Hall
——TICKETS- --
Qents 50 Cents - Ladies 25 Cents
DENVER, COLORADO NOVEMBER 12, 1909
sume that the servant will use such
means of knowledge because it is not a
part of the duty of the servant to in
quire into the sufficiency of these things.
The servant has a right to rely upon the
master’s Inquiry because it is the mas
ter’s duty to inquire and the servant may <
justly assume that the conditions are fit
and suitable for the use which he is di
rected to make of them.”
The position of the servant is one of
subordination and obedience; the posi
tion of the master is one of authority
and power. It is absurd to say that the
servant can not, to any extent, rely upon
the superior knowledge and authority of
the master and obey the directions of
the master in sending him into a place of
danger, or, if he does obey, he can not
recover damages for any injury received
as the result of his obedience. The prac
tical operation of this rule of law has
been to reduce labor to a condition of
industrial slavery which, in some re
spects, is worse than absolute slavery.
If the employer had to buy his servant
he would be careful to avoid injuring him
because it would cost money to replace
him. The industrial slavery caused by
existing employer’s liability laws enables
the master to cripple or kill servants
without expense to himself. If employ
ers were sure that they would be com
pelled to compensate injured servants
they would take every precaution to pre
vent injuring them; they would adopt
the most approved safety appliances;
and they would carefully inspect and su
pervise the work. The public has an im- 1
mense stake in the prevention of unnec
essary personal injuries. It Is the duty
of the state to make it as easy as possi
ble for people to be happy and to live
uprightly. Why not stop the pitiless and
needless slaughter of employes?
j. .a. .a.
LOCALS
LADIES' AUXILIARY TO
GIVE A CARD PARTY.
♦
A card party will be held at Trades As
sembly hall. Club building, by the Denver
branch of the Ladies’ Auxiliary to the,
international Printing Pressmen and As
sistants’ Union, Tuesday evening. Nov.
23rd. the object being to raise funds for'
a home for the care of tubercular mem
bers of the I. P. P. & A. U. The enter
tainment committee, composed of Mrs.
Ritchey. Mrs. Early. Mrs. Seiler and Mrs.
Miller, are working hard to make the
party a success financially and through
their untiring efforts a number of suit
able prizes have been obtained and will
be awarded to the winners.
Tho following prizes have been kindly
donated:
Gents’ First Prize —Gentleman's Shav
ing Set with safety razor, donated by P.
B. Thurncs. foreman of Smith-Brooks
pressrooms.
Gents' Second Prize —Choice of any
hat in the house. Emanuel Bros.. 621-623
Sixteenth streeL
I-adles’ First Prize —Solid gold belt
buckle, donated by M. O’Keefe & Co., the
union label jewelers. 527 Fifteenth streeL
Ladles' Second Prize—Alligator hand
bag, by the May Co.. Sixteenth and
Champa streets.
Consolation Prize—One bottle of Old
Taylor, sherry or port wine, donated by
Joe Goldsmith. Opera House Bar.
Ladles’ and Gents’ Booby Prizes.
The playing cards which will bear the
union label and the inscription. “Denver
Ladies’ Auxiliary No. 6. 1. P. P. & A. U..”
were donated by Frank Pampusch. editor
of the "American Pressman.’’ and former
editor of the Label Bulletin.
Tickets by the Smith-Brooks Ptg. Co.;
$6.00 donated by Chas. Young, superin
tendent of the Denver Post pressrooms;
Local Unions Nos. 1. 14. 22 and 40 took
100 tickets each. The tickets are IS
cents each and can bo had in any of tho
pressrooms or of the cretary, Mrs. T. J.
Ritchey, 382 South troadway.
Through the colui as of The United
Labor Bulletin the L*' ies’ Auxiliary wish
to thank the donato and their friends
who are assisting fthem to make this
event a success.
+ + * + +
TO ELIMINATE HOLIDAYS.
+
The Denver Musk l Protective Asso
ciation, at the regui • meeting held on
Tuesday, Nov. 9th, v -d to eliminate all
holidays from the pr. ; list. This means
that from now on l extra charge will
I be made for music Sun holidays. It was
also voted to make i flat rate for fu
[ nerals whether the baud is taken to the
j cemetery or dismiss* . in town.
Mention also was u.ade of the fact that
there are any number of trades union
ists, belonging to different societies, fra
ternal organizations, ;tc., who not only
countenance the encaging of nonunion
music for some of the events held by
their respective orders, but in a number
of instances some who play musical in
struments accept engagements as musi
cians for pay, ther. y competing with
: the members of the Musicians’ Union.
This is a strange but remarkable fact.
! A man belonging to a certain trades
| union, who would no: :bink for* one in
stant of buying a suit cr a pair of over
alls without the label, but thinks nothing
of accepting engagements as a nonunion
musician.
We trust to receive the cooperation of
all our fellow workers to stop this de
plorable state of affairs. It not only
works a hardship on our members, but
is unjust and anythin - but in accordance
with the principles of good faith and fair
j dealing.
If you are contemplating engaging any
music for any occasii n, be sure the per
son to whom you give the contract is a
member of the Denver Musical Protec
tive Association, or if in doubt call up
i our office. Main 37! * and we will be
pleased to give you any information you
may desire.
F.V LEIBOUD. Sec’y.
♦ + + ♦ +
The Chicago labor unions have com-1
piled statistics or wages and the cost
of living, which are almost startling. :
They ask that tbeir facts and figures
be made a supplement to the report
which the Department of Commerce and
I.abor is now pr* raring on the occupa
tion and risks of workingmen. These
figures show that he cost of living has
! doubled since 1904, while wages have
increased only 2 per cent. The net re
sult is a decrease of 30 per cent in wages,
through the redaction in purchasing
power. In other words, wages of $70 a
month in 1904 were equivalent to wages
of $100 a month oday.
No doubt the ircrease in the cost of
living in the prec ling five years was as
great proportionately as in the period
covered in the in-, ’stigations of the Chi
cago labor union- Workingmen have
been compelled to pay more each year
for the necessari of life, without hav
ing more money with which to buy.
Wages have stood still and the cost of
living has advanced by leaps and
bounds.
<■ + ♦ + +
WOMENS AUXILIARIES LABOR’S
BEST ASSET.
+
The basis of tl auxiliary movement,
the underlying j nciple. is—education.
It is the gather: g together of bodies
that, will become .» force in the educa
tion of the grea mass of unorganized
working women. The mothers, wives
and sisters of >rkingmen who have
been and are wag earners, and who a~e
familiar with ever/ phase of the life of
the working won n coming together in
auxiliaries will If m to act concertedly,
will learn to b< tolerant one of the
other, will learn t think intelligently of
the “cause and * ect” of the condition
in their lives.
When the aux iaries see that there
are six million w king women in Amer
ica they may fee as if the work of or
ganizing these v rkers through educa
tion is a great nr1 pregnant question—
for woman to hel:> in the humblest ca
pacity Is somethin-?. The moral support
you give by your resence at your auxil
iary shows that . au are awake to the
great good you c. a help to accomplish.
Just being a m* iber and adding one
more to the great wholo if that is all
you can do. is something. You have be
come an active factor for good
A union man’s wife who Is not a mem
ber of a woman’s auxiliary is not to be
excused for it on the ground that there
Is no auxiliary to her husband’s union.
When the wives of workingmen value
themselves and their collective purchas
ing power, when they come to realize
that through organization they can be
come powerful allies to the men’s unions,
then the endorsement of the women’s
auxiliaries will mean something—they
will have become a power.
In the forming of auxiliaries each
woman must be made to understand that
—she is needed. No little group of of
ficers greedy to keep those officers in
their own clique can make a successful
auxiliary—nor can there be a healthy
growth of the movement unless the mot
to be foy the good of the whole. The
spirit of selfish ambition to outshine the
other auxiliaries. The auxiliary move
ment must be one for all, all for one.
The benefits to be derived are so great
that mighty few men will fail to grasp
what it means to their unions to have big
flourishing women’s auxiliaries.
Does your wife belong to an auxiliary?
If not. why not? If there is no auxiliary
to your union there should be one!
If you are an intelligent union man,
ask yourself these questions. Am Iso
far behind the progress of the times
that I believe a woman must stay at
home 3C5 days in the year? Do I be
grudge two nights a month "out?’’ Am
I so stingy I don't even want her to
spend a few cents dues to belong to an
auxiliary and her car fare? Am I so
thick-headed, so short-sighted, that I am
the last man to know that there Is a
great collective force called women’s
patronage that is a commercial asset?
If a merchant can be sure of drawing
woman’s trade, he makes a success of
his business. If a theatrical manager
can get the women coming to his house,
he makes a success of his theater. If
an editor can interest women, he gets
the home circulation for his paper, cov
eted by the editor for the advertising It
brings him. If a beach resort can get the
women’s patronage, it will be a success.
Win the women and you win the dol
lars. is the slogan in the commercial
world.
And all this great force, this commer
cial asset so highly prized by the money
setters of the world is left unorganized
by the workers.
The power of the auxiliary may best
he understood by looking at It in the
whole. There are in America fifteen mil
lion families whose income averages
i SSOO a year. The unorganized workers,
i :he brain of the workingmen of Ameri
ca. through their women’s auxiliaries,
; may blaze a pathway of education, that
! will result in the elimination of waste
and through that factor alone, almost
double the income of these fifteen mil- 1
'lion families.
i The purchasing power in the hands of j
j woman is a great factor—compute the
! enormous sums of money expended by
jthe families of organized labor and you
see that these are only a few single ma
tt rial reasons for an intelligent trade
unionist urging his wife, if she is back
ward. to join his union’s auxiliary; and
r there is no auxiliary to get one start
ed, that the education for the label may
show results.
The enthusiasm and initiative shown
by the women of the existing auxiliaries
show what this great movement will
soon result all over.—Quarry Worker.
444 4 4
/Vow, Don’t Forgot
That
Thanksgiving
cßall
Denver mailers’ Union no. $
WILL GIVE THEIK
sth Annual Ball
Thanksgiving Eve., Afov. 24th
At Marble hall, 13i4 Cic* eland Place
Lohmann’s Orchestra will furnish
the music.
A DRASTIC ORDER.
*
The Secretary 6f the Navy issued an
order this week, which, while it does not
directly affect organized labor, it must
concern every workingman who has a
real heart in him. The order directs
that all persons in the Navy Department,
whatever their station, must submit to
an examination, and if traces of tunber
culosis are found in any of them they
are to be dismissed from the service.
We have never heard of a more sweep
ing or more unjust ruling by a public of
ficial. It Is. of course, stated that the
action is taken to prevent the spread of
the disease, and this may be exactly
true. But at the same time, in view of
the fact that the government makes no
provisions for its decrepit employes, no
more heartless action could possibly be
taken.—Ex.
DO IT NOW
rsio. i a
COMMENT ON EVENTS IN
THE LABOR WORLD
Every great and commanding move
ment in the annals of the world is the
triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great
was ever achieved without it.
We want more enthusiasm in the labor
movement in this city. For many years
we have been grinding away in about
the same old rut, leaving what work has
been done to a few officials to do while
the great mass of the workers have re
mained away from their union meetings,
busying with trifling amusemnts that
have resulted in little benefit or profit.
There has never been a time in the
history of this city when organized labor
had a better chance to improve its con
dition and standing than it has now.
For many years we were "inflicted”
with a mass of public officials and a Su
preme court that was ever ready to
"hand organized labor a bunch” when the
opportunity presented itself. This has
happily been changed to a great extent
and we should no longer be afraid of get
ting a rotten decision from the courts on
the working of the obnoxious anti-boycott
or any other labor oppressing law.
Our central bodies should be filled with
delegates at every meeting, ready and
willing to assist in the work that is to
be done, organizing, boosting the union
labels and assisting those unions that
need it. Too long we have allowed our
weaker unions to fight their own battles
and in many instances to go down to de
feat when a little help at the opportune
moment would have given them a vic
tory- The few elected officials cannot
do all this work, the rank and file must
do their part and it is time to wake up
and do it. Attend your union meetings,
attend the central bodies that you may
be a delegate to. serve faithfully on any
committee that you may be appointed
upon, then watch and see what a won
derfully better position yours, and all
other unions, will be in. in a few months
from now.
4
State Building Trades Council.
Three unions reaffiliated with the
Building Trades Council at its last meet
ing—the plasterers, electrical workers
and stonecutters. This was in compli
ance with the order of the Tampa con
vention of the National Building Trades
Department of the A. F. of L*. The
Brotherhood carpenters have not yet
obeyed this order.
The council formerly endorsed the
proposition of establishing a State Build
ing Trades Council on the same lines of
those existing in California and New
Jersey. This has received the endorse
ment of the department and will event
ually be started in all states.
It will have the effect of thoroughly
organizing the building trades crafts and
will greatly strengthen all their unions
by stopping the supply of nonunion
strike-breakers from the small towns
which are unorganized. The plan hav
ing been sanctioned by the parent body,
cannot help but be successful, as the
working cards will be issued from the
national to the state branch for distribu
tion, and not as now to the central
bodies. These cards are sold first to the
state branch for a stated price, the state
branch in turn charging an advance in
price in the local central bodies, which
distribute them to the local unions at an
other advance, this sale of the building
trades card forming the source of reve
nue that keeps the various organizations
up. in place of the system of dues or per
capita charged in the miscellaneous
trades.
The Immense advantage in this system
of collecting revenue is at once apparent.
Every craftsman must possess this card
to work and therefore must pay his just
dues, the union in turn must purchase
enough cards to supply all their mem
bers. The cards are Issued quarterly.
A convention of the building trades
unions of the state is soon to be called,
when the state branch will be organized
and organizers put in the field to bring
in every craftsman working in the build
ing line.
The advantage ta the in dividual work
er will be that a uniform »cale of wages
will prevail, the worker In the small
towns getting as much as those In tho
city.
The building trades, with their uni
versal card system, have the most per
fect form of organization that exists in
the labor movement. The fact that a man
working on buildings must carry this
card leaves no room for knockers, kick
ers and disgruntled members or unions
to pull away from their sister unions
when everything does not suit them, and
Incorporating the
Denver Label League
Bulletin
Owned and published by
the Denver Label League
No. 1, in the interest of
Organized Labor.
By R. E. Croskey.
as all wage scales and conditions of
work have to be submitted and approved
by the central bodies before being sub
mitted to the bosses, it prevents useless
strikes and produces solidarity of action
when the union demands for increased
wages, etc., are sanctioned.
4
Organization of A. F. of L. Hodcarriers.
The organization of the white Hod
carriers and Building Laborers’ Interna
tional Association, under the A. F. of L.,
last Sunday afternoon, will fill a long
felt want. It is to be hoped that they
will be seated in the building trades
(jouncil and be properly recognized in
good faith.
This organization is composed of the
white members of the old mixed local
that is not an A. F. of L. organization.
For some time there has been continued
discontent with the management of the
affairs of this union, the white men be
ing in the minority were given small con
sideration, and the fact that they were
not an A. F. of L. organization precluded
them from belonging to the building
trades council. The new organization is
composed of the best workers in their
line. They have 150 charter members
and this will be doubled in a few weeks.
Their being seated in the council will
greatly strengthen that body and is in
line with the active policy of reorganiza
tion that will soon place it in control of
the building operations of this city.
That Court of Appeals Decision.
The decision of the court in the
Gompers. Mitchell and Morrison case is
only what was expected. It is to be
1 noted that the only question touched on
■ by the majority of the judges of the
court was that of the violation of the
order of the lower court granting the in
-1 junction, the subject matter of the rea
• son or justness of that court granting an
• injunction was not considered at all.
Our courts have become accustomed
to assuming greater powers than the ex
ecutive and legislative branches of our
government so that the mere fact of
. over-riding the constitution and bill of
. rights is of small consequence to them,
i The time to stop judicial usurpation has
. long passed, nothing but a political revo
. lution will do it now.
> The fact established by this decision
j is that a judge has the right to send a
t person to jail without a trial by his
peers. The constitution of this nation
! says just contrary to that. The ruling
- is not quite as rotten as that in the
i Moyer habeas corpus case, although on a
r par with it. Boiled down, the ruling in
- the Moyer case was that a governor of a
- state has the right to arrest and keep in
prison or deport from his state without
- trial any person who in his unsupported
1 judgment is an enemy to the state. The
; fact of holding a person without trial
i being in direct violation of the most
s sacred law ever enacted for the preserva
tion of human liberty and the ruling of
. the United States Circuit court upholding
? this makes it possible for a governor to
» cause to have started a barrel-house
- brawl, declare a city or community in a
1 state of insurrection and rebellion and
» imprison any citizeu. without giving him
> a trial, as long as he desires to. And
i still we sing "Sweet Land of Liberty.”
i Unless all signs fail, the Supreme
- court of the nation will affirm the ruling
; of the lower couris and rule that the
- prisoners must serve their sentence. This
; will give “Injunction” Taft a splendid op
r portunity to "square himself” with the
5 labor unions by pardoning our leaders at
the psychological moment that It will do
\ the most good for his political party.
This coupe—executed and diplomatically
l handled —will be worth thousands of
t votes. It should be noticed that the rul
; ing of the Court of Appeals was "handed
- out" on election day, when it was too
late to have any effect on the fall eluc
j tions. Great is King Buncombe.
The case should be carried to our
l highest tribunal, the Supreme court of
; the nation, and funds should be liberally
- supplied to see it through, but I see no
occasion for hysterical resolutions of
- sympathy or exhibitions of maudlin sen
s timentality. We should take tho manly
1 stand that we will fight It out. Thou
> sands of good union men have seen the
inside of Jails and walked the streets
• hungry and with no place to lie their
- heads, fighting for the union cause. A
t few days in jail is easy compared to the
i latter.
4
Union Candidates Elected.
j Organized labor has cause to congrat*
3 ulate itaelf upon the election of two of
(Continued on page 4.)