The Labor enquirer., 1884-03-29

he CITY," tits not stated that Wood
bury tried to get the union to allow him
% "ratp his news room and keep union
men in the job department; and that
such offers and overtures have been
made to the union several times since.
Such, however are the facts. Greater
mechanical skill is required in the job
department than is necessary in doing
work, and on every occasion
that the matter has been discussed by
the Times men and committees of the,
union, the former have, unsolicited, said
that they could not get as good job men
outside the union as they could in it in
fact that they could not get their job
work satisfactorily done by non-union.
men. ID
These statements are truths which can
be proved, and they should certainly
weigh heavily with body having print
ing of as important character as the
CITY ordinances to let.
The Times says that when the pres
ent owners of that paper took charge, q
committee of the union waited upon
them to see if it was possible to get the
office back into the union, and that. the
committee was asked if the men then
working on the Times would be taken
into the union if the Office would come
back into the fold; and the article says
that the committee replied, "No, indeed,
they would not" This is lie made out
of whole cloth. The question of taking
the force then at work on the Times into
the union was not mentioned In the
conversation. R. O.. Dill, who repre-
sented the Times in that consultation,
told the committee that the proprietors
of the paper had decided to let the news
room remain as it was, but that they
would love to- have union men in the
job room; "for,' said he, Hthere is no
use denying the fact that the union has
the better class of printers in its organ
ization." He also told the committee
that if he ever went back to the case,
he should want to be in the union. Dill
at that time was on the honorary list o1
the union. He isn't there now.
The printers union is controlled by
elements of intelligence and fairness and
it fully understands that it is to its in
terest and is justice to admit every
printer who can pass muster for compe.
tency. Therefore, the printers on the
Times would have been given fair
show, and if they could have been ad-
mitted in justice to the firms who would
have been expected to employ them,
they would have been taken into the
union. If some of them had proved
incompetent, the union would have pro-
tected them in finishing their appren-
ticeship. 1t will not discriminate against
any honest man who shows ability,
because he, through ignorance drifts into
the power Of cheap-labor fiends. .s
A young man left the Times office a
short time ago and knocked at the door
of the union. 1t was opened to him.
And want to call your attention to9
few statements he made to the writer Of
this, when comparing the union Office,
where he now works, with the Times,
where he formerly worked.
He says the accommodations for the
comfort of the workmen in the Times
office was miserable; that sometimes
they were without fire in the dead OF
winter, and that in a thousand little
ways they were treated as if they were
brutes. He said, with reference to wages,
that he worked fourteen hours day,
six days in the week, on the Times and
made from $12 to SIS per week; he now
works from nine to eleven hours, five
days in the week, and makes from $l9
to $21 per week. This Is how the wages
paid by the Times and by the union
offices compare. and the Times people
cannot deny it.
The Times refers to the work it turns
out as proof that it does as good lob
WORK as any other establishment in the
city. The printers union is willing to
submit the controversy on this head to
that test? The work done by the Times
for the state is enough to settle the ques-
tion beyond all further argument It's
most exquisite liars will not attempt to
deny that some of its work done during
the last session of the legislature was
thrown back upon the Office, and had to
be done over by one of the union offices.
They willnot deny that the work COM
pleted and delivered after the session
closed was largely condemned by an i'm
partial and exceedingly competent
judge, and some of it almost thrown
out. These are also facts. .s
This is enough in the way of showing
up the thinness of the Times defense.
Now for word concerning the Trades
Assembly and its interest in this affair
The Trades Assembly has no desire to
threaten the members of the council or
to meddle with other peoples affairs
but it is perfectly justified in passing the
resolutions and in warning the city
council against the cheap bait thrown
out by the Times. The Trades Assem-
bly, represents thousands of working
men and taxpayers in this city-l75 of
whom are members of the Typographical