St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-06
URGED TO ORGANIZE.
The Advantage Of Federation
Portrayed to an Open Labor
Meeting.

The Advantage of Federation
Portrayed to an Open Labor
Meeting.
The organization of labor assemblies
and the federation of the producing
elements of the country were the mat
terS for discussion at Labor hall last
evening. 1t is a custom among the
labor organizations to hold open
monthly meetings for gem
eral discussion of questions inter
eSting to laboring people. Such
1t was expected that several persons
from Minneapolis would be present to
discuss the questions announced, and
the hall was consequently completely
filled. The audience was not, diSap-
pointed. however, though Miss Eva Nc
Donald was the only speaker present.
After speaking n half hour she, upon
invitation, spoke another hour, and was
called upon third time to answer ques-
tons.
Capital controls the resources Of the
country, but you control the labor nee
eSSary to utilize those resources, was q
pertinent expression of the speaker,
which was illustrated by pictures of the
y,
the pinerieS and other instances Oh the
one hand and the results Of demands
for reduced hours of labor and wages
on the other hand. Other points made
were that wages are not regulated so
much by the amount necessary to de-
Gently support the wOrkingmen and their
families as it is by the number of peo-
ple-statisties showing that there were
over 100000 idle Workmen in the year
1889. Franklin said 100 years ago that
the entire work necessarily to be done
could be performed by the working
people engaged only four hours day.
With the present facilities of machinery
the necessary work only requires por-
ton of the laborers, and the tendency
was to reduce wages as low as competi-
ton of laborerS would bring it. TO
counterfeit the combination of employ
ers in reducing the wages and then
discharging the labOrer if he did not
choose to continue work at the re-
dueed price, il is necessary TO organize
labor assemblies and federation of
iab0rerS and producers, to resist the
continued reduction of wages and the
displacement Of employees. Not only
the employers, but those who are not
such, as for instance the lawyer, the
physician and even the ministers had
tnCll WHY ilDlGu6 DfO-
| dncers? They certainly have right to
confer with each other for the purpose
of bettering their condition. 1t is true.
| they can 60 to the other classes of peo-
! pie for advice; for instance the min
lister, and whilst there were excep-
| ton, yet nine out of ten of the
| clergy would say in effect 1.-THE poor we
| always have with u.s." but be patient
| and forbearing. Away Off there in the
| future there is a beautiful heaven wait
! ing for you. Miss Mcdonald said she
| believed that God made the blue heay-
ems, the green fields and the beautiful
flowers. but did not believe that he in
tended the money barons of this earth
TO Cypress the laboring people. She
| said the prejudice against labor organ-
| iZations at first was so strong that
! they had to meet IN secret, but
| the prejudice is now removed
| to the extent that EMPLOYERS
| are willing TO confer with the aSsemb-
| lies. In some cases they had been
| feared and in others respected. Among
| the benefits derived from a federation
would be ayerting strikes, because
| arrangements could be made by repre-
! sentatiyes OF the employer and the most
| intelligent among the producing class.
| Farmers, said she, were at one time the
| most independent. bur now the most
helpless of the producers. and they need
| to more thoroughly organize by fed
! Grating with all classes of laborers.
| The phiIanthropist desires to see the
| condition of the W0rkingmen Improved