Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-08-15
WHERE LABOR Is KING.
Capital in Australia at the Mercy of
the Wage Workers.
Laboringmen Thoroughly Organ
lied Under One Head Steamship
Companies Bound Hand
and Foot.

| AN ample exemplifcation on the ty-
| ranny OF labor over capitalji is to be had
now In Australia, said Richard Binnie.
of New South Wales, at the Palmer House
IN Chicago Saturday morning. Mr.. Bin
| HE, who Is now travelling around the
world, is an old resident in the continent
of the southern Pacific, and his large
| monetary interests there connected with
| the employment of labor have given
him an opportunity for gaining thorough
insight into the pregnant question. The
settlement of this question" he continued,
! when the subject was broached, lis al
most beyond the grasp of the imagination
In no part of the world is labor so COM
| pletely organized as it Is in Australia; in
no part has labor SO complete a mastery
| over capital and IN no part does labor ex-
erclse so merclless, so unreasonable, so
ceaseless tyranny. The wrongs which
capital may have IN bygone days inflicted
upon labor are now being rapidly atoned
| for. and if the debt is not already wiped
out it soon will be and the balance found
on the other side of the books
| In the first place." Mr. Binnie con-
tinued to group of interested listeners,
there IS the union of each trade, each
branch of classified labor. The organic
alton of this union is, | may say, allowing
for the limitations of human endeavor. per
| feet. 1t is not organized for the benefit of
| the outsider but for itself, and 10 obtain
membership the applicant must wait his
| turn. Until his turn come and he is ac-
| cepted he can get no work, for no man
| who employs labor dare hire him unless
he is a union man If his application be
| rejected then indeed he may as well leave
the colony. Once admitted, however, he
] is safe and his interests and well-being
are as carefully looked after as he himself
would oversee them, on the ground that
the welfare of one is the welfare of all.
| lake for instance, a coal mine union. If
| any member have cause for complaint his
| superiOrs in the union consider it, and, if
| deemed Just, the complaint is brought to
| the notice of the owners, is remedied, or
| the mine shut down. And, too, it re.
mains shut down until the owners come to
| terms.
This is due to the utilization of the
| union with other unions. and the supreme
| power of this utilization is lodged in the
trades council. 10 successfully resist the
mandate of this last body is to do more
than has yet been accomplished. To illus
trate. II take the steamship companies
Such is the condition of things on the YES
| sells catering to the Australian trade that
! the owners are compelled to employ about
80 per cent. more deck hands than are re-
| CURED and about rs per cent. imore fire.
men and TO give them nearly double the
| wages paid to similar classes of labor in
9th, + cOul tries.
Suppose an owner resents such interfer-
ence? What is the result? He sets out
to employ new men who do not belong to
| the unions. He may get them; but mind
he has to get men for every department of
| the steamer-engineers, firemen, cooks,
| stewards, deckhands and sailors. The
| weakness of his position will probably be
shown him when he tries to recoal. The
trimmers will not load steamer employ
ing nonunion men. If non-union trim
mers are employed the men at the mines
notify the coal dealers through the rep
| resentative of their union that if any coal
is sold to the steamer employing non
| union men they will strike and shut down
the mines belonging to the dealers or
| owners. That done dealers can buy no
coal from other mine-Owners because of
the latter's justified fear of a strike in
their own mines should they assist man
VINO had incurred the displeasure of the
|
the down-trodden (?) laborers.
Now what can the steamship owner do
under such circumstances queried Mr.
Binnie. Nothing, absolutely nothing
| but submit to the DEGREES of his employees
This state of things exists not only on the
| vessels engaged on the coastwise trade but
| vessels from America and other ports IF
the world as well. Your Claus Spreckles,
the California sugar king, accustomed to
| 30 as he pleases, ran foul of the Australian
labor union when he sent his steamers to
| Australia, having on them Chinese en-
ployes. Scarce had the first ship tied
to the wharf ere an officer of the union
notified the captain that in future unless
he came without Cinnamon his steamer
would not be unloaded- and in future the
warning was carefully needed.
Not long ago a steamer came to Sgd
ney, and when made fast the deck hands
struck because, forsooth. they claimed the
steamer had served them during the voy-
age with bad butter. The officers of the
union were sent for and the captain of the
steamer gave them Il sample of the but
ter. They declared it good and order ID
the men back to work The order was
obeyed and the steamer unloaded and
made ready to leave. The captain gave
| tllt Olusl " CtSG OlI llit DOWlIlt, WHERE
| upon the leader of the crew raised his
hand and walked off the steamer to the
| wharf. The captain asked the reason.
I'VE want that steward discharged.
they replied
" But your union officers said your
| grievance was unjust and told you to re-
turn to work, the captain rejoinei
| I'VE con t care - what the officers
| No I work with c+ororl
aboard, said the men.
The officers of the union were sent for.
| They came, but said they could do l.othing.
They acknowledged that the men were in
the wrong, but explained they were elected
| by the men and had no power to compel
| them to work. The result was the dis
| charge of the steward. Hard lines, know,
| but the steamer would have remained
| there till now had the steward been retain
| ed. OF course the unions appreciate their
| power, and hike all men unaccustomed to
the possession of power, they are abusing
| it more and more and rules are adopted
to the great injury of capital. For in
stance, the coal trimmers have a rule not
to work in the rain. A little while ago a
steamer hauled up to a Sydney coal dock
and the trimmers set to work It began
to rain and they stopped. The captain of
| the steamer, anxious to catch the tide. of
fered to put up tarpaulin to cover the
men, but no, it was raining and they
would not work till it ceased And for
twelve hours that steamer was compelled
to wait there until a light rain stopped
The mails had to be sent back to the post
office, passengers delayed, and when the
steamer was loaded the tide was lost, and
| assure you it took three weeks for that
steamer to regain its schedule and connec-
tionS.
TO demonstrate against this state of
things is frnitless. Labor reigns despoti-
calIy and without overt violation of the
law, and we have to submit. A number
Of companies, unable to bear the oppres-
sion, have sold out their properties at
great sacrifices. Now there is the eight
hour law. Suppose builder has work to
do on a vessel or buil6ing two miles from
his shop. The men insist that they will
rel ort at the shop at the beginning of the
day, carry their tools to the place where
the work may be and knock of work in
the afternoon in time to carry their tools
back to the shop by the time the eight
hours have expired. 1t does not matter
that the job in hand requires weeks to
hnish-the men will not leave their tools
and report at the JOB at the beginning
time. In consequence of The time requir-
ed to go and come they really WORK no