Arizona weekly citizen., 1890-09-06

SOME time ago the CITIZEN had oc- casion to refer to the printers strike in Los Angeles. Our reasons for bringing the matter up was that the proposition in hand is not one of the ordinary na- ture of disagreement between publisher and printer and the fight now going on appears to us to be a test case as to whether the business department of newspaper shall be under the control of the mandates of 8 typographical chapel or the proprietor. To prelude; The CITIZEN favors organized labor. It
 believes that without organization no pro fession, trade or art can successfully ad-
 vance. The object of organized labor IS to resist the encroachment of employers. If labor organizations allow themselves to be dominated by denogogues and in- dividuals who are seeking to better their individual pockets under the sheeny guize of resisting oppression, !, it is the worst for them, for it compels the employer to arm himself with the same weapon. We have watched the contest in Los Angeles and we are con- vinced that the trouble does not hinge on dollars and cents-in fact the state
 ment is published by the Union itself | that the pay roll of the Times is larger
 now, and the composition less than
 hitherto. Hence we conclude that the
 workmen are paid as. high wages as the members of the union did receive. We said that we did not think the trouble
 hinged on the price. Since the days of the boom advertising has fallen two
 thirds. Every avenue leading into the
 counting room has been shortened. Of
 the expenses. paperis cheaper than then.
 The hire of a paper, outside of the me-
 chsnical department is materially lower,
 but the price of type setting and every thing connected with the union has re-
 mainsd the same as in the highest fever
 boom. The city. of Des Moines pays only 30 cents per thousand on morning papers, union rates. The City of Los Angeles pays 55 cents. Owing to the re- duced business the publishers of the Times. Herald, Tribune and Express re- quested the Union-acknowledging their authority, to reduce the scale of wages commensurate with the times, and
 until such period ss business might sui ficiently revive to enable them to re- turn to the basis at that time. They
 were not only met with fiat refusal
 but were given two days to sign an agreement binding themselves to pay the current prices for the term of one year. This latter proposition seemed to be the main ground for the attitude of the papers toward the Los Angeles Union. The proposition is not busi- ness one, and no self respecting business man would entertain it. For our part we would see that region of eternal warmth coated over with frost from Yuma to the nebulse, rather than agree to such 8 demand. That the strength of
 theTimes and Herald has invariably been thrown on the side of organized labor; that their present rates are as high as
 before the union went out; and that the work is now done by printers organiz- ation which is the same as the typo graphical union except it refers all diff faculties to joint committee of printers and publishers, convinces us that the fight now going on in Los Angeles is 8 matter of principal.
 If we comprehend the situa- ton We believe:the attitude of these papers will not only be sustained by pubic interested, but by the higher courts of the typographical union it. self