The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-21

| dlnerenceS work in harmony for the maintain
| this coast.
Why,only recently, in the midst of our excite
ment over the laudable valley railroad enter
| work to Winslow Brothers of Chicago, while
| iron-workers walk the streets of San Francisco
idle. This reminds me of Artemus Ward, who
was in favor of enlsting and sacrificing all his
| W1fes relatives, including his mother-in-laW,
to put down the Rebellion.
And yet Mr.. President and gentlemen of the
| convention, we are all more or less TO blame IN
tnls matter, Tor IT seems to be California
! fashion to shout for the opposition and travel
on on the old line. Even at this moment when
| all Cal1forn1ans seem to be banding together III
their effort to build up the industries OF the
State and city, the Eastern drummer, or human
teredo, IS at work, boring, around the archl-
| tects offices with his samples of interior wood
| nnlsh, seeking to lay his plans to procure the
woodwork that will soon be required for our
! large business buildings and residences that
are now in course of construction.
owners and contractors OF this coast give the
| mechanics OF California chance. Ii you want
| the Eastern woods that are not grown here i'm
| port the lumber and have the work done here,
unless the railroad treats you as it does the
| wire nail industry-charge 90 cents hundred
| on wire rods, or the raw material, and 80 cents
| on the finished article
| But enough of complaint Admit it all, and
what is the remedy? Boycott Eastern-made
goods? No; rather build up our own State
and let others build up theirs
| II has been said that the high rate of wages
prevents manufacturing. While it is true that
hope that the rates in the East may be raised
| rather than ours lowered. However, notwith-
standing the fact that both labor and materials
are higher our greatest difficulty is local prelu-
dice and the lin tied marketwe have to supply.
| For we know the cost of manufacture is largely
governed by the quantity OF given article
| manufactured.
1t is to be hoped that this convention will go
FAR toward convincing the people of this coast,
without regard to age, color or. previous condi-
! ton, that their true interest lies in standing
| Loyalty together, and, so far possible sup
| plying their wants from the home market, even
| II IL costs q little more for the extra cost will
come back to you tenfold in the general pros
perity of the State
After thirty-six years residence in California
| L believe in her resources; have faith in her
| people, and believe that with the commence
ment OF the Valley road and the general
awakening OF the people the revival of our
mining, agricultural and industrial interests,
! new era OF prosperity will be felt over our en-
tire State and coast. II, on the other hand, the
people will not awake-will not protect their
own interests from the tomahawk of the mid
| dIeman or the grasping greed of our soul
| less monopol1es, then at least save US from the
| hands of the Health Officer and give us an ele-
CANT funeral as Will in the language of Jimmie
McG1nn, make 1t a pleasure for US to die; dig
| the grave wide, dig it deep, and place us face
downward SO that we may gaze on Chicago.
R. S. Moore, who was to discuss the sub
| lect of how to stimulate the iron industries
| OF this State, said:
To my mind the impulse which gave birth
| 10 Jne lQea OF COHVOkln8 THIS convention au-
gurs much good, not alone for the iron indus
tries but Tor all the industries represented on
| this floor.
One of the principles on which the new order
of things will be based will be clearer under
standing OF the soundness of the business
doctrine-that California should be for Cali
fornia, and that the maxim of every for
himself and the devil take the hindmost" is
not good business policy. 1t is action on this
maxim that has kept California colony in
tributary bondage to the East.
7 a.
wise a permanent organization of this Manu-.
facturers' Convention, to be controlled in its
painstaking, intelligent investigation, shall
first ascertain the causes OF the prevailing stag
nation in each particular line OF industry and
then present the remedies
Hardly a week passes that We do not see pro-
posals advertised, and contracts for machinery
let to Eastern firms. Gentlemen, this is all
wrong; but it is the California custom of cut
ting her own industrial throat Hundreds of
| cases could be cited from the past, and it would
be time well spent to enumerate them in order
TO prove that our main trouble is with our
selves, and therefore, removable by ourselves.
The labor unions of this city have set their
employers in the iron industries an example
which we should have the intelligence to fol-
low. They have done the best work ever &C
complished in the direction which plain self
interest, common-sense and practical public
spirit dictates. A few years ago these workmen
waited upon the San Francisco Supervisors and
succeeded in having inserted in street railway
franchises clause compelling the companies
was Incorporated in the contracts for the dome
OF the new City Hall. The plan worked ad-
mirably. Law stepped in between unrehecting
greed ana local pubic interest, and thus thou
sonds of dollars worth of work was kept at
home through the efforts of this handful of
organized labor.
The new valley road, with Claus Spreckels at
| the helm, is, II may adopt fgurative language,
| the herald of the new California, blowing
| blast its horn which has awakened the
| whole State and will arouse 1T still further.
\ MI - too fol ont fhnr Dc
deprive the East OF its artificial privileges in
our field, and give home energy home enter
| prise home brains and home money fair
chance to do CALIFORNIA; WORK ana get their
| just reward.
To sum up, then, the needs of the iron indus
| tries not peculiar; they call for eo-opera-
| ton; for patriotic law, where that is pTac-
| ticable; for wise economy in methods of pro-
| duction; for adjustment to Eastern conditions;
! for recognition of the truth that there must be
| more public spirit among manufacturers and
| greater readiness to comprehend that their
welfare is bound up indissolubly with the well
fare of the whole community.
| James Spiers took the subject of Labor
| as a Factor in Manufactures" and said
| In part:
| If any one will go into our large establish
| mentS using machinery, including engines,
boilers etc, he will find that nearly all are of
Eastern manufacture.
The Electric Light Company of this city has
one or two engines that were built here, but all
the engines put in during the last few years are
of Eastern manufacture and of such magni-
tude that they would keep one of our large
shops running for one year without other
work
There is much more machinery of Eastern
manufacture sold here than would keep our
shops busy the whole year round, giving
steady instead of occasional employment, aid
ing our industrial population and retaining
the money on the Coast that is now sent East.
Instead of which our workshops are reduced to
the condition of jobbing shops, picking up the
crumbs left after the Eastern manufacturers
have had their full
At the present time it is impossible to COM
pete with the East in building large class of
| machinery now brought here, and until such
time as labor is brought approximately to an
equality with that of the East efforts in that
direction will be unsuccessful.
To relieve the severe strain upon the en-
ployer, with reasonable compensation for his
labor, to give constant employment to the
workingman at a rate of wages which would be
just, think that if the representatives of each
would come together and discuss the subject
with their mutual interests in view the
question could be settled profitably and salts
factorily to all interested, and enable Califor-
MIA, instead OF pouring out her vitality in coin
sent to others to supply her wants. to build up
her own industries by her own hands.
j. w. Kerr, in speaking of Loyalty to
Home Industry" said in part:
A ctraam of gold has haaD f1owino tbro,ob