The times., 1897-07-25
BRAINS AND Drawn.

l meeting held Cu wednesday night at i y
| biographical Temple. 1t was b success,
| and the honest toilers Of the city gave
! sincere and enthusiastic expression OF their
| feelings of sympathy for the Cubans in the
| heroic struggle they are making to throw
| off the Spanish yoke.
| The meeting was held under many diff
| culties and therefore its success is all the
| more creditable Co those, who by their
| persistent efforts in the face Of all oppo-
| sition accomplished their purpose OF giving
| the workinginen fthe city an opportunity
| OF publicly expressing their adherence OF
| she brutal, inhnlnan warfare waged by the
| Spanish government against the Cubans in
| their struggle for freedom.
| When the idea of holding d mass meeting
| of the wage-earners OF the city for the
| purpose of expressing their sympathy for
| the Cubahs was Droached, 1t was proposed
| TO lay aside all factonal differences be-
tween The several labor organizations aud
| work together TO one end The matter was
| first taken up by District Assembly, No
| 66, knights of Labor, which invited the
(, other bodies, Central Labor Union, Buildin z
! Trades Council and the local Federation Of
| Labor to join with them In giving voice 30
| the sentiments of organized labor in the
| District. After the first meeting OF the
delegates representing these bodies the
! representatives of District Assembly, No.
Sc, did not again take any part in the ar
| rangements for the meeting All prepara-
| resulted in the mass meeting on Wednesday, y
| night. Another difficulty with which the
| general committee of arrangements had to
1 w ha Of TI
/ place Of meeting
| Al first it was the intention OF the labor
| leaders to secure permission for the meet
ing To take place on the Monument Grounds,
! but when it was known for what purpose
| it would be held the permit which was
granted was revoked. An effort was also
made 20 secure the use OF one of the local
| theaters, but this too proved a failure
| Notwithstanding all these backsets and
| after postponibg the holding OF the meet
| ing several Times since July 4 the date
on which it was proposed to hold it On
the Monument Grounds, the labor leaders
| perseyered and finally accomplished their
| purpose, as was evidenced by he gathering
at Typographical Temple last week.
| Besides the members of the general ar
| rangements committee the others who con
| tributed largely to the success of the oc-
cdson Were the Rev. DR.. Alexander Kent,
| pastor Of the Peoples Church; Samuel
/. Gonpers, president of the American Fedora
| ton of Labor; Milford Spohn, president of
! the Central Labor Union; Arthur Keep,
| vice president of the local Federation OF
| Labor, and Corporal James Tanner. who
| deli ivered addresses, and a number OF young
! ladies who entertained the audience with
| several patriotic airs, which were sung
in excellent style and with much spirit.
| The great strike OF the miners through
| out the coal region generally has also re-
ceived considerable attention at the hands
of local labor The action OF Gov. 4 okins-
| son, OF West Virginia, in ordering the militia
| OF that State to prepare to oppose the
| miners was the subject of severe criticism
| at the last meeting OF the local Fedora
| ton of Labor. Resolutions denouncing
| Gov. Atkinson and also all workingmen
| members OF the West Virginia State militia
| who either Consciously or unconsciously
| aided In opposing the miners in securing
| their demands Were unanimously adopted
Taking it all in all, however, the most
| encoura ging and satisfactory report which
| comes from labor circles is that of the
| Wor kingnen's Library Association and
| Labor Bureau. Since its organiza ton,
| nearly three years ago, the association has
| struggled along under most discouraglng
circumstances. Its friends, however, had
great faithin it and stood by it, and when
its future seemed anything but bright
when it was noundering in the sea of fl
naneial trouble, stretched forth n hand
ard landed it safely The confidence Of
nIt
was shown by the last quarterly report of
the association. it is at last out of debt
and on Il paying basis.
Tie election OF officers OF Columbia
Typographical Union, No. 101, which win
take place during the coming week, is also
being closely watched by the members OF
organized labor in the District, but more
especially by the printers, who are imme
diately concerned. The race, so far as can
be learned, Will be a close one, none Of the
five aspirants' for the presidency up to
this time being confident OF the result.
OF course, each and every one of them is
claiming walkover, but when il is NO
ticed that there las been no let up in the
campaigning of any of the candidates,
this claim of victory already Won is not
believed by the Others even IL by the one
who makesit.
1t appears from what can be learned
that politics will play greater part in
determining the choice for a president for
Columbia Union a. the coming election than
| ever before There are five aspirants
for the presidency, four being credited to
the Government Printing Office, while the
fifth is down town man. Each of these
has strong following, and the friends OF
each one of them feel confidnet that their
fayorite will carry off the prize. The total
vote Cor officers viii reach nearly 1,4OO
A large majority OF the voters, of course,
are employees OF the Government Printing
Office, and it would be natural TO suppose
that their votes would 20 wholly to the
candidates from that office This, how
ever, is denied by those in a position to
know, and who are familiar with all the
influences which are being brought to bear
by the friends of the different candidates
II the issue were made and the line drawn
it is generally admitted that Government
Printing Office candidate could defeat a
down town man. In THAT event, however,
1t Is claimed that the Government Printing
Office vote could not be divided if success
would be assured. In the coming election
it Is plain that the vote OF the Government
Printing Office will be divided, but to
what extent is not known II reports are
true, however, the employees will share
their votes pretty evenly In case this
is true it would to all appearances give the
down town candidate II decided advantage
over the others This, however, is not
true, if the statement that politics Will
play u prominent part in the choice of a