Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-13

ed divisions and schisms and diverted the
| purpose of the orsanization. OF course. it
does not necessarily follow that because a
bus mes mar pf 1t is simply
but in order to savoid the possibility of
wrong in this line the laws and policy of
bership. If employer. superintendent,
| foreman, businesshmaM &C., is favorably
inclined toward our fellow workers. and
| orr movement Aefe are ample oppor-
| tunities for such manifestations without
| their membership in OUR unions. 1t has
| required constant vigilance and caused a
good deal of annoyance to prevent wider
! spread of the danger referred to, and it is
vention will be made to more clearly set
| this matter forth g
High Dues Help to Success.
| Your attention Is again called to the nee
| essity Of impressing upon the minds of
our fellow unionists the establishment of
! the principle of high dues in their unions.
Experience even of recent years has DEM
onstrated the wisdom of this provision.
| These of our organizations which have es-
| tablished high dues have experienced the
| greatest SUCCESS and maintained inn
proved wages, decreased hours and OBJ
| taired other concessions in the interests
| of their members.
| ton of a defense fund IN the A. F. of L.
should receive your careful attention.
am confident that X the matter is APP
preached with an earnest purpose to real
ize 1t, it can be accomplished with advan-
| tage to our movement In my reports to
previous conventions I have dealt with
these subjects extensively, and they are.
therefore, simply referred to here. should
add, however, that time has only con-
WINGED me of the necessity Of their adop-
ton. =
Among the most notable strikes of the
year was that Of the coal miners. involving
l an fho ,rnY, "a G. r. q
occurred there were few miners organized
and the national organization had no
neans with which either to support the
men involved nor to conduct the affairs OF
the general Office nor had the organization
| the means to place in the field the organ
| izers which experience demonstrated SO
necessary to attain success. go
Upon being advised as to the time when
| the strike would take place, immediate
action was taken to enlist the whole body
of organized labor in sympathetic accord
and cooperation with the miners. 1t is
gratifying to be enabled to state that no
act was done or left undone but which
| could tend to bring the very best possible
results to the men and the organization
engaged in the conflict.
During the strike there were number Of
persons who sought to disrupt our move
ment, bring disccrd upon our organization,
| and who saw no better means at their
| command than to attack its officers. Per
| haps at no time were men more scathingly,
mendaciously and unjustly slandered than
were the officers of the American trade
| union movement during the miners strike.
Some with particular hobbies, which they
| change as often does a Kaleidoscope,
| but who yet had sufficient acumen to OBJ
serve that with success for the miners upon
| trade union lines their hobbies would be
| crippled and their theories proven unSound,
have, while assuming the garb of friend
ship. preached and prophesied defeat, and
declared that nothing but disaster would
overtake the miners. Never having at
t,;,, rn-hi nh t1,nNv
were engaged. these apostles of failure
realized that if the miners won the ground
of opposition to trade unions would be
proven untenaDle.
For the first tirnte IN the history of our
movement, representatiyes of different
trades organzatidns practically conducted
the contest in the33felf each wing with
the other to attain lhe Best possible results
coniium of praise, for the work done and
the result secured It Was the purpose of
cur organizations. while furnishing men
and money, to confuctt the contest: its di-
rection was left in The hands of representa-
| tives Of the miners, the officers of their or
ganization
The Lntfi.aer Massncre.
An incident eenitectea with the miners
strike requires special mention here. While
a body of unarmed and .defenseless miners
We're marching upon the public highways
| from Hazeiton to Iattfther, Pa, they We're
met by the sheriff of the county with a
posse of armed merceHa ries. who. without
cause or provocationi and in violation of
the constitutional and natural rights of
men, turned upon them and in cold blood
murdered twenty-five and MANNED and
crippled many more of them. All re-
ports agree that the men attacked were
violating no law, guilty of no wrong. many
of them shot to death while fleeing from
their malignant pursuers This crime
against our laws. this brutality against in
offensive men, the wall of widows and or
phans, the wounded pride of American citi-
Zenship and common humanity cry out not
only that justice shall be melted out to
these modern hyenas, but that never again
shall so great wrong be inflicted upon
any of our people. An attempt has been
made to becloud the judgment of our peo-
pie under the cry that the men killed and
wounded are foreigners" but even though
| this be true, these foreigners were lured
here by the cupdity of mercenary corpora
| tons. 1t is submitted that, though man
be foreigner, there are some rights, some
| protection to which he is entitled, which
even corporations and their hirelings are
bound to respect. ,,-
Union Label Agitation.
1t is interesting to note the constantly in
| creasing demand for union labeled prod
ucts. Every union formed or educated to
| demand union labeled products is the best
promoter of the principle of solidarity and
| the sentiment of fraternity among the
workers. Since the publication in the
| American Federationist Of the group of
| union labels, We have had very large
! number of trade papers and labor papers
| follow the example. These have been
| splendid means Of agitating and advertis-
| ing the union label question. Then, again,
| a number of clubs and associations, aux
iliary to the labor movement, are being
| constantly formed, and which are aiding in
| the general education of the people as to
| the economic, moral and sanitary advan-
| tages resulting from announcement and
| purchase of union labeled products
At the last convention it was reported
| that label league had been formed be-
| tween the representatives of the national
| and International unions affiliated with the
| A., F. of l.. having union labels. and the
| request made for the appropriation OF quite
| a sum of money. The entire matter was
referred to the executive, council with
power to act, but inasmuch as the large
| expenditures of the year for purposes which
| could not be avoided and a comparative in
sufficiency of funds at our command, no
direct financial assistance, could be given
the project. 20 r. -..f-a
| Eight-Hour Movement.
| The movement to reduce the hours of la
| ,Ixxyax Hubi oh