The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-16
L%ONGSHOREMEN MUSTER.
BIG SUNDAY MEETING TO DISCUSS
LIBOR ISSUES.

Three Hundred Well Dressed WorLinamen
Listen Calmly to the Views OF Their lead.
ers Regarding the Relations Between Cap
itRl ana Inbor-McltuEh ana Hall speak.
In response TO a call for the "Iongshorcmon
Of the Nations to muster for n great demon
s%tration. about 300 men assembled at tho
Farm, foot Of Tenth street and North River.
yesterday morning. II was a truly cosmopolitan
event. There were lOnRshoromon from the nm.
explored depths of Hoboken, cargo shiftcrs from
darkest Brooklyn, cotton.hoOk experts from the
tangled wilds OF Jersey City. and representa-
tivos from such out.of.thc.world shores rs Wee
hnwken, Communipaw, Williamsburg. and
Grcenpoint. They were not the unkcmpt,
grlmy. bowling mob that frequently gathers in
the city squares at tho call Of some dcmagoRue
to boot the namc OF capital and shrek at every
reference TO the rights OF labor; but a gather
ing Of quiet, conservative, well-appearing, bust
ncss.like looking workingmcn. who wore good
clothes and clean linen, and who listened with
consideration to what the speakers Of the day
had to say.
The meeting was called by the American
Longshorcmcn's Union, and is the first Of
series Of rivor.front meetings looking toward an
increase in membership Of the union. President
Edward McIiugh opened tho meeting. standing
on a truck. He said:
SoiiS pSopiO hiu houlJ WV III "
holding this meeting on Sunday morning, but
that Ia the only time we have TO meet, and I be.
lievc that in q cause like this. the better tho day
tho better the deed. Tho matter In which we
are all vitality interested Is wages. 1t is our
concern TO sec that we got q fitting return for
our labor. Most Of you men do work that you're
not paid for. Not 1000 miles from here I've
seen men 90 to work 3 quarter of an hour
before the hour at which pay begins. work a
| quarter OF an hour over noon, because nobody
tells them to knock of, and they cant DO watch.
ing the clock, and then at night 20 ten or fifteen
or twenty minutes over again, before tney're
called up from the hold. After that you've rot
to put on the matches and fix up things general
Not IN any money ] ever saw" responded a
a general laugh.
I'VE must organize to stop that sort of thing.
and IA soon as all OF us are IN the organization
we can put a stop TO it. At present we are help
less
President McIIugh then introduced Secretary
Bolton HILL, a son of DIR. John Hall Of the Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church. Mr.. Hall said:
Much Of the suffering OF he iaboring mon is
Alone H but on I the part of fhis' siiGip :" y" as ans I p"iH.
Capital and labor arc afraid of each other. Each
are ancamics, lust az in a a theatre p sri 9T ev YER
man Is the enemy Of every other. When We ask
a capitalist to pay better wages he refuses. not
wages. but because he thinks he would be
giving. the enemy an advantage. Back OF all
hand. The taxing of the Rockefeller cs.
tate il the first step toward showing that
the people realize that taxation is "A weapon.
Not that | am entirely in favor Of that kind Of
taxation, howcN err. Mr.. Rockefeller has u great
deal OF money. He chooses to build houses with
It. That Ia n very good thing. 1t gives men a
chance 10 work. l wouldn't raisc the tax rate
FOR that. But he gets 10000 acres Of land and
leaves It unimproYcd. Put your taxes on that.
Make II Improbable for any man to hold unitn.
proved land that might be giving work to other
men.
"Of course the great thing for laboring men is
tn combine. One OF YOU longshoreIhcn objects
to grievance. and loses his Job; but let all OBJ,
Jet and the grievance will be righteI. You
wan: organization and leaders: leaders from
among yourselves. The way to DO Is to go out
aud say to every man you meet: Look here:
Don't you think fits a damn shame you don't
belong to The union 4 Show them that it is.
That is the WAY TO get them in
General Secretary Devlin was the last speaker
lie SPOKE briefly III the beneficial effects of the
union and made II strong plea for increase ui
membership.