Evening star., 1897-06-01
UNION LABOR'S INTERESTS
Central Organization Holds Its Regular
Meeting Last Evening.
Glen Echo Observation-Disclosures Dis
Shoes-Beer ON Unfair List.

The attendance at the meeting last even
ing Of the Central Labor Union was not as
large as usual, owing to the fact that
most of the members were of the impress
sion that meeting would take place,
yesterday being legal holiday. President
Spohn, however, called the meeting to
order, and Mr.. ]. ]. Crowley officiated as
secretary.
Delegate Heisley Of the carpenters re-
ported that the troubles at Glen Echo,
which had been brought to the attention
Of the c. L. U. at a previous meeting, still
remained unsettled. He also stated that
the carpenters had succeeded In keeping
the employer referred to from getting a
new complement of hands. as he had tried
to do. The carpenters, he further stated,
had committee on the ground to look
after their interests in this connection, and
the sheriff Of Montgomery county, Md,
was called upon by the contractor TO drive
the members of the committee away, but
that official refused to do SO, upon the
grounds that the men were not disorderly.
Delegate Klausmann of the Brewery
Workers Union reported that certain
brand of beer, made outside of the Dis
trict, but handled here to some extent, Is
on the unfair list.
Committee Appointed.
The statement was further made that
ploying union labor is unaple to fill his
orders from his own product, and that he
supplies the outside-made beer to various
customers A committee was appointed to
call upon the brewer referred TO and notify
him that the outside-male / Ger specified Is
Objectionable to members OF organized
labor societies.
the Boot and Shoe Workers National
Union made an address in advocacy of the
use of union labels He also spoke OF tile
competition between convict-made shoes
and boots and those produced by memDerS
of labor societies.
In that connection he said, that In 1885
there were $3,500,0O0 worth of shoes made
In the New York state prisons but that.
the state, the product had been SO mater
tally restricted that in 1895 but $1I5UO
worth were turEed out from all the penal
institutions there. AS great success had,
he said, been attained through the same
means in Massachusetts, the prison output
there, which was formerly very great, now
being so small that it does not conflict with
honest labor.
Virginia Convict Work.
OF the 1900 convicts in the Virginia peni-
tertiary, 1900 of them were, Mr.. Goodman
said, employed In making shoes. and the
remaining 400 in manufacturing tobacco.
The injurious effects of prison labor on the
product of honest labor. he maintained, were
shown by the fact that several years ago
there were four large shoe factories in the
city of Richmond employing many hun
dreds of workmen, all of whom were driven
out of existence because they could not
compete in price with prison-made goods
The proprietors of these factories, there
fore, discharged their hands, closed their
factories, and themselves became con-
tractors for the making of shoes within the
prison walls.
Delegate Silver announced the District
Commissioners would give public hear
ing Tuesday to all persons who desired
to see them on the subject Of cleaning the
streets of the city by hand.
A committee Of three was appointed to be
present on the part of the Central Labor
Union and urge that the work be done by
hand labor.