The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1897-05-22
UNSKILEEDD LABOR
Trades Assembly Hears Boiler
Takers Kick on the Rivetting
on Carroll-Porter Pipe.
Organizer WoOd-SchOOl Board.
After President COChrane
'. of the Council.

May IA brought out the largest
attendance of several months and
from start to finish the proceedings
were not permitted to lag.
Under the head of reports 81
unions the BARRIERS reported busi..
ness ION the bum,' but their union
all right; the cigarmakers said
things were picking up little; the
cooks, that people wer': still eating,
some; coopers and electrical
workers, that things were dull,
while the sawmill wo1 kers, brewery
workmen nd the bakers varied the
monotony by announcing that
business was all right. The
walters corrected a misapprehen-
sion about the Saratoga restaur-
ant by announcing that it was a
union house, and the brewery work
men reported that their scale had
been reported to the bosses but it
had not yet been signed.
Credentials were presented for
Fred Fling and Oliver Quick, from
the pressmen's union, and the dele
gates were obligated.
The following resolution, pre-
pared by President McEwen, was
recommended for passage by the
committee on city council: #=
Whereas, the common council
of the city of Duluth is discussing
the question of the minimum wages
to be paid to laborers on the cons
struction of the city waterworks;
and, - ssS
Whereas, a resolution has been
introduced into the said common
council, stating that contractors
shall pay their laborers not less
than $1.5O a day; now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Federated
we endorse such resol luton and
mon council; and further, BE It 10 20 '1ss
9 Resolved, that we are not Ill
sympathy with the remarks made
by the honorable president of.tle
common council, to the effect that to
state the price of labor they may as
we'll regulate the price of bread,
meat, ETC., for the following reasons:
That the price of flour, especially
Duluth flour, is fixed by the manu-
facturer, who is a member of a
trust; that the price of meats in
Duluth is fixed not only by the
Retail Butchers association, but
by the packing houses; that the
price of many staple groceries and
necessities of life is fixed by the
Retail Grocers' associations; that
but very few of the necessities of
life in the line of clothing, fuel and
food, are regulated by the law Of
supply and demand, on account of
the formation of trusts, etc.; that
the price of labor, especially that
of unskilled labor, is regulated by
the law of supply and demand.
There is now an over-supply of
laborers and cores spending under
demand for their labor, which
naturally will diminish the wages
of the laborer; therefore be it
"Resolved, that if it is lawful for
some people to fix the price of
bread, meat or any product. in our
opinion it is no more than right
and just that the common council
fix the price of labor. Il
"Reso1ved, that a copy of these
resolutions be sent to the common
council of the city of Duluth"
The resolution was unanimously
adopted and later in the proceed
ings a committee of one from each
ward was appointed to interest the
aldermen from their respective
wards in the proposition to incor-
corporate in the ditch contracts
provision for the employment of
Duluth labor and the fixing of a
minimum wage at 81 so per day.
The Imperial boycott committee
was roasted by Delegate Pierce for
not attending to business. Dele
gate Hayes, girding on his armor
in the committees defence, de-
clared that the boycott twas getting
in it's work just the same" It
developed that the boycott, while
not receiving by any means the
support that it deserved, was
nevertheless far from defunct.
The coopers are still sending out
literature as fast as they can dig
up up the stuff" with which to pay
printing and postage. President
McEwen reported that the retail
grocers association had notified the
mill management that they could
not handle their flour unless the
boycott was lifted. And in REFER
ence to the publication in the
Herald that the stockholders were
perfectly satisfied with the present
situation, one delegate said that he
had investigated the matter little
on his own account and knew that
the Herald's information was
!. away off" -