Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-09-21
published in the papers, and to par
TALLY present the other side in tn.

TALLY present the other side in the
present strike difficulty.
Speaking of ourselves 1.-THE Wapello
Cigar Coz we employ steadily twenty
people mot twelve, as stately. We pay
cigarmakers from $10.50 to $11.50 a
week. Shippers. So.
Our employees have no grievance, are
willing to work and emphatically say
they will not Join the union-we arel
not union factory and never will be.
for the following reasons, that ought
to seem good for any fair-minded per-
son:
The cigar business of Ottumwa is by
no means vested in the few unimport-
ant union shops that depend entirely
upon local trade, and in no instance
| do business enough to justify the en-
iployment of travellers, but in the large
inon-union factories, any one of which
employs more people than all OF the
! former combined.
! Most of these alleged union
/, shops employ one man, usually the
owner. sell all their product in the
town where they happen to be located.
and are consequently of no benefit to
that town. compared with factories
that make for the general market and
/ employ travellers.
Where we sell one cigar in Ottumwa
we sell fifteen abroad, and every box
of these goods adds to 0ttumwa's
Importance as manufacturing CEN
ter.
Now the initiated will ask, why
would this not be feasible under the
blue label? Simply because in our
case it would cost us $3.50 more pes
thousand to make orr product in ur-
ion factory than by our present meth
cd. This $3.50 we put into our product
in the shape of Havana tobacco, and
thereby attain quality otherwise inn
possible. and to which may in a gen
eral wav be ascribed the wonderful
growth of our business.
i Should we. for instance, in order to
senter the union. take this $3.50 in Ha-
!vana from our brands, and give it to
labor, we would speedily lose the
\ ground gained, and after losing our
trade would of course have to lay off
people in turn. Now some doubt
inc Thomas will say: How do we
. know this is so? We would say in re-
ply that the books are open for in
spection. and the writer will prove to
, any uninterested inquirer that our net
profit was $1.3O per thousand during
: 1898. Just how we could very well
paw $3.50 per thousand more for labor
under these circumstances. must be
, made plain to us before we will ever
i conform to the union scale.
l Again. the union scale would eNac
an additional wage figure from the
manufacturer when he adds Havan;
! to his cigar, regardless OF what he may
+ have to sell his product for. This j.
Just as though Brother Lee would have
$ to pay his typos greater remuneration
: for setting up well written article
/ than for a poorly written one, ani
$ would certainly relegate Havana tobac
4 co out of cent cigars in any unioi
E factory that employs labor in fact.
= For these reasons the Wapelio Ciga
E company will never join the union
but prefers TO go out OF Ottumwa, o
: even out of business, in preference.
4 some weeks ago the merchants, tn
r bakers. the candlestick makers, etc
e of Ottumwa We're induced +
! buy lots in the Dain additic1
n with a view OF bringing that non
]. union plant to our city. In this con
$ nection it may be noted, that not
i. single union cigar factory Dought
! lot, while nearly every non-union fat
d tory made the sacrifice. But how now
a Is this Union labor movement goin
to be directed against the Dain peopl
- as soon as they are fairly settled
$ Or perhaps against the Janney plar
y (also non-union), who were induced
n move here last year by a similar heroi
effort. and who have barely bsgu
lighting their factory fires? Speak u
somebody. and tell us when will til
packing house get twist? They MAX
o more profit in one year than the con
biped non-union cigar factories do
e. ten. When you have coralled them al
$. Ottumwa will be about as importaI