The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-05-15
MOUNTAIN STATES
LABOR CONVENTIONS OPEN
SESSIONS OF MINERS AND WEST.
ERIN LABOR UNION BEGIN.
Action Is Urged to Prevent Further
Importation of Japanese-Mon-
archy Declared to Be Threatened.

Denver. Colo, May 1.-THE annual
conventions of the Western Federation
of Miners and the Western Labor IN
| ion opened this morning with a Joint
/ public meeting at which the welcoming
address was delivered by Ready Kene-
/ han, with replies by President Edward
! Boyce of the Federation and President
/ Daniel Mcdonald of the union. After
/ the public meetings the two cOnven-
/ tons met in separate sessions
| A subject which is much discussed
among the delegates and which viii be
acted upon by both conventions is the
/ influx of japanese laborers into the
! United States and Canada President
| Mcdonald said that unless something
was done by the government to restrict
the immigration on Japanese it would
/ become a great menace to white labor
! and before long might result in serious
! troubles.
Il have recently been over the whole
| Pacific coast country, where 1 learned
that more than 10000 Japanese have
entered the United States in the last
year." said Mr.. Mcdonald. They are
| practically replacing white labor on all
of the railroads in the northwest and
are gradually working their way east
ward. The Northern Pacific and the
4, Great Northern employ them almost
exclusively on the sections, each gang
having a white man as boss"
In his speech President Boyce said:
/ Il Will say without hesitation or fear
/ Of contradiction that in the grandest
republic ever organized in the world,
we are fast descending to a condition
worse than has ever existed in any
monarchy on earth. Tt is time for la
boring people to say that no military
despot shall exist in any state or coun-
| ty of this country. We should no lon
ger endure the action of the judges
sitting on the bench of the United
States supreme court, who issue in
| functions restraining laboring men.
| There seems no relief to be expected
from any political organization exist
| ing today, 1 am sorry to say, and all
our hope of gaining relief through pol
itics must come when we come to the
point where we can rely upon ourselves
to cast a united vote"
President Boyce named the following
committee on credentials: John Nc
KeEna, Butte union Mol. Montana; AL
| bert T. Poff, Hendetia union, Arizona;
F. S. Timmons, Gillette union, Colora-
do; John Hayes, Gem union, Idaho;
John McCloud, Butte.
The afternoon session of the West
|
by President Mcdonald at 2 o'clock.
Little business was done during the
afternoon beside the preliminary steps
| toward organization Of the convention.
John Minehan was appointed sergeant
alarms, and committees were ap-
pointed as follows:
! Credentials-F.. w. CrOnin, chairman;
| Ben Shelton, C, "A. Russell, William
Junghaene, Gale Linebarger.
Rules and Order of Business-W. P.
Burroughs. chairman; J. w. Wetten-
gel, John Minehan, Ben Deters Miss
MolIie Murphy.
Press and PRINTING!. B. Nash,
chairman; M. ]. Cider, Frank P. We'll
don.
When the credentials committee had
been chosen a recess of one hour was
taken to give it time to report, and
| then another recess of an hour to en-
| able the committee on rules and order
of business to prepare its report. The
credentials committees report showed
/ about fifty entitled to seats. There are
representatives in the convention from
| Washington, Oregon, Idaho, CaiifOr-
MIA, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and
| Colorado, and from Canada. Eleven or
twelve more delegates are due to ar
rive tomorrow, they having been de-
! layed by business.
President BOyce did not call the
| Western Federation of Miners together
until o'clock in the afternoon. The
credentials committee made it's report
! and adjournment was taken until to-
| morrow.
F. c. Robertson of Spokane, Wash,
one Of the attorneys who defended the
miners after the Wardner riots, ar
rived here from Washington tonight
and will address the conventions.