The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-07
ADDRESS TO SOCIAL DEMOCRATS

Delivered Yesterday Afternoon by Pete
Curran, Delegate of English Trades
Union.
Pete Curran, the delegate from the
British Trades unions to the American
Federation of Labor convention, ad-
dressed a small audience at st. Aloyslus
hall yesterday afternoon. The speaker
compared the condition Of labor in the
| United States with that in the United
/ Kingdom, saying that the higher rate
/ of money wages prevailing In the Unit
ed States was more than offset by the
longer hours of labor and the rushing
of work The American workinsman,
he said, is terribly overworked, while
+ the English workingman takes 1t easy.
| The American capitalist also makes
much greater profit than the British
capitalist" yet" he said, ''in spite of
the higher wages and the greater profits
made you export American goods to
England and undersell our home prod
uct."
This is because the American work
man is so much more productive. In
England nearly one-fourth of the work
ing people are organized into trades
unions, while in America scarcely one
twentieth are organized The efforts of
American trades unions are directed to-
wards extending their organization; in
England they try to build up large
treasury and prepare for strikes. This
often enables the unions to make terms
without a conflict as employers know
that the unions are prepared to fight.
1.-THE English trades unions are in
perfect harmony with the socialists and
in the recent elections in October the
trades unions united with the social
democrats in contesting 13 out of the
$40 parliamentary districts, Our vote
increased from "a 900 in 1895 to over &C.,
900, and Ken Hardie and Richard Bell
were returned to parliament. In Eng
land we have great difficulties to con-
tend with in contrasting the elections. A
very large number of the younger and
more active members cannot vote ow-
ing to the property qualification requir-
ed Then the sum Of 81 500 must be
subscribed for each candidate, to de-
fray the expenses of the election. The
vote cast gives no idea of our real
strength, as it was cast in only thirteen
1--WE have workingmen in all the mu-
nicipal councils, and in all the manu-
featuring towns the municipal govern
ment owns and operates the gas, water,
electric lights and street cars. 1 am
surprised to find that in every Amer
lean city these public utilities are own
ed by corporations and operated for
profit. American trades unions would
be much further advanced on the line |
of political action if they had not been
antagonized by the mistaken tactics of
the socialists. l found in New York |
the other day an organization calling |
itself socialist furnishing scabs to |
take the places of bakers who went on |
strike last Monday. You must work /
with the union and gain them over as |
we have DONE
In answer to questions Mr.. Curran
said that in many English municipal
tiles the city furnished gas at one shill-
ing two pence, or 20 cents per 200 feet,
and that in Birmingham, the city was
building modern dwellings which are |
rented at a very low rate and is con-
yerting the slums into a district of
homes for working people.