Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-11-07
Ottumwa Labor Leader Speaks at
Davenport.
HE PRESENTS STRONG ARGUMENTS
Talks in Behalf of the Thinking Mar
Sees Salvation OF Laborins Mar in
the Advance of Labor Unions
Grand Opportunity.
IFrom Wednesdays Daily.l

liioAi - |
j. F. Byrne of this city, state organ
izer of the American Federation OF Lid
Dor, while in Davenport a few days
since, addressed an enthusiastic meet
ing of the labor unions OF that city.
Mr.. Byrne made an eloquent appeal Tor
unionism. He urged w-orkingmen TO
think, and by that manner seek to save
themselves. Concerning the address,
the Davenport Times says:
''Patronize the union label and see
to it that your none does not go to
those who would oppose and tear down
your cause" is the forceful way IN
which Joe F. Byrne of Ottumwa pre-
scented the cause of unionism to the
men representing organized labor OF
all crafts at the G. A. r. hall yesterday
afternoon. Labor day will be OBJ
served next fall and there will be a
big celebration and renewed interest
in the cause. But why be inactive all
the time between these annual cele-
brations? You let the devil of non-un-
ionism work all the other months TO
oppose you, if you do"
Possibly the speech was one OF the
most forceful and most truthful pre-
sensations of the cause of labor IN
Iowa which has been heard in Dayen-
port for some time. MI. Byrne is the
state organizer of the Iowa State Fed
Grafton of Labor. He came to DaVen-
port, not in the interest OF the Print
ing Pressmen's union of which he is q
member, nor the Leather Workers
union, nor the BARRIERS nor the Car
penters', but he came here in the IN
terests of all the unions OF the city,
of which there are as many as twenty
Mr.. Byrne has been a staunch adVo'
cate of union labor from the time he
first began to take interest in the &C
tive affairs of the men. Be it said tC
the credit of Mr.. Byrne and to the
representative men of the unions ey
erywhere nowadays, they are not fire
eaters, as many have supposed them
to be. They base their hope and faith
on the education of the w~orkingmer
so that they will be able to know fol
themselves their relative importance
in the scheme of society and will be
enabled by the conviction that the ed
ucation brings, to present their de
mands for good wages, healthful shoI
conditions and short hours to their EN-
ployers In a way that will be listened
to because of the gentlemanly man
ner in which the demands are mad
and be granted because OF the restrain
ed force and Intelligent argument b.
which the demands are supported.
In speaking to those members o
the unions or of the crafts who ar
too aristocratic, too high in thei
ideals, and too proud to be classed al
~workingmen to openly join the unions
and work for them, Mr.. Byrne ap
pealed to them to go off and stud.
law, medicine or art, but whatever
they did, not to become "scabs." l
is the scab labor that causes all Thu
trouble for the organized labor. If al
men who work We're union men, il al
were well organized, there would b
no trouble at all between union mel
and their employers. To the youni
man at home who has not full.
made up his mind whether he woul
Join the union of his craft or not, MI
Byrne pointed out the fact that tn
home is of itself a union, and tn
young fellow ought to get out of it a
once, if he does not believe in unions
Nh. Bryne appealed to the unto
men not to become discouraged,
once in a while a strike fails. "Wh.
they tell us that unionism has gon
to smithereens on account of the fai
ure of the great steel strike. But
tell you that where there was on
union before that strike, there wi
spring up forty from its ruins, an
those unions will be just forty time
stronger than the one which precede
it," Union men should study the pri
ciples of unionism and stick to them.
In closing, Mr.. Bryne said hat l
was not here to appeal to the man wi
does not think. He was here to a
peal to the man who has thoughts
his own, who studies to
original, and the man who believes &c
tain things and knows why he believ,
them-to such a man he was directil
his remarks