The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1901-12-13
MACHINERY At Tackled
Cigarmakers at the Federation
Convention Fail to Have
1t Condemned.
THEIR FIGHT rs WE'LL PLANNED,
but the Victory Is with the Opposi-
tiOn-Ntctal Trades Fedora
ton Organized.

Scranton, Pa, Dec 10.-The confer
ence of the American Federation of
Labor was in session only two hours
yesterday, adjournment being taken
until this morning in order to enable
the several committees to consider the
large number of resolutions still in
their hands. There was a lively dis
cussion on the floor over the question
of boycotting machine-made cigars. 1t
is the same question that the Cigar
makers International Union has
brought up at previous conventions Of
the Federation, and the union has al
ways been defeated in it's fight against
the Introduction of machinery in the
cigar trade. At the present time not
a machine-made cigar in the United
States, it is said, bears the label of the
Cigarmakers' international Union.
Argument of the Anti Machine Men.
The matter came up in the form Of
Gompers and John c.. Deerhell and
Thomas f. Tracey, of the Cigarmak-
ers' Union, and was referred to the
committee on labels. It denounced a
certain company for making cigars by
child labor and machinery, and called
upon the Federation to assist in union
iZing the various plants of the COM
pany. The committee reported the
resolution back with the recommends
ton that the word ''machinery' be
stricken out and the resolution adopt
ed. Then the cigarmakers opened
their fight. They insisted that the
term 'machinery" should not be elm
mated, and argued that cigars made
by machinery are not as good as those
made by hand. and that the machines
drive hand cigarmakers out Of the
business.
Amended Resolution "Gats There,
The speakers in opposition to the
cigarmakers' proposition argued that to
oppose machinery would be folly. Ma
chimes are being introduced in many
lines of trade, they said and the union
could not successfully fight the law Of
progress 1t was pointed out to the
cigarmakers that the best thing to do
was to organize the operators of the
machines and adopt wage scale, just
as the typographical and other unions
have done when machinery was intro
duced in their trades. The discussion
promised to be very lengthy, but the
moving Of the previous question ended
the debate and the resolution, with the
word machinery" stricken out, was
adopted as recommended.
Metal Trades Federation Organized.
The Metal Trades Federation, after
a series Of meetings, finally organized
yesterday by electing officers. The
following officers were elected: Pres
ident, E. J. Lynch, of New York, ma
tional president Of the metal polishers;
vice president, Robert Kerr, of Mo-
line Ills, national president of the
blacksmiths; secretary-treasurer, John
O'Leary, Worcester, Mass, president
of the coremakers. The executive
committee will be composed Of the
above officers and all the national
presidents of the other trades allied
with the Metal Federation. All of the
trades in the Metal Federation are
affiliated with the Federation of Labor,
and the object is to have an associa-
ton that can deal directly with the
manufacturers, who are organized I'm
der the name of the National Metal
Trades association.