Fergus County argus., 1902-04-23
A Meeting Called for the Purpose of
Explaining the Aims and Inten.
tions Of the Labor Union.
CITIZENS INVITED TO ATTEND
Meeting Conducted on Conservative
Lines-Small Attendance Of Bus
mess Men Of the City.

A meeting OF the Lewistown Labor
Union, to which the business men had
been invited, was held last night at
Ja6kson's hall which was undoubted.
ly one of the most interesting and in
structiye meetings of like nature that
has ever been held in Lewistown.
President Bailey called the meet
ing to order and stated that the OBJ.
ject of the evening was to enable the
business and laboring men to discuss
the labor question together and ar
rive at some amicabe understanding.
]. w. Hughes, at the request of the
chairman, made an address as fol
lows:
Mr. President and Gentlemen-It
gives me great pleasure to welcome
the business men who are here to-
night, though | would like to have
seen a larger attendance. The OBJ.
ject of this meeting tonight, gentle.
men, is to bring the business men of
l.ewistown and Fergus county and
the organized labor of Lewistown to
a better understanding in regard to
the working of this union and its in
tentions. Gentlemen, it has been
brought to my notice here tonight
that some unthoughtful men connect.
ed with this organization have made
threats or insinuations to the effect
that If certain building contracts were
let to certain men that the union
would raise trouble and make all
kinds of difficulties. The men who
made those threats and insinuations
are not responsible and do not voice
the sentiment of this union.
1T seems to me, gentlemen. that
J the working man has as much right to
protection as the business man. the
merchant and the professional man.
When a merchant comes to your town
he has to take out license before he
can do business; a professional man
has to take out license TO practice
his profession. as evinced by the late
action taken by the medical men of
this town. Gentlemen, our business
card, or license. is the union card.
without which laboring man should
not be.
THE object of this union is to fos.
ter education and uproot ignorance.
increase independence and decrease
dependence; decrease the hour, in.
crease the pay create rights, abolish
wrongs; tighten toll. brighten man
and thereby make cheerier the home
and fireside. Capital is the fruit OF
labor and could not exist II labor had
not existed. Labor, therefore, de-
serves much more the higher consid-
Grafton. Labor has the same right to
protect itself by unions as capital by
trusts and other organizations: there
fore. we organize. Why do we organ
ize? We unite because we must; It
is not a matter OF sentiment; 1t is
business. We organize because there
is no other agency through which we
can secure good wages, a shorter
work day, partial independence in the
present. and some dsy-we hope
complete independence in the future.
Gentlemen, we have here in Lewis
town a union of all classes OF mechan-
les and laborers. or, in other words.
all classes OF wage earners. We or
ganize for protection against all kinds
OF cheap contract labor. such as Chin
ese. Polanders and the Dago element.
BY so organizing. do not think that IL
is the intention of this union to Gre
ate any discord between the business