Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-06-10

WHICH was one 10 the erect JnaC mere
after no union man or woman in the
city of Ottumwa should read any
newspaper, hand-bills, circulars, or
any other advertising or reading mat
ter that does not bear the union label
Merchants and business men should
take heed of this matter and save in
the future any misunderstanding in
regard to their printing not bearing
the union label, as Ottumwa is a I'M
lion city and the members of it's labor
organizations are determined to push
this label matter to successful finish.
Machinists' Union.
The machinists in five of the con-
tract shops of Des Moines struck on
June 2, for renewal of the nine-hour
day agreement Five of the ten shops
have signed and it is expected that all
others will follow. Ali machinists are
instructed in the future not to apply
for work in Des Moines until they
have seen one of the secretaries of the
local unions.
Chinese Exclusion.
Says the American Federationist:
THE United States congress has
passed bill that purports to be law
for the exclusion of the Chinese from
4 the United States and it's possessions
According to expert legal opinion of
Ralston & Siddons, expert Constitu-
tional lawyers, of Washington, D. c.,
who are employed by the American
Federation of Labor, the law does not
exclude the Chinese at all. In sum-
ming UP their opinion they say:
we have aimed to answer fully
the various questions submitted by
you, and if we were to sum up the
whole matter, we would simply say
that the new act, in so far as its vital
provisions are concerned (China de-
nouncing the treaty of 1900, simply
operates to extend existing exclusion
laws Except so far as they have here
tofore applied to Chinese who are citi-
zens or subjects of countries other
than China) to December, 1894, and
fails for any length of time whatever
Ito keep Chinese subjects residing in
the insular possessions out of the
mainland of the United States.
!: Very respectfully yours,
'Ralston & Siddons.'"
Helps the Negro.
The Alabama State Federation OF
Labor in session in Selma recently,ex
perienced grave trouble in securing a
convention hall on account of colored
; delegates, and threatened to hold forth
in the woods unless the proprietors oil
various halls receded from the posi-
ton they had taken in drawing the
color line
! Delegate Mccarthy said:
Rather than see one accredited
delegate, black or white. thrown out
of this convention. l will go to the
woods and hold this meeting"
John Beans, the colored vice presi
dent of the organization, and upor
whose invitation the Federation me-
in Selma, stated that he had gone tt
the board of revenue and to other citi
zens to get hall.
Delegate Randall, of Birmingham
said if the people of Selma refused tt
give them hall he favored going ou
into the woods. Without taking an.
action the convention adjourned unit
1870 p. m.
Union Labor Wor.
The supreme court of Porto Rice
has rendered decision in the appea
of Santiago Iglesias, president of the
Federation of Workmen of Porto Rico
who was sentenced last December to
term of imprisonment on the charge
of conspiring to raise the price O
labor in Porto Rico.
The court acquitted Iglesias Of al