Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-04-03
NOVEL POINT
In Which the Employer Who Is Not
a Party Has to PAY the
Freight"
BREWERS PUBLISH A COMPLAINT
Could Be Happy with Either Organi-
Zation, but Are Allowed To
Be with Neither.

Cincinnati. o., April 3.-At meet
ing of the Central Labor council of
Cincinnati. Covington, Newport and
adjoining towns. eigEty-two trades
and labor unions being represented.
sympathy with the United Brewery
Workers was expressed, the boycott
emphasized, and war declared on the
engineers and firemen. as well as on
the local breweries. Yesterday the To-
cal brewers made general denial of
the declaration of the Central Labor
council and adopted unanimously the
following: The basis of the decision
recently rendered by President Com
perS, of the American Federation of
Labor. was that the claim of the brew
cry workmen's union to the iurisdic-
tiOn over engineers and firemen work
ing in breweries is without juStifica-
ton.
Union Ignores GOmpers' Declaration.
president GOmperS decided that the
action of both the brewery workers
union and the unions Of engineers and
hremen was wrong. but that no blame
whatsoever attached to the brewery
prOprietOrs involved. The Central La
hOr Council expelled the engineers and
firemen for alleged conspiracy with the
cry wOrkmen'S union GOmperS lis
tened two days to testimony and said:
An inference of conspiracy is unwar-
ranted.' In spite of this decision the
Central Labor Council still SuStainS
this charge against the brewers of
Cincinnati and endeavors to excite the
prejudice of organized labor against
them
Brewers Make "a Proposition.
The brewers then charge the union
with violation of contract. ANA declare
their willingness to stand 10y the brok-
ell contract if given the right to hire
and discharge men-a right enjoyed
by all employers except brewers;
statement the brewers declare was in
dorSed hY GomperS himself The brew
erS say the condition was agreed to in
GOmperS' presence by the union repre-
ScntativeS. They then continue: Dur
ing the five weeks of the lockout
brought about by this jurisdiction
squabble between two unions, to which
squabble the brewers were an innocent
party. the brewing business of the city.
which the Central Labor Council claims
represents $2S.O0O.0OO had TO he saved
from ruin, and no other means of thus
saving it existed except than by en-
piOying new men.
strikers Demand Is Rejected.
These new men could not have been
obtained unless Il pledge had been Civ
en them by the employing brewers that
they SHOULD have steady work. pro-
Vided they gave satisfaction. 1t was
stipulated that they must join the
union. as the brewers desired that all
should be uniOniZed. Admitting the
necessity that had brought about the
employment of these mountaineering
400-the brewery workers union was
willing that they should be retained.
but demanded that the brewers should
take back at once and simply lay off
ali the old men whose places had been
filed by new ones. The brewery pro-
prietOrs refused to he party To such
Il transaction, and Herewith npgotia-
tionS ended.
Employers Ask Question.
THE battle now waged is one of
jurisdiction, over which the employer
has no control whatever. 1t is Il con-
trOverSy between the upholderS Of
trade autonomy, to which the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor is pledged.
and industrial autonomy. which a cer-
tain section of the labor element is
endeavoring TO force upon that feder-
alton. Is il reasonable that Il great
industry should suffer the brunt of this
controversy between labOring men and
be prosecuted and damaged. for no
other cause than because il has not
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