The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-10-10
INT E.R ]! 4 A I | [ J "A !. ].
: P|l0TS' ASSN
Officers Organised ON Union Lines.---
President McG:resor Explains Pnr-
poses of Licensed Men.

The international Pilots Associa- |
ton is the youngest International or
ganization chartered by the American
Federation of Labor, which recently
won a signal victory from the Steel
Trust. The principal cause for it's
creation has been the arbitrariness Of
the organization Of steamboat capital
lists. One man makes the rate of
wages and other conditions of employ
ment for two thousand or more licensed
officers of steam vessels; it therefore
becomes necessary that the officers
shall speak through one man in pre-
senting their side of agreements:
The vesselowners on the Great Lakes
have had quite perfect organization
and through it made the wages and
other terms Of employment for many
years, but have very persistently re-
fused the licensed officers Of their
steamers voice in the matter. i:
The shipmasters Organization was
intended by its founders, to take
cognizance Of the wage or salary
question, and no doubt this the steam
boat owners and managers very we'll
knew, because. as many Of them as had
masters licenses joined the shipmas-
ters' organization, upon or very soon
after it's formation. It soon dawned
upon the shipmasters in active service
that they could not very we'll take up
and discuss the question of salaries in
lodge with their employers; there
fore the salary question was abandon
ed and the Ship Masters Association
is today a social club, with a life in
surance attachment The failure of
tn
| question brought to the Great Lakes
an organization Of licensed officers Of
! steam vessels known as the American
| Association of Masters and Pilots.
This organization originated in New
York harbor, but was not intended to
deal with the wage question, because
any steamboat owner, manager or other
capitalist who holds a steamboat Off
GERS license is eligible to membership,
and the owners and managers Of steam
vessels in many cases became charter
members of this organization also.
! There was a very earnest appeal made
to the grand body of Masters and
Pilots, last January to SO amend their
constitution as to retire the non-wage-
earns from active membership, but this
the grand body positively refused to
do, and upon the refusal Of the grand
body to amend its constitution, the In
ternational Pilots Association organ
lied. and applied to the American Fed
aration Of Labor, and was granted a
charter, with jurisdiction over the H.
oensed officers of steam vessels in
1ctive service, and these only.
The officers of vessels reserve the
right to organize, equally with the
owners of vessels, and surely there is
not any bar in, the code OF social ethics
to prevent them;: if officers of steam
vessels build an Organization, with
power b.: to eaualize e: wages and condi-
4 ions nd even buses which lie
Forced ::persisteptly. 4 nd sidiouslY upon
them by corporate capital, they GER
tainly are acting within their province
| as men,,
+ There is a peculiar situation on the
Great Lakes. among the common car
riers, the parallel of which does not
anywhere else exist. The United
States Steel Corporation own about
eighty-five per cent Of the iron ore
that is carried on me Great Lakes,
They own the shipping docks and the
receiving docks, railways and manu-.
featuring plants in like proportion, and
they own sufficient OF the tonnage tc
transport eighty per cent of the ore
they ship. Their interest is shippers
and manufacturers is much create,
than their interest as carriers; hence
their steamers, their gain "e manufac
turers will much more than make III
their loss as carriers; therefore, it i!
Of very great Importance to the Stee
trust to establish a low rate OF freight
for the twenty per cent of ore they
canot carry with their own fleet o.
steamers.
1t the consuming public obtained
cheaper iron products because of :
very low rate Of Lake freight, which
is now lost. to the Vesselowners out
side of the Steel Trust would be gained
Dy' the consumers, and would, there
fore, result in common good. Blu
this is not the case. From the raw
material in the earth to the nished
product ready for the consumption tn
i iron and steel production is the mos
complete monopoly within the list O
\ protected industries," the Standar,
| OLE monopoly not excepted
The Steel Trust is a creature O
special legislation. and it's monopolis
tic powers can not be broken excep
by legislation. If the Steel Trus
lives the independent vesselowners will
soon be historic relic; the bushes
Of transportation by water will even
great corporations
Because Of the strong hold the pro
tective tariff fallacy has upon tn
] minds of wage earrers in its effect t
? raise wages, the repeal Of such specia
Ia VS. as those which create .nonopolie
Will be very slow in Accomplishment
In the meantime, however, organize
labor must keep up the warfare 70
their rights, as the producers of all tn
wealth, to more equitable share O
the wealth they produce, because i
a general way it is common knowledg
among wage-earners that labor Isl tn
3 producer of all wealth., and that ther
is a force continually at work separat
ing wealth from it's creators in yer
unfair proportions And it is ais
quite generally known that this fore
is the special privileges created sby la,