Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-11-10
PARKS PARTING ADVICE
Fallen Labor Leader Warns
Unions Against Graft.
ACCEPTS FATE WITHOUT PROTEST

"Remember Me-" Says the Former
Walking Delegate of the House.
smiths Union OF New York City I'm
CounseIinE His Fellows Against
Temptation-sends Love Token
to His Wife.
Samuel J. Parks, the former walking
delegate of the Housesmiths and
Bridgemen's union of New York city,
who has twice been convicted Of ex-
torting money from employers in the
building trades, before being taken to
Sing Sing prison the other day to serve
his sentence Of two years and six
months made the following statement:
Every laboring man in this country
should remember me for years to come.
should be warning to them. I'm
the victim of custom that is older
than am, and that is the habit Of hav-
ing money transactions with employ
ers. That's put me here.
II tell you, and&I want the boys to
know it, that the salvation of the I'M
ions lies in stopping that practice at
once. They must give up fines, wait
ing time, back pay for strikes and ev-
erything like that. That's the loophole
through which this grating as they
call it, creeps in If they don't, in the
years to come many another good fell
low'll be where am going tomorrow.
Don't for a minute think mean
that the labor leaders are Egrafters' at
heart. If they are they are made SO.
And that brings me to say that right
here in New York city is the crooked
est set of men in the world, the en-
ployers in the building trades. You'll
never see any of them awaiting SEN
tence; they are too slick. They never
leave any tracks. But take how they
work. Why, know and could name
for you 100 employers of New York
city-by that mean the big companies
as well--who have made practice of
using labor unions against competitors.
Maybe that isn't a crime! Maybe
there is no sentence coming to man,
for instance, who will go to a young
fellow who has been put in authority
by his union. This young fellow has
never made more than couple of dol
lars a day in his life before. He's on
the level and wants to help the cause.
1.-THE employer holds out a roll of
bills bigger than anything the young
fellow has ever seen before.
See here he says, I want you to
be friendly to me. I don't want any
trouble. You can look out for me a lit
tie 'Bingp the things off.
: "It isn't long before that easy money
gets easier, and then comes the propo-
sition to pull the men on rivals job
SO that men enough from the friend can
be had. 1t isn't far from that to having
rival employer blacklisted troubled,
struck, and after that where's foolish
young fellow to stop? His heads gone.
I know plenty of employers who have
made fortunes by working that way.
Some of them know I know it too.
They'll never be up here. Well, don't
kick. I'm forgetting all the past now.
1.-THE newspapers have been pretty
busy with me for the last six months.
l guess the world has a pretty bad
opinion of me. That's another thing I
don't kick about especially il it's be-
cause I'm an advocate Of force in labor
unions I believe in that. That makes
me out bad man, but tell you that
it's the only way organized labor has
ever gained anything in New York city.
Figure it out for yourself. Did arbitra-
ton raise wages? Not once, but strikes
did. Does arbitration keep nonunion
men off buildings? Not much. I re-
member how that is done.
"Manys the time have gone to the
boys and called for volunteers and
with them gone down town to build
ing where the boys had been struck and
nonunfon men had taken their places.
It was only case of waiting around
the corner until the whistle blew. In
most cases that was enough. The nom
union men didn't come back the next
day.
81 was young fellow in Chicago six
teen years ago and tried bridge build
ing. OF course joined the union, and,
being pretty husky, it wasn't long be-
fore the big men noticed me, and / be-
came a member Of what you people
have been calling the entertainment
committee There was lots Of WORK
Tor me TO DO.
II spent most Of my time outside the
city. I was on the bridge in Louisville
when it fell. taking sixty Of the boys
with it. / got out somehow, and then
in 1896 I came on here. The union was
in bad way then, and when I was
elected a walking delegate soon after
ward I didn't do anything for six
months but work to get them together.
The last time l was at a meeting near
" 1000 men were on the rolls.
"Now I'm out of the labor movement
forever. I hope, to come out of prison
all right. I'm going to do all I can to
get back my health. I'm telling you
this only because 1 hope some of the
boys will see it and read it and think
about it. Keep away from money
ira cfionS in every wav shane and