Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-08
AGAINST MARINE BAND
Civil Musicians Allege Unjust
Competition.
APPEAL TO PRESIDENT
CONTROVERSY OUTLINED IN A
PUBLIC STATEMENT.
The Government Urged to Pay Its
Musicians Salary Sufficient to
Maintain Them.

/
Musician, the official journal of the Ameri.
can Federation Of Musicians, published a,
st. Louis, contains all the facts of the con-
troversy between the United States govern.
| :nent and that labor organization over the
| acceptance of private engagements by en-
listed musicians of the government. This
| controversy, the details Of which have al
| ready appeared in the columns of The Star
although general in character, has been
| confined practically to the issue with the
| United States Marine Band, and there has
been incessant warfare against that aggre-
cation.
| AS stated in The Star at the time, Secre-
tary Owen Miller of the American Fedora
| ton Of Musicians and Mr. William J. Kern
| good, president of the local union of mu-
| s.cians, called on President Roosevelt No
| vember D, at his request for the purpose of
| laying before him all the facts bearing on
| the controversy. Secretary Moody of the
| navy was present during the conference.
| The interview ended with a request on the
| part of the President to prepare statement
! on the question from the viewpoint of the
American Federation Of Musicians and send
| 1T to him, through Secretary Moody. Mr..
| Roosevelt promised the labor leaders to
thoroughly examine the statement, and to
take final action as soon as he could do SO.
Text Of the Statement.
| The statement of the labor leaders Is
| printed in the official journal of the mu-
| sicians. 1t Is addressed to Secretary Moody,
under date Of November 9, and is, in part,
| as follows.
! "Sir-In compliance with the request of
| the President to have submitted to him
| through you a statement as to why the
| civilian musicians of the United States OBJ
| ject to enlisted musicians in the service
| being allowed to come in direct compe-
| tition with such civilians have the honor,
| on behalf of the American Federation OF
| Musicians, to respectfully submit the fol.
| lowing reasons for objection to such compe'
tit;on:
"A musician is the only member of the
| community that Is subject to such compe.
titicn. In no other occupation, let 1t be
| considered as professional or Of the trades,
| does the government attempt to organize
| the enlisted men of those occupations or
professions. fully equip them with all neces-
| sary implements of their occupation. be-
| sides paying the bonus of salary, furnishing
| rations, clothing, quarters and medical at
| tendance, and placing them in direct COM
! petition with men of the same occupation
| in civil life For instance, the government
| would not furnish an office for a dentist,
supply him with all the most modern in
struments and allow him to enter the
| competitive field against dentists in civil
| life. The same may be said of all other
trades and occupations. Therefore. we
cannot understand why the government
should pick us out particularly, as the only
member of the community that this system
should be applied to.
The Conditions Explained.
"The bands in the service of the United
States government are supplied with musi-
cal instruments and music uniforms ra-
lions. quarters, rehearsal rooms and medi-
cal attendance, none of which advantages
the civilian musician enjoys. who must
| =
any fair minded person can readily under
stand that men who have all these necessi-
ties furnished free at public expense have
an immense advantage in competition
against those who have none.
"Those in favor Of this system continually
bring forward the fact that the pay and
allowance Of musicians in the service Is in
adequate, and, therefore, to recompense
men who enlist In the service of the United
States they should be permitted to do SO at
the expense Of the civilian. I would re-
spectfully call the attention of the honor
able Secretary to the fact that entering the
or naval. is a voluntary act, and before en-
| terin9 such service the men who do so
know Just exactly what they are to expect,
and 1t Is hardly Just that they should be
expense of the civilian who, as a taxpayer,
must help to pay for all the expenses of
| the enlisted man placed In competition
| against him. Almost since the formation
Of the government the civilian musicians
have protested against this system. We
have repeatedly appealed to both the War
and Navy departments. We have appealed
to Congress, and in every instance we have
succeeded in getting bills passed in the
House Of Representatives prohibiting en-
listed men from being allowed to enter
into direct competition with civilians. but
these bills have always failed Of passage in
the Senate. Finding that we could accom-
plish nothing by appealing to the heads Of
| the departments or Congress we finally con-
-. a. - -
United States. as commander-in-chief of
the army and navy, who by a single order
| could cause discOntinuance of this unjust
| system of competition.
| Take Firm Stand.
"This is the first time in our history that
we have ever gone to that extent, excepting
at the Indianapolis convention of the Amer
| lean Federation of Musicians, when we
| passed a resolution known as standing reso-
luton No. 10. several copies Of which have
been forwarded to you. by which every
| member of our organization, comprising
80 600 professional musicians in the United
| States, divided among $50 localities, have
| pledged themselves not to perform for any
| function where enlisted men were en-
| ployed.
| Fright here wish to make myself I'M
derstood as plainly as possible, to the effect
that the American Federation of Musicians
| in standing resolution No. 10 particularly
|
ice of the United States government is es-
corting the President of the United States
| or any officer of the government, or any
commander, or any foreign guest thereof,
4 or, in fact, performing any function as rep
i resenting the United States government,
There Is no objection raised to their being
| used for such purposes. but when these
| bands. who, as I have set forth before,
| have all the advantages OF being provided
for at the expense Of the people, are al
lowed to be placed in competition with the
very people who pay these expenses, then
| we object, and having failed to get justice
| through the departments, we have pursued
this course of righting what we consider
| cur wrongs"
Secretary Miller, in his statement, says
he could cite numerous instances of how
this system has acted contrary to the inter-
ests Of the civilian musician. He refers to
! a call in 1888 on the labor committee of the
| House, at which time the committee of
labor leaders presented a portfolio showing
the result Of the competition Of enlisted
men against civilians.