The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-03-02
Communicated
HAsLAM,s LARoR Bill

HAsLAM7S LABOR BILL.
To The salt Lake Herald:
In the issue Of The Salt Lake Herald
Tor Feb is appeared an article relating
/ 70 Dill introduced on the previous day
ln the legislature OF Utah by Repre-
sentative Haslam.
You head the article stringent Bill
20 Aid Strikers" also stating that the
measure was introduced az the behest
on some Of the representatives Of local
labor unions, which in itself was an
error The bill is endorsed and has the
unqualined support of every labor or
senizauon in the state of Utah, with an
enrolled membership OF 5000 names.
The title Of the bill explains the pa-
ture Of IL, the essence Of which is to
prevent employers importing men into
THIS state 10 WORK by the use OF false
deceiVing and base advertisements
which has become of frequent occur
repce in recent years.
Should the bin become a law il serves
not alone as an aid 10 strikers. but an
important factor in the prevention OF
strikes, inasmuch as an employer viii
willingly cOnCede to his employees con-
Icessions which are demanded from time
to time, which he would otherwise ig-
more.
Illinois. which was the first state to
adopt a bill of this kind. succeeded a
/ few years afterward in testing the mer-
Its of the bin during the strike of the
/ bItumlnous coal miners at Verden in
that state. Thousands Of negroes were
lured from their southern homes by the
malicious advertising Of INSCRIPTIONS
/ employers to take the places Of citizens
and taxpayers fighting for the right 10
live and 10 improve their conditions.
! Through ii the late lamented John R.
] Tanner governor Of Illinois, succeeded
q In having these negroes exported back
/ to their homes at the expense Of the
/ mine owners and operators. and peace
/ and harmony soon reigned where chaos
a few days previously prevailed True,
/ he was denounced as a slayer OF enter
] prise by the capitalistic press for the
I action taken and. sad to relate, his
/ epltaph was Immediately written on his
I political aspirations and ambitions.
The measure introduced by Repre-
sentative Haslam is almost an exact
! duplicate Of the Illinois law. which
/ stands on the statute books of that
/ state.
! The wage workers Of Ohio and Indi-
/ ana seeing the advantages derived and
/ accruing from the Dill by their fellow
! Workmen in Illinois. Immediately took
] steps to have q measure similarly
/ framed presented before their respec-
{ tive legislatures. with the result that
/ in both states the bill has become a
/ law and the citizens and taxpayers
/ have since reaped some Of the blessings
| accruing from it. The city of Cleveland,
/ O., for three or four years previ-
/ Gus TO the adoption OF the bill had
numerous labor troubles and was fire.
! quently under martial law. Martial
\ law is now an unknown quantity in the
/ Ohio metropolis. Everything must have
| a beginning.
This prospective law is a child Of evO-
I luton. 1t was framed originally at the
/ request of the Illinois Federation of
/ Labor by one. of the brainiest minds In
/ the galaxy of American lawyers. While
I protecting no class I'm particular, it
| strikes at the root of one of the worst
evils incident TO strikes, namely, false
/ advertising, Misrepresentation, etc.
The fact that such an eminently just
measure should be Classed as drastic
and stringent battles the imagination.
| What are the sO-called drastic features
of the bill? ct US closely examine
il. The principal object of the bin is
to prevent employers securing men 20
take the places Of men engaged In
strikes without a full and complete un-
Outstanding with them of the nature Of
the work TO be performed, which is but
just and right.
1t is intended also to prevent the i'm
pOrtatiOn into the state of armed thugs,
sometimes styled detectives, for the
sole purpose of defending strike break
ers who have become such an impOr-
tant factor in the conflicts waged be-
tween capital and labor in recent years.
We fail 10 see anything of a drastic
nature. contrary to justice in the meas
ure now before the Utah legislature.
1t has proved beneficial to employer
and emplOye in the states where two
thirds of the population are wage
workers. Why should it not prove sue
cessful in Utah, similarly situated?
Facts in the history of all strikes
which have occurred in recent years in
this country substantiate our state
ments that employers viii Ofttimes take
advantage Of the ignorance and lack Of
information Of working men to lure
them to some distant land by induce
ments. such as high wages, steady en-
plOyment, etc, when had the facts been
known, they hire the men for the sole
purpose Of breaking strikes and to play
traitor to their fellow-men, against
which their manhood rebels. but force
of circumstances often compels them to
do as the master bids. They are
thrown among strangers in a strange.
sometimes distant. land, far separated
from home and friends, without funds
and in most cases absolutely destitute
and entirely at the mercy of the en-
ployer. Then out of what was once a
manly man a miserable scab is made
This Is the man the bill protects. and
in protecting him it protects the public
the wage Garner and taxpayers Of our
state.
D. d. DONOVAN,
Secretary. Machinists Union.
Salt Lake Feb. %.
NEEDED NEW LAWS.
To The Salt Lake Herald: