Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-10-20
nelly, elected TO the presidency Of the
international Association Of Bridge


convention recently held In Kansas
City does not mean that he has lost
power to do evil. He retains his hold
on Local Union No. 2, which has a
membership OF almost four thousand
men, and through affiliations he is
able TO influence a great many more.
| was told at the Employers associa-
tion that Sam Parks controls thirty
thousand men and can dictate to them
any policy Of graft be chooses.
The cause Of the present depIorable
labor situation Is simple. Il Is the re-,
suit Of M unprecedented condition Of
prosperity III the building business,
aud the appearance OF d man lnscru-
p.iloua enough and of sufficient power
q turn tlie situation u his own ac.
count.
X II not necessary o. reeite tho De,
fails Of the differences between the
old boara oi Walking llelegates and the
employers. There was bad blood be,
tween them, and wbea Parks began
his systematic campaign Of grating
By levyine hiachmnil ON the builders.
inc latter were forced by the presence
OF a common enemy ~ organize I'd
u the time 81 this organization there
Ind been little In common between
the builders Of the city. Mr. Jerome
says they aid moi hesitate To- cut each
others Threats In the way of trade,
ana In their cagerness 70 get their
slice of tho building contracts they fell
easy victims 10 Mr.. Parks.
" undoubtedly Is true that PARKS
present power Ii primarily due 10 the
fact that the individual builders pre-.
ferred to pay d 1.-THE Of their profits
To the CRATER rather than run the
chances of losing the extremely val
liable contracts then on the market
II Ii also true that IL the builders had
taken d firm stand at the very outset
if they had organized then instead Of
each endeagoring to got the better nf
his rivals they would not now be
praying Tint The district attorney carry
out bis promise to send Sam Parks np
the river on a long BIZ.
II was d case II paying blackmaii Is
d CRATER rather than lose 4 few dol
lars Of profit.
or the personality of Parks. District
Attorney Jerome says.
only a fool would underestimate
his power In many ways he Is d loader
Of men. He has personal magnetism
and the power to convince others that
his word Is law, He has physical
bravery, daring and i dashIng style Of
leadership, He Is a brute. his Ian
guage Is foul, and the mar Is person,
ally offensive to decent people. bit
Ills ahrewdnoss Is beyond question
And because he has brains and com.
bines them and his other attributes
with brutality and wnscrupulousncss
he Is dangerous and q menace to the
public welfare
The manner In which Sam Parks
holds his power and with a compare.
lively small percentage OF men domis
mates the great majority Of the build
ing trades union In this city makes
interesting reading To again quote
Mr.. Jerome:
"He started In The first place with
the mistaken reputation OF having
forced employers 70 raise wages from
$3.50 to $3.50 a day. He loudly made
il known that he was aiming ut D Ave-
dollara,day limit, which was natur.
ally an influential argument among bis
class. The labor class hailed him Ms
" fiihllfibU vi ihtiI ilEuibf tuAi nv iOs
%cordingly gained great popularity. The
fact Of the matter Ii. almost any man
could have done the same thing. Cir
%cumstances not Parks. brought the
increase In wages. The goods were
delivered on demand because work
was so plentiful, contracts so profit
able that the builders cheerfnlly paid
an Increase In wage, as they did black.
mall. rather than see their business
halt at such a season.
Parks next posed d the shining
mark ut which capital. sordld capital
Ia aiming its shafts. lie succeeded
in creating such a sentiment that u
IL now common 10 hear men say
Parks may be q CRATER. but he's no
worse than the employers In the long
run, and he is one Of Us. lie Is being
pounded because he Is ono ~ us, and.
by God. I'll stand by him Labor
that Is, certain classes Of labor. does
not stop to discuss the ethics Of a sub
jcct. When the average laborlng man