The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1903-10-02
POINTERS FOR LABOR UNIONS.


duct of Samuel j. Parks, walking dele
gate to the Housesmiths' and Bridge
mems Union of New York City, is only
one of numerous similar instances
| which have been made public in the
| United States within the last year.
1t seems that, during seven years,
this man had called about five thousand
| strikes and had awaited himself of ev-
! cry opportunity to extort money from
employers. The charges against him
were outcroppings Of system of pecu-
lation and tyranny, of which the gen
| eral public, and especially unionized
| wage learners, were the victims. one
poor woman, the wife of a unionized
mechanic wrote to Assistant District
Attorney Rand of New York:
sam Parks and his crimes are not
so much in taking the money offered
] him or asking for that money from
some one who had it, but his most
cruel, british act lies in taking the
bread out of the mouths of the work
man and his family. My life as well
as my poor, dependent children, are
but few of the many that suffer
| through him"
The case of Richard Carvel has been
thoroughly exploited. The strikes of
| lJUl III San 4 Hii-i''' i'i ''''7'N' 49,
and painful instances or shametul We
nality. But perhaps the most con-
spicuous example was that of Lawrence
Murphy, of New York, former treas
urer of the Journeymen Stonecutter's
| Union, who was convicted and sent to
the state prison for embeZzling about
twelve the sand dollars of the funds
| confided to his charge. His defense
was that the money did not belong TO
the union because 1t had been eXtorted
| from employers, and notably from an
| organization called the Stonecutters
Association Of Brooklyn, and, worst
of all, that numerous members OF the
union. who were not walking delegates
shared the spoils.
These disclosures were forcibly Illus
trated by pictorial representation OF
grnnng skull in Leslie's Weekly,
with the motto 1T means DEATH ana
of them the New York Staats-ZeitunS,
a friend Of Legitimate labor comblna-
tions, said:
| "The public now knows that organ
lied labor is too often abused by worth
| less fellows, who stir up dissension and
profit by the confusion. The tyranny
that today prevails in these circles, the
insolent manner of the walking dele
gate, nave Splt lOO III [hlII'i
lean people"
1t is evident that the day of the
despotic control of the unions is near
ing it's close. But many of the unions,
existing for legitimate objects, will
survive, and the criminal elements,
feeding on fraud and violence, will be
discarded. The mass of unionized
| wage-earners, skilled and unskilled
however small a proportion they bear
to the whole population, are indus
trious, honest, amenabe to reason, and
| have no affinity with crime. The
trouble with them is that they have
| been treated as automatic and bound
| by iron-Clad obligations, which reduced
their Individual power and influence
within their Orc nizations. to a nullity.
The prosecutions in New York and the
decided stand of the Federal Govern
ment, through President Roosevelt
| have opened their eyes and aroused
| them to conservative and effective ac-
| ton, under the Constitution and the
laws.
There are union leaders, such as Sar-
gent and Mitchell and some of the
better officers on the Pacific coast, who
command respect and are not to be
classed with Ed. Rosenberg and other
/
many substantial citizens. however
euphemistic they may be, who believe
| that the better class of unions in the
/ United states are prepared nationally
| to consider any moderate proposition
that may be advanced, and that, pri-
marily through them, If the facts We're
brought home to them, irresistible
pressure could be concentrated at
| Washington that would insure a sup
| ply of plantation labor, such as this
| Territory imperatively needs.
There are a few truths that every
| intelligent man, familiar with the his
tory and condition of these Islands,
must concede. Their political destiny
| is fixed, and schemes for the restora-
ton of the monarchy or the Hawaiian
Republic are puerile and reasonable.
They possess many resources. the most
| important of which is the sugar plan
tations. These plantations could be
multiplied in number and largely in
creased in area, side by side with diver
sifed farming. The necessary capital
is here, but the laborers are wanting.
/ Our trOpicnI situation cannot be chang