Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-19

Snop on repair work.r The protest was re-
ferred to q COMMITTEES of the central body,
which at the last meeting of the union re-
ported adversely upon the application of
the canvas workers for the reason that If
the charter was granted the union would
be dual organization. which would result
in factional troubles. which is generally the
case when dual organizat lions are tolerated
1t is stated that the fcaIIvas workers have
been advised to join the Repairers' Union,
now organized and affiliated with the Cen
trail Labor Union. and that they will be in
vited to do SO.
1t is stated that the agreement. in form,
recently submitted to- the local brewers by
Beer Drivers and Stablemens Union No
Pa has been signed'by all the firms. The
special contracts submitted by the firemen
and engineers employed In the various
breweries. it is reported, have been ac-
cepted by the Heurich Brewing Company.
Soda and Mineral Water Wagon Drivers
Local, S22, reports that the Bottlers' Pro-
tective Association has signed the agree
ment which was Endorsed by the Central
Labor Union and referred to the contract
committee of that body.
A matter of considerable interest to or
gained labor is the effort being made by
the Chicago Employers Association to ma
tonalfZe the organization by forming
branch unions throughout the country
frederick w. Job. an agent of the associa-
ton, who was recently east for the purpose
of organizing branches, states that the
principles of the association are: ~s.. ~
mo sympathetic strikes freedom of en-
no limitation of output arbitratio and the
enforcement of the law. ~".-.'.--
we are organized, just as the unions
are. to see that these principles are MAIN
ta1ned. Every trade has it's branch asso-
citation, which itself is a member Of the
central association. A few big concerns
like the Fairbanks Company, engaged in
several lines of business, belong directly to
the central organization. A demand made
upon manufacturer in any branch of
trade is taken al once to the branch asso-
citation of that trade. If the demand is de-
cided to be unjust the members of that
branch association bring it to the central
association. There the question receives
the most careful investigation. -'' %.
III 1t is demand for increased wages on
the plea that the cost of living has increas-
ed that much we look up the statistics. We
have special department on the cost of
living. 1t is at work all the time getting
statistics and 1T has carefully figured out
just how much, the cost of living has in
creased. If the employer upon whom the
demand was originally made has not in
creased his wages in proportion to the
actual increase in the cost of living we adj
wise him to offer the union that incYease.
because the demand is just. But we don't
propose to concede to the union that living
has increased in cost, say. 45 per cent.
where as an actual fact the increase has
not been over 10 per cent, and we propose
be reconcied with the principles of our
association Then If the union making the
demand proposes to fight we are ready to
fight, too.
THE case of the laundries is a typical
one. The union planned to close two laun-
dries at time. instead of all at once so
that those where work went on could help
support the strike. This is an old game in
against that, and it's the sympathetic lock-
out. When the strike started and two
laundries were closed by the strikers we i'm
mediately closed every one of them. That
cut them off from their base of supplies a
1t were. The laundry owners all belong to
our association and the association stood
behind them with money to help them out
1t wasn't long beforetthe strike was settled
without the employers giving up any of
their principles.
In many instances unjust strikes have
won because an employer has feared the
effect on his credit of a prolonged struggle.
We propose to help sustain the credit of
those who are in trouble.
In one instance lately in Chicago a bank
proposed to call in loan made to an en-
ployer who had a strike on his hands. A
director of that bank was member of our
association, and before we got through that
bank was ready to help the employer in
stead of virtually aiding those who were
trying to ruin his business.
I'm place of the unions strike fund we
have defense fund. I'm not saying what
that amounts to. The unions say we have
raised S6O,000,OGO to beat, them. That isn't
true, of course, but we have concerns in our
association whose stock alone represents a.
much as that We have membership fee,
which am not free to name, and that has
supplied us with all the funds we have
needed thus far. We ask an employer to
hold out as long as he can and then we say
We'll hold out for him and send him Ger
titled check, If It's necessary. No employer
who has been member of our association
has yielded in any dispute in which demands
were made which the association decided
were unjust, and the effect has been felt in
every branch of business.
Where the unions have their blacklists
we have our fair list. If a boycott is at
tempted III strike we put the name of
the concern boycOtted on our fair list and
that means that we will get that place all
the business Our tactics in the
laundry strike revealed what we could do,
and in several disputes that have come up
since. the international officers, when called
in. have advised the unions to go slowly and
not to strike once they found the Employ
ers' Association would be involved.
I'VE are not fighting labor. We are fight
ing simply against unjust assaults of labor
upon capital. The labor leaders have not
taken to it kindly. They have had me fol-
lowed by detectives and they've made all
sorts of threats in Chicago to what was
going to happen. Whenever l have caught
a man shadowing me I've hired a man to
shadow that man. That's all that was nee
essary. The men who make those threats
are the bully element in union and they
are the biggest towards on earth Since
we have stimulated employers to prosecute
every case of violence and have convinced
the labor leaders that we are going to See
the law enforced. if we have to go to the
highest court to put violator of 1t in
prison, the labor DULLES out there have be-
come very quiet. The plan we have worked
out is a natural development of the modern
economic situation. 1t is the only saliva
ton for employers from unjust labor wars.
Unless such an association includes en-
ployers of every branch of business it must
fail. One union is helped by another union
and one class of employers must be helped
by another If we are to have industrial
peace.
THE organizations patterned after ours
which have been started in such places as
Alton and Freeport. ILL.,. have met with the
same success. In Alton. where unions have
run the town, an attempt was made, for in
stance, to boycott the widow of a black
smith because she brought her nephews
from the country to shoe horses They
didn't belong to the union. An employers
associa ton was started. her place was put
oil the fair list and it wasn't long before
she had more business than she could at
tend to and the unions were beaten in their
attempt to ruin her business. Similar move
ments are now under way in ST Louis and
In several other big cities. all of which
have been watching our experiment in Chi
cago.
''In time this plan can be extended over
the country Then the two sides In labor