The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-11-12
PARKS PARTING ADVICE
Fallen Labor Leader Warns
Unions Against Graft.
ACCEPTS FATE WITHOUT PROTEST

walking DG1t8Att OF int ANuaN-
smiths Union OF New York city IN
counseIing His Fellows Against
rernptntion-sends Love Token
TO His wife.
Samuel ]. Parks, the former walking
delegate Of the Housesmiths and
Bridgemen's union Of New York city,
who has twice been convicted Of ex-
torting money from employers in the
building trades, before being taken 70
Sing Sing prison the other day to serve
his sentence Of two years and slN
months made the following statement.
every Iaboring man in this country
should remember me for years to come.
/ should be warning to them. I'm
the victim Of q custom that is older
than 7 am, and that is the habit Of hay
ing money transactions with employ
ers. That's put me here.
II tell you. and / want the boys 70
know it, that The salvation Of the I'M
ions lies in stopping that practice at
once. They must give up fines, walt
ing time. back pay for strikes and ey-
efything like that. That's the loophole
through which this grating, as they
can ii, creeps in. II they don't in the
years to come many another good fell
lowfll be where am going tomorrow
Don't for minute think / mean
that the labor leaders are .grafters' at
heart. If they are they are made so.
And that brings me to say that right
here In New York city is the crooked
est set Of men in the world, the EN-
ployers In the building trades Noull
never see any Of them awaiting SEN
tence, they are too slick. They never
leave any tracks. But take how they
work. Why, / know and could name
for you 100 employers Of New York
city by that | mean the big companies
ais well who have made a practice of
using labor unions against competitors
Maybe that isn't a crime Maybe
there is no sentence coming to 4 man.
for instance, who viii go to young
fellow who has been put In authority
BY his union. This young fellow has
never made more than couple Of dol
lars d day Ia his life before. Hes on
the level and wants to help the cause,
.The employer holds out q roll Of
bills bigger than anything the young
fellow mas ever seen before.
See here, he says i want you to
be friendly to me. | don't want any
trouble. You can look out for me lit
tle .Bingl the things Off
1T isn't long before that easy money
gets easier, and then comes the propo.
sition to pull the men ON a rivals job
SO that men enough from the friend can
be had 1t isn't tar from that to having
rival employer blacklisted. troubled
struck, and after that where's d foolish
] young fellow to stop2 His heads gone.
! | know plenty Of employers who have
| made fortunes BY working that way
/ Some of them know / know 1t too
/ They'll never be up here Well ( don't
I kick I'm forgetting MI the past now
THE newspapers have been pretty
| busy with me for the last Six months.
i / guess the world has a pretty bad
! opinion or me That's another thing !
don't kick about, especially If it's be-
cause I'm an advocate Of force in labor
unions | believe III that That makes
me out d bad man. but / tell yon that
| it's the only way organized labor has
ever gained anything IN New York city
| Figure It out for yourself. Did arbitra-
( ton raise wagesf Not once but strikes
I did. Does arbitration keep nonunien
/ men of buildings? Not much | re-
/ member how that is done.
/ .Alany's the time | have gone 70 the
boys and called for volunteers and
! with them gone down town 70 build
ing. where the boys had been struck and
nonunion men had taken their places.
It was only case Of waiting around
the corner until the whistle blew In
most cases that was enough The non
union men didn't come back the next
day
ii was d young fellow In Chicago six
teen years ago and tried bridge build
| ing. OF course joined the union and,
being pretty husky. It wasn't long be-
fore the big men noticed me, and / be.
came a member Of what you people
have been calling the entertainment
committee There was lots Of work
/ for me To do.
T spent most of my time outside the
city. / was on the bridge in Louisville
when it fen, taking sixty of the boys
with 1T got out somehow, and then
| in 1896 / came on here. The union was
| in a bad way then, and when | was
elected walking delegate soon after-
ward l didn't do anything for six
months but work to get them together.
The last time / was at d meeting near
| " 1000 men were on the rolls.
Nov I'm out of the labor movement
forever. hope to come out Of prison
ill right. I'm going TO do all can to
get back my health. I'm telling g0u
this only because hope some Of the
boys VIII see It and read 1t and think
about tt Keep away from money
transactions In every way, shape and
form Let them do that, and It's al
right
Just before reaching the prison Parks
asked tile deputy sheriff IL he could
have ISL d minute This was granted
and then Parks drew from his mana.
! eled hand Il plain gold ring, kissed II