The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-05-02
men COMPLAIN
OF MANY WRONGS
UNION MEN OPEN MARINE IRON
WORKS UNDER MOST FAV-
ORABlE AUSPICES.
Clyde Secures Ten Non-union Mould.
ers, But it 10 Getting Very Little
New Work.

The Freight Handlers strike is still
in force, and the men are more de-
termined than ever. There has not
been any great rush of boats this sea-
son to try the skill of the Knudsen-
Eden men as 1ongshoremen, neverthe-
less they have been subjected to con-
siderable embarrassment. Every boat
they load is leaving here far short in
cargo. This is due entirely to the fact
that the non-union men are incapable
of doing the work. They do not know
how to stowe a boat. This is where
the skill is. Watching some of them
the other day, they were making hard
work out og very easy work. Every
day brings a. car load of new men to
work on the docks. They are hired un-
de- Misrepresentation. This paper has
made an investigation of the method
Of employing non-union men In the
Twin Cities. The employment agents
there tell the men that no strike is on.
When the train gets to West Duluth
the doors are locked The men then
begin to see that something is wrong,
and in reply to their questions they are
Informed that there are about fifty men
! quence. When the train arrives at
West Duluth the coach is detached
and switch engine takes it to the
! docks. While they are being unloaded
they are surrounded by special police
and marched to the boarding cars like
| felons. It is impossible for the union
men to get very near these men, but
| when they do, they are usually sue
! cessful in inducing a number of them
| to quit. When man is taken into the
boarding car he is made to feel that
he is under some obligation to the COM
pany, but at the first opportunity many
OF them desert. Nineteen quit in
body Monday. They objected to being
treated like prisoners. They are moth
ing more. Here they are thoroughly
surrounded by armed police. There is
the dead line. He who passes it, pro-
vided he is a striker, is a trespasser
and is Immediately arrested. The non
union mans prison is the boarding cars
! From them there is little chance to es-
cape. F'orcible means are not applied.
| but there is that method Of coercion
and intimidation that is often more ef-
fective.
| Many of the freight handlers are be-
! ing arrested for trespassing on. the
/ Railroad Company's property Almost
i every day one OF them IS brought into
4 .IIsseeuEtfe public thorough.
fare at t1lou9h owned by the railroad
company, Tor it must be remembered
: that the railroad company owns every
l'inch of water front in Duluth. The
men, for convenience, walk on the foot
Of First Avenue West to Lake Avenue.
This has been the habit for many years.
Fully one thousand people use this To-
cality as a. thoroughfare every day.
Why should men be picked out for ar
rest simply because they are at outs
with the Northern Pacific Railroad? A
! special policeman seeing a striker going
by, makes a note of it and then has a.
| warrant sworn out for the strikers ar
| rest. A hundred other men will pass
him unnOticed. Now we must serious
| ly object to using the city court for
| such petty offenses. If union man
would assault a person not in sympathy
! with him, we would say upon con-
viction, give him the extreme penalty
! We have no sympathy for any union
! man who would stoop to such methods
in strike. He does labor's cause
more harm than he can do good. But
| the discriminating use of the tresspass
ordinance ought to be strongly con-
demned by every citizen in Duluth,
and no court can long afford to permit
| it's abuse.
What ought to be done is to repeal
the city ordinance covering trespassinr
upon private property. There is 4
state law covering this which is suf-
! ficient to bring offenders to justice. If
an arrest was caused under g. state law,
the defendant would have some rights
that he does not now enjoy. He can
not now have a trial by jury. and
while we do not want to intimate that
Judge Window is unfair; he is not re-
sponsible for the law, yet even IT, it IL
a little more expensive, more common
sense justice can always be secured
! from a. iury.