Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-28

gates how to vote on the, proposition to
change the official organ. the United Mine
Workers from weekly to monthly pub,
lication. Secretary Wilson. in his annual
report recommended the change, but
committee on officers, reports nonconcurfed
III his recorrimen datfoh,
Indiana leaders In the organization and
those a national headquarters at Indiana
apolis discredt the story from the east
that John Mitchell will decline reelection
president. Some operators and others
conjecture that he will resign, because, as
they say, the organization has reached It's
climax. and that like other organizations
which grew rapidly In numerical strength.
it is bound to lose strength. not to the
point of disruption. but to considerable
extent.
John Mitchell will be reelected president
of the United Mine Workers of America
without opposition.
There is no opposition to the reelection
of Vice President Z. l.. Lewis and Secre-
Treasurer William B. Wilson, but for
the seven positions as delegates to the
American Federation of Labor there is
a list of thfrty-ffye candidates.
In the city of Canton, China, with more
than 100000 Inhabitants, there are slight
ly over 700 shoemakers shops wherein shoes
are made and sold. These shops employ
over 5000 male operatives and 10000 fe-
males. Quite number of children also
employed, and their pay averages ) to 10
cents Mexican CO to A cents United
wages of the males range, according to
skill. from Sc to So Mexican (S2.64 to S.. %
United States) month the workmen liV-
ing in the shops where they are employed
and receiving their Chow" or food, Srom
their employer, in addition to their stated
wages. They begin work as soon as da%
light appears and continue until between s
and 8 o'clock at night, the recent introduce
ton of kerosene oil lengthening their hours
of labor The workman eats and sleeps III
the shop where he is employed. The fe-
males, who do the needlework on tine shoes,
work in their own homes and receive on an
average Is cents Mexican (6.6 cents United
StateO currency day, without Chow" or
food.
"Child labor says T. V. Powderly, de
stroys health of body and peace of mind,
inflicts ruin upon the innocent and helpless.
1t saps the strength, blunts the sensibilities.
invites disease, moral and physical. 1t de-
grades the citizen before he attains ma
jority, 1t performs for a pittance labor that
should command fair pay. 1t benumbs the
faculties, 1T is judgment note drawn upon
early manhood and in favor of death. pay
able at maturity without recourse or stay
of execution. Above all things. child labor
benights the spiritual and clouds the soul.
Is there greater necessity for the child
labor now than heretofore? One hundred
and twenty-five years, ago it required the
combined labor OF 100 men working by hand
to produce as much as
by boy or girl. It would appear that with
machinery displacfng Rmen there should be
no necessity for calling children from the
cradle to the workshop, where they, in the
grinding process, become part of the ma
chinery they operfite.'
.onF-adL
A well-known writer on trade union SUBJ
jects has been doing some figuring which
he used in the fbllowing manner: A con-
servative estimate s1he number OF organ
lied wage-earnefs AID the amount they
earn-and of necessity spend-shows In
truly startling manner the tremendous
power they could iwield If their wages were
always spent after they had given due
thought to their best interests. Taking the
$3.50 600 members OF trade unions, and
basing their wages at $1.50 per day for 800
days in the year, we find that this gives
them purchasing strength of 81, $500 900
per year. This sum-so great that 1t Is Diff
fcult and Well-nigh impossible to appre-
ciate its infiuence-if used to pay rent for
homes built by union labor and in purchas-
ing the necessities of life, that We're manu-
featured or procured by organized work.
men, would soon work a revolution in every
industry in the land
Trouble is threatened in the printing
trade in Scotland on account of the increas-
ing employment of women composltors In
Edinburgh, where, in some OF the larger
establishments. they constitute 30 per cent
of the employees The movement against
the employment of females at low wages
in some cases less than one-third of the
recognized union scale of prices-has been
inaugurated by the Glasgow branch OF the
Scottish Typographical Association, in