The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-03-04
BUILDERS AT A MEETING.
Representatives Of Twenty-four Towns
Attend the Gathering.
From Thursdays Daily.

Representatives OF TWenty-four Towns
Attend the Gathering.
From Thursdays Daily.
The large cities of the state and TWEEN
ty-four smaller Minnesota towns were
represented at the opening session of the
State Association of Builders in ST..
Paul at the Builders exchange. The
second annual convention of the organi-
cation closed with banquet at the Mer-
chants attended by 300 representatives
of building exchanges and lines of COM
mercial enterprise associated with them.
The secretary's record at noon showed
seventy nine accredited delegates at the
convention.
j. w. L. Corning of st. Paul was elect
ed president of the association; George
w. Higgins of Minneapolis, J. F. Schlu-
ems of Duluth and A. H. Hatch of Farl,
bault vice president; A. V. Williams Of
st. Paul secretary and treasurer. The
members of the new executive committee
are George j. Grant of st. Paul, N. w.
Nelson of Minneapolis, c. E. Evens of
Duluth, John P. O'Neil> of Faribault and
Robert Seibert of Saltwater.
The visiting delegates were entertained
at noon at lunch at the Commercial club
as guests of the st. Paul builders ex-
change.
The most important discussion of the
day related to the work of the national
organizations of employers. The acco-
citation went on record as vigorously OPP
posed to the closed shop, the boycott, the
sympathetic strike and the proposed ma
tional eighthour law.
| Prominent men from different parts
of the state and representing different
branches of the building trades address
ed the association at its banquet last
night at the Merchants. President j. w.
l.. Corning presided and introduced T.
A. Abbott as POSTMASTER. In a brief
address Mr.. Abbott said:
''Ihe day of combinations has come.
The day of the single individual is past.
We stand for equality of opportunity
and of privilege. This organization is
the vigorous champion of the open shop
and is as vigorous in its stand against
the rule of the walking delegate and the
operations of bands of men who demand
/ the reduction of hours of labor and in
creased wage, and full days for a
greatly modified days work"
! r. A. Kirk, as the representative of the
Citizens alliance and the jobbers' union,
spoke on organization.
'No one disputes the right of labor or
CARNATIONS to exist" he said, 'yet we
must admit that they have drifted
away from their moorings. The abuses
that have grown up in them prove that
power in the hands of some men is a
dangerous thing.
"Organized labor, in standing for the
closed shop, the boycott, the sympathetic
strike and the restriction of apprentices
| is sure to go down to final defeat. In
the very considerable depression of
business, and especially in the building
development of 1903 no other cause con-
| tributed so much as the unreasonable de-
/ mands of labor sought to be enforced by
uniustifable and unlawful means. 1t
goes without saying that in the tremend-
GUS losses that occurred, the wage-earn-
ers themselves were large sharers. The
I pity is that instead of falling upon the
professional agitator and others of his
kind the great part of the loss has fall
en- on those dependent on them"
Mayor Smith spoke Interestingly of
the development of st. Paul's resources
and the growth of the city.
| President Higgins of the Minneapolis
exchange spoke briefly and President
Todd of the Duluth exchange brought
greetings from the Head of the Lakes.
E. P. Bassford, representing the archi-
tects, spoke Interestingly, weaving into
his talk fund of anecdote and remin-
iscenee of his forty years of active bust
ness life in st. Paul.