The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1905-10-27

coln have a grievance, and Tues
day night it was presented to the
Central Labor Union, and by that
body received and ordered re
ferred to the affiliated locals.
When action has ben taken upon
it in the locals and reported back
to the central body, the matter
will be carried up. The Wage
worker has referred to this matter
once before, but does SO again
with great cheerfulness. The
name of the individual in ques-
tion is not given at this time, ow-
ing to the pendency of the case,
but the, facts are in brief as fol-
lows:
Several years ago this man,
whom we will call Hawtree be-
cause that is not his name, joined
the Carpenters Union in this city.
Before he had been in the union
more than month or two he ar
ranged to build him little cot
tage. If memory serves Alright
he had the lumber ON the lot. But
before he could go to building his
own cottage he fell from a scaf-
ford while working on another
mans house and broke his leg. Of
course his fellow unionists rail-
lied to his assistance, for that is
what unionism means. He re-
ceived aid in several ways, but
the greatest aid was rendered
when the carpenters built his cot
tage for him. This they did by
each donating days work or hir-
ing substitute. A foreman was
employed and paid $50 out Of the
union treasury for his work.
When Hawtree was able to arise
from his bed and hobble around
he found his little cottage ready
for the plasterers and paperhang-
erS.
OF course Hawtree protested
that he could never return the OBJ
ligation--and he evidently didn't
try. Within short time after his
recovery he secured a job as fire.
man at one Of the city pumping
stations and soon forgot that he
ever was a union man. His card
lapsed and he was finally let out
for non-payment Of dues. In time
he was promoted to engineer at
a good wage. Last spring he de-
cided to invest some of his money
in fiat building, and did so,
building not more than seven
miles from Fourteenth and l.
streets.
Did he remember the time the
union carpenters came to his as
sistance in his hour of need? Did
he remember the obligation he
took when he entered the Car
penters' Union? Did he show
that he had even a faint glimmer
of the meaning of the word graft
tude?"
Not at all The carpenter work
on his new building was done by
"scabs." Every door, window,
floor; upright, sill, brace all
handled by non-union carpenters,
and every day there passed this
new building union men who had
few years before donated their
work to help the fiat owner when
he was in bed with a broken leg
and up against hard luck for fair.
And yet this man holds mur1i-
cipal job and his salary is paid in
part by the union carpenters to
whom he has shown such base in
gratitude. The Carpenters union
asks that every local union take
cognizance of the matter. The
carpenters rightly believe that a
man so lost to Ill gratitude is un-
worthy Of public employment, and
they further believe that they
have right to expect the help of
sister unions in making an ex-
ample of this man.
The sin OF ingratltude IS, above
all things, the worst sin outside of
the criminal code. And there are
men who would rather be found
guilty of anything else Snort Of
murder in the first degree.
At Tuesday nights meeting the
central body took cognizai,ce Of
the food of foreign immigration,
and while disclaiming any inten-
ton of being opposed to imm;gra-
ton did adopt resolutions calling.
upon congress to restrict it and
demanding that the officials
charged with the duty of engbrc-