Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-13
IN LABOR CIRCLES
s.

| cupying the attention of the national labor
| leaders In Washington at this time. THESE
| considerations are child labor. the eight
hour movement and Chinese exclusion. In
| the presence of these matters all other con-
ssderations are fer the time overshadowed.
Samuel Gompers. president of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor. in giving his at
tentien to these pressing propositions finds
! himself very busy man. First a flying
| visit to New York to address the immigra-
tion commission In opposition to the .adms-
sion of Chinese laborers to the United
States in any guise whatsoever, Then
back to Washington to appear before the
child labor conference and hurl his OBJ
jectionsA and arguments against the most
pernicfous practice of dwarfing childhood
| Intellectually. morally and physically Next
he finds himself in conference with the
directors of action in the labor field pre-
| pairing for the opening of the great contest
| for an eight-hour day on January 1. 1908
Surely the labor leaders of today are
confronted by momentous matters that will
REQUIRE the exercise Of all their tact; in
genuity and 'forthwithness," as Ken
lucky colonel defined unusual activity.
In their warfare for the abolition of child
slavery organized labor finds itself allied
| with healthy public opinion, and all good
citizens whose milk of human kindness has
| rot been evaporated in the heat of twenti.
eth century frenzied finance and graft. Thig
| fight, 1t is condeded, will be the easiest won
| of the trio.
| In the eight-hour movement with the or
| ganized printers as the advance guard
| giant opposition will be encountered. for
many of the largest employing printers
| will present an organized front under the
name of the National Typothetae. That
| the printers contest for an eight-hour day
| Is the preliminary step in a general eight
| hour movement of all the trades Is stated
by some In the Chinese exclusion matter
| there are cons as we'll pros and the
| advances of organized labor are being met
by those who radically oppose trades union
ism and who profess to foresee its ultimate
overthrow when the mechanical marts of
| this country are oyercrowded with work
men from all parts OF the world, be they
| white black yellow, and human labor
| therefore becomes the cheapest of commodi-
| ties because of a great excess of supply
| over demand.
| w. H. Williams. state labor commissioner
of Minnesota, in a recent address the
! child labor laws present and prospective,
before the educational association of that
| state said
| Child labor in Minnesota has not grown
! to the evil proportions that it has in the
| east and south, but with the growth of
urban population and the increase of fac
| tories the evil is bound to increase unless
| effective measures are taken to prevent.
| Cup to the present time our laws have
! not been vigorously attacked by those who
would traffic In the blood and bone of chill
| dren. but when this is done, as is sure to
!
| present statutes would not stand the test.
1.-The antiquities of the law which permit
| the employment of little children at any
| occupation for ten long hours in each day
| and sixty hours in each week should be
! eliminated. Indeed. l favor the passage
OF a law making eight hours the limit that
| any child may be employed in any one
| day, with heavy penalties for violation.
| Il hold further that 1t is disgraceful for
| a state to have provision on its statutes
! that child may be excused from attend
| ance at school because through poverty 1t
! is unable to procure proper clothing If the
| child's parents or guardians are unable 10
| clothe it, the state should do SO
Several representatives in Congress have
| expressed themselves in favor of the en-
| actment of rigid laws against child labor IN
its present forms, and the fight that is be
| ing made against this evil by organized
I labor and humanitarian associations will
| be watched with interest.
! Anent the movement of the printers for
an eight-hour day after January /, Presi-
| dent James NJ. Lynch of the International
| Typographical Union says:
| In this department last month it was
| that that AN industrial army that con-
| tinues to advance, as with an army en-
| gagged in actual warfare, will eventually
| occupy ali of the hostile territory. The
| assertion prompted by the fact that
! at that time 26o unions had arranged for
| or We're working under the eight-hour rule.
| In the month elapsing we have added thir-
| ty unions to the list and $50 Is now the
| total number. A large number of unions
| are conducting negotiations. with every
| prospect of success. We steadily advance,
| Notwithstanding that in some sixty cities
| strikes are in progress. and the unions are
| meeting with more or less opposition There
| is no lessening in the enthusiasm and de-
| termination that have thus far character
| lied the struggle, and from Detroit to the
/ last union that has become involved the
| spirit of our membership is as dauntess as
| on the first day of the strike The members
/ a.
| portunity presented. reaffirmed by ire
! mendous vote allegiance to the eight-hour
principle and through the money test,
| recognized in all unions as the most Sc
we're, provided funds for the continuance
! of the eight-hour crusade Our friends OF
| the typothetae shouted with glee when the
executive council placed the assessment
| proposition before the membership. But
| since tie announcement of the result of
| the vote the gleeful sounds have turned to
| doleful mutterings. Because the executive
| council had the courage to place the exact
! situation before the people who are the
i backbone of the eight-hour moyement-the
membership-the officials of the typothetae
! thought they saw a ray of light in an 9TH
/ erwise gloomy night, and promptly seized
/ the opportunity to inject more anti-union
| tonic into the employers who are leopard
| izing their present business Standing and
| future business prospects in effort to
| stay the coming of the inevitable develop
ment in the progress of civilization, the
| eighthour day. December promises to be
a notable month. More eight-hour history
| Will be made. We are convinced that the
| members, on strike and at work will main
! tain the same unyielding attitude that has
| made this industrial struggle the admira-
| ton and the hope of the Industrial world,
| and that WILL at the dawn of the new year
| usher in the shorter workday for all mem
| bers of the Interna tional Typograp hical
! Union
In a communication to the members of the
| American Federation of Labor, which was
/ read at TIE last meeting OF the Central
| Labor Union, Nj Workers and He pers'
| Local Union. 11:S5. complain of the rela-
| tions existing he ween that organization
! and Mil WORKERS Union Hes. In tha COM
| muntcation refer: c1 to. which is signed by
the officials of the helpers union. il is stat
! ed that they ale not assisted IN any way
by the mill workers. hut are required to
sustain them il any ard Al demands they
may make If the mill workers strike"
say the helpers, we must strike. too; il
! they walk out we must wa k out also. and
/ if they are locked out we must be locked
out with them. In all these and other cases
| we not protected in the least by I1u3
| The helpers desire that the coGd lions
| cited be changed. and request THAT Mil