Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1905-02-24

| Fail River labor difficulty recently set
tied through the mediation of the gov
ernor. Ever since the great body OF
strikers went back to work COM
plants have been made that some OF
the more active strikers have not been
reinstated.
About 5000 employees of members
of the Builders Exchange League at
Pittsburg were notified by their en-
| ployers to cease work pending the
| signing of the 1905 wage scale. The
leaders OF the different building
trades organizations whose members
are affected by the lockout order de.
clare they have done all in their pow
er to bring about a peaceable settle
ment. No advance in wages or change
| in working conditions was asked and
the only barrier to an agreement was
the Objectionable open-shop rule Of
| the league.
A bill prepared by Prof. George d.
| Watrous of the Yale Law School, de-
signed to prevent interruption of pub
lie service by labor troubles, was pre-
sented in the Connecticut senate. 1t
provides that the employees of no cor
poration of public nature shall strike
| for higher wages or reduction In
hours without giving three days no.
tice, and compels corporations before
reducing wages or increasing hours
of labor to give three days notice to
employees Arbitration committees and
heavy penalties for violation of the
law are provided.
The House of Congress passed the
postoffice appropriation bill, carrying
$1S7,7S7,413. Representative Griggs
of Georgia offered an amendment
against labor unions which provoked
discussion. The question of political
activity by postal employees and the
course to be adopted to prevent 1t
was raised by Mr.. Griggs, who offered
an amendment providing that the
uniting by postal employees with any
association or organization which has
for its object the change of the rela'
tion of employees to the government
shall be cause for dismissal"
An agreement recently made be-
tween the Carcass Butchers associa'
tion and the Amalgamated Slaughter
ers' union of New South Wales shows
that wages and labor conditions are
much better there than in this coun.
try. The hours of labor are forty:
o;nb CT od civ
days, not more than nine hours to be
worked in any one day. Double time
is allowed for all work over nine
hours a day. The minimum rate OF
wages for sheep butchers is SIS
week, while cattle butchers are paid
$3.50. The maximum number OF
sheep to be killed and dressed by one
man must not exceed $50 a week, OF
more than seven and onehalf an hour.
The minimum scale provided for any
butcher workman is $3.50 for eight
hours.
One of the Oldest and most success
full international labor unions in the
country is the Iron holders Union OF
North America. 1t was organized al
Philadelphia July s. 1859. There were
thirty-five delegates representing
twelve local unions at the convention
On Jan. /, 1861, it had twenty-eight
locals, but during the war it was near.
ly disrupted. Owing to the work OF
William H. Sylvis, one of the founders
of the organization. the spark was
kept alive, and following the close OF
the war it began to grow in strength
and importance. Previous to the for.
nation of the international union a
number of locals existed in different
cities, mostly in the east. The first
of which we have any record was
formed in Philadelphia in 1897, which
was followed ten years later by an
other in Cincinnati. In July, 1900,
there were 331 local unions affiliated
with a membership Of about $4,000
but in the past four years the mem
bership has more than doubled. All
the present time there are 40 Local
unions affiliated with the interna
tional, and the membership is close
to 10000. The iron molders may be
considered pioneers in the joint trade
agreement policy, especially in the
stove founders branch of the bust
ness. For the past fifteen years there
has been no strike in that branch OF
the industry.
The annual report of Secretary Nor
rison of the American Federation OF
Labor shows benefit payments of vari
GUS kinds by sixty-six international
organizations during the past year OF
$1,739,796 could not include the
amounts, in many cases larger, paid
in benefits by local unions. For ex'
ample, Secretary Morrison's report
credits the International Topographic
cal union with $3S,925 for death bene
fits. But this represents probably less
than half the total expenditure foI
death benefits alone in that union
The New York local. mo. g." pays an
additional death benefit of $50, max
ing with the $40 paid by the Interna
tional total of $3.50 for each death
benefit. The same local union paid