The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1906-10-26

Christian unions and Independent
unions.
In 1882 there was a ten-hour move
ment among the shipwrights ant
caulkers of New England, and sew
eral strikes resulted, which proved
successful.
A recent decision by the department
of Justice is to the effect that railroad
workers are in the unskilled labol
class and cannot be imported into thu
United States under the alien contrac
law.
In Germany there are old age pen
sions and insurance against accident
In the latter respect Austria-Hungar
follows the lead of Germany. In Ger
many 10,224,297 persons are thus in
sured.
The International Building Trades
council has placed itself on record as
favoring arbitration as a better meth
ed of adjusting differences between
employees and employers than the
usual plan of strikes and lockouts.
After discussing the subject at con.
siderable length, the Utah State Fed
Grafton of Labor decided against en-.
tering the field of politics as an or
ganization. The matter was left to
the central bodies and local unions.
There is at the present time a dis
tinct movement all over the continent
of Europe in favor of one days rest in
seven, and the proposal usually is to
make the day of rest the first day OF
the week, instead of the seventh,
which is still observed by the Jews in
all countries in which they reside and
labor.
There is a movement afoot to have
the label exposition which will be a
feature of the next convention of the
American Federation of Labor re-
peated in several of the larger cities
of the country. At the conclusion Of
the convention, which will be held
at Minneapolis in November, the ex-
hiblts will be taken through a circuit
Of cities. The exhibition will consist
of union-made, label-bearing goods,
and will be international in extent.
Germany had Iii courts of indus
trial arbitration in 1905, to which 165
applications were made, and these
courts were able to effect 142 settle
ments. Holland had 80 courts; they
interviewed In Is cases, and only eff
fected five settlements. In Belgium
there were rs councils of industry
and labor, but little appears to have
been done by any of them to settle
labor disputes. In Italy there were
80 courts at date of information; they
interviewed in II cases, and effected
in 10 of them. In France
there were III Cancellation commit
tees, and they effected settlements
1O4 disputes.
While we are rejoicing at our splen-
did record of over a million and a
half trade unionists. and over SO
M. P.'s represented at our rec
ord" congress at Liverpool, we cannot
ignore the fact that trade unionism
Is increasing at a greater rate In Ger
many than it is here. In Germany
trade unionism ha increased from L.
466 ,625 in December, 1905, to 1892, 343
n December last. There was, therefore,
an increase of 1885, or nearly 25
per cent. in 10 months. The large ma
jority of the German unions are So
cial democratic. Last year they had
a total income of Sc, 500, 900, and spent
s2,400, 900 on strikes and unemployed
allowances. The accumulated funds
amount to nearly a million.-Rey.
nolds' Newspaper, London.
Theatrical employees of large cities
Ire formulating plans to oppose the
Importation of foreign skilled and I'M
labor for American theaters
md will ask all theatrical organiza-
ions to oppose the importation of for
eign chorus girls by sympathetic
The railway mail clerks want the
,ight-hour day principle adopted in
hat service, and at a meeting at Chi
'ago Endorsed a petition asking the
general so to rule. mas
much as many of the runs cannot
,e shortened within that period, the
asks that in such cases the
men be allowed cumulative credits for
'vertime, which they can draw in
xcess salary or with pay substitutes.
t was decided also to submit a bill
or a retirement Of clerks who have
,rown gray in the service and are no
onger able to work, The funds for
his will be derived by Withholding
wo dollars from the regular salary
0 which each man is entitled. The
MEASURE provides that any man who
as been in the service rs years may
a pension which will range from
240 to $3.50 a year, according to the
lumber of years he has been In the
Officers of the National Association
[ Master Sheet Metal Workers have
cen elected as follows: President. Ed.
lin L. Seabrook, Camden, N. j.; first
Ice president, Paul l.. Biersach, Mil.
'aukee, Wis; second vice president,
A. Pierpont, Washington, d. c.;
lird vice president, Charles A. Gauss,
Indianapolis, Ind; fourth vice presi-
ent, AL Bourlier, Louisville, KY; Sec
etary, w. H. Barnard, Norfolk, Va;
%'easurer, G. w. Battley, Norfolk, Va.
nd trustees, w. A. Gallaher, Whining.
IN, DEL; Thomas F. Black, Brooklyn.
!. Y; Robert Kain, Cleveland, O., and
|. W. Richards, Philadelphia, Pa.
The average wages Of American
orkmen IL double that Of the English.
nm and ~1xv ~A