The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-07-07
VICTORIES THAT
TELL THE STORY

dependent Democratic paper, in an edi-
tor1al article pregnant with thought
for those employing printers who are
opposing the International TYPOGRAPHY
1cal Union in it's fight for eight hours,
thus sees the situation:
That the union Is not making a los
ing fight against the Butterick Pub
fishing Co.. is amply proven by a
statement which the Butterick Com
pany has furnished it's stockholders,
which statement was printed as paid
matter In certain newspapers, to the
eject that two months Of the unions
warfare in 1905 had cost it a good deal
over $15o.00o.
Some 100000 of this amount was
spent by the Butterick COMPANY pre-
pairing for the strike" as it says, show
ing that the company expected the
strike, or, as the union claims. the
company, for purposes Of its own and
reasons known only to itself, forced
the strike on the union two months
IN advance Of the date set by it for
the enforcement Of its eight-hour de-
mand.
1t Is uncomfortable how concerns like
the Butterick and Mcclure establish
ments, which are certainly not run for
fun, but from which the stockho,dera
expect an increasing rate of dividends.
should permit themselves to engage in
such a costly and losing fight with the
printers union, for lose they will in
the end. The history Of the New York
labor movement teaches that. Defeat
may be postponed for a time, but 1t
cannot be prevented. The money loss
acknowledged by the Butterick Com
pany is a sure indication of that fact,
The Butterick and Mcclure COM
panies have only to study the Crofut
& Knapp hatters' fight in 1885; the
Third Avenue Railroad fight later: the
Cornell iron fight. and more recently
the Sun newspaper fight, to show that
this is so,
Notwithstanding that nearly all Of
these later made peace with the un-
ions, none have sregained the import
ance, size and standing they held be-
fore their respective .sf1ghts.' ~ - i
The .Crofut- g. Knapp Co., of Con-
necticut,: had a name in the hat trade
which other factories envied. It had
one of the largest factories in the Nut
| meg State. It spent thousands OF dol
lars fighting the Hatters Union and
then gave in. 1t has since been
eclipsed by others.
The Third-Avenue Railroad Co. sui
fered SO f1ercely under warfare waged
against it. by organized labor in New
York that it abandoned its line ia
the Grand Central Depot, sold its
Third-avenue and Thirty ourth-s street
stables and did not recover from the
effects of the blow until it changed
its motive power For years prior ia
that time the road was damned by its
mere name. To the public it repre-.
sented all that was unpopular in an
employer and corporation.
The Cornell iron firm fought the
! union ironworkers from 1892 to 1902
and then gave in. The name Cornell
stood for the largest firm in the bust
| ness. There are other firms which
| now overshadow it.
So powerfully financially-backed 8
| newspaper as the New York Sun, tc
| whose support rallied every anti-union
! interest in the country, in the end, too
saw itself compelled to surrender tc
the Typographical Union, even though
that surrender did result in a compro.
mise. It was union victory never.
| theless.
Any cause the public supports |.
| bound to win. When the support takes
shape in the manner of giving or with:
holding it's patronage the victory i.
| not left long in doubt. The public
| now doing more thinking and discrim.
| mating than it ever did in the past
does not give its support idly or care.
| lessly. It knows what it is doing.
Lost trade Is seldom ever recovered
| Every business man tries to keep wha,
| customers he has and to get more
The Butterick and Mcclure companies
will have only themselves to blame II
the public take the printers side OF
the fight and shows its hand.