Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-17
IN LABOR CIRCLES
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| Just before his departure for Ohio Monday
night. where he goes to take the stump In
| the interest of organized labor, Legislative
| Agent Sam De Nedry said to Star repor-
| ter that it was his intention to try to pre-
| vent the reelection of Representative James
| Kennedy of the 18th district of that state,
! which was formerly represented in Congress
by the late President William Mckinley.
| Mr.. De Nedry added that while Mr.. Ken
| nedy had manifested his opposition to GER
| tain measures before Congress which were
| introduced In the interest Of the working
! classes the man who will run against him
| on the democratic ticket. James Welty, has
| signed every compact presented to him by
| Representatives of the American Federation
of Labor. md, more, he has consented tao
| itly 1t is said, to be representative Of all
| the claims to be made by labor on the floor
| of the House. The workingmen are pleased
| with Mr. Welty's lavish promises and say
| they will endeavor to elect him. The vote In
| this Ohio district at the last congressional
election was as follows: Kennedy, rep, 26, :
| $3.50 votes; w. ]. Foley dem, ,742; D. j.
| Smith, pro-. 1851 ]. F. jenkins, Soc, 2,522.
| Delegates have been seated in the Central
| Labor Union of this city as follows Beer
| Drivers and Stablemen. No. 234. Henry Mil
| Ter, II. NJ. Sears, w. H. Schaefer ]. ]. Bin
| der and w. s. West: Stenographers, Type
| writer's, Bookkeepers and Assistants Asso-
| citation, Joseph T. Sherier, Frank F. Hart
| well, L. A Sterne, Arthur Hunt and James
| Gallaher.
| Mr.. Milford Spohn, a veteran labor lead
| er of this city, who is known as 1.-THE father
| of the Central Lah pr Union," is reported to
| be seriously i'll at his home 1898 Sth street
| northwest. Resolutions of sympathy have
been adopted by several workingmen's or
| CARNATIONS and the hope expressed that he
| may recover from the attack.
| Referring to the jewelers. strike In Chi
| cago, Luke Grant says:
| Unique in the history of Chicago's indus
| trial disputes is the strike of jewelry work.
| ers, which has been in progress for the past
week. There is no pcketing of shops as is
| the case in nearly all strikes. and non
union men are out and standing solidly with
| their union fellow workmen. Neither side
| to the dispute Is calling the other side hard
names, and the usual complaint of hard
taskmasters and intolerable working condi-
| lions is never heard.
| 1T is the first strike the jewelry workers
| have engaged In since the local union was
| organized, about five years ago. 1t was
| surprise to the manufacturers, for they did
| not believe 1t possible for the union to call
out the men. In some instances men have
worked in the same shop for twenty-five
years and have been on intimate terms of
| friendship with their employers. In prob
ably few lines of modern industry is the
/
| ISOLATED as In the jewelry trade The work
men earn fair wages, and. a rule, their
| surroundings are clean and sanitary. They
| have made few complaints to their employ
ers about either wages or working condi-
| lions, and when the union committee sub
! mtted a proposition for an eight-hour day
| the employers regarded it something in
| the nature of joke, and never thought
| their men would quit.
/ 1.-The modern trade union, however, has
| little sentimentality about it. If it is a
question of choosing between loyalty to an
old employer and loyalty to brother work
men, in ninety-nine cases out of every hun
dred the worker will cast his lot with his
fellows. That is what the jewelry workers
did, although 1t severed some personal
friendships, at least temporarily.
when the jewelry workers first asked
for an eight-hour wOrkday they offered to
accept corresponding reduction in wages.
That was before they were forced to strike.
Now that the strike is on, they do not pro-
pose to return to work until they secure
the shorter workday at the old rate of pay.
Indeed, If the strike is not settled within a
few days probably great number of the
men will never return to their old benches,
for they are being made tempting offers by
manufacturers in other cities.
Mayor SchmitZ of San Francisco de-
clared last week that but for the action
taken by trade unions in that city wages
would be higher and there would not be
as much difficulty in securing the work
men needed to rebuild the city. Mr..
Schmitz is on his way to Europe where
he expects to confer with those German
and Austrian insurance companies which
have far refused to pay up their In
surance on San Francisco property. Be-
fore leaving he made the following state
ment of labor conditions in San Francisco:
Wages would be much higher If it wasn't
for the unions. Shortly after the fire the
building trades unions met in council and
decided not to raise their wage scales. Only
in exceptional cases have individual unions
refused to listen to this advice from the
building trades council. 1t is true that
wages in the building trades are probably
higher in San Francisco than in any other
city of the country. This is not the fault
of the unions, but of the rise in rents. Rents
are 30 per cent higher than before the fire
Then, also. there is much greater de-
mand for skilled mechanics. especially those
needed in putting up steel-framed buildings
than there is an available supply. But con-
tractors are only taking contracts on the
percentage basis, and willing to pay
high wages. In all probability rents have
now reached their high water mark owing
to the very rapid erection of temporary
dwellings, and with the fall in rents wages
will resume their old level The wages paid
builders now are much higher than the
union rates.
r. Glockling, president of the Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Bookbinders has
issued the following circular to all local
unions of the organization in the country:
Information has reached this Office which
indicates clearly that a movement is in
operation looking to making of contracts
between our locals and employers for two
or more years on a nine-hour basis the
ostensible purpose being to circumvent the
movement on the part of our brotherhood
early in 1907 for the eight-hour day.
Instances are also reported of attempts
to make individual contracts with our mem
bers with the same object in view. / de-
sire to warn our locals and members that
such action on their part would not only
be violation of the constitution but will
also be serious menace to a successful
issue of our shorter workday campaign"
Frank Duffy, general secretary of the:
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners of America, in his report to the
fourteenth general convention covering the
two years from July L. 1904, to June 80.
1905. reviewed the work of his office Mr.
Duffy noted the fact that in the past TWEEN
ty-five years the brotherhood had the expe-