Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-16
tween loss q trade and premiums paid to

1871 IA Rt0Xt&u0 IA y88X01UMtQn uII11D HM&
January. and there has besu no ninching
On the part Of the typos. They appear 70
% - detefmined today a. thoy wera at
tns oeGinning. and ChAlrnaan Z. G. Persons
he has mot haA one dsserti<n from tns ranks
The total nunher Of prir,tsrs on strihe In
AZ cities y Lisa OF thsss 4.7sR are Jour
members Of allied trades supported By the
printers. A. the total memberahip OF In
transitional typographical Union b 17.o00,
In round numbers, It win be seen that the
day b practically won are well fou,ndsd.
The struggle IL not over. however. by any
means and Il may require hundreds Of
thoasands Of dollara ret to firmly estab-
shops.
After the first week or two, the fight has
attracted little attention. having had none
OF the usual spectacular features. 1t has
been Tree from violence and has been con-
Quoted In manner not open to hostile
criticism But always 1t has been one OF
the most stubbornly contested struggles
IN the history of Industrial democracy.
not worth the tremendous expense 1t has
oeen 10 the printers. or the cost It has been
10 the employers, according to their SYM
patnieS Tor one side OF the other but Ii
SHOWS that the concessions wrung from en-
pioyers by the workers are not obtained
without heroic effort. When the struggle
Is all over neither side viii be apt to for
get the bitter cost Of the first and they
may work together more harmoniously
than ever before
1t Is said that the freight handlers have
come to the conclusion that they might as
wen not have a union IL they cannot get
better wages than they are now receiving,
and that they have little to lose by going
on strike, even should they be unsuccess-
rui. Tsiey are asking for minimum scale
OF - day for truckers and the abolition
OF the probation system which requires q
new employee to work for thirty days at a
lower scale, no matter how much expe-
rience he may have had In doing similar
work on another railroad.
The national president of the organize
ton, p. ]. Flannery, Is extremely consery-
alive. He held the men In check last year,
believing that he had made substantial
progress In getting the railroads to recog
nize the unions for the first time. It IS
true that the recognition consisted chiefly
In the railroad representatives meeting q
committee of their own employees and max
Ing an agreement with them. but that Is
the system adopted by the railroads In
dealing even with the old-established rail-
read brotherhoods. It is said the railroad
managers have come in the last year to
have some respect for the Freight Han
dlers' Union. The men have lived ND to
their agreements and otherwise shown that
they are capable Of acting intelligently in
the matter of discussing wages and work
Ing conditions.
Some OF the railroads are said to be ready
10 grant wage advance to the men, al
though the matter has not been brought
to their attention officially yet. The pres
emit agreements do not expire until June u.s.
and they require thirty days notice of any
change. The new wage scale prepared by
the men will be ratified at meeting today
and will probably be presented to the rail-
road managers tomorrow.
Unless an increase Is granted strike on
r n Ia Ia onrfo rha
officers Of the union assert that the men,
bership Is much greater now than when the
men struck four years ago and succeeded in
tying up traffic. The teamsters, however,
helped the freight handlers In that fight by
refusing to haul freight to the depots. The
railroads had plenty of non-union men in
the city within a few days. but little freight
was delivered for them. Should a strike
occur this time there Is less chance Of the
teamsters interfering. Some of them may
be ''intimidated individually, but as an
organization they will not assist the freight
handlers The officers of the freight hand
lers' union, however, believe that their de-
mands are so reasonable that they will be
granted without a strike. They have had
no increase in four years, while practically
all other classes of labor in the city have
been given substantial advances within that
time. It is probable that the controversy
will be amicably adjusted.
A machinist and an engineer recently
of the conditions that existed in that strick-
en- city when they managed to make their
escape. They declare that the machinists'
union had 1000 members in San Francisco
and that nearly all lost their household
goods. and even the tools with which they
worked.
During the past week in Cleveland many
unions, among them the carpenters, wood
workers machinists, automobile workers
and others, held successful open meetings
and added quite a number of new recruits
to their rolls. This idea of holding open
meetings, smoke talks and various forms of
entertainment has become very popular
among the union people 1t serves to widen
acquaintanceship and form new friendships.
and at the same time the members spend
enjoyable evenings
F. NJ. Ryan, president of the International
Association of Bridge and Structural Iron
Workers last week sent out an official cir
cular to all local unions ordering refer
endum vote on three propositions. The first
Is on recommendation of the Philadelphia
convention that an emergency fund be
established by an assessment of cents a
member month. The second is on a prop
osition to reaffiliate with structural build
ing trades alliances The third Is on the
selection of a city for holding the tenth an
nual convention.
Three thousand iron molders at Chicago
and one thousand at Milwaukee are out
They want, In both cities, an increase In
wages, and a refusal on the part of the
employers to grant the demand for higher
pay resulted In the walk-out.
Eighty-five union bakers are On strike in
Houston, Texas. They went out because
their employers refused a 81 per week ad-
vance for journeymen, So per week advance
for helpers and an additional holiday dur
Ing the year.
James O'Connell, president of the Inter
national Association of Machinists, in ad-
dressing mass meetings in Chicago attacks
the Industrial Workers of the World as an
impracticable, socialistic organiza tion
which Is seeking to disrupt the labor
unions. especially the machinists.
officers of the Amalgamated Sheet Metal
Workers International Alliance are looking
forward to big increase In membership
should the International Slate and Tile
Roofers' Union decide to amalgamate with
IT, The metal workers have absorbed the
coppersmiths. augmenting their membership
by about 800. The roofers boast of
membership of about that many.
Chicago the other day. Its battle cry is
"a fourteen-hour day for housewives" It's
object is to relieve the tired-out wife and