Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1906-01-18
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Twenty of the leading builders and
| contractors of Lancaster. Pa. have sign
ed working agreement with the local
| Carpenters Union.
The biennial convention of the Grand
Division of the Brotherhood of Railroad
Freight and Baggagemen of America was
held in Lancaster, Pa.
For the first time since the great strike
twenty years ago, the c., B. Q. railway
has recognized the engineers, an agree
| ment having been made with the broth
erhood recently.
Per capita tax was paid for 304,5oO
members in the United Mine Workers
for the month of November. Eighty
thousand of these are in the anthracite
fields. This is the largest number in
the history of the organization.
Machinists and other workers are in
demand at the new shops of the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company at Cayre, Pa.
Several men left to seek employment
elsewhere recently, and the company
seems to have difficulty in obtaining 9TH
ers.
The Western Federation of Miners
claim credit for the favorable decisions
obtained in Nevada and Missouri, the
eight-hour laws of which States have
been declared constitutional. The miners
say they spent thousands of dollars to OBJ
tain the results.
The proffer of 40 cents an hour after
May 1 next, an increase of five cents an
hour, voluntarily made by the Master
Carpenters Association of Philadelphia
IN &hnSa of baip who
agree to have nothing to do with sympa-
thetic strikes, has been rejected by the
District Council of Carpenters, with
membership of 1000.
Charles Moore is champion cord-wood
cutter of Berks county, Pa, at the pres
ent time. He has a record of $4,000
cords of wood since he has been in bust
less. He supplies the city of Reading.
He pays his laborers at an average price
of 60 cents a cord. y few experts can
cut four cords day. The average is
little above two cords.
The strike of the ligarmakers of San
Francisco to secure an increase in their
schedule of prices has ended, the union
having succeeded in securing the consent
of all manufacturers to pay the new
rates. luere were ABOUT IOO ClSiI man
ers on strike in the various factories,
and these men returned to work promptly
when their employers signed the union
schedule.
No other branch of the steel industry
has made such rapid progress in the last
FIVE years as wire. Five years ago the
country was consuming about 10000 tons
of wire for fencing purposes. Last year
about 100000 tons were sold. This is
but one instance of the rapid strides OF
the wire industry, the capacity of the
mills having increased 80 per cent since
the organization of the United States
Steel Corporation.
Labor unions are organized for the
protection of workingmen and women,
not to antagonize the interests of employ
ers. Workingmen are part of the masses
of the people, and their interests are
not separate from the interests and well
fare of society. Workingmen and wom-
en- are producers, but they are also con-
sumers, and measures that tend to ad-
vance their interests as producers must
result to their advantage as consumers.
In almost every wooden manufacturing
center in New England a new and high
er scale Of wages was put in force with
the beginning of the new year This ad-
vance in wage will involve an annual
increase in pay rolls of approximately
$1,500,000.. About $4,000 mill operatives
participate in the increase, at percent
age ranging from to 10. In a majority
of cases the increase was made yoluntar-
lily by the manufacturers, although de-
mands for increased wages had been
made at many of the mills.
Grand Chief Warren S. Stone of the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
says that there is no let-up in the scare
ity of engineers at present prevailing all
over the country. Besides" he says,
mo relief is in sight. The brotherhood
now has requests for $50 engineers from
railroads, none of which requests can
be cared for" As to the cause Mr..
Stone says: "The men are not to be
found. Few men who leave school care
to tackle the monster engines of the day.
The work is too strenuous"