Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-27
IN LABOR CIRCLES
g.

o.
A hornets nest Is said to have been
stirred up by the agreement between the
United Typothetae Of America and the In
ternational Printing Pressmen's Union at
conference held recently at Philadelphia
Luke Grant. In an article in the Chicago
Record-Herald, says the pressmen in the
windy city at a special meeting several
evenings ago repudiated the agreement and
adopted resolutions to send to every local
throughout the country urging that dele
gates to the next convention be instructed
to break the contract and at once to pro-
coed to enforce an eight-hour day in the
printing offices throughout the country.
The Chicago pressmen,' Mr.. Grant says,
ARE opposed to the agreement for several
reasons and declare that when the execu-
tive board signed it the members of the
board. and particularly President Martin
p. Higgins. exceeded their authority and
violated the instructions of the convention
held in Pittsburg last June.
1.-The agreement is made for five years,
becoming effective May next. When the
last agreement was made the understand
ing which the pressmen had was that they
would be granted eight-hour day on
not provide for an eight-hour day until jan
uary 1, 1909. and many of the pressmen de-
clare that they have been handed a lemon
by their national officers
Protests against the contract are being
made in New York, st. Louis, San Fran
cisco and other large cities. and the Chicago
men assert that at the coming convention
which is to be held in New York next June,
the delegates not only will repudiate the
contract, but remove from Office the men
who signed it. William Murphy, first vice
president of the organization refused to
sign the contract. as he declared he could
not return to his home city of Butte, Mont,
ana face the members If he joined In an
agreement delaying the Inauguration of the
eight-hour day for nineteen months after
the expiration of the present compact. =
When the representatives of the employ
erS signed the agreement they did sub
1ect to the approval of their association
and the pressmen declared that their off,
GERS should have done likewise and submit
ted the proposition to a referendum vote.
at the last convention of the pressmen res
olutions were adopted providing for the en-
forcement Of the eisht-hour day Immediate y
after the expiration of the present agree
ment, provided it is not within the scope
of possibilities of having the same arranged
amicably and equitably within reasonable
time after the expiration of the agreement
now existing between the respective organ
iZations"
The executive board has determined that
nineteen months is a reasonable time as
fixed by the convention, but the Chicago
men declare that an amendment was offered
which provided that unless the shorter
WOrkday was conceded the matter should be
referred to the next convention. No such
amendment appears on the official records
of the convention and the Chicago pressmen
say it was left out purposely by the ma
tional officers
The convention also instructed the ma
tional officers to work in conjunction with
the International Brotherhood Of Book
binders in trying to bring about a shorter
worlday. and when the agreement was
made last month the bookbinders We're ig-
nored. The bookbinders recently have
taken referendum vote on the subject, and
while the result has not been announced
officially it is said to be largely in favor of
making a fight October l of this year.
One OF the most serious objections to the
agreement is said to be that it provides
for the open shop.
The agreement among other things pro-
vides that 1.-THE International Printing
Freshmen and Assistants Union shall not
engage In a strike, sympathetic or other
WISE or boycott, unless the employer fails
to live up to this contract, it being under
stood that the employer fulflls all the terms
of this contract by paying the scale of
wages and living up to the shop practices
as; as settled by the committee. regardless of
his employees union affiliations"
Another objection which the pressmen
are urging against the contract is that
there is no assurance that the United
l, 1909, when the eight-hour day is to go
into effect. They say there is nothing to
prevent a firm withdrawing from the Ty-
pothetae and continuing on nine-hour
force the shorter workday. The United
Typothetae Is not as strong as it was
year ago. when the printers fight started.
Many firms have withdrawn and granted
the eight-hour day to the printers. The
pressmen declare that after the long fight
with the printers the employers are in no
condition to engage in another contest, and
that if the national executive board had
ltGHf III Il Il
been conceded one year earlier than is pro-
vided for in the new contract.
Attributing the large loss of life when
the steamboat Larchmont sank in Long
Island sound to an insufficient and ineffi cient
crew. August Gildermeister delegate of the
Atlantic Coast Seaman's Union, said at
yesterdays meeting of the Central FEEDER
ated Union that the conditions We're the
same on practically every steamboat of the
kind that piled out of New York. He pre-
scented resolutions. which were passed, CALI
ing on President Roosevelt and Congress
to support pending measures to remedy de-
fects in the maritime laws with reference to
the crews engaged on these boats
Since the Slocum disaster. said Glider
meister in support of his resolution the
excursion steamboats, have been better
equipped as regards life-saving devices
although there is much room for improve
ment-but because of the inexperience and
small number of men on the boats there is
JUST ds HUGH udhSef Oh repetition OF the
calamity as there ever was. The crews
would not be able to make use of the life
saving devices If necessity called them
That was the trouble on the Larchmont
If there had been enough men of ability in
the crew l say without hesitancy that the
loss of life would have been greatly re-
duced."
Herman Robinson. local organizer of the
American Federation of Labor, presented
resolutions indorsing the bill pending in
Albany to make the legal railroad fare be-
tween Manhattan and Coney Island ) cents
He said the famous seaside resort was q
place sought by hundreds Of thousands of
laboring men and their families in summer
and that only corporate greed was respon-