The Yale expositor., 1907-03-08
FROM A UNION MAN.


Yale, Mich.
Butte has the name OF being the |
greatest copper camp on earth. Butte /
also has the name Of beng the greatest |
union town OH earth, and my object AT
this time is To show you some OF the IN
consistencies of the various crafts,
which sooner or later will bring trOu- |
bic TO this camp, where the miners ana
underground workers are not one par
ticle To blame and where these crafts
are forcing up the cost of living SO hlgh
by raising their wages that the miners
can scarcely exist Sooner or later the
miners will be forced to ask for an IN.
crease i'm their wages, which, II not
granted, will lead To strike, ana when
will have a tendency to destroy union
labor. Lower the good wages already
paid and then these same crafts VIII
wonder why this is all brought about
will give few instances TO SHOW
YOU how this is brought about. On
Nov. Is, 06 the large mining compan-
les voluntarily raised the miners ana
AL underground workers wages from
$3.50 to 1915 with the understanding
that this would be the scale as long as
copper remained above Is cents. On
the following day the restaurants raised
| the price of meals ten cents, SO that the
miner that happens to be eating at one
of these places is five cents worse OIL
than he was before. Then again this
same miner. upon going to his room,
finds the next day card hanging upon
| the inside of his door which says, S2.OO
month more rent please; and he mas
either got To pay or get ont ana Whlie
all this is going on, the various trades
are raising their wages beyond all rea-
son, as compared with the miners who
were voluntarily given raise OF 20
| cents.
| | will now give you a copy of cir
cular that was spread broadcast on the
streets of Butte last Saturday after
noon. the title of which is: "A Plea for
Lower Wages for Everyone in Butte.
Miners of Butte Get Busy. Yes, | say
get busy if you want justice and a
chance to live. You are in IA worse
condition today than when you were
getting $3.50 per day, and will be worse
off at 81 per day. And why? Because
you are being robbed-nOt by capital
but by a dozen petty unions when
could not exist for single day were 1t
not for the miners union. Butte, the
richest city of her size in the world,
was built up by the miners and we look
To You to see that she is not dragged
down to destruction by these people
Miners have been paid S3.oO per day
since Butte was village, and when
they got raise of 25c per day, see the
result in the following raises
Carpenters. 50 to ST: Mining carpen
tiers. $50 to ,; Teamsters, ; To 300; La
borers. to $50; Paperhangers, to 300
Butchers, 4 to ); Machinists, 40 to .
: Mining blacksmiths, 40 to D; Painters
; to $50: Freshmen, ) TO 6; Plumbers,
to $50. BARRIERS were raised % pei
cent. stablemen get a big increase, tC
say nothing about dozen others wht
will soon get in their work. Plumber
5 charge you Sl2 per day. This means
I to the miner higher rent, coal, meat
livery bills, groceries, repairs, and ev
! erything else, with no possible chance
to establish a home of his own. Ant
should he get 81 per day, up will g
the prices again.
:. Here lies the remedy. Let the mi
ners' union appoint committee TO ~
the rate of wages for every union II
!; town. put them back where they wer
! Sept. 1, 1906, and keep them there, o
put them lower if necessary. You cal
do it and have the cooperation OF eV
eryone who has at heart the true inter
est of the laboring man who wants t
work and who desires to become an
continue an important factor in the up
building of Butte.
Last week we were without tele
e phones, and still have nothing to rea
owing to the pressmen going on strlk
Il 5000 people deprived of the necesS
ary conveniences of life because not I
exceed 80 people are demanding a
II much money per day as many of Their
received in a whole week before the
st came to Butte.
Think of it! Now. Mr.. Miner, &c
" Busy! Do it Now. DO it today. 70
are 1900 strong. It's up, to you.
49, Signed, CITIZEN
This circular also appeared in tn
Great Falls Tribune under date of FeI
10 Dist. | want TO say i'm explanation {
the plumbers that the journeyma
< plumbers get 81 per day, but the ma
ter plumber, who owns the shop, chars
re es S12 per day for every man in his ell
1T ploy that puts in a shift of eight hour
Then again, the teamsters who driN
20 the coal wagons get a raise of SOC p'
NJ day And the coal dealers take the az
vantage of this by charging the col
sumner fifty cents ton more Tor n
>. coal than before.
rs Then again, want to say it is III
J! possible for boy living here to lear
trade. The plumbers won't allow
n And the fee for joining their union
Is, almost prohibitive, charging 500. Ju
h. think of it. The butchers don't want
boy to learn, either, and are confer
st plating raising their fee from 800
re $50. The various other trades are n
er much better Signed,
A UNION MAN.
sc "
he A severe cold that may develop in