Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-02
IN LABOR CIRCLES
O.

| dustres. His open shop tendency is illustrat-
ed by several expressions and incidents that
have occurred during his administration.
One of these Is given as his approval of the
| finding of the coal strike commission. lin
which the principle was laid down that no
man should be moested or Disseminated
against because he did or did not belong to
| labor union" The Presidents action in
| the Miller case at the government printing
! Office is also cited as showing that he favors
| the open shop.
| Washington workingmen who have read
! the article say the matters mentioned will
make organized labor more determined than
| ever in its battle for the closed union
| shop They also intimated that the
| fare against Public Printer Stilngs who
| has been characterized as IAN apostle of
| the open shop" will be waged relent-
| lessly, even to the ballot box, as labor
| leader expressed it
Following are some excerpts from the
| ticle referred to:
The of the new awakening among
| the employers of America has caused a
| situation of absorbing national interest at
the seat of the federal government. 1t is
appropriate that here should be fought to
a conclusion some of the most vital and
controlling issues that in recent years have
arisen between the government and union
| labor and between capital and union labor
That the Roosevelt administration can
not long avoid becoming involved in some
| of the numerous matters now rushing to a
! test seems reasonably clear. Already the
leaders OF trades unions are beginning to
attack Mr.. Oscar S. Straus, the Secretary
| of Commerce and Labor. because he hap
pened the other day to say that the ques-
ton Of the immigration of the japanese
was not racial, and that there was plenty
| Of work in this country for the Japanese
to do that white men would not perform
Already the bureau of information, which
was added to the Department of Commerce
Inv rP
designed to find employment for immi-
grants who came to this country and usu-
ally make for the congested centers Of
population. Is being placed under the ban
or laDor bodies Already plans, on the old
lines, are being made to coerce members
of Congress at the coming session to vote
as the unions desire on the anti-injunc-
ton bill. under penalty of attainder at the
polls. Already the word has gone forth
that unless the President removes Charles
A. Stillings, the public printer who MAIN
tains the open shop In the government
printing office. every union man will be
asked to vote against the next republican
nominee for President
In view of the Importance of this condi-
ton which Is even now causing grave con-
Germ to members of Congress- the Presi-
dents own words on 1t will be interesting
In letter to Mr.. George B. Cortelyou,
then Secretary Of Commerce and Labor
Mr.. Roosevelt, on July H. 1903, wrote:
1t Is adjudged and awarded that no
person shall be refused employment or in
any way Disseminated against on account
or membership or non-membership in any
labor organization, and that there shall be
no discrimination against or interference
with any employee who is not a member of
any labor organizatio by members of such
organization: l heartily approve of this
award and judgment by the commission ap-
pointed by me, which itself included mem
Der of a labor union
Recalling this letter and the decision
made by the President when he ordered the
reinstatement of Bindery Supt William A.
Miller, on the ground that no rules or regu-
lations of labor union could be permitted
to override the laws of the United States
one would suppose that there would be no
likelihood of the President receding
A matter of the greatest present impor
lance is the contest being waged here by
the Employers Association of Builders for
the open shop. This contest has received
national Importance from the statements
made by the trades unions leaders that
Washington has been selected by the en-
ployers as the first point of attack and
that, after 1t has been made an open-snop
town, the movement will be carried to all
other cities. At this writing Washington is
actually an open-shop city. and to all ap-
pearanceS the strike has been won by the
employers. Union and non-union men can
be seen at work on the same structures,
and the number of Workmen not connected
with any labor union is being constantly
increased.
This struggle, which eliminated in Au-
gust in a general strike order from more
coming for a long time. The cause was
the refusal of plumbers to work with nom
union men on the same structure. The
labor unions had laid down the rule In
Washington that whenever a non union
man appeared on any building, matter
what his trade, the union men should quit.
The question whether the plumbers should
go back to work was submitted by the con-
tractor and the union to arbitration. The
decision was against the union The union
refused to abide by the decision. and the
tln 4 ,,l,yk
was had. Once more the decision was
against the union. Again the compact to
agree to the decision was broken, and once
more there was arbitration. The third de-
cisiOn, like the other two, was adverse to
the union, and oy the union was disre-
garded.
with their work constantly menaced by
unions which would not abide by arbitra-
ton, the builders of Washington decided
to make a test of the question whether
they might employ any man whom they
chose to employ. The unions allied in the
building trades emboldened by past sue
cesses, gladly accepted the challenge. They
were very strong, having a combined mem
bership of about 5000 in the District, and
the building trade Is the most important
In the District. Declaring that they had
the right to demand a fair days work
for fair days pay" and to employ any
workman who was capable, whether he be-
longed to a union or not, the Employers
Association laid out its campaign in
busness-like way.
III nrSt informed the community exact
1y what the question was. No issue of
hours or of pay was involved. 1t was
simply whether the employers were bound
to employ union men exclusively. An en-
ployment office was organized and in
formation was sent throughout the country
to the effect that good carpenters brick
layers, stone settlers, plumbers, painters
and stone cutters were needed in Wash
tngton and that good wages and steady
employment would be guaranteed to COM
petent workmen.
las fast as the unions ordered a strike
on a job. non-union men took their places
1t little slow at first. but as soon
as the building interests throughout the
country realized that in Washington a
contest was In progress which promised
to test fairly and squarely the right of
an employer to hire whomsoevGr he
pleased. there was a movement to give aid
to capital at this important time.
AT first the unions could not under
stand it. They had been given their own |
way so long in Washington had enforced
their rules with such an iron hand that |
they felt themselves invncble Nut soon |
they discovered that the work which they |
left because two or three non union men |
had been introduced was moving Just as |