The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1908-12-19
With Live Ones In
Good Old Lincoln

TO minors He had enough direct evil
dence to convict dozen times over,
and Judge Day SO declared. But the
jury returned verdict of mot guilty"
Labor Commissioner Ryder is
working to secure the abolition Of
the Saturday night store business.
He suggests that one of the best
starts would be to abolish the Satur-
day pay day. His attention was called
to the evil-for evil it is-by reason
cf what seems to be violation of
the law prohibiting women from
working more than ten hours a day
in factory or store. Stores that open
at s a. m. and remain open until 1O:39
Or II p. m. Saturday must work from
fourteen to fifteen hours. A shift at
evading the law is to let the women
have an occasional hour Oft during
the week and then make up lost
time" by working late Saturday night.
Commissioner Ryder called the atten-
ton of employers to the fact that this
was a violation of both the letter ana
the spirit Of the law and several of
the employers promised not to Of
fsnd again., Future violations will be
prosecuted
Two of Nebraska's largest stores
close on Saturday night at the usual
o'clock time-Miller & Paine of Lin
coin, and Thompson & Belden in
Omaha. And the proprietors of these
stores seem to be doing as much busi-
ness as the stores that think they
must keep open late on Saturday
| night.
! Early this week it was rumored that
the retail clerks would try to get an
| extra Christmas week holiday by
asking The employers to close Thurs
! day night-Christma eve-and re-
main closed until the following Mon
day morning. The clerks based their
request OH the ground that one day
didn't give them chance to visit the
nome folks. OF course the movement
didn't progress very far. And why
should it? There was no organized
! effort behind it. The clerks haven't
got sand enough to organize and
make a concerted effort to secure
some relief. They did muster up cour-
age enough a year or SO ago to ask
the ministers Of the city to help
them get relief, but they didn't have
courage enough TO ask for it them
selves. Funny they didn't pull off the
street railway employees stunt and fly
to the city council for relief. The
| retail clerks will not get very many
concessions until they organize
The recent visit of President Alpine
of the Plumbers International put
lot of ginger into the local bunch,
| and they have been doing some lively
hustling President Alpine gave the
local situation thorough investigation,
and about the first of the year an
organizer will be in this territory to
help things along. Incidentally The
i Wageworker wants to remark that
the Plumbers Union of Lincoln,
though small in numbers, is among
the "live ones" The boys have had
many discouraging things happen, but
i they have never lost courage nor quit
:, fighting for minute.
u When Jerry Howard comes down
!, to Lincoln next month to assume his
} duties as member of the legisla-
ture from Douglas county, the union
: men are going to find him live
) one" who will stand by them from
post to finish. Jerry knows all the
kinks of the labor game, and he may
be depended upon to stand up Tor
organized labor all the way. And
it is going to be pleasure to hear
him talk He has a delightful Irish
brogue that is the next best thing
; to visiting the Ould Sod.
J, Emmett Flood, general organizer OF
t the American Federation of Labor, is
: now in Omaha, and he is getting
things started off at a lively rate
Ee will have plenty to do in Omaha
, and South Omaha for while, but
} he expects to do lot of work in all
! the surrounding territory. He will be
: in Lincoln in short time to look the
f ground over, and when he comes he
I is going to receive warm welcome
t also lot of hard luck stories Ne
e 1raska has needed the services of an
e organizer for several years, but has
i rever had them-save now ani then
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