The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1909-02-27

will not be known until about March
80, the date when the present working
agreement will expire. The conven-
ton of the United Mine Workers OF
America has just come to close in
Indianapolis. The delegates, repre-
senting 295, 900 miners, agreed to make
demands for more pay, shorter hours
and recognition of the union. The DELE
gates also worked in among the de-
mands their personal plank for the col
lection of union dues by deduction
from wages. Trouble is expected be-
cause the operators say that they Will
not make a contract with an organiza-
ton that includes both anthracite ana
bituminous mineworkers, and that
they will not grant the wage increase.
In few days the members OF the
scale committee will present the de-
mands to the employers.
New York.-The annual report OF
John Williams, commissioner OF labor
of New York, contains some matters
of interest to labor unionists. Under
the heading of child labor it is stated
that upon order of the labor depart
ment 1888 children found illegally
employed were discharged. In Ala
cases employers were prosecuted for
such illegal employment. The falling
off in child labor generally from the
figures of 1907 was 81 per cent, while
illegal child labor fell off "a per cent.
This" says Commissioner Williams,
leads to the conclusion that willful
violations of the child labor law can
report devotes considerable space to
the results of the first years work OF
the medical inspector of factories,
New York having been the first
American state to provide such an
Office.
Columbus, O.-The state board OF
arbitration is trying to settle big
strike at the Selby Shoe Manufacture
ing Company's plant in Portsmouth,
which may cause complete shut
down of the plant and the throwing
out of employment of 600 persons
within few days. 1t is the most seri-
Gus labor trouble the board has been
called on to adjust for many months.
It started over the refusal of 80 en-
ployes, known as "lasters," to accept a
scale submitted by the company Jan
uary IA.
Racine. VISA new employees
benefit association of the J. l. Case
Thrashing Machine Company EN-
ployes has been launched to provide
members with an income when sick
or disabled, and to pay their families
in case of death. The Case company
contributes 81 1000, and more, as the
list of members grows, and will keep
the fund safely, paying three per cent
interest The assessments are to be
two per cent. of the employees wages
Chicago-FoIlowing conference
between repro 80 tatives of the Chica
90 & North Western railway and the
Associated Building Trades council
an agreement was drawn up and
signed by both parties which put an
end to the long continued strike on
the construction work of the new
Northwestern station and the tracks
approaching it. All the $500 men on
strike returned to work at once.
Manitowoc, Wis.-Declaring the la
Dor problem the greatest of the age
a social disease which state and church
must join to solve-the Rev. H. Hen
CELL of Madison, in a lecture for the
knights of Columbus, suggested as
one of the first steps in solution of the
problem the enactment of a law by
congress fixing minimum wage scale
for labor in different classes.
Berlin, Germany.-Shop assistants
of Berlin have at last achieved the
closing of the shops at 8 o'clock ir
the evening. On the motion of the
Federation of Shop Assistants the au
thorities were bound to ask the shop
keepers whether they were in favor Of
the measure, and these answered witt
majority of two to one in favor Of
closing at eight O'Clock. The measure
| Is made compulsory for Berlin.
| Berlin Germany-During the yea
| 1907 there were 323 lockouts in Ger
| many, as against 421 in 1906; that is
1913 per cent. less. More persons
| however, were involved, namely. 104
| 1888, as against 1886 in 1906. Out o
| these lockouts 95 ended with the full
success of the workers 19,227 per
| sons). 100 with 46,196 persons), re
suited IN paftlal success.
New York-President Gompers o
the American Federation of Labor
who attended a meeting of the Contra
Federated union, declared that despite
any injunction by any court he wa:
not going to stop talking. Gomper:
denounced government by injunction
and said that recently, by court or
der, he had been branded as an ''un
| desirable citizen"
| New York.-An unusual amount o
idleness among the organized wage
workers of the state during the fall il
shown in the last report of the New
York state department of labor. Gu
of 358,756 members reporting to thu
unions in New York during Septem
Der, S0.576, or 221s per cent, wer'
returned as idle at the end of thu