The Ordway new era., 1909-08-20
IMPORTANT ACTION TAKEN BY
STATE ORGANIZATION AT
LAFAYETTE.
M'LENN0N PRESIDENT
SESSION CLOSES WITH
SELECTION OF GRAND JUNG.
TIoN FOR NEXT MEETING.

Lafayette.-The Colorado State Fed
GRAFTON OF Labor closed its four-day
session here Thursday by the election
OF officers. John McI-ennon Of Den.
yer. member OF the United Mine Work
ers OF America. was elected president.
receiving GO votes. MIR. Gross. fac
tory inspector OF Denver received 81
votes. and Philip J. Devault. of the
Denver Musicians Union. II.
For financial secretary. William
Hickey OF Denver received &C votes.
and George Means OF the Denver
Typographical Union. 81. The five
vice-presidents who compose the ex.
ecutive committee. which was reduced
from ten to five. are c. Hosman OF the
Denver Typographical Union. G. A.
Ross of Colorado Springs. Miss Mamie
Reamer OF the Denver Garment Work
ers' Union. John Salon OF the Denver
Structural Iron Workers. and p. A.
Wells OF Grand Junction.
Grand Junction received ~ votes for
the next meeting place to 40 for Colo.
through = combination between the
United Mine Workers and the West
ern Slope men. in which the former
got the presidency for supporting the
latter for the meeting place.
The federation indorsed the indus.
trial unionism plan. as well as the
plan presented by Fl. B. Perham.
eighth vice-president OF the American
Federation of Labor and grand presi.
dent OF the Order OF Railway Teleg.
rsphers. His idea is the formation OF
one immense union of all laborers.
with each industry as = separate
branch.
Mrs. Forest OF Chicago. who is es.
tablishing working girls homes, ad.
dressed the meeting In behalf OF a
home in Denver for working girls.
The plan is to furnish girls who are
working at low wages rooms at 81 per
week. and when they are out OF EN-.
ployment give them their room rent
and enough work to keep them from
going into debt. Her plan was in.
dorsed and she was given credentials
| from the state organization SO that she
can go before local organizations and
raise money for this purpose.
Delegate Brewer of the Farmers
Union. Alamosa. addressed the assem-.
bly, on plan for closer unity between
the Farmers Union. which has three
delegates present. and the other or
ganizations, the object of his union
being to eliminate the middlemen and
commission house in handling the
produce of the farmer.
The committee announced that there
was balance Of $23S in the fund
raised for use in recent labor troubles
and the convention decided to turn 1t
over to the Denver Trades Council, to
be used in it's trouble in Denver.
A resolution was passed asking the
state to form q bureau Of mines and
develop the coal on school lands
through the state, hiring nothing but
union labor.
State Labor Commissioner Brake
said the condition Of the unskilled la
borer in Colorado today is the worst
it has been since the panic of 1893;
that many Japs and Greeks are work.
ing for as low as SLIPS and S1.s5 a day.
under conditions that an American
would not stand, and that one Japan
ese employment agency in Denver has
1000 Japs and $500 Greeks wanting
work at these low wages. He further
stated that the labor laws were not
being lived up to, but that It is almost
impossible to secure conviction of vio-
lators. as the laborers. through fear of
losing their jobs. would not file affi-
davits and testify. He said a majority
Of the district attorneys over the state
are unfriendly to organized labor.