The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1909-03-20

United States Steel corporation again
issued denial of the persistent
rumors that a cut in the wages of the
corporations 100000 employees on or
about April l had been decided upon.
The proposition had not even been
considered, he repeated. As to the
situation in The trade. Judge Gary
said that no considerable business had
resulted SO far from the price cuts.
He declined TO venture any predic-
tions, and stated emphatically that the
corporation had no agreements of any
kind with its competitors. not even as
to the price of rails. If any of the
manufacturers wanted to reduce the
price of rails there was nothing to
prevent them from doing so. He
! thought that the present price was low
enough. however. Judge Gary de-
clined to say whether, in his opinion,
wages would ultimately have TO come
down as a result of the recent price
cut.
Brussels. Belgium.-The tenth con-
gresS of the Belgium trade unions was
| held during the Christmas holidays,
. in Molenbeck, a suburb of Brussels,
2i3 delegates being present. represent
| ing 43 societies or branches. An in
| dustrial census. taken in 1907, showed
| that there were $4,000 men. women
and boys and girls employed in Bel
giu mindustries Of this total there
are now $4,000 organized in unions
| affiliated to the SocialistLabor party.
say. "A per cent: 10.0S7. or LIS per
cent, belong to neutral unions affili-
ated to the party: while 30,664. or So
per cent, belong to the so-called
| christian unions.
Pottstown. PA sweeping reduc-
ton in the scale for pudding iron in
the Schuylkill Valley went into effect
at the plant of the Glasgow Iron COM
pany- From $3.50 a ton for pudding,
! which had been the wages for the
past three or four years. the price is
reduced to s. per ton. Several hun
bred men are affec,ed- Other iron
companies in eastern Pennsylvania
have not Yet taken action The reduc-
ton is the greatest that has ever been
made al one time in the history of ehe
iron trade in Potstown.
LONDON. Eng-Four hundred and
sixty employees of the Gas Light and
Coke company, representing more than
1 1 ,000 men, unanimously adopted at a
special meeting co-partnership
! scheme drawn up by the directors. At
the present price of gas, IS cents. it is
calculated that the bonuses to the men
will total nearly 100000 a year c.
Woodall, governor of the company, ex-
planned the scheme to the men 1t
/ Will oix ar0 inf IN,
work, he declared
Buffalo. n "a reduction of ten
! per cent in the wages of employees of
the Lackawanna Steel Company has
gone into effect The Lackawanna
is one of the largest Independent con-
Germs and this is the first announce
ment of cut by the independents
since the war of prices with the United
Steel corporation began The reduc-
ton affects all classes of employees
: and the Office force.
Stockholm, Sweden.-The great lock
cut which was threatening in the en-
cheering and Woodworking indus
| tries of Sweden seems to have been
} avertei by the majority of the mem
: bers in the unions affected agreeing
: to renewal of the existing agreement
for period of five years There are
! some differences yet to be settled: but
{ it is unlikely that a conflict will be
forced.
: Winnipeg. Man--An talk of another
5 strike of Canadian Pacific shopmen
: owing to the fact that the schedule
: established by the board ( concilia
| ton August 1. 1908, would expire Au
: gust l. 1909. has been set at rest by
the posting of an official notice in the
= local shops of the company saying that
+. its schedule would continue in force
until April l. 1910. The men are sat
iSfied
A New York--National Secretary
= Lawlor of the United Hatters of NORTH
2 America reported that about So .OOt
:, was paid in strike benefits the pas
+ week. He said that the question o.
: which side won was now one of endur
: ance. that the strikers We're prepared
r to make many sacrifices to win and
| needed the cooperation of the othel
n labor organizations.
S Indianapolis.-The annual report or
5 the sick. disability and death benefit:
K paid during 1908 by the Boot and Shot
S Workers union shows that the tota
amount thus paid out was $50. .OS
5 OF this aggregate, SOS, 917-OS was paiC
y out in 1878 2-5 weeks of sick bene
+ fits: S575 was paid out in six disabilit,
K benefits and $1s.300 was paid out OF
155 death benefits.
81 Columbus. Ohio.-Statements hav,
It been made that Ohio operators ar,
e now considering making inSnacfiOp n
k their mines daily. They believe tn,
: effect will be more satisfactory than
: dozen model mines. Since the Ma
l. rianna disaster some nave grown veal
= in their belief of the reliability of tn,
model mine.
l. St Paul, Minn.-The wage scale o