Evening star., 1909-07-14
IN LABOR CIRCLES

At the meeting of the Central Labor
Union Monday night the representatives
of the Brotherhood OF Painters and Dec
orators complained that the District gov
ernment was having painting done by day
laborers at a scale much below that paid
to journeymen painters. The secretary OF
the Central Labor Union was instructed
to write to the Engineer Commissioner
and request that painters be permitted To
do the work at the prevailing scale of
wages.
At the regular meeting of the Sheet
Metal Workers Union last week Sam De
Nedrey, secretary of the Central Labor
Union, was elected an honorary member
of the first named body In recognition OF
his service to the labor movement of the
District of Columbia.
President Jo Evans and Secretary James
F. McHugh of the Journeymen Stone Cut
ters' National Association. with headquar-
ters in this city, left the city this MORN
ing for New York. where they will take
part in an important conference with rep
resentatives of the stone industry OF this
country, with the purpose in view OF
bringing about a closer aff1liation and bet
ter working conditions. The conference
will probably result in the formation or
the stone trades into a department of the
A. F. of L. similar TO the metal trades de-
partment.
Each of the $50 employees OF Smith II
Sons carpet factory. at Yonkers, N T.,
received $1,000 cash June IA. They were
beneficiaries under the will OF the late
Mrs. Eva Smith Cochrane, which pro
vided that each employe OF the factory
who had been working in it for twenty
years should receive $1,000.
Under a rule adopted by the Oklahoma
labor will be employed on all public
buildings. No contractor who is not will
ling to stipulate that he will employ
union labor may bid on state work.
The court at Havana, Cuba, decided
that the laundry workers of that city
who went on strike to improve their con-
ditions composed "a combination in re-
straint of trade" Sixty women were ar
rested and compelled to furnish $1,000
bail each or stay in Jail.
The eigft-hour Law passed by the first
Oklahoma legislature was held constitu-
tional by Justice Thomas Doyle of the
state criminal court of appeals. and over
ruling recent opinion by Attorney Cen
eral West that the law was unconstitu-
tional. The decision was given In the
case of G.. l.. Byars. superintendent of
the J. F. Hill Contracting Company.
which is working its employees ten hours
daily in paving Guthrie's streets.
In 1904 ten tents were erected at the
Union Printers Home, Colorado Springs.
to treat sufferers from consumption. They
have proven such a valuable acquisition
to the hospital service and their eff
cheney in the treatment of lung trouble
has been so thoroughly and satisfactorily
demonst rated that ten additional tents
were added in 1907. The experimental
stage of tent treatment has long since
been passed. Fully 20 per cent Of the pa
t;a rx.I,n how hnd 1a
tent life have recovered health and
strength and have been enabled to again
assume business duties.
In Chicago the tendency OF wages IN
the various trades is upward. according
to a recently published schedule. 1t has
been estimated by the unions that from
So, 3,OO0OO0 to S4,O0O.00o more than last
year will go into the pockets of the o.
900 building trades workers in the next
twelve months. The increase in wages
has been from 10 to 80 cents a day. From
10000 to $1,000 more men are employed
in industrial enterprises now than there
were January i.
In this country eighteen states have
employment bureaus. Canada has four
governmental bureaus. Just how much
work they accomplish may be gathered
from the report of Mr.. Gettamy OF the
Massachusetts, bureau of statistics. With
out fee or any feeling of race or sect,
with preference only for those who are
native Massachusetts men, the imper-
sonal state placed in employment an av-
erage of forty-nine men day last year.
This was done from its three offices In
Springfield, Fall River and Boston. This
year an average of fifty men day have
been given employment through the Bos-
ton Office alone.
Robert Glocking. president or the
Brotherhood of Bookbnders. says: 1t
is now seventeen years since the Inter-
national Brotherhood of Bookbinders
started business. What have We accom-
plished during those seventeen years? We
have advanced the price of our labor
from SI1 TO SlI..D for males and from
S4 TO 81 for females per week. We have
reduced our hours of toll from 90 10 iS
per week To summarize: We have ad-
vanced the wages of our craft male.
S26;O per year; female. SlJS per year: re-
duetion in hours of one-hfth. or 3l2 per
year equal in value to a. further increase
in wages of one-fifth. or a total advance
Of $3l2 for male and S1S7-fo female"