The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1909-09-30

OURSELVES
International Secretary of the Bar
tenders Union Presents Other
Side of the Question.

Stelzle, in his recent contribution to The,
labor press entitled The Saloons and the
Workers, attempts to throw dust in the
eyes of the trade union readers of th.
aforesaid labor press, when he asserts con
vlncingly, that the number of workers
that Will be affected by the closing of the
brewing and distilling industries is SO
small, that it is Of minor importance com
paratively with the alleged great good the
closing of such establishments will bring
about. He says: Most of the men are
engaged in these industries. not because.
they want to be, but because they must
1t IS not their fault, but their misfor-
tune Further along in his article he
AYERS: Furthermore, if the brcwerics
should ever be closed, this event will prob
ably not take place for some time to
come. - The change will no doubt come
through gradual process, which will
permit those employed in the brcwerics
ana the dlstillcries to adjust themselves
to the new conditions Yet StelzIe af.
firms at the outset, that most of the men
are engaged in these industries, not be.
cause they rant to be, but because men
must. Probably Anti-Saloon League
Stclzlc may be able to reconcile the two
aihrinatlons; if these men must now, what
VIII happen to them when the must is
obltcrated along with the establishments
he and his fellows are trying to destroy!
And what is to become of the bartendrrs
asks Anti-Saloon Stelzlc? Then he ans
wcrs the question like this: $50 far as
the bartenders are concerned, it is a we'll
known tact that very few men have been
brought up in the business They have
mad other trades or occupations, but on
account of their personal popularitv or
their natural ability as statesmen. they
nave either opened saloons of their own
or became employees of those who did
In any event, they may either 90 back TO
their trades or they may become statesmen
in other enterprises. Stclzlc does MOI
make known what the ''othcr cntcrpris
es are that the bar BOYS can secure, en-
ployment at; that is the great vacancy i'm
all the AntISaloon slush that is offered
TO the public by Stczle and others WHOSE
jobs are secure, and who advise the of her
fellows what TO do but not how to do i,
Wonder why Stclzlc and his Ant. Sn
loon League friends have not thourht to
advise the hundreds of thousands of I'M
employed workers in and adjacent to New
York CITY to seek out those '.othcr on.
tcrprIses and become statesmen or flor
Il solution of the problem that confronts
that ever growing army?
But to get along with our knittinu. wn
shall take up that portion which concerns
our craftsmen. and show that Doe StoI.
= Ia
"'t KNOWS as little about Il real modern
miNoI"gist as the dark skinned natives
That Bwana Tombo ran against in his
search for big game in Darkest Africa
SteIZle, like all of those whose vision is
limited and whose knowledge of workinc,
men is confined to an experience in -
one moss machine shop, imagine that
Wfitc Jacket and apron worn by u m.r
instantly makes of that individual = h,r
tender fully qualified to care for tbr
wants of thirsty patrons lie MIGHT with
equal propricty assert that because a man
wore oFeralis and could stand alongside
Vi itthe or drill in shop, that such
person was qualified machinist. Anti
o''iooh StIlzlc tries to convey the inInros
Sion' that the greater number Of those
Working as bartenders originally followed
Il different trade, and that il would mo mo
hardship for them to return to said trad.
or calling. From vantage point that ;s
denied Doctor Stelzle the writer asserts
'hiI the reverend gentleman in maxine
s"eh Il statement proves that he does NOT
actually know what he is TALKING ohon+
Al Ter handling the applications of some
thlng like $4,000 bartendcrs in tho loe,
ten years applications by the way. +h,,
require among other things. a declaration |
on the part of the seeker for ,du;,t,,o, ,
10 our union, the number of years he has
ioi"Wed the trade of tending bar. that !
itl"'r"S nm to certify over his SIGNATURE
whether he has any other trade or calI;r,- |
'h''' he has or could work at; that he Il,
could follow or had followed: | unbesitot- !
'nSIF affirm that less than five Thousand |
registered as having followed. or ,yoro
'"ie TO any other trade or calliuc, ont
SIDE OF the crafts represented in orr In
ternational Union.
We have in our organization today. ana
nave mad for years. members who ,yero
1ple to follow any one of the three nr;n-
;iPhI crafts coming under orr iDris1i.
ION that ls to say. we have members
WI" are equally proficient as bartender.
looks or walters. and who think no+i,ircr
u peing known as the barboy at the Pa,