Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-04-21
Union Put In Bad Light
s. To Serve Political
Purpose.

Rahind the resolution appearing
IN another column lies story of
tho wiles of politicians, wierd in its
treachery and dastardly in its in
tended effect.
W. H. Riley, president and travel
ing representative of the National
stogie bakers League, was made tt
saw something that could not pos
sibly' be more injurious to the or
ganization and the industry which
he represents.
And this was done-this attempt
Ito discredit and wreck an individual
and an organization-to further the
interests of one designing politician
The perpetrators did not care If the
gray hairs of one whose life has been
given to the cause of the Stogie
Makers should be brought to sorrow;
did not care if the result would be
deadly discussion within the organi-
cation whose solidarity is the work
ers only safeguard; did not care If
the working men and women were
robbed of that which they have
fought SO long and hard to gain-if
only the politicians schemes for
place and power and self would be
thereby furthered...
FREE PHILIPPINE CIGARS.
To begin at. the beginning, The
Tobacco Trust wanted free importa-
ton from the Philippines Of cigars,
because the native cigar makers
work for 81 cents per day. Forty
seven thousand American citizens,
earning their American living and
supporting their American families
on American wages by making AM
erican cigars, protested, through
their organization, the American CT
gar Makers Union, against the
= Trust scheme. to food the country
with the germ laden products of
cheap oriental labor. The United
States senate ignored this protest
and their spokesman, Senator La
Toilette, and permitted the free ad-
mission of these millions of cheaI
cigars. Senator N. B. Scott Of West
Virginia was prominent among those
who advocated, spoke and voted for
this Trust scheme.
So this PHILIPPINE cigar. costing
from IS to $40 per thousand, made
by twenty thousand natives who earn
$lO.2l per month, comes to America
comes into competition with men
who. as President G. W. Perkins of
the Cigar Makers Union says: Have
to live in a northern climate, need
from seven to eight tons of coal per
year, and need warm clothing and
live in houses for which they must
pay rent" The Sc cigar has come
into competition with the $34 cigar,
and the twelve thousand American
cigar makers who were idle and
whose families were hungry even be-
lore this action was taken. have had
Their numbers increased by other
thousands with the importation of
+ the 15O,OOo,OOO Philippine cigars
admitted free of duty.
Dodging.
= These conditions became gradually
known to the people. and the wave of
protest became so noticeable that
the political schemers, actuated only
W interest in returning Scott to the
senate. devised a plan to make it ap-
pear that the free importation of
cigars did not hurt the people of the
wheeling district.
There was no attempt to deny that
~ Threw Thousands of Americans out
vi work, bat The defense was made
IN reliance ~; local selfishness and
me only y anation was that the
: FREE II CREATION WOULD
oNLY .H,RF CIGARS AND
WOULD NOT lNJURE THE SToGIE
- BUSINESS"
Get Riley's Statement.
IN THIS design it was planned to
secure statement from Wheeling
s'ogle manufacturers and when sig
natures to such statement had been
s secured from Is of the Is local
manufacturers, (most Of whom had
pe'sonal or political reasons superior
o0 'nelr business reasons). it wal
considered that the climax would be
s u., by statement from w. H
NE, "ss' whose service with the Stogis
. nasers' Union is as old as the union
1'sea' They secured ii, and straight.