Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1911-03-02
Tin Plate Workers
Fire Be n Teagarden
and Gas. E. Lawyer

tIVeS 10 Hr9 MIN from ONCE, ana IL
was entirely beyond the law or@them
to take the Associations money out of
the Associations safe and deposit it IN
the bank to the Associations credit,
because that money was HIS until he
put it in the bank to the credit. of the
Association. He claimed that as ne
was under bond, all money turned in
to him was HIS ACTUALLY until he
put it in the bank to the credit of the
Association. Attorney Somerville must
have told him what to say, for ne
kept nodding his head and muttering
That's right" as Lawyer thus gave
technical answers to the direct ques-
tions of Attorney Schuck.
The justice decided that way, too.
and held the representatives of The
lodges of the Association over to the
grand jury for taking the money OF
the Association. On that technically,
then, Charles E. Lawyer and Benjamin
Teagarden, (for Teagarden, parrot
like, repeated on the witness stand
the Lawyer conceptions), have brought
upon the Associations representatives
the Inconvenience of being bound over
to the grand jury, and brought upon
the dues paying members of the Asso-
citation the expense of court costs and
attorney fees.
The Convention.
After Lawyer and Teagarden were
deposed, the representatives here, act.
ing under instructions from their
lodges, met in convention, and elected
officers. w. s. Hunt, First District
vice president, presided, and creden.
tials from the following we're found
legal:
Manchester. Lodge No. 80, Wheeling.
James Driscoll.
John Mitchell Lodge No. A, Steu-
benville, James Kane.
West Virginia Lodge No. 46, Follans-
bee, Arthur Watkins.
Bartlett Lodge No. As, Canton, David
Morris.
Mississippi Valley Lodge No. AZ,
Granite City, V. J. Matthews.
OF the present national officers, in
to Vice President Hunt,
Benjamin Thomas of Canton, trustee,
was also present.
Elect Officers.
The Executive Board then went into
session, as required by the laws, and
elected w. S. Hunt, president, and
Arthur Wstkins secretary-treasurer
David Morris was elected vice presi.
dent of the second district.
Ratified Expulsion.
The special convention was called
to order at 10 o'clock in the morning.
and ratified the action of the trial
committee in expelling Lawyer and
Teagarden. 1t then fixed the salaries
of the president and secretary-trea-
surer at $3.50 per month, each. The
secretary was then instructed to write
to each of the locals and inform them
of the chang. in officers and the
board was instructed to erase La.
yer's name from the glass door of the
national Office in the Reilly building.
BY motion an explanation of the
whole matter was sent to President
Gompers Of the American Federation
of Labor. It is claimed that Lawyer
had previously tried to justify to
Gompers his refusal to heed call for
a special convention by the claim that
it was the intention to dissolve the
Association, so Gompers will nov
know that Lawyers real reason was
his fear that it would dissolve the
salary Of Charles E. Lawyer. 4.
The delegates then went home, only
to return on Monday to attend thu
trial as defendants in the case brought
by Lawyer.
Assembly Endorses.
The Ohio Valley Trades and Labor
Assembly Sunday endorsed the action
of the Association in expelling Law
yer and Teagarden, and many of the
delegates present spoke feelingly Of
the struggle the members of the Tin
Plate Worker have had against such
officials as they have been cursed
with.
The Story Of the Case.
A clear story of the situation was
given the Majority by gentleman
who is and always has been most
familiar with the conditions in the
Association, and whose truthfuIness