United labor bulletin., 1911-12-07

worked IQelr men Ten nOuTS. AS lueS
worked up the center of the same street
where the city employees were working,
that may account for the report of ten
hours work. The car company's men
we're Greeks and the city's men were all
American citizens. The street car COM
pany had been paying only 171s cents
per hour before We started. The cement
workers got 80 cents an hour, which was
the price the union men set with the
street commissioner. l am told the car
penters got union wages, but that work
was done before my time.
Il know nothing of any newspaper re-
port, except something the Sentinel oil
Grand Junction had, to which l paid no
attention, as nobody takes the Sentinei
seriously over here. | do not want to
refer to the street commissioner except
that he was unfit for this occasion, but
he is a first-class man.
Warn the laboring people from taking
seriously the reports about the Socialist
officials, from capitalist newspapers, for
we know they win go to any length to
make us seem failure, as we see the
newspapers are doing in Milwaukee.
With best wishes, am, yours,
"THOS. NJ TODD"
Let it be said in this connection that
many Socialists in Grand Junction are
IN FAVOR of a commission form OF
government; but also let the facts out
lined in this article also verify the state
ments heretofore made in The Bulletin
that 1T is NOT THE FORM OF GOV
ERNMENT THAT GIVES GOOD GOV
ERNMENT FOR THE WORKING
CLASS, but THE MEN THAT ADMIN
ISTER THE GOVERNMENT.
Let it be known also that The United
Labor Bulletin IS NOT antagonistic to
a commission form of civic administra-
ton; the thing over which the writer is
in double is whether the working people
can secure through a commission form
of government benefits equal to those to
be secured through our present form.
A government for the working people
might be a great deal better than that
administered at present and it might be
worse. II the right men were in office
an administration might be given under
the present form that would make the
workers of the city cry its praises from
the houstops But il is not SO.
Those who have been foremost in their
advocacy of a commission form of civic
administration, point to the fact that in
commission form the powers will be
concentrated-put in the hands of five or
seven, as the case may be-and that to
them will be delegated the power to ad-
minister the whole government of the
city and county.
And then, when we talk further with
these same exponents of the form Of
government that had its birth in the
Galveston flood, We hear them say that
Denver now has a one-man government
that Speer is the car at the hall
that he controls the board of supervisors
and the assembly of aldermen-that he
appoints the heads of all important de-
partments.
The Bulletin asks: is this not cen
tralized government: is this not a con-
centration of force equal to any?
And then the retort will come: But
we will have the RECALL, which can
not be used at this time on Speer be
cause Ii is not retroactive"
We ask. in reply: Will We not have it
under n new administration of the pres
ent form? OF course, We will; and it
will then be applicable.
Think. talk, and when We get the COM
mission form-which We are almost sure
to have in time-we will have no regrets
for casting our votes in its favor.