Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1911-05-16
MAIL CLERKS PROMOTED UNION
PERNIcIoUs ACTIVITY COST
THEM THEIR JOBS.
30 Says Second Assistant Stewart IN
UNFOLDING Federal Depart
ment's Stand.

Washington, May 1O.-Second A.
fstant Postmaster General stewart
concluded his defense of the position
taken by the postotfice department on
the question of labor unions by ad'
hitting that clerks had been dis
charged from the railway mail SER
vice simply because they promoted
the organization of postal clerks into
a union affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. Representative
Kendall Republican. Iowa., asked
Stewart, as he closed his testimony,
why Postal Clerk Duff and Van Dyke
of St. Paul had been removed from
the service.
"They were discharged justly" said
Stewart, because of their pernic1ous
activity in promoting this new union
organization. The organization had
headquarters in ST. Paul and they
we're, believe, officials of the pro-
posed union"
"Were they good clerks?" asked
Kendall. ooh, yes, they were good
efficient men," returned Stewart, the
only reason for their dismissal was
their pernicious activity in the face OF
the plain orders of the postmaster
general and the other officials whlcn
they persistently violated. 1t was
case of plain INSTRUMENTATION.
John F. Nelson, president OF the
National Federation of Postal Clerks,
who was formerly an employe OF the
Chicago postofiice, related the circum'
stances of his own dismissal from the
federal postal service because of his
attempt to consolidate the clerks OF
the country into representative body.
He said in part:
Conditions Unsanitary.
II was then president of the Chi.
cago Postal Clerks Union. For
months we had been working to rem
edy the unsanitary conditions IN the
Chicago postofce. All through the
summer of 1909 we did everything in
our power under the Roosevelt gag
rule to get the department to remedy
conditions. The men were working
10 hours a night under what the Chi
cago commission on occupational dis
eases declared were the worst condi.
lions in the city During the time
from June to October four men In the
mailing division in our union died OF
tuberculosis because of the working
conditions. l worked steadily from
early in June until October before Sc
curing the appointment of 100 addi'
tional clerks to relieve the tension
This was under the Hitchcock re-
trenchment policy. The next June
was served with charges by inspec-
tors. They alleged that / was violat'
ing the gag rule by trying to infiu'
ence legislation. had never been in
Washington and had never talked to
a member about postal matters. They
also charged me with furnishing in
formation to the newspapers. After
filing an answer to the charges l re.
ceived notice that had been promot
ed and advanced from $1.100 to the
81 200 grade. This was not an auto
matte advancement, but under the ef
f1ciency scheme. Two weeks later
w. !; dismissed"
Nelson declared that clerks found
It impossible to secure action on com
plants regarding the working condi
tons. He related number CT cases
in the Chicago office of clerks dying
land becoming ill.
Is there anything at all that is OF
.onro -, v,crt oI,co RI vOI1 Than UOO1 Ill