St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-04-02
LABOR MEN MEET


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times as much as he is paid he had
better organize ana bring the I'M
provement about.
Should Have Free Meters
Rev. +. E. Phillips said that the
laboring man in st. Johnsbury had
his sympathy. He was unable to
figure out how a man can live on
$l.50 per day and pay his debts
mere are several conditions in st.
Johnsbury that ought not to be.
I'VE have two organizations, the
Gas Company and the Electric Com
pany They charge rental for the
meters used by the consumers of
their products. We would think it
strange If a grocer charged us rem
tai on the peck measures with
which he measures out our potatoes
and L can see no reason why these
corporations should charge rental
for their measures and | am won
dering how long the people of st.
JOhnsbury will stand for it. There
are other conditions which prevail
which we ought not to put up with
and l believe that an organization of
labor could put stop to it. l do
not believe in uniform wages for
organized labor, but that justice in
the end will prevail. Speaking of
the railroad situation in Vermont,
he said that the railroads are anx-
ious to secure a larger valuation of
their property for purposes of tax
alton in order that they might have
an opportunity to pay dividends on
larger amounts of Watered stock.
scum here in town are monuments
to two men who have been promin-
entity identified with the best inter
ests of the town, he felt that it was
the men who make the scales that
had really built these buildings. He
said Let us organize for better
labor, for better service and ford
honest labor" The man who does
not earn his pay is a detriment TO
any organization. H was pleased to
see an attempt to organize in this
town and disliked to see the men
employed here at $3.50 a day and
then allowed to go to Massachusetts
where they could get more, because
it meant the employment of nothing
but beginners in our industries
here.
Rev. B. F. Butler said that he
could understand the standpoint of
the toiler and quoted from Hiram
Golf, Shoemaker by the Grace of
Cod to show that labor was a call
ing as well as the work of the min
lister. The teaching of Christ was
that the greatest man among us was
the one who served most, but con-
ditions and standards have changed
until now we call our greatest man
the one who is most served. He
believed in the organization of labor
but did not believe in the abuse of
organization, which has been
shown by the coal combination.
There are many abuses in the la
Dor organizations also which should
be remedied and he told of a condi- /
ton in Binghamton, N. Y, where
a mans family was suffering and /
he refused to work because he
would be obliged to work with non
union men. This certainly was a |
problem that should receive at
tention.. There should be the great
est care in selecting the leaders of
the labor movement, to get the wise
est and honest men and he hoped .
that st. Johnsbury's wisest and /
sanest men would be placed at the
head of the organization when it
would be of the greatest value.
Guy w. Hill
Guy W. Hill said that we are
wonderfully made; God has given
us things to do and it is worth |
something to somebody else if we
do them. The real question is shall /
we take what others are willing to
give for our services or what they |
are worth. You find organized cap
ital everywhere and the only way
to successfully meet it is through /
organized labor The team that |
plays as a man is the team that
wins. He thought the situation
was some like that of the men run
over by the automobile when the |
chauffeur called back to him after
he had been run over to look out, |
and he felt that it was time for the
laboring men of ST. Johnsbury to get
up their union now before they had