Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-11-13
COPPER COMBINE
GIVEN A WARNING
Secretary Wilson Condemns
Attitude Towards Workers
in Michigan Ranges.

I Seattle, Wash, Nov. 13-Secretary
of Labor William b. Wilson. address
ing the American. Federation of labor,
condemned the attitude of the Mich
igan copper mining companies toward
their workers and warned them that a
new conception of titles TO property
was in progress of formation.
He said he would make public not
only the wages paid to the miners, the
hours they worked, ind the labor con-
ditions, but the enormous profits of the
mine owners.
Mr.. Wilson said this was only part
of the campaign which the department
will make to better the conditions of
the workingmen of the country Part
of this will be in giving to the public
at large statements of where labor can
be found and the conditions under
which it can be obtained.
THE little bit of confidence that l
am going to give you,' he said. is an
advance statement of one of the items
in that situatiOn-that the largest cor
poration engaged in the production Of
copper in the Michigan district was
o -anized in 1870, uLder the. laws of
the state Of Michigan. that the face
value OF its capital stock is $2,5O0,0 900.
The shares are S25 each. They were
purchased at s12 each. so that the act
ual investment is 81 ,250, 900.
From that time until one year ago,
the last fiscal report that we had, a
Of -tx1rn hnf
alton declared in dividends S121, ,0O0, 900
on an investment of 81 1,250,000 and
made reinvestments out of its earn
ings OF S75,000,000. Then the owners
not only protest against meeting COM
mittees of their workmen, but refuse
to accept the good offices of the de-
partment of labor in negotiating the
They say their proportion is their
own; that they have !the right to do
with it as they please. Maybe they
have, but those who take that position |
have false conception of the titles to |
The secretary said every title was |
law created and law protected and !
that, deprived of those laws, the prop /
erty involved would be at the mercy of |
the first strong and cunning man who |
desired it.
Law has created those titles" he
continued. mot primarily for the well
Iare Of the man to whom il conveys it,
Dut for the welfare of the community
Society has conceived, whether right
ully or wrongfully, that the best meth
ID of promoting the welfare of society
5 to convey titles TO individuals in real
sstate and personal effects.
1T does il, however, not for the well
are OF the individual but for the vel
are of the great mass of the people,
md if any individual or corporation
axes the ground that the property is
lis own, that he has the right to do
With il as he pleases, fails to take into
consideration the fact that title has 1
ee for the welfare of society, then !
e is creating a condition that will I
ause society TO modify or to change '
hese titles to property, as it has a I
erfect right to do. whenever it deems I
! for the welfare of society to do it" S
Mr.. Wilson condemned the sending \
strike breakers by private employ {
ient agencies He had a dream of a
ederal bureau of labor information.
Il wish TO see created within the de S
artment of labor" he said. "a bureau I
I information that will be handled I
luch on the same lines as our wealth /
r bureau of information. where, with a
he aid of the immense number of gov g
-nment employees which we have scat n
red over the country, We will gather
le information of where men can find
mployment. the wages they viii re-
sive. the hours Of employment, the s
,nditions under which they toll, Il
hether or not a trade union is recog- "
zed, and last but not least. whether e
: not any trade dispute exists where Il
e employment may be had s
Then We will condense that infOr- o.
alton into sheet that can be posted
every postoffice in the United
.ates and in every other place where
en- eongregate. so that they viii have Is
e information relative To where en- Z
oyment can be had and the kind of II
nployment and in doing so give them a.
e information in such a way that W
hen a man comes into a community T
here a strike exists for the purpose lC
taking the place OF those strikers he ei