Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1913-01-18
TRADES COUNCIL MEET
Large and Enthusiastic Meeting"
Thrilling Speeches Refreshments
ServedDuring the Evening

Organized labor turned out in larg'
numbers last night to attend the
smoker given under the auspices Q.
the Alexandria Trades Council in 1t:
Hall in the Alexandria National Bank
building. There were present prob
ably 900 men. all enthusiastic mem
bers OF the various trades and labor
organizations of Alexandria and W!
minity.
Music was furnished for the occa-
sion by Jones Band and speech
es were made by prominent labor lead
ers and others. Refreshments were
. served during the course Of the even
ing.
The meeting was presided over by
President j. w. Collins, Of the Trades
Council, who, in appropriate words, in
troduc1d the various speakers Of the
evening. One of the sentiments fire.
luently voiced was the necessity OF
workingmen being qualified to vote.
This sentiment was especially cmpha-
sized by former Senator Lewis H. Ma
chen.
The first speaker of the evening was
Howard T. Colvin, secretary OF the
Virginia Federation of Labor. Mr..
Colvin spoke briefly, giving a short
history OF the labor movement in AL
exandria, which, he said, began with
the formation Of the Glassblowers
Union in 1893. He stated that at the
present time about twenty different
crafts in Alexandria were organized
and that the members of these various
organizations and their families cor
stituted about one-half of the tota!
population of the city and about two
thirds of the with population. h
declared that the organized working
people of Alexandria spent annually
more than million and a half OF
dollars with the business men and
property owners Of the city and thai
whatever tended to increase the Wa
ges Of the working people tended
20 increase the business of the ner-
,har.s and that for this reason tbs
business people should be among til,
most enthusiastic supporters of thu
cause of unionism.
Mr.. Colvin was followed by Mr.. T.
J. Conlon, general vice-preS:dcn: o.
he International Association OF Ma
chinists. Mr.. Conlon spoke Of tie
history Of the labor movement II
this country, callins attention to the
fact that in the early history Of the
country there was little need for Ia
Dor organizations, because industry
was performed on 4 small scale. TX
declared that up to the advent OF the
locomitive there was practically no mt
chinery formed by hand and in sn1a
shops, where the employer and the Gin
ployc met on equal terms. But a
dustry developed and create factorie:
began to appear, where thousand"
and in some cases, tens Of thousand
Of msn worked for single employer
that organization among the worker:
became a necessity. He traced the
worl, of the labor organizations from
sheir incipiency to the present day, tel
ing how the hours of labor had beer
reduced. from sixteen hours day /!
the first half of the nineteenth century
to the present eight-hour day which
prevails in nearly all organized trades,
He sharply criticised those members
of the trades unions who failed tG
attend their meetings. or when they
attended failed to take part in tbs
discussion of the affairs of the union.
His whole address was interesting
throughout and was listened to with
much attention by all present.
TIE last speaker to be introduced
was ex-senator Lewis H. Machen.
MIR. Machen declared that he had al
ways been in hearty sympathy with
organized labor. That he believed il
it and in fact was thinking something
about organizing lawyers union.
NJ, Nooba, cnol,o nartir,1Ia rlv of thC