Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1915-04-08
Potters Union Prospered;
Wheeling Has Helped

It Ia an i'll wind that blows nobody
GOOD Out OF the greatest business
depression sprung one Of the greateEt
labor organizations doing business r.
the country today.
Dating from the year 1898, the Ma
tional Brotherhood Of Operative Pot
tiers has grown from. q small Str1g-
Cling organization to an organization
of seven thousand members, relief
fund Of over half million dollars,
80 locals composed Of men and women
enjoying better conditions and earning
better wages, due to a swstem OF ar
bitrating their differences and with q
wage Gale that expires every two
years; home for their national Of
fee in East Liverpool, where their
trade paper is printed, and complete
job office where the printing of the
organization is done
The organization came to life in
the year Of 1888. Previous to this
year the potters Of the country were
afiliated with different organizations
and at that time they were part of
the Knights of Labor. Seeing that
this body was in no way advancing
their interest they withdrew and
launched the present organization at
a convention held at Toronto, Ohio.
and elected Harry Layden as the first
president Local Union No. l started
the organization on the sea Of strife,
Harry Layden served for one year as
the leader Of the new organization
and died in the year 1899. A. S.
Hughes succeeded him and proved his
worth from the beginning The or
gani7a ton struggled under the many
handicaps' that at that time were the
lots Of all labor unconstitutional strife
and bitter opposition from the manu-
facturers that at times was very dis
couragfng. He. stayed right on the
job until the year 1893, when due to
the conditions Of business and the
revision downward of the tariff the
manufacturers Altered a straight cut
Of twenty per cent and ten per cent
retention.
With no funds and no organization
he Immediately called mass meeting
In all the pottery centers. threw the
charters open and entered the bitter
est kind of strike in January-with-
out dollar, but an organization that
was growing in large numbers. The
general committee appointed by him
solicited funds for the needy and in
August, 1884, compromise was effected
by the organization accepting . re-
duction of twelve and on-half per cent.
The same continued into effect until
the year of 1897. At that time. A. 8.
Hughes, backed by his organization,
demanded a conference and at that
conference a uniform list was estab-
lished meaning that thousands OF diff
ferent shapes and sizes were made
uniform in price throughout the coun-
| try.
At this conference the demand for
the return of the reduction was made
by the organization and December rs.
1897, the uniform list and the return
Of the twelve per cent lost by them
was granted.
There had been ten years OF strug-
gle by the organization and still they
grew in funds and numbers, due to q
one per cent assessment Of the total
earnings OF the members. In 1900 the
sanitary workers asked for and were
granted admission into the organiza-
ton and since then the sanitary men
have received about thirty per cent Of
an increase, due to the fact that the
organization has shown the manufac-
turers the wisdom of paying for all
work done on a closet. They have
placed limit on the number of pieces
per days work All this time the
funds were growing the organizatS an
was being solidly placed on a business
basis.
At a convention held in Wheeling,
in 1908, A. s. Hughes, after serving
the organization fer about fourteen
years, resigned. And, by the way,
this was his home town. T. ]. DUFFY,
the national secretary, also Of Wheel
ing, was made the head OF the organi-
cation, and Ed Menge. who was also
from this city, was elected national
secretary.
In rs years they have had four Ma
tional Presidents The referendum
vote governs all elections. They have
a death fund that is paid from the
reserve fund of six hundred thousand
dollars, or rather from the interest Of
this fund; they pay from fifty to two
hundred dollars. Membership in good
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