The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1915-10-29

Johnston
Heard BY Hundreds Of Ma
chinists Monday Night

Hundreds of maohinists from
every factory in the city assembl d
in Jacobs hall, Wednesday night
to hear President VIM. H. Johnston
of the International Association of
Machinists deliver his message Of
good cheer The open meeting
which was advertised TO open
promptly al 8 o. clock was ca led TO
order by Chas. Vaughn president
OF Hamilton Lodge, No. 24l, and
after few brief remarks intro
duced organizer M J. Mcmahon
wh) has been working in this city
for the past several weeks. Nc
Mahon gave an outline Of the
events Scat hav- transpired in the
past week and after announcing
several meetings which woul4 take
place each day by the different
factory committees and then closed.
President Johnston was then in
trocuced and in his opening re-
marks stated that he did not come
to Hamilton to pr mise the ma
chiniSts a whole lot but that he had
come TO give them a little cheer
and encouragement He iliustra
ted his remarks with a short story
that brought forth applause. He
told of the conditions that prevailed
in the factories in the years gone
by when the boss in the shop
worked along side of the men, and
that he krew just how much work
man could do and the conditions
he worked under. Things are
changed and the boss no longer
works III the factory and through
the introduction Of machinery
while we do more work yet we find
men getting no better wages and
conditions.
He said that since the men were
coming into the union that factories
all over the cotntry were giving
their machinists the eight hour
day. One place in particular men
toned by him was Springfield
Mass, where he said that short
time ago there were only seven
men in that city who were M an
bers of the Association, but now
they have twenty-five hundred
members and every machine 81 op
in the city working the eight hour
day. Many other cities all through
the New England states were get
ting into the movement and condi-
tions were getting better for the
men. Wages he said have been in
creased wonderfully, men who were
receiving thirty FIVE to forty cents
per hour were now getting from
fifty TO seventy cents an hour.
One of the reasons given by the
manufacturers III the east for not
wanting to give the machinists the
eight hour day, is that they cannot
compete with their competitors
here in Hamilton who are paying
their men such small wages. The
organizers who visited the local
shops also report that the officials
here in Hamilton use the same ar.
gument that they cannot compete
with their competitors in the east.
Johnston stated that one of the
great obstacles in the way of the
union was the affiliation of the
|
manufacturers with the Nationa
Metal Trades Association. On hi.
visits to many of the factories The
officials would frankly tell him tha
they realized that eight hours wa
enough for their men to work bu
that their hands were tied by the
Association. He concluded by say
ing that the eight hour day here
would mean better and brighte
homes and a greater Hamilton
He appealed to the men who wer
in the Machinists' Union to b
loyal and to those who were still
on the outside to join Immediately