Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1915-08-19

wage of the Iron Weaker was il
creased from $3.50 for lime hours t
$4.a0 for eight hours. The member
ship increased from approximatel,
tseven thousand to- fourteen thousand
At the present time the Iron Workers
Union is stronger numerically, ffnan
ciaIly and socially than Il has eve
been in the history 81 Its existence
The facts speak for themselves.
It should be obvious 70 any reason
able human being that the policy pur
sued by the Iron Workers Union CAV.
4 greater protection to tie member
ship than the policyfadeDSaa by those
unions that were annihllated ani
their people subjected Is twelve
fhour day every day Id the year and
an average wage of $4OO year. Il
is idle to talk about rights unless
there IS a power tosprotect such
rights.
| N. = N. Fights Labor. =
A
Preceding the Times disaster, we
find the Merchants and Manaffactur-
ers' Association in Los Angeles resist
ing by all means, legal and other
wise, every effort on the part Of the
workers and their friends to. estab-
fish a shorter work day and wage
commensurate with decent ! living,
Until finally a general strike took
place in all the iron. Trades. which
babe to be successful. when the gov
eminent of Los Angeles without any
warning passed an ordinance called
an ,anti-picketing act. which, prohibit
ed union men from speaking To nom,
union men, @
; A meeting Of the strikers was
called, at which the situation was put
up to them. The ordinance ii obeyedl
would mean the dissolution Of our
strike. On a secret ballot they nna1i.
mously decided to resist And they
did. Over five hundred men went to
jail In that fsil 1lilaa .5of
the fight, the los Angeles Times the
most violent sand relentless enemy of
Labor-Was destroyed. i
In the spring of 1911 came the ar
rest Of the McNamaras. Then came
barrow to defend them. There had
never been in the history 6f modern
industrialism. a situation in which
Capital and Labor were SO definitely
pitted against each other. Every or
ganization of privilege, all the pro
fessional apologists, were lined up on
The side of the rich. And behind Oar
row stood the army of organized Ia
Dor and it's friends. A special grand \
jury was kept in waiting to serve the
rich. Before this tribunal they
dragged in every man and woman
who might be suspected of friendship |
and devotion to the cause of labor.
Threats of Imprisonment were made
N case information was not forthcom-
ng which would serve the designs of
he Merchants and Manufacturers
Association.
barrow Battles Enemy.
Darrow, as chief counsel for labor,
vas surrounded by spies, and all his
associates and friends were constant
y Swallowed by hired agents of the
employers. barrow was not SO young
md did not have the physical strength
le had at the Haywood trial and
while his mind was keen and alert, his
emotions tense and subtle, his faith
n the favorable outcome grew less
md less as time passed. The feeling
# responsibility weighedlheavy on his
leart and mind, until he came to the
conclusion that the only thing to do
vas to advise the boys to plead guilty.
This came like thunderbolt out of
clear sky and completely shattered
abors hopes-though we were told,
md it is undoubtedly true, that the
BUSINESS men of Los Angeles jointly,
With the prosecutors, had agreed that
d the event of the McNamaras plead +
ng guilty, there should be no further
and the golden rule be
;iyen an opportunity to demonstrate
Is practicability.
On Thanksgiving Day one day pre-
rioas to the plea Of guilty, barrow,
scott, Davis and McNutt. the foux at
orneys for the defense. Lincoln Stef-
ems, and a Catholic priest. entered
he county jail at Los Angeles, and
Or seven hours pleaded and argued
nth the McNamaras, telling them
here was no hope. no chance. the
MY thing to be done was to plead
utility.
McNamaFas Back Labor.
There IS no evidence in the entire
ase that thess haEs showed any vel
ON streak. They bore up bravely nm
4 4he very last and only agreed to