davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27
STEEL PLANTS FACTS
Conditions at YOungstOn Reviewed by Basil M.
Manly, Investigator

big sales and steadier operations than
other districts less favorably located
THE entire steel industry North,
South, East and West. is ripe for a
strike, and the situation is not going
to be relieved by the granting of 10
per cent wage increase. The strike
fever in the steel industry showed
itself first in the Youngstown dis
trict apparently because the labor de-
mand was a little keener than else
where.
"The investigation by the Bureau Of
Labor in 1910 covering all the steel
plants in the United States showed
that 65 per cent of all employees in
the industry when working full time
earn less than SIS a week, and that
in the year of steadiest operation the
Industry had ever known, only So
per cent of the employees, including
even the high-paid rollers and petty
bosses, had an opportunity to earn as
much as 5000 per year, if they worked
every day the mills operated. This in
spite of the fact that all investigations
have shown that the very least fam
lily can live upon with any degree of
decency is 500 year
"The standard working day in the
steel industry is II hours, in spite
OF the fact that the l2-hour day was
condemned even by a Committee of
Stockholders of the Steel Corpora
ton And while the public has been
largely deceived by self-laudatory adj
vertising of the steel companies re-
garding the abolition of the seven
day week, the reports of the Bureau
of Labor show that in the blast fur
naces so per cent of the employees are
still working seven days a week
"Why have such conditions con.
tinued in so rich an industry? Con-
gress has investigated time after time
reformers have protested until they
are blue in the face. and the industry
has been much-raked from top to bot.
tom.
"The answer is that the corpora
tions, of which less than produce
20 per cent of the steel manufactured
in the country, are not only highly
organized, but possess a complet,
,oraa,,a,t -a,,J ,,,,Jare IN ., ;,,o, ~, ~, n
ters of labor policy while the workers
are not only unorganized, but through
a system of company espionage anC
terrorism more complete than tina
of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Com
Dany, every attempt at organization o
even collective action is brutal.
stamped out and the leaders blacklist
ed, Organizers sent into the stee
towns have been assaulted, meeting
broken up by the company's guard
and police, and the threat of discharg
and starvation welded over ever
nan suspected of sympathy with idea
of organization
Youngstown is simply the frs
eruption from an industrial volcan
that has many more dangerous crat
) ers. The whole mass is seething an
E strikes with ever increasing violenc
t may be expected unless the pressur
/ is relieved by a wage increase of nc
{ less than 20 per cent, a substitutio
S of the 8-hour day for the inhumar
e l2-hour day, and above all, the elm
S nation of the system of industri
s terrorism which is now maintaint
l. by the so-calied independent" 1
j. well as the trust to prevent orderl
n collective action on the part of II
S, steel workers.
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27

Washington-Sta facts about
lbaor conditions in the steel indus
try throughout the country are pre-
sented in report on the Youngstown
strike in its bearing on the general
situation, made public today by the
Committee on Industrial Relations.
The report is by Basil M. Manly
director for the Committee and author
of the main report to Congress of the
United States Commission on Indus
trial Relations Mr.. Manly was di-
rector of research and investigation
for the recent federal commission,
and in 1910 had charge of the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics in
vestigation into labor conditions in
the steel industry of the entire coun-
try.
Asserting that hours are more rea-
sonable and conditions better at the
Youngstown plants than in any other
part of the steel industry. Mr.. Man
1y tells how the United States Steel
Corporation has been able to main
tain oppressive conditions and low
wages by ruthlessly suppressing at
tempts of its employees to organize.
The report follows:
"The discomfort in the industrial
hell-holes known as the steel towns
of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana,
New York, Maryland, Alabama, Colo
RADIO, Western Virginia and south
ern Ohio, is more bitter and has a
deeper seated basis than in the plants
of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube
Company, where the overlordsm and
exploitation of the steel workers had
been at least salved with profit-shar-
ing, accident prevention and compen-
sation, and a measure of so-called
welfare work"
Il was in charge of an investiga.
tion of the Steel Industry for the
United States Bureau of Labor il
1910 which covered every steel plant
in the country and probed to the very
bottom of labor conditions. | know
~that the wages paid in the Youngs
town district are as high, the hours
more reasonable. if any system o
twelve-hour shifts can ever be rea
sonable. the mills as we'll built, anC
the system of espionage and bruta
bossism less developed, than in an.
other part of the steel industry Ii
1910 the wage for common labor il
Youngstown was IL cents per hour
in eastern Pennsylvania, 1917 cents
The tube mills worked 10 hours da,
shift for six days in the week, and /.
hours for FIVE nights, as compare,
with II hours day and night for sevel
days a week in other departments
The management in Youngstown ha,
not only done much to safeguard thei
plants, but had installed non-con
tributory system of accident compen
sation and were supporting work
mems compensation as a state mea
sure.
There were armed guards and bru
tai bosses in Youngstown, but les
conspicuous and insolent than in tn
steel towns of Pennsylvania, Wei
Virginia and Colorado. The ste,
workers village in the outskirts {
Youngstown were sickening exhibit
of squalor and filth, but such is ii
typical condition Of steel towr
throughout the country. The mil
were irregular in operation an u
employment was frequent and distre
sing, but even so the Youngstov
mills had the reputation for low cost
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27

Twelve prisoners at Wilmington,
Delaware, were publicly fogged in
accordance with the sentence of the
court recently They were compelled
to stand stripped to the waist in the
open air with the thermometer at 20
above zero. They received from FIVE
to twenty lashes each with rawhide
-nine-tails. They had each been
found guilty of theft in different
forms.
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27
"A GENERAL REVIEW
Politics Shown Up---Lesies Funny Weekly
After the War

The man who misses reading Sam
Blythe's latest serial of politics i'll
novel form, beginning in the Saturday
Evening Post, Saturday. January 22,
1916, will do himself an injury by let
ting an opportunity go by that puts
him inside the wheel of wheels of ma
chine politics mentally and let's him
read the soul of the men behind, their
methods of rigging the public thought
ard their blackinailing of the higher
ups whom they coerce into pouring in
the barrels of money. Although a
novel, < becomes ntarer being a true
picture of politics when | was en-
ployed by a campaign committee in
the Middle West than anything that
has been put into print. 1t has not
the coarse exaggerations of many po-
litical novels and it imputes the greaer
power in politics to the right spot in
stead of magnifying the shrimps who
themselves have to bow the knee. The
nature of the novel is on the lines of
the one written by David Graham
Phillips, entitled The Plum Tree
and like that great writer, Blythe has
clear grasp of the fundamental full
crums around which machine politics
revolves.
In reading the first installment of
this serial where The Warwick's right
hand bower calls attention to the ne
cessity of hitting the great bankers
in order to coax a campaign fund, the
thought occurred to me that not more
than one out of a thousand people
in this country understand the men
ace to this nation of centralized bank
ing power in private hands. In Con
gress and Senate there are dozens
of honest. courageous men who are
honestly striving to help the people
without seeming to realize that the
men whom they are fighting are not
powers but simply stool pigeons or
slaves themselves.
The great monopolistic banks OF
New York City, with their private
control of the money and credit, are
the men behind, who make and un-
make presidents, who throttle indus
try, who own the great profit making
enterprises and who are seeking tc
overthrow the Republic and institute
a despotism of dollars secure from
the desire of the people to unhourst
them.
If allowed to continue in contro
ten years it will be necessary for an
other Jackson to appear on the scene
of action and smash them, as M
doubt he will at the psychological
moment, but today this private anC
unnecessary power rules business
with a ruthless hand and can maxi
or kreak almost any business if ]
does no comply with their rules
Every thinking man who votes shoul'
read this novel.
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27
RESOLUTION OF LOCAL 1913 A.
A. of S. E. Ry. E. of A.
Boise. Idaho

0OlSCy 40dhO
WHEREAS, 1t has pleased the STU
preme Ruler of the Universe to re-
move from our midst our beloved
brother ]. c. Porter, and
WHEREAS. He was loyal mem
Der and good and honest employee,
and we miss his compainionsfip,
therefore
BE 1T RESOLVED, That we drape
our charter for 30 days. extend our
sympathy to his bereaved wife, have a
copy of these Resolutions published
in our Official Journal and the Gem
Worker and also made record of in
the Minutes of our Meeting.
GEORGE L. MAYNARD,
F. C. SHUNKWILER.
]. W.LYDA.
COMMITTEE
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27

The ease with which France, Eng
land and Russia have modified the
gold supply in the respective nations,
giving their subjects government pa
per in exchange, is an object lesson
in certain principle that is rapidly
progressing to an amazing and unex-
pected change to many people who
worship traditions and become ob1i-
vious to the absurdity of thing sim
ply because it is hoary with age
Under present circumstances, where
war has become the paramount occu-
patton of all European people, when
the expense in every day cost has far
outreached the earning power of the
people to support it, it is now nee
essary for the governments to put up
bluff of supreme confidence in their
own financial security after the war
has ended and for the present this
"front" is working perfectly almost.
with just here and there an exception
Individually which is drowned in the
noise of the patriotic appeals of the
governments to their people to sup
port the government with more and
more sacrifices. 49,.
AS gold is the world standard Of
primary money passing between ma
tions in the form of bullion it is nee
essary for each government at war
and under the necessity of buying
immense quantities of ammunition
abroad. as well as all other classes
of available supplies, to create in the
minds of their own people supreme
belief in their ability to win the war
in order to release for government
use the hidden gold supply among the
people and for which the latter must
accept a promise to pay gold at some
future period. The governments of
Europe today have. of course. more
gold in their possession than at any
past time in their history, because
it is centralized in government hands
and is being used as a basis OF extend
ing governmental credit In spite
of the fact that European govern
ments dealing with the United States
art able to float loans and credits
here however, the rate of the flow of
gold in the form of bullion this way
is constantly increasing and must in
crease still more rapidly as the ex-
tension of credit goes on. One of
the reasons for this haste in the inn
petus of gold toward America is the
fact that Eurooe must deliver over to
us great quantities of gold bullion a,
each time it offers more European
bonds in order to hold up the price Of
its consuls, taking much larger
amount of gold to strengthen its cred
, it. Any one who reasons at all can Sc,
where this win lead in another year o.
! war, as there is limit soon coming
(contnued to page iour)
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27
Boise, Idaho, January oath, 19lt

Boise, Idaho, January oath, 1916
WHEREAS, Time and afAiction
have removed from our midst our
friend and brother, James Carson
Porter. who passed to his eternal
rest on Tuesday, January l8, A. D.
1916, and
WHEREAS, Mr.. Porter was loyal
member of Boise Union No. 398,
Amalgamated Association OF Street
and Electrical Railway Employees of
America which association. is affil-
lated with The Boise Trades and La
Dor Council, and
WHEREAS, Mr.. Porter was a man
of exemplary habits, good husband
and true friend and neighbor whose
presence amongst us will be deeply
missed; therefore
BE 1T RESOLVED, That all mem
bers of the Boise Trades and Labor
Council hereby extend to the bereav-
ed wife and other relatives of deceas-
ed their profound sympathy, and hope
they may be comforted by the fact
that he is at rest, and that neither
pain nor sorrow nor worldly tempta-
tions can trouble him now,
-~~>-~~o--~~---~-~~~-~~~~~~
Revised census figures of London
1911, show that the population of the
county does not equal to that of New
York City. The county had in 1911.
population of ASH, 1853, while New
York had in 1910, a population Of
4,766,883. Counting in suburbs out
side of the county London has 7,2sl,-
3sS, while New York, together with
Westchester county and the New Jer-
sey suburbs, had in 1910, 7,383,s71.
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27

er or law. They unhesitatingly stand
for the elimination of popular cleo
tions and militarism which will Gre
ate the right conditions for an over
throw of the people, which Leslie's
always terms the ''mob."
Leslie's right now is giving the
country an exhibition of that curious
and paradoxical ,.newpaper support
that exploits one thing and really
supports another, Leslie's hackers
want standing army, the revolution
ary change in our election laws to
that of property qualification, the
disruption of labor unionism and free
license to the captains of industry"
to run riot without interference from
government.
But Leslie's and its thinking peo-
pie" have been too coarsely indiffer-
ent to public rights to ever gain this
privilege and their period of unlim-
tied power is passing-not gaining
ground. Their sullen anger at the
growing enlightenment of the masses
is only raising laugh where it does
not create a feeling of unwholesome
nausea.
But Leslie's will help us in more
ways than one and we all hope that
it is killing off the thinking people"
as no other paper in the country
could do the job in innocence of any
wrong intent toward them. Go to it
Leslie's-you are the best friend eco
nomic democracy has at present in
the press.
The Gem worker and the Idaho labor herald. (Boise, Idaho) 1914-1917, 1916-01-27
RESOLUTIONS OF CONDOLENCE

BOISE TRADES AND LABOR
COUNCIL.
By Lawrence O. Nichols.
A. w. Kool,
Robt. Murray.
Resolutions Committee.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-30
Bread

in little hnk Ican1w eakanden andf begging and for wHhI had tI
  tnnI Iwoudh retained easonan dtoIa O oodsakedG o Europe Nothing h me mqre what allen him IeLont children Warsaw bread Iturnw lf
  ing il Waraw md Iodzh was theth Iheat h remember the then bread o tree f nor y soldier Il mel anaol monotone monotone tha is makn me insane
  not call o
  e Iwon's vreme o o m % areat
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-30
Facts:

townspeople faith destitute million children the sh faith homeless.
 people last May
  three 70 four hours
 expulsion caused the break of the Children took ilL
  o diseases 7 000 refugees homeless and des further wanderers. 9. Unemployment universal 100000 Gacan refugees driven from huded lodging houses stables and basements and while they give aid elementary of existence
 Gaan Jewish refugees dwelling outside of to individuals, objects of charity within everywhere the first and victims whatever they would be neither Belgans Sevans eknown. Fromt the York Press) dying from of clothing the of the co!dest the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-30

letter Mr. Warbug regard conditions reads follows:
 "PeIograd. Warburg: For uaon which the terrible through which continually without myself only life that 
 he the distress and the all human idea what millions men Gaca Russian Poland huana the Baltic provinces of Wone Podoe mostly srae invaded and these unfortunate with population of from 5O0 3OO0O devastated the inhabitants delivered the black est misery.
 "To speak only of the Jewish people that about 30OO0 practically but besides these orphans nvads the flags 
 "The Pogad community has founded here three committees help wounded soldiers distncon another families of iers and the third help the All all Jewish relief formed and worked in with Committee Pero grad
 All lack neither ot devotion; the fees all
 Yours devotedly,
 TETN NJPLpC
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-30
The Cry of Distress

 driven backward and forward Women children old
  andG call toconrib Q PoIand aanG B1mngh shoudan andw do he Each $ hartman Robert Jemion, S. w.. M M. Joseph OearW Dr. H.. Fie I. Dickinson Rshop FsW Barrett Franks Re. W. N D. w. Ruduph saks John Frye F.. Gas Wa [ Sever Rev Bamwen hnson R. M Goodal ohm w. Leo IousP
 5 ham Herald,
 
 5 Dear
 m mess 5
 3 ment) Find y .......
The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-30
Conditions Worse Than They Ever We're In Belgium

correspondent in Russia writes:
Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-05-28
Atlanta Men
Want The Palm
Beach Quickly

ATLANTA, Ga, May 27.-Atlanta
1nCn Lave taken to Palm Beach suits
so strong that clothiers have difficulty
in replenishing their stocks fast
enaugh to supply the demand, while
dry-cleaning establishments are MAX
ing barrels of money.
Five years ago Palm Beach suit
was a curiosity on Atlanta streets, and
the man who wore one was considered
a curiosity on Atlanta streets, and the
man who once was considered as
much of freak as the man who play
ed golf ten years ago.
Now the tables arae turned and
the man who can't afford the dry
cleaning bill is looked upon with SYM
pathy by tn emore fortunate brethren
who defy hot weather in cool feather
weights.
Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-05-28

part of wisdom and humanity to re-
uuire an inspection of all grain which
is offered for sale in order Gnat the
people and their live stock may be
protected against danger from this
source. Italy, Austria, France and
some states in this country have taken
steps in this direction, and it is hoped
that Georgia will soon follow suit.
The work that is already being I'M
dertaken by the state board of health
could be greatly expanded to the ulti-
mate benefit of the people were the ap-
preparation to this board materially in
creased. A commercial enterprise
operates on a large or small scale in
accordance with the size of its re-
sources; and so it is with a state board
Ct health-its work is commensurate
with its appropriation.
Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-05-28
Medical Board Wants Greater
Authority to Enforce Laws
(BY EMORY R. PARK, NJ. d.

(BY EMORY R. PARK, NJ. D.
The protection of the public health
is the first duty of a statesman" said
Disraeli, and Gladstone well said that
upon the health of the people depends
the wealth of the nation" There are
many opportunities open to the states
men of the coming legislature in the
direction of promoting the public
health of Georgia, Among them are
the following:
The vital statistics law was passed
in 1914, but no appropriation has vet
been made for the carrying on of the
work. This unfortunate circumstance
Should be corrected without further de-
lay There are also certain changes
which should be made in this law. for,
il it is put into operation as it is now
written, it will entail unnecessary
hardships upon the people and be I'M
Necessarily difficult and expensive to
operate. This will result in making
the law unpopular and in very low
grade statistics. Morbidity statistics
are of greater value to public health
workers than are mortality statistics;
yet, no mention of collecting morbidity
statistics has been made. The follow
ing example will show the advantage
Of morbidity over mortality reports:
If there are, for instance, ten cases
of typhoid fever occurring in com
munity and eight get well and two die,
mortality reports would only show the
ones that persisted; morbidity statis-
ties, however, would show all ten
cases. By all means, morbidity statis-
tics should be collected, as well as
statistics of mortality.
England and Australia freed them
selves of rabies by passing and en-
forcing dogmuzzling acts, and they
place imported dogs in quarantine for
a sufficient time to determine whether
OF not it will be safe to let them roam
at large. Dog muzzling acts are not
only valuable for the protection of hu.
mans against hydrophobia, but also
animals as we'll any dogs, under pres
ent conditions in Georgia, develop by
drophobia and die horrible deaths, o.
are killed and beheaded During tn,
past three years there have been 2,76
Georgia citizens treated by the Stat,
Board of Health laboratory for MAJ
Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1916-05-28

b:es, and there have also been 493
animals that have received treatment.
There is no way to tell just how many
animals have had to be killed through
out the state as a result of our not
protecting them against this malady.
1t is clearly high time that we are do
Ing something toward freeing our
state of this scourge.
Water pollution occurs in direct ra-
to to density of population. There
vas a time, perhaps, when all of our
water supplies were practically pure,
but with increase of population has
come increase in water pollution, and
this pollution will continue to in
crease as time goes on until our drink
ing water will be little better than
sewage unless adequate steps are
taken to prevent it. The state board
of health should be given the neces-
sary power and funds to enable it to
safeguard the water supplies of the
state.
Smallpox has become so widespread
that it is out of the question to try
to put it under control, much less
stamp it out by quarantine (by pest
houses'0. The situation in this mat
ter has about resolved itself into: Be
vaccinated, or have smallpox. Germany
that great exponent of efficiency, has
stamped smallpox from her empire by
a compulsory vaccination law. If this
can be done in Germany, it can be
done in Georgia.
This state is spending $4,000 year.
~ for the maintenance of an academy
for the blind. This is all well and
good, so far as it goes, but would it
not be splendid thing to go to work
aid eliminate the causes which make
the existence of such an academy nee
essary? Over so per cent, of all
blindness is preventable. Why not
prevent it? States and cities else
where have laws dealing with this
great economic and humanitarian
problem, and they support such laws
with adequate funds. Georgia should
| dc likewise.
1t is a we'll known fact that mouldy
cereals will kill animals, and it is also
believed by leading authorities that
diseased corn viii destroy human be-
ings. This being so, it would seem the