Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-08-10

some Of the principal features OF 1t
today that he might set at rest con-
ficting stories which have gone broad
cast.
"The Russian workingman certainly
i will do his share" Mr.. Duncan said.
Ike has done 1t already, and he IS
entering into the spirit of the new
government with whole heart. When
i the scheme of government finally Is
rounded out. he will be found to have
a big hand in it and he will discharge
his duty properly.
ATTENDS LABOR CONFERENCE.
Gradually the workingmen are as
Stimulating the idea Of organization
and I expect them to round out some
sort of federation embracing both
skilled and unskilled labor more simf
lar perhaps to the British system than
to ours. While l was in Petrograd a
meeting of Twenty-Five trades was
held for the purpose Of organizing.
and the men listened with apparent
keen interest to my explanation Of
how labor operated its organizations
in this country. do not know what
the results of that meeting have been,
but when we left the outlook for eff.
fective organization was splendid.
Russian workingmen still are
dazzled by their freedom to organize.
OF course under the car they had no
labor organizations because such
bodies were regarded as revolutionary
and its members were subject to the
severest penalties. Now that they
have organizations they scarcely
know how to operate them. 1t Is not
unusual for the workers to leave their
benches In the middle of the day, call
a meeting and advise their employer
that they are displeased with condi.
tons
WRANGLEs WITHOUT RANcoR.
Their street meetings are peculiar
Guaranteed the liberty Of free speech,
they are making the most of it. The
military guards permit them wide
latitude and they have some heated
wrangles on street corners. At the
close of these debates. however it is
customary for the leading belligerents
to exchange cigarettes, shake hands
and proceed to other meetings.
1.-THE eight-hour day, enforced soon
after the revolution, has greatly
pleased the workers. 1t is a wonderful
sight to see workers who have been
tyrannized for years, coming out OF
factories at o'clock in the afternoon,
with nothing to do until tomorrow
''In many cases wages have been
raised 100 per cent. This seems large
but, when it is remembered that wages
in Russia always were low and It was
not unusual for manufacturers to
make from so to 200 per cent, the in
crease does not seem exorbitant
The workingmen are Just beginning to
realize that their employers have been
waxing rich off them. and that here
tofore. they have been taking vaca-
tons of from two to three months
during the summer with large sums in
their pockets.
CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS.
81 look for very close aftlliation be.
tween the government and labor
Activities of the workingmen in the
council now presages this, and the
laboring classes are bright enough to
maintain their present hold upon the
situation"
Describing the sessions Of the work.
mems council, in which he sat almost
daily for month, Charles Edward
Russell said it compared very favor
ably with other similar legislative
bodies. The greater apparent diff
Guilty, he said, was In the absence of
Numbered collars. Only the news re-
porters wore them, he said.
The mission took lunch today with
Secretary Lansing. Mr.. Root will