Denver labor bulletin. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1915-19??, 1918-07-27
DAVE LEWIS, UNION La
BOR MAN, TO BE GEN.
ERAL WIRE DIRECTOR.
Decision of Minnesota State Fed
Grafton of Labor to Place In
dependent Ticket in Field
Creates CONSERVATION
Among Corporation
Politicians.
BY LAURENCE TODD


Especial Representative The Denver Labor
Bulletin-)
WASHINGTON, July 20.-Presi-
dent Wilson upheld the right of the
employees of the telegraph companies
to belong to the Commercial Telegra-
pliers Union when they were fighting
the antl-Union policy of President
Carlton of the Western Union Tele-
graph Company early in June. He
will not permit Postmaster General
Burleson to deny the same right of
organization to the same men, oper-
ating the same keys, when they are
brought under government operation
July 81.
That's the rock of safety upon
which President Konenkamp of the
Commercial Telegraphers Union stood
when he visited Washington this week
and held conferences with various
public officials. He talked with the
members of the national war labor
board, whose decision led to the break
ing of of friendly relations between
the government and the Western
Union Company. He talked with Sec
retary Of Labor Wilson, who has borne
a large part of the burden of this
contest between the administration
and the anti-labor business element.
Also, he talked with David J. Lewis,
already understood to be assured Of
appointment as director of the tele-
phone and telegraph service under the
postmaster general.
Friendly to Union Shop.
Konenkamp returned to his Office in
Chicago, well satisfied with the out
look for his organization. Lewis, a
member of the United Mine Workers
of America, and formerly chairman
of the House committee ON labor, re-
fused to discuss their interview. But
while officials keep silent as to the
labor side of the great change which
is brought upon the country by the
postalization of the wires, there are
some features of the situation that
are perfectly clear.
In the first place, Postmaster Cen
eral Burleson has done a great deal
of talking against the Federation of
Postal Employees on the ground that it
is affiliated with the American Fedora
tion of Labor. But he has never been
able. to do anything to stop postal
employees from joining this union, nor
has he ever convinced the President
that the union is in any sense dam
gerous to the efficiency of the pos
tai service.
In the second place, Director Cen
eral McAdoo, upon taking charge of
the railroads, found that the only
force within the army of nearly g.
100000 railroad employees whom he
could trust to build up better EN-
cheney in the service was the force
of organized labor; that among the
officials there was loyalty to the stock
holders and hostility to the govern
ment, and a tendency to make opera
tion as expensive as possible. That
tendency has not yet been stopped, but
the organized men are helping to un-
cover the industrial treason where it
shows itself. McAdoo proved his con-
version to friendship to the union shop
by ordering that no discrimination
union men in any branch Of the serv-
ice.
Stands by Basic Ruling.
In the third place, President Wilson
is closer in touch with the construct
i've forces Of the labor movement to-
day, thru the department Of labor and
the war labor board, than has been the
case at any other time in the history
Of the government. He il familiar
with the relations between the gov
ernments that now operate their tele-
graph and telephone systems and the
unions in those industries, and he
stands by his basic ruling at the
time tho war labor board was estab-
lished, that the right to organize and
bargain collectively shall not be de-
MED. abridged nor interfered with.
David ]. Lewis, . lifelong trade un-
ionist, is going to direct the operation
OF the wires. Tho whole world II
swinging toward . greater degree Of
representation Of the workers in the
management Of the industry whore
they are employed. Nobody need b
worried about Mr.. Burleson's rawlings.
Minnesota Laber Ticket.
No political announeement which