Denver labor bulletin., 1918-09-21
Printing Trades

The bottom appears to have fallen
out of the commercial and book print
ing business in Denver This week
thirty-five printers and a proportion
ate number of pressmen and book
binders were laid off, some of whom
have been working regularly for eight
or ten years. A number of weekly
and monthly periodicals have recently
suspended, and there is a scarcity of
big printing work of any character.
Commercial printing has not been
classed as an essential by the federal
war industries board, and the proba-
bilities are that the printing business
other than newspapers will fare hard
from now until close of the war.
Under the work or fight rule of the
government, idle printers, pressmen,
bookbinders, lithographers and photo
engravers, especially those ranging
from Is to IS within the draft age,
will be rounded up. Some will be
drafted into the army, while others
may be assigned TO essential war in
dustries, such as coal mining, ship
building, chopping spruce trees for
aeroplanes, chemical and powder
plants, ore smelters. etc. After the
war hundreds of members of the allied
printing crafts will have acquired
more or less proficiency in two or three
trades.
A. E. Schlueter. formerly a member
of Denver Mailers Union No. 8, writes
The Bulletin from Portland, Ore, as
follows: Enclosed please find So for
back dues and advance payment for
The Bulletin, and send the paper to
my new address in this city. The
shutdown of the Tribune in Los An
geles put about dozen former Dem
verites on the sub list, and the work
there didn't look very promising, so l
came to Portland and obtained job
at once. / found plenty of Denverites
here also. Met Bob Fisher at Eugene,
Ore, who is always glad to see any
one from the old home town. Trav-
eled from Los Angeles in my automo-
bile, stopping off at several high
points on the way. l must say the
Santa Fe trail from Colorado to Cali
fornia is n boulevard in comparison
with the Pacific highway. The best
automobile roads in the West are to
be found in Colorado and Southern
California. Regards to all the boys"
Charles E. Barngrover has gone to
Rock Springs, Wyo., to assume his
former job on the Miner. His family
will remain in Denver for the present.
W. E. ("Kid'D Shields, former pres
ident of Denver Typographical Union
No. 49, who has been employed as
head proofreader in the Peterson pub
fishing office in Chicago for several
years, RENTS for another years sub
scription to his ''favorite home town
paper" with the following postscript:
Hope everything is going well with
you and that Ed Heating will be re-
nominated There is much interest
among the labor men of Chicago as
to how the organized workers of
Colorado will decide between Ed Keat-
ing and John Martin. Now that we
are to have nationwide prohibition,
wish the o. p might come here
and take the contract of unionizing
the printing trades of Chicago. There
are more non-union printers here than
there are union printers in Colorado.
As the l. T. U. does not seem to be
interested and local efforts amount to
nothing, why couldn't the A. F. of L.
do something? l think it could, but
would be up against the same kind Of
n game the Colorado miners are. the
dog in the manger' policy. If all the
I. T. u. organizers were put to work
here for a year it would save lots Of
railroad fare, and there are about as
many mons as in all the rest of the
country. Best wishes, and il any Of
the boys come this way hope they
will be sure to look me up, for / re-
tain . warm spot in my heart for all