Denver labor bulletin., 1918-03-23

Because our members quit work
last February in the shipbuilding
yards Of Baltimore, Md, and Staten
Island, n. Y, when their grievances
had not been adjusted, their enemies
found fault with them. The press be-
rated them for being unpatriotic and
unprincipled; even "Billy Sunday"
when he hit the sawdust trail in New
York City, took slam at them as
being traitors and slackers.
General President Hutcheson was
looked upon as dangerous man, un-
worthy of being at the head of such
an organization: it was said that
certain labor officials repudiated him
and his organization for the stand
they had taken. All this and more
was circulated from one end of the
land to the other. Those who were
loudest in their condemnation of the
carpenters knew not whereof they
spoke; if they had known the true
facts they would have been more
guarded in their speech.
The carpenters asked for an in
crease in wages. General President
Hutcheson took the matter up with
Chairman Hurley of the United
States shipping board. That official
referred him to subordinate, and
to the wage adjustment board In
the meantime the men were anxious
and impatient; President Hutcheson
wired them from Washington, d. c.,
to remain at work pending settle
ment.
Conference after conference was
held, but no satisfactory results. Cen
eral President Hutcheson refused to
become party to an open-shop agree
ment; the men wanted to know what
Il 81, Il
had no other alternative than to
truthfully tell them; they waited no
longer, they Immediately put down
their tools and quit.
And so the great strike was on. II
must be remembered, however, that
our men were smarting from many
other impositions. They were dis
criminated against time and time
again, on account of holding men,
bership in a union; they were hired
and fired in rapid succession; they
were offered any rate of wages but
the union rate: they were required
to do all kinds of work, skilled or un-
skilled; the inclemency of the weather
played havoc with them. When the
thermometer registered several de-
grees below zero, they suffered from
frozen feet and hands, and frozen
ears; they had to stand in line in the
cold from fifteen to thirty minutes to
get into the mess hall for dinner as
there was no suitable or half way
suitable place for them to eat else
where in the yards, where there was
mess hall or restaurant it was not
large enough to accommodate them,
and so on.
Some people seem to be Mortified
because the men quit. We were
asked what we wanted; we replied,
fair treatment and a square deal.
We are patriotic American citizens.
We love our country, our government,
and our flag; we love justice, free
dom and democracy, and we will fight
for them as well as work for them.
Over nine thousand of our members
are in the army and navy, three thou
sand five hundred of our members are
in France working at the trade for
the army. fifty thousand of our men,
aviation fields and cantonments.
From reports received at headquar-
ters our organization has invested ST.
343,175 in Liberty bonds Of the first
and second issues; yet this total is
by no means complete. What our
members have individually taken we
do not know, and will never know;
what the children of our members
have invested in thrift and war saw
ings stamps we will never know, but
we are safe in saying that altogether
it will exceed two and one-haf mil
lion dollars. Our sons are in the
army and navy, our daughters are
active in Red Cross work, and yet
some pen-pushers in newspaper Of
fees, who have practically done moth