The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1919-05-17
Van Lear TALKS
ON LABOR DAILY
Former Mayor Of Minneapolis
Delivers Splendid Address to
Federated Assembly,

1.-THE capitalist owned newspapers
purposely color news and write heads
to mislead the public. have here a
copy of this evenings Duluth Herald
In which is printed a story Of strike
at Toledo involving the employees Of
two automobile factories. The head
line reads: One I. w. w. arrested
Now you know that this is not an
I. w. W.. strike. but a lockout con-
Quoted by employees organized in the
American Federation of Labor. The
reference to the I. w. w. arrest is
made for the purpose of prejudicing
you A. F. of L., men against this
strike. The Associated Press is equal
ly to blame for sending such false
news over the wires."
The above statement was made by
Thomas Van Lear. former mayor of
Minneapolis, to the delegates of tho
Federated Trades assembly at the reg
ular semi-monthly meeting held last
Friday evening at Owls hall. Mr..
Van Lear was invited to address the
meeting. He came to Duluth for the
purpose of interesting local union
men in the new daily labor and farm
er paper to be started in Minneapolis.
Still Holds Union Gard.
Mr.. Van Lear spoke for more than
an hour and was given rapt atten-
ton throughout his mastery address,
II have been union man and have
carried union card for more than
IS years." said the speaker in opening
his address. when I was elected
@F ~~iv
up my union card, nor cease to have
an interest in labor problems. ap-
pointed a. chief Of police who was a
union man, and one of the first things
we did was to organize the policemen.
1--WE then undertook to educate the
policemen in union principles. We
pointed out their duty under the law
and how they were expected to pro-
tect all life and all property, the lives
of the workingmen as we'll as the lives
Of the employers. Ever since then the
police Of Minneapolis have been fair
to the workingmen. for they now un-
derstand the workingmen and what
he wants better than they did before.
when I left the office of mayor
I was invited to go back to my old job
with the Machinists' union, but during
my experience as chief executive of
the city government I learned how
the newspapers completely mould
public opinion, and how they purpose
ly mislead the public by a crafty
method Of news coloring. They do
not always publish lies, but they have
the faculty of publishing matter in
such a. manner as to give people the
wrong idea Of things.
Need For a Labor Paper.
II determined to start daily news
paper that would be owned by labor
and the farmers. a newspaper that
would publish the news from the la
boring mans point of view. We found
that it would require at least $780,
900 to put such a paper on its feet.
You can't raise that much money!
said the skeptics in the labor move
ment with whom I talked. Now be-
lieve things can be done If we go out
to do them. I don't have to argue
about the necessity of daily news
paper that will represent labor. We
know we need one.
1.-THE big problem is to get the
money. have sold $4,000 worth OF
stock in Minneapolis. The farmers
will come in with $4,000. Surely
we can raise the other $4,000
among the union workingmen Of Min
nesota. We are coming into an age Of
cooperation. Labor is buying and
operating cooperative stores here
and there. We have got to demon
strate to the public that we have ca
pacity to do things before we can
be trusted to take over factories and
other productive institutions. The first
thing we need is our own newspaper"
Supposed Catholic Program.
Mr.. Van Lear told Of the suppress
sion by the daily papers Of the labor
reconstruction program of the Cath
Ole church, one of the most progress
sive he had heard of. He recited in
stances Of how the daily papers weave
stories to stir up the people. stories
based on little fact but more fancy.
In closing the speaker made an ell
oquent appeal for support. He an
nounced that an agent had been ap-
pointed for Duluth and stock could
be subscribed for at his offices in the
Palladio building. The assembly en-
dorsed the proposition and the presi-
dent appointed a committee consist"
ing Of Delegates Towne, Barron and
Sperl to visit the unions and urge
them to buy stock in the paper to be
printed by the Northwestern publish
ing company.