River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1919-11-06
EQUITY MEN IN HOT MEETING
Tittemore Urges Followers To Get
Rid of Long at Convention
CLAIM NoNPARTY INFLUENCE
Hanson and Shaw Given Prominent
Mention In Tittemore's Denuncia-
tion.-Tittemore Blames Long.
(From Milwaukee Journal)

American Society of Equity, consist
| ing of presidents and secretaries of
unions in all northern and eastern
counties of the state, listened 10 a re-
port from a committee which has been
investigating the affairs of the So
ciety at Madison, engaged in the alter
cation which for time looked like a
pitched battle with members of the
nonpartisan league, and, after routing
the enemy, closed their session with
| love feast in the form of an address by
President ]. N. Tittemore.
Mr.. Tittemore engaged in q two
listed denunciation of Messrs. Long,
Shaw and Hanson, all members of the
state board. He then gave his hearers
an account of his efforts to assist in
settling industrial unrest at the Wash
ington conference.
The meeting at Green Bay came as
a climax of several months of dis
agreements, quarrels in the various
locals in the state and assertions and
condensation that members of
| the state board were selling out the
Organization to the nonpartisan league
just as it is asserted they sold out
| to the league in Montana and North
| Dakota.
| In Outagamie, where it is said non
partisan leaguers openly entered Eq-
uity meetings, interfered with business
and solicited members, committee
from the Equity, consisting Of VIM.
Hearst, Frederick Thiel and Edward
Tilley, was sent to Madison to investi-
gate the affairs of the state organiza-
ton and later to report to general
meeting Of county unions in Green
Bay.
| Report Called a Whitewash
| The committee appeared early with
it's report but Chairman Thiel refused
to give it to the meeting until the
afternoon. When Thiel and his as
sociates appeared report was given
which Equity men declared was no re-
port at all, but rather a whitewash
Tor the state board.
Just previous to the appearance of
the committee, the Equity men were
lined up on one side of the room with
the so-called non-partisan group on
the other. Speakers from the latter
group attempted to address the house
but were denied the floor. A motion
was then offered to exclude from the
room all who were not Equity men
or who were Unidentified with any other
organization inimical to the interests
Of Equity.
This motion was met with a storm
of protest. It ended with the passage
of the motion, although only one out
of the group of so-called radicals
left the room.
ThiePs report stated that the fric-
ton started between Tittemore and the
Equity members on one side and the
members of the state board with the
so-called radicals on the other side,
Rosenberg for the supreme court. He
said friction was also caused by the
alleged refusal of the Equity co-opera-
tive stock exchange to pay to the
parent society $4,000 for the privilege
of dealing with Equity members and
local stores and elevators. He said
both Long and Shaw declared there
was no quarrel between them and
Tittemore but that the fight was rath-
er between Tittemore and Equity
Another cause Of friction, according to
his assertion, was the work or failure
to work of the legislative committee
and the amount paid them for alleged
work.
Leaves to milk the Cows
Here Tittemore entered the room.
Thiel at once prepared to go, saying,
he had to hurry home to milk the
cows. All of the so-called radical
group heard the tinkle of the COW
bell and the low of kline at the same
moment, for they left with Mr.. Thiel.
Included in this group were Messrs.
i Shoemaker and Ballard of Outagamie
county, whom members Of the Equity
group asserted were using their mem
berships in both the Equity and non
partisan league to sell them out.
| Hearst and Tilley issued majority
report which differed radically from
Chairman ThiePs version They said
that from their Investigations Equity
was in bad way, with funds exhaust
ed, board that was not only incom-
Ipetent but which was subservient to
DR.. Long. They said that DR.. Long had
admitted to them that he was mem
Der Of the nonpartisan league and
that when they told him they were
about to give this report to general
meeting of Equity county unions, ne
told them that they had no right to
report to anyone but their own union
in Outagamie county.
W n r