The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record. (Butler, Mo.) 1918-1950, 1919-04-24
SAYS LABOR HELD UP U. $.
Declares While $33.a-Month Army
Was Fighting in Mud, Labor
at Home Called 6,oco
Strike; for Big Wage
Demands.

Dallas, Tex, April 2o.LIn
signed statement here today, Repre-
sentative Thomas L. Blanton o
Texas, reiterated his criticism o
Samuel Gompers, president of thu
American Federation of Labor
made last week in a speech at Min
eral Wells, Tex, and declared thai
labor unionism, Socialism and Boil
shevism were working hand in hant
and were practically identical in
that they all foster anarchy and dis.
regard of law" The statement was
in reply to one given out in Wash
ington last night by Mr.. Gompers
in which the labor leader asserted
that Mr.. Blanton's Mineral Wells
address was a confession of the con-
CHEESEMAN'S utter incapacity of I'M
Outstanding the plainest proposition
of right, justice, freedom and de-
mocracy."
Comparing Mr.. Gonper's democ-
racy with my own" Mr.. Blanton
says, "he represents 3 million men
whose slogan is for ourselves only,
while have deeply at heart the well
fare and interest equally not only of
Mr.. Gomper's 3 million union men,
but also the other Io7 million people
of the United States who are vitality
affected by this issue
Congressman Blanton asserts that
while American soldiers were flight
ing in trenches knee deep in mud"
the four great railroad brotherhoods
forced the government to pay them
increased wages aggregating 700 mill
lion dollars, and that later, by
threats" the railway men compelled
the director general of railroads to
raise their pay an additional 6s mil
lion dollars. This money, Mr.. Blan-
ton says, has come out OF the pockets
of the people through increased
freight and passenger rates and
"abominable service"
Mr.. Blanton charges that the
unions have forced Postmaster Cen
eral Burleson to allow a raise in pay
demanded for all telegraph en-
p1oyees and will shortly force him to
accede to the demands OF telephone
operators. and the people will again
suffer with poorer service and higher
costs.
Although demanding and obtain
ing industrial exemptions and reliev-
ing their members from fighting in
France at $50 per month. Mr.. Blan-
ton said some unions have forced
wage schedules up to ST per hour,
with time and half for overtime.
SlI per day fol- ten hours
work.
The Department of Labor certifies,
according to the statement, that
Turing TIE war from April g, 1917, to
November IL, 1918, there were SIN
thousand strikes by unions, averag-
ng eighteen days duration, and that
IN critical occasions President Will
ION was forced to command them to
'eturn to work." .a-,
by threatening to march on the
capitol and cripple the government
~ walking out, the statement says,
the unions forced President Wilson
o veto the law. as proposed by Con-
'ress, to make the 100000 govern
nent clerks drawing salaries up to
$500 work eight hours per day dur
lg the war
Through these threats, Represen-
alive Blanton declared, these clerks
ecured bonus of $I2o, and still are
'orking seven hours a day, while
emporary government employees
Tho are not affiliated with unions
id not get the bonus. The state (
lent continues:
When General Crowder said it
ould be unnecessary to draft the 49, {
ear-old- boys as he was going to t
lake all men either work or fight,
[r. Gompers refused to let the work t
: fight order apply to organized q
Dor and thus forced 10000 IS-year- +
ID boys to be drafted. {