The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-10-15
BETTER HIGHWAYS URGEDA
MICHAEL BOYLAN TALKED
IN THEIABOR HALL
Other Speakers Turned Good
Roads Meeting Into PoIit-
icaI Gathering

Senator Michael Boylan of Virgin
ia MINI, W. c. Cullen. international
organizer for the United Hatters Of
North America, and e. G.. Hall,
president of the State Federation or
Labor, spoke at Labor hall last night
to very small audience. There
were about twetny laboring men pre-
sent.
Senator B9ylan spoke briefly on
the topic of the Babcock amendment
and its benefits. He stated that the
plan does not. necessarily mean that
roads will have to be paved under
the plan, Ii graveled roads will All
the bill, but whese paved roads are
necessary they will be built. The
people who actually use the roads
Will be the ones taxed for them under
the plan. That is, there will be q
tax placed on all motor driven We
hicles to create fund for the con-
struction Of the same. In addition
to the amount thus raised aid will al
SO be gotten' from the federal gov
eminent SO that theme will be a fund
Of $8,000,000 available annually for
good roads building. With that fund
build its own cement plants, and sell
the products to- the public at first
cost. The provisions of the Babcock
plan does not in any way Interfere
with the one mill road tax, which
can be used on county roads outside
the trunk lines. The speaker said
that should the opSh shop plan be
forced upon labor bf the large bust
ness concerns, and thus splsoduce two
Minnesota cam give its men employ
ment on the roads, and give them an
opportunity to keep the wolf from
the door. In closing Mr. Boylan urg-
ed upon all laboring men to support
and vote for the Babcock plan of
hand surface roads.
Cullen Was Disappointed.
c. w. Cullen OF New York city, in
ternational organizer tor the United
Hatters Of North America was very
outspoken in his dissapointmentt is
the very slim turn out at the meeting.
He said that the working men should
take more interests in their meet !.
ings. 1t was indeed discouraging,
and he had seen betteu meetings in
much smaller towns. Mankato la
boring men need something to wake
them up to the situation, and the
movement of the large manufacture
er toward an open shop plan. IL
the men and women who labor do
not take more interest in the pro-
blems which are vital to them, they
need not expect any results. M.
Cullen spent much time in discus
sion OF descisions of the courts
against labor, and said that it was
time to put the right men in as
judges, and not those who can be
influenced byAany whim which may
come up. Labor. must be ready TO
make sacrafices in order to better
the conditions of the class to which
it belongs. Mankato workmen can
no longer leave 1t to George to carry
NV all y,,o
to the labor meetings
Hall Was Displeased.
E. G. Hall spoke for nearly two
hours. He too was very much dis.
pleased at the small turn out at the
meeting. President Hall said that in
the outset he wanted to impress up.
on the laboring men present that the
trade union organizations are not
money making schemes or concerns.
They are protective associations, and
they do not try to dictate what tic
ket man shall vote. President Hall
said that 1aboring men should read
their labor papers and get the true
side OF the questions at issue, and not
the corporation owned papers. He
would have the laborers support the
disgust for the smallness OF the au
dience President Hall said that it
would appear that in Mankato there
are no union men, they are Just
members of union trade union
is just like~any otheu business IL the
members do not support it, it viii
not prosper. The speaker urged up
on those present. to see to it that
every laboring man and woman
Joined a union.
Seeming to forget the propriety of
the occasion, President Hall toward
the close Of his speech INDUCED in
political harrange and mud sling
ing toward certain candidates. He
devoted more time to decrying GER
tain gentlemen in this community
than he did to discussion of good
roads. To some OF the>men present
1T looked like an attempt to mix the
better road program with cheap pol
itics.