The Connecticut labor press., 1920-12-04
Ihr Onlnnkrr ] ''Icock n.y hae as please. E E G s 9 l Indoors or out D.. Wdh Whitman

The enemies of the closed shop" are getting busy hereabouts and the battle against organized labor is on in Connecticut. Monday night in Bridge port Charles N. Fay, said to be speak ing under pay for the Manufacturers Association, and its former vice-presi- dent, spoke at public meeting in vigor- ous support of the "open shop" move ment; Next Thursday evening at the Hotel Taft, New Haven, an "open shop campaign" will be inaugurated by the local branch of the Metal Trades Association.
 Wild and absurd statements are be- ing made by the avowed enemies of organized labor in general and the American Federation of Labor in par tlcular. Their arguments, however, hardly require answering. Still, in order that labor un1on1sts may note the trend of the battle, 1t seems timely to make few critical reflections in connection herewith.
 Speaker Fay was particularly raw and antagonistic in his remarks and they seem to have been deliberately in- tended to cause enmity between capital and labor. He said : There can be no peace between capital and labor while there is militant labor organization i'll existence with an army of 150,000 high salaried employees whose sole pur- pose is to keep the employer and the owrker in hot water Then, evidently in fear that his insulting words were not plain enough, MT. Fay added: "The American Federation of Labor is fo- tnenter of strife between the employer and the worker" Wonder if Mr. Fay was talking that way during the war? Certainly the manufacturers, whose hire1ing he is said to be, weren't No, they loved the worker ill those trying times.
 Speaker Fay, to whose name I sug- gest ke be added, seemed wonder fully wise as to inside facts about the American Federation of Labor Any way his facts" will be mighty inter esting to federation leaders in this state because I fear that they are very ignor- ant of the actual situation. According to MT. Fay-ker the A. F. of L. ofic- ials collect about $52, 100000 year in dues from about 4,500O0 members, and outside of about $7,000,O00 spetn for sick benefits, the remainder went to grease the machine"
 And, as for wage increases, 1t was asserted that the wages of morgan cent. in 30 years, while the pay of mem bers of the unions have been advanced only about 21a per cent. You union ists didn't know that, eh?
 Orator Fayke had plenty of other good reasons, also, for the "open shop" and he handed them out freely and i'll strong doses. Some in the audience gulped them down with great gusto, apparently, for they were loudly ap- plauded." But to my way of thinking, the dope ought to have made any union ist present sick abed. Take this one, for instance, giving Mr. Fayke's won derful experience as a manufacturer of typewriters in Chicago. He said that ill answer to an advertisement for 300 men he received about 1000 replies and in about 900 of the replies the ap- plicant preferred all "open shop" Only 100 poor, de1uded morta1s out of 1000 you seei And so these are the sort of arguments organized labor is up against and expected to answer.
 But are sane and sensible members of the labor unions really expected to answer such gulf and foolishment? honestly don't think that they are. All such stuff and fustian Is made to order, not so much to wean unionists from their beliefs, and cause them to desert their unions, as to prejudice the general public against organized labor and create sympathy for the "open shop.'
 
 Some time now since we heard of William P Hazen of the department of justice and his prohteer seekers and food price probers. But never fear, he's on the job all right, even though. as of yore, he hasn't got things fixed just right yet to make an expose and clap some of the evil doers into jail. Brother Hagen. 1t seems, has covered the ground thoroughly and made numerous Investigations" He has also made "voluminous reports" and now comes supplementary report which is supposed to be the result of check up made by the investigators to learn whether proprietors who were ordered to lower prices obeyed instructions. Well, there you are. And what's it all Does anybody know?
 Oh dear, oh dear, before they spring any more blue laws on us and put the taboo on tobacco and what not, why don't the reformers turn to and improve the brands of home hooch and moon shine whiskey? All the time I'm read ing about freak things being done by up-to-date boxers and the situation is getting to be something terrible. Here comes Dr. Goodsmith of Chicago who says that if you see man initiating a top and spinning round and round, you can put him down as a victim of moon shine. Then again I note that they are drinking nitre cocktails in Boston. A tremendous increase in the sale of sweet spirits of nitre is reported and the drug l! is being used as a substitute for liquor among the better classes" And so doctors say, nitre is a very dangerous drug.
 An awfully trying job, this attempt to make humans virtuous by law. They did 1t better i'll the days of old Puri- tans. They then put men in stocks for looking crosswise at the women folks and for the awful crime of kissing their wives. on Sunday but rum and ale flow ed freely. Btu it was good stuff, and pure stuff, and 1t didn't make people crazy in the head"
 The Eastern Marine Workers Asso-