The north Mississippi herald., 1920-01-02
LITTLE ROCK AND
LABOR AT WAR
"Open Shop" Policy Will
Cause Hard Fight-Employ-
ers Stand Pat For Open
Shop Town.

Little Rock, Ark, Dec. 3O.-More
than 200 members of the Little Rock
Board of Commerce this afternoon
accepted the ultimatum of the local
union organizations and declared war
to the bitter end in the determination
to make Little Rock an open shop
city.
The report of the committee in
charge of the petition for the open
shop showed that approximately 1,400
signatures had been obtained on the
paper and according to @. L. Porter,
vice chairman of the committee,
practically every firm of any inn
portance in Little Rock had signed
t."
w. B. Smith, former president of
the board of commerce, and leader
IN the movement for the open shop
policy, urged the Membership of the
body to carry the fight to the end
without compromise or recession.
"The time has come" he said, "when
the citizenship of Lite Rock must
have its own say how to run its af-
fairs. We can no longer be dictated
to by men who get their orders direct
from Samuel Gompers. We have
got into this policy to win and not
to withdraw and we will win.
eve have positive information in
our hands at the present time that
the unions already have resorted to
threat. This information, which was
given out by one of the master plumb
ers, shows that on one job, two rep
resentatives of the unions went to
men on the job and threatened them
with bodily violence if they did not
leave the work. When they had got
these men off of the job, they re-
turned and told a negro helper that
if he wanted to get out with his
whole hide he also had better leave.
These are things that we are having
to fight"
Vote Against Petition
The members also voted unani-
mously against signing the petitions
being circulated by the unions ask
ing business houses and individuals
to show whether they favored clos
ed shop, an open shop or were
neutral.
The board of governors was in
structed to appoint a committee to
investigate all reports of threats OF
violence and also to cali upon the
chief Of police and the city govern
ment for protection in all such cases
More than 1,400 firms ard individ-
uals have signed the pledge to insist
upon the open shop policy for Little
Rock in the future. The following
resolutions were adopted by the union
labor organizations last night:
ssFirst. That the Central Trades
and Labor Council go on record as
being unalterably opposed to the
open shop policy that the General
Contractors Association and certain
leaders of the Board of Commerce
are seeking to establish in Littse
Rock and vicinity.
ssSecond. That the Central Trades
and Labor Council fav0rs a square
deal to employers as we'll as employee:
and likewise the public, and this
council, composed of the representa-
tives of union labor in this locality, ii
therefore unequivocally opposed tC
any limitation being placed upon any
workman as to the amount of work
he may perform in a regular work
ing day.
.Third. That the principle of arbi-
tration of differences between em
ployers and employees is heartily in
dorsed, and this Central Trades and
Labor Coucil hereby tenders its
good Offices to bring about an ami.
cable settlement Of present troubles