The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1921-06-11
RANGEPAPER
SAYS M'EW|EN
GETS IT WRONG
DECLARES DULUTH NEWSPAPER
EDITORIAL TO Be PARTISAN
Demands Upon Range Employers
Charged to Be Unfair
and Dishonest.

=. Following is the editorial in the
Hibbing Daily News in the issue Of
June 4:
Helping Out the Labor Editor
"The Duluth Labor World, edited
by William E. McEwen, editorially at
tempts to convey the impression that
all. the striking printers are asking
for is Saturday afternoon off, which
would reduce the working week from
4S to A hours-they didn't demand
anything else, according to the World
editorial, only four hours pay for
work not deliverd.
Editor McEwen, supposed to be In
close touch with the labor situation,
in all of it's ramifications (and ram
.bunctifications, evidently missed
some of the essential features of the
demands made by the Typographical
union which had the range printing
offices by the throat-or he inten-
tionally misrepresented the facts by
omitting the main points, which we
do not want to believe.
For Editor McEwen's information,
and all others who may care to alb
sorb it, we herewith present the lead
ing points embodied in the demand
made by the range union printers
upon their employers.
Listen to this, Editor McEwen:
Production of working hours from
4S to ~ hours week.
Increase in wages from $45 to- $48
a~week for day work, and from $48
to $51 for night work.
'Time and one-half for overtime. up
to two hours, and then double time
per hour.
Zone apprentice: for every three
journeymen printers. the apprentice
to be started at SIS a week.
"Columbus day as a printers hol-
iday on full pay.
=. "Depriving the employer of the
right to hire or fire employees, or to
work in his own shop.
"Compelling the employer to pay
the no-good BLACKSMITH" printers the
same wages paid the competent
workman.
And a few other minor restric-
tions upon the owner of the plant,
all to the benefit of the union printer
and all to the detriment Of the en-
ployer.
"These demands were made upon
the range employers, and unfair and
dishonest means adopted at a crit
ical time to force them through, but
the range employers had all the load
they could carry without any addi-
tiona1 burdens, and they declared for
the open shop, or the American plan
as it is called, purely as means of
self-defense against an organization
that gave them no choice in the mat
ter.
1--WE make this rather extended ex-
PLANTATION to enable Editor McEwen
to set himself right with the public.
II he cares to.
I'VE will go little further and
state that the Saturday afternoon off
is practically an impossibility in a
daily newspaper office, and perhaps
no one knows it better than the editor
of the Labor World.
Long before the eight-hour law
was passed in this state. the Mesaba
Ore office was closed at noon on Sat-
urdays, voluntary action on the part
OF the publisher, and we liked it as
we'll as the printers did. We would
gladly adopt the same policy today
were it possible, and those radical
printers who worked themselves out
Of their good jobs in this office were
we'll aware Of the fact when they
made their unreasonable dema Ids
upon us. and attempted to force us
into acceptance. But they were
loyal to the union.''
The probable foundation of the
printers strike was that> the union
imagined itself strong enough to die
tate terms to the employer, and
using their power of. numerical
strength to drive the employer into
a corner where he would have to
surrender, regardless Of his rights in
the premises.
They tried it, and it was a. failure"