The New York herald., 1921-05-27

establishment of piece work, which still
obtains in other cities. and also against
the demand for daily individual
standard of production instead OF the
weekly standard laid down by the \ aion
The minimum wage paid to-day 10 ap-
prentlces is SIC a week. and few ap-
prentices are permitted In the trade
The average wage exceeds the maximum
OF few years ago, and men and women
skilled in the tailoring art earn $50 and
$50 week. some OF them more, under
union standards.
Sanitary conditions have been greatly
improved In the shops, though credit
for this Is mostly due to the voluntary
board OF sanitary control, which is in
dependent OF the union. This board
brought about the abolition of the sweat
shop and greatly improved the moral
and physical conditions under which the
workers were employed.
The educational efforts OF the Anal
gamated, which took form last year.
were the outgrowth of a demand for
some schooling by many men and women
who could not bring themselves to at
tend public night schools. That 1t has
been seized upon by the Amalgamated
leaders as a means of propagating So
cialistic doctrines Is but the natural
outcome of the Schlossberg- -Shiplacoff
trend OF thought.
One of the greatest boons the workers
have felt was the publication, in various
languages, of weekly or biweekly papers.
such as the AdUGnoe In Engl sh, II
LGvoro in Italian. FortschYitt in Yiddish
industrial Democracy in Polish. PrGce in
Bohemian. Rdbochy Goios In Russian
and DGrbds In Lithuanian. setting forth
in these tongues all the union news
yryN Lob A nleo al
to disseminate. These papers proved
powerful bond in keeping the workers
together during times of both peace and
war in the trade. The publications are
mailed TO every worker and paid for out
OF the dues which he pays into the union.
Dues Used in Politics.
The immense revenues of the union
have also been used without stint for
political propaganda purposes. At the
last convention the moral and financial
assistance of the union was pledged to
the support of the Modern School," the
Ferrer school of anarchy established by
Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman
in memory Of the Spanish anarchist who
was killed some years ago. Similar
assistance was pledged to Freie Arbeiter
Stimr1e. the Yiddish Socialist weekly.
Funds have been generously expended
for the maintenance of labor papers
here, in Chicago and even as far as
Oklahoma, where the interests OF the
Amalgamated are inhnitesimal as a
union but considerable from political
viewpoint.
The 1920 convention recommended
that all An1algamatcd members support
only working class political organiza-
tions and candidates" at the last cleo
tion. and all the influence of the union
was cast in favor of the election of
Eugene Debs as President of the United
States. He Is acclaimed as a martyr"
and has often highly praised the objects
the methods of the Amalgamated.
The bill signed by Gov Miller on May
3 requiring all private non-religtous
schools and educational Institutions TO
procure licenses from the State Board
OF Regents deals n heav blow to the
educational programme OF the Amalga-
mated Clothing Workers of America.
The blow comes, too. at a time when
the leaders of the union were preparing
TO enter upon a far more extensive plan
for promulgating Its doctrines than had
yet been attempted.
Compulsory education OF all work
ers in the clothing trade In the elements
of labor unionism" as advocated by the
Amalgamated was about TO be inaugu-
rated In the unions Tabor college" here
and in Rochester, which city to-day, be-
cause OF strike conditions In New York,
Is the most active source Of Amalga-
mated propaganda. Later II was planned
to extend this Compulsory" training of
workers along the lines Of Industrial
Sovietism in Chicago and elsewhere.