Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1921-11-25

organized labor's mass meetings at
Labor Hall Sunday afternoon, when
Max s. Hays, a representative of the
International Typographical Union,
spoke upon the subject of open Shop
Humbuggery.'
The program as carried out was
as follows:
Solo-Mr. Alfred Lucas.
Announcements by the chair.
Prayer-Rev. Keck.
Solo-Mr. julius Cohen.
Address-Max S. Hays.
Duet-MessrS. Lucas and Cohen.
Address--Res. keck.
Questions.
Mr.. Hays began his talk by making
a few casual remarks about his OBJ
seryations since he arrived in town.
Among other things, he said, he had
learned that the workers have their
own cooperative store and press,
which he considered mighty good
beginning for any body of men to
make. Cooperation, he said, was one
of the important factors of the trade
union movement, for, with cooperative
enterprises, the union movement is
guaranteed support and strength
when all other sources fail them. He
laid particular stress upon the inn
portance of the union press as being
the only means whereby organized la
Dor can hope to present its case to
the public. Other sources had failed,
he said, partly because of a willing
ness to misrepresent, and partly be-
cause of the unreliableness of their
news sources.
The cooperative movement, said the
speaker, while it had been of slower
growth in America than has the
moy ement in Europe, is now forging
to the front with leaps and bounds;
but American history shows that
once the American people become
awake to the necessity, they lose
no time in obtaining for themselves
the things they need. He predicted
a bright future in America for the
cooperative movement.
Comparing the American workman
with those of foreign countries, Mr..
HAYS said our workmen were better
situated at the present time than the
workers of any other country, with
the possible exception of those of
Australia, where, he said, real neces-
sity had been the cause of organizing
a union movement not equalled in any
other country on the globe, with the
consequent superior benefits.
The American labor movement was
slow in starting. Although unionism
has existed in America for more
than hundred years, it has been
only forty or fifty years since the
introduction of modern unionism. The
slowness of start was due to the un-
limited undeveloped resources of the
country, and this drew all surplus
workers, many of whom followed Hor-
ace Greeley's advice and went west
to settle upon land. Then, another
cause for the slowness of the start
in the movement here was because
there was no real need for unionism,
because most all mechanics owned the
tools of production, such as the tailor,
shoe maker, harness maker, wagon
maker, carpenter, and many other
craftsmen. With the increased popu-
lation and introduction of machinery,
came the need of organization. With
the introduction of machinery came
the grafter-the useless middleman-
and host of others who came in be- |
tween the maker and consumer and
collected profit, often setting prices, |
and controlling distribution, and max
ing organization of labor all the more
necessary to combat the growing |
evils of the time.
The evolution of the American la |
Dor movement came largely after the |
Civil War. The international Typo |
graphical union, said the speaker, was
the oldest of the international unions, |
having been in eristence for over
three-quarters of century. /
The merger of unions into the |
American Federation of Labor has
been the means of a much closer af-
tiliation and better conditions than
prevailed before, and, Mr.. Hays said,
the present tendency is for a still
further merger and affiliation, par
teularly among those unions closely |
related, as the building trades, for |
unions and which have their building |
trades councils. The 23 unions Of the |
United Mine Workers could get no.
where if each union depended upon
JUS own strength, but the united
strength of over 100000 members |
makes 1t one Of the strongest Of the |
EI.ieiiCdIl organizations.
Launching forth upon the real sub |
Ject of his address, Mr.. Hays told of |
the trouble between the union printers
and the employing printers. Three
years ago, he said, after seevral meet |
lhgs between union printers represen- |
lauEes and representatives of the em-
ploylng printers associations, it was
agreed that beginning May l, 1921,
the hours of labor in union printing |
offices should be eight hours a day, |
WITH a haif-holiday on Saturdays. |
ms agreement was ratified by the
referendum vote of each union and |
employers Associations concerned |
with the negotiations, and it was
generally understood and taken for
granted that beginning at the time
speeified the agreement would be put
INTO effect.
a. mat the union printers lived up to
uleir o part of the agreements they
are are accustomed to doing-may be
seen from the fact that tbev agreed