Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1922-04-28
LOCAL FIREMEN
ADDRESSED BY
G. w. MAIER

About 5000 local unionists missed
the opportunity Saturday night of
hearing one Of the best labor address,
es given In the Twin Cities this win-
ter, when G. w. Maier, a special rep
resentative Of the Brotherhood Of
Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen,
addressed small but appreciative
audience at Labor Hall upon the prob
lems confronting the labor organiza-
tions at the present time.
The big interests haying the large
saa dallss 70 a salss thsF ts talsppsss ps,e tercqa
manner of thinking, and the labor un-
ions not being so fortunate as yet to
have daily papers at their command,
il is no wonder, said the speaker, that
public sentiment has been created
against organized labor Through the
daily press, he said. the public has
been led to believe that union labor,
and especially union railroad labor,
Is responsible for the high cost OF
living, and that freight rates cannot
be lowered until wages are lowered.
He said that railroad labor has al
ready been cut to the extent of $780,
100000 year, and that freight and
passenger rates had not been reduced
at all, which bellies the claim that
wages are responsible for high trans
portation rates. Mr.. Maier blamed the
workers to a great extent for the
wrong impression placed ON labor,
saying that some union men would
rather sit around pool halls or go to a
moving picture show than attend to
the meetings Of their unions, while
the faithful few we're compelled TO
fight the battles of the many. The
failure of unionists to see To il that
the people in their community be
properly informed was characterized
by Mr.. Maier as gross neglect OF
their own business, and while nnmer-
Gus civic organizations were meeting
regularly and using every opportun.
ity to prejudice the public mind
against labor unions, union men were
doing next to nothing TO Offset this
propaganda.
Mr.. Maier spoke at some length
about the present conditions on the
railroads. He said that If the rail
road brotherhoods had funetioned
since 1914 as they should have done
they would not now be faced with
wage cuts and changed conditions
and he said, this is true Of all classes
of organized labor. The present
trouble in the mining industry, he
said, was brought on because the
mine owners wanted trouble so as to
boost the price of coal, and had there
fore wilfully violated agreements
forcing the men to quit their work
rather than submit to conditions the
mine owners sought 10 impose. He
said the government could find way
TO 1918 to prevent the miners from
striking. in violation Of their con
tracts, but that il failed to find way
now to compel the mine owners TO full
| fill their contracts.
II Big Business should be success
full in destroying the miners organ
ization, as the present move is calcu
lated to do, the railroaders will b.
next in line for annihilation, whicl
would mean taking a backward stel
of over 40 years, and 40 years ago
said Maier, there we're no laws re
stricting the hours Of railroad labor
He said that he, himself, had beer
compelled in the early '80's, to worl
at one time days and 10 hours with
out relief.
He raped the "open shoppers
throughout his speech, holding up a
an example Of the great American
plan the steel industry, where II t
Ia hours is days work, seven day
in the week; where the company own
the stores, houses, schools, churches
and in fact the entire t0Wnsj wher
wages paid were at the starvation
level. Could anyone ask a better eX
ample of the "open shop" than tba
! conducted by the steel trust2
But there is a way out for IN
, worker. He must organize his polltl
. cal power, and use the ballot TO eiec
! to office men Of their own class, 9
, at least men who will see TO II tha
) justice is done the workers Of N
: country. In Texas, he said, the wori
! ers and farmers are getting togetht
, in this way, and next fall viii ele'
/ every senator and congressman SCI
from that state TO Washington. Thel