The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-03-29
N. PRINTERS
INSISTING ON
SIX-HOUR DAY
Shorter Hours Solution For
Wide Unemployment
By H. M. WTCKS.
fere-t,l - II. n.tfw W.~L.-N

Especial to The Daily worksrl
NEW YORK CITY, Mar. rs.
The greatest unemployment
in the printing industry since
the crisis of 1907 was the mo-
tivating force that caused the
adoption of the present de.
mands of Big Six (Typograph-
ical Union No. s..
Gradual Slowing-Up.
When the new scale of
hours and wages was presented
to the newspaper publishers in
December the Industrial de-
preston had just become acute
for months there had been a
gradual slowing up of orders in
the commercial and book end
Of the industry causing a steady
increase of unemployment and
short-time work.
The falling off Of commercial and
newspaper advertising hit the large
dailies. In other periods of crises
the smaller newspapers of New
York suffered severely and on many
occasions were close to bankruptcy.
Taking advantage of the panicky
feeling pervading the ranks of these
so-called independent newspaper
owners, the representative of the
House Of Morgan, Mr.. Frank Mum
sey, began a campaign of newspaper
buying and consolidation, with the
result that the unemployment, al
ready a serious problem IN the job
branch Of Typographical Union No.
s, was accentuated by the influx into
the ranks of unemployed of those
displaced thru newspaper amalga-
nations.
Printing an Industrial Barometer.
Old heads in the printing and
publishing game know that this in
dustry is one of the surest barome-
ters of industry. The great cor
porations place most of .heir print
ing orders in the city of New York.
Chicago does great deal of tariff
work for the western trunk line
railroads. In both cities there has
been a marked decline Of railroad
work. Especially have the railroads
curtailed their summer advertising
This advertising has dropped by
over one hundred per cent since last
year.
Automobile catalogs are fewer
and far less elaborate than in the
other years since the war. Textile
establishments have cut their ad-
vertising down to almost zero, while
the mail order houses are all cut
ting their orders. This is signifi-
cant as it reveals the fact that the
capitalists know we are in a period
of crisis, altho newspapers are not
saying anything about it. In the
last crisis the printing industry was
not hit until toward the close of the
period for the reason that every
railroad in the United States had
to revise all it's tariffs after passing
from governmental control to pri-
vate hands again.
Today, however, the printing in
dustry, as in the past, is a true
barometer of industrial prosperity.
Shorter Hours a Solution.
Reducing the hours of labor from
eight to six will absorb part Of the
unemployed. In New York, with
the Inauguration of a five-day week
It would practically solve the ques-
ton temporarily. Realizing this
fact the militants IN Big Six got
together and waged a staunch fight
for shorter hours with the result
that the demand for the six-hour
day was Incorporated in the new
scale presented to the employers on
the newspapers.
In face Of unemployment in the
industry and period Of acute in
dustrial depression setting in thru
out the entire country many trade
unionists are telling the leaders Of
Big Six that this is a poor time to
strike.
The time to strike is now, Just
before the rush Of Easter advertis-
ing by the department stores and
speciality shops. This IS one season
Of the year, until the beginning of
holiday advertising, that the great
newspapers can make immense
profits and by striking now we can
bring the newspaper owners TO their
knees