Montana labor news., 1932-08-11
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of the disagreement forced upon the
allied printing trades by the corpora
ton publishers and the job shops of
Butte.
In a paragraph of the story, more
or less editorial in tone, after telling
of the reduction in wages proposed
by the publishers lin co~ntravention to.
the existing agreement with the print
ing trades members), the Associated
Press dispatch follows with this out
right falsehood: "This the crafts have
refused and INSIST UPON MAIN
TANNING THE PEAK WAGE
SCALE THAT HAS BEEN IN Eff
Feet SINCE 1~92s-1929."
If this story concerned a labor dis
pute in connection with any other or
g~anization than the Typographical
Union, the statement quoted above.
might be excused by ignorance of the
correspondent. But since it refers to
the printing trades, the claim of mis-
understanding of the issue cannot be
pleaded by the Associated Press
Aside from being a lie, it is plain, out
and-out, b~ald-faced propaganda, in
tended to prejudice the cause of the
printers in the minds of the public.
A reduction was made the first of
this year in the wages paid to the
allied printing trades and accepted
without argument by them, in recog-
milton of the depressed conditions Of
business. This reduction amounted to
$500 a week for the day men and
$40 a week for the night men. This
reduction the printers have voluntar-
lily agreed to double, but a deaf ear
has been turned by the interests con-
trolling the publications, to all fair
offers Of the unions to arbitrate the
question with the publishers. These
are facts for which the falsehood con-
tanned in the Associated Press story
is substituted.
Not so long ago, it is said, the
Associated Press was taken into the
courts in Kansas City by the publish
ers of a large daily for transmitting
editorial matter in its news stories Of
occurrences in that city, broadcast to
is subscribers. Burning its fingers
once does not appear to have taught
this child the proper lesson.
The industrial interests owning the
two Butte daily organs are using
every means to influence public opin-
ion against the printing trades. One
of the measures adopted is to keep, so
far as possible, all daily papers from
the outside from coming into the city,
thus depriving the citizens of the
comfort of learning the happenings
of the day. The evident hope of the
corporations is that public sentiment
against the printers, as being respon-
sible for this condition, will be devel-
oped. However, the justice of the
printers cause and the ruthless and
inconsiderate action of the corpora
ton publishers are well understood
and the Butte public may confidently
be expected to grin and bear its trou-
bles with its usual f~ortitude.
Labor leaders are somewhat mysti-
fled by the action of the commercial
printing establishments in joining
with the publishers of the corporation
organs in their unfair demands on the
printing trades.
Inasmuch as the Typographical
Union is one not easily defeated, the
corporation organs are taking on a
real struggle in refusing to meet all
of the fair requests of the unions, and
the support and sympathy of the peo-
pie, not only of Butte, but of the en-
tire state, will be on the side of the
printers.-The Western Progressive,
Helena.