The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1944-06-02
KAVANAUGH
EXPLAINS ITU LOAN
To The Press:

To The Press:
Far be it from me to criticize any
thing / see in the Press, but front
page story in the issue of May IL,
needs some clarifying. 1t was about
what the old printer said about the
Typographical Union borrowing $40,-
900 from the American Federation of
Labor to finance our 8-hour strike
about 38 years ago.
got my Typographical Union card
in 1908, and was working in Chicago
in the fall of 1905, when 18 of US were
locked out because we refused to stand
for the "open shop" Things like that
were happening all over the United
States. Personally l didn't care, for
seldom held job for more than two
paydays, anyhow. went out and
caught freight train that landed me
in Indianapolis-broke, as usual.
l went up to see Jim Lynch, then
president of the International. He
gave me So and told me to come
around after lunch as he had some
under-cover work for me to do. He
also told me that he and John Bran
wood, international secretary, had
borrowed $4,000 from bank in In
danapolis to finance the strike until
the money from the members began
coming in. The AFL had put on 4@o
assessment to help the printers (and,
incidentally, all other workers) to Sc
cure the S-hour day, but this money
was slower in coming in than that of
the printers. The bank loan was paid
off the following February, after the
1919 assessment money began coming
in. | never learned what the AFL as
sessment amounted to OF what per-
centage of it the printers got.
Mr. Lynch wanted me to go to Kala-
mazoo, Mich, and work in an office
there, to find out what sort of print
ing it was doing and get the names
of the men working there. He gave
me papers that identified me as man
of some name | have forgotten who
had been working in little Indiana
town | went up to Typothetae head
quarters, told the man | had relatives
in Kalamazoo and would like a job
there; that had been forced to leave
Kalamazoo because | refused to join
the union and had had to work in the
little Indiana town. | had papers and
letters to prove every word | said.
Jim Lynch had given them to me.
The Typothetae secretary gave me
a ticket to Kalamazoo and dollar to
eat on during the trip. They put me
to work nights For two nights a
front office man hung around and
watched me, but the third night he
was pulled off, as | had gained the
confidence of the boss.
The third day came down and bor-
rowed SIS off the boss with which to
send for my wife. l didn't have any
wife at that time or for good many
years after, but it was a good stall,
for / got the $15 SO easily that |
kicked myself, synthetically, for not
having asked for $25.
The night after the day had bor-
rowed the SIS | got tired and went
to lunch about 10 o'clock. While eating
lunch l got to thinking how nice it
would be not to have any job at all.
to the office, got chisel and cut off
several notches off the combination
bar, so that all the mats would fall
into the "e" channel Then | locked
the door, and went down and caught a
train on the Pennsylvania and got to
Fort Wayne in time for late break
fast, after railroad detective had
chased me about a mile. had thrown
the office key into a river as my train
passed over it on a bridge.
/ did not see Jim Lynch for more
than year. When did he bawled me
out for having sabotaged linotype
He said the Office was tied up for a
week, as far as machine composition
was concerned.
Them was good old days. During the
8-hour strike | travelled many miles at
the expense Of the Typothetae, and
never did days work. Any union
secretary would give you phony
card, made out in some name other
than your own, which you could tear
up in front of the open shoppers sec.
retary, in the meanwhile telling hin
with tears in your eyes, how the unior
had starved your wife and children BY
preventing you from taking gooe
non-union job. l always got ticket
to somewhere else and piece Of
change.
/ nearly got caught once. In Gin
cinnati the Typothetae secretary gave
,oo q tickat RI ChicauO and dollar