Where in all the world can we find greater and better wealth producers than among the working people of the United States? Compared man with man, there is no harder toiler, more persistent and successful producer than the wage earner of the United States? As a matter of fact, to speak of the prosperity of the people of a country, is a declaration at the same time, even unexpressed in words, of the increased efficiency of the workers, as the producers of wealth, as well as in its use and consumption. It may be true as the Times states, that "shorter hours and enlarged incomes frequently result in self-indulgence, too often in modes of living which reduce physical capacity for work, rather than in storing up surplus earnings in a reservoir for effort when powers shall fail." But this assertion has no application to the wage-earners-the working people. If it has any truth at all, it applies to the members of that class whose hours have become so shortened, and whose incomes have become so enlarged and their self-indulgence so flagrant, as not only to reduce, but to destroy their desire, or physical capacity for work. More than likely the Times finds itself a victim of the same dementia with President Mellen, as indicated in his address before the Trinity College students last March, in which he raged against rate laws and other attempts at railroad regulation, and incidentally blamed all his troubles and difficulties upon organized labor. But it won't do. EDITORIAL NOTES. Taking Harry Orchard's description of himself, in his evidence against Win. D. Haywood, he writes himself down the most consummate scoundrel and bestial brute the world has known. Murderer, bigamist, burglar, incendiary, fraud, liar, thief, are a few of titles of crimes which he cheerfully testifies he committed. It can not be imagined that upon the testimony of an incarnate villain so debased, any honest American jury will convict a man, who, despite his opinions, has hitherto born a spotless personal reputation. The National Metal Trades' Association, one of the bitterest and closest of employers' associations fighting labor oganizations, is up against strikes of machinists in many parts of the country and do not know which way to turn to meet the situation. In 1901, this employers' association vowed, and pledged each member morally and financially, to destroy the International Association of Machinists. Since then the International Association of Machinists has fully doubled its membership, its funds, and financial resources, and secured for the machinists higher wages, a shorter workday, and better conditions. It would seem that it is about time for the members of the National Metal Trades' Association to change their tactics, pursue a policy of conciliation and come to a working agreement with the organized men of the trade. The labor unions are here to stay. OFFICIAL. BREWERY WORKERS' CHARTER REVOKED. I N accordance with the decision of the Minneapolis Convention of the American Federation of Labor, the charter of the International Union of United Brewery Workers was revoked June 1, 1907. The following is the official letter making the announcement of that fact: OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR. WASHINGTON, D. C., June 1, 1907. Mr. ADAM HEUBNER, Mr. LOUIS KEMPER, Mr. JOSEPH PROEBSTLE. Secretaries, International Union of United Brewery Workmen, Rooms 109-110 Odd Fellows Temple, DEAR SIRS AND BROTHERS: To the Convention of the American Federation of Labor, held in November, 1906, at Minneapolis, a committee having the subject-matter of the long standing controversy existing between your and other organizations under consideration, reported as follows: Your committee endeavored to have the representatives of the above organizations try and agree among themselves on a settlement of their differences. We believe that the best interests of the rank and file of those organizations would be protected and promoted, if the engineers, firemen, and brewery workers could mutually agree on a reasonable basis of a settlement of their differences. The representatives of these organizations failing to reach an agreement, your committee recommends the following: 1. All brewery employes now members of the United Brewery Workmen's Union may remain such provided that such members of said United Brewery Workmen's Union as are now employed as engineers, firemen, or teamsters may withdraw from that organization and join their respective unions, representing these crafts, without prejudice or discrimination on the part of their former associates. 2. Hereafter the United Brewery Workmen's Union shall not admit to membership any engineer, firemen, or teamster, but shall refer all applicants, members of these trades, to the respective organizations of these trades, now affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, where such organizations exist. 3. All engineers, firemen, and teamsters employed in breweries shall conform to the laws, rules, and regulations made by that organization of which the majority of the members of the respective crafts employed in each brewery are members. 4. Whenever a majority of men employed as engineers, firemen, or teamsters in any brewery are members of the respective unions of these crafts, the organization or organizations representing such majority shall appoint a committee to act cojointly with the United Brewery Workmen's Union in any negotiations which may arise with the employers, provided that the united brewery workmen shall have equal representation with all the other organizations in joint conference. 5 It shall be the duty of the Executive Council of the Federation and all national, international, state, and city central and local unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor to exert every influence and power at their command to make the above decision operative and effective. 6 Any of the organizations interested in this controversy violating the provisions of this report, the Executive Council is instructed to immediately revoke the charter or charters of the organization or organizations violating this decision. The Minneapolis convention, the highest court in the labor movement of our country, after a thorough and comprehensive discussion of the entire subject, in which the delegates from your organization fully participated, adopted the report, recommendation, and resolution by an overwhelming vote. At the meeting of the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor, held at Washington, D. C., March 18-23, inclusive, representatives of your and other organizations in interest, were fully heard, and after mature consideration, the Executive Council arrived at the following conclusion: WHEREAS. The testimony presented to the Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor in the contention over jurisdiction of employment in breweries shows conclusively that the brewery workers have violated the decision of the Minneapolis American Federation of Labor Convention, but that said violation in some part was performed because of an alleged conception of said decision by the brewery workers which neither the action or intention of Minneapolis convention, or the language of said decision if fairly interpreted warrants; therefore, Resolved, That giving an old affiliated body the benefit of the doubt the brewery workers be informed it is the decision of the Executive Council that their actions violative of the Minneapolis decision would ordinarily merit immediate enforcement of the penalty in section 6 of said decision, but in order to prevent dismemberment if possible and because of the vestige of doubt above referred to the brewery workers are informed that the Minneapolis decision provides that in all localities where there are locals of engineers, firemen or teamsters the brewery workers are forbidden to accept application for membership from men following the three occupations named but shall refer same to the respective local of these trades and that this applies to new as well as to old breweries. Resolved, That the brewery workers through their Executive Board be called upon to inform the President of the American Federation of Labor by May 1st, 1907, of their adherence to the decision of the Minneapolis convention as herewith contained and explained, including transference of such members as they may have accepted in violation of same since adjournment of that convention, to their respective organizations, and for failure to do so, said brewery workers be and are hoy informed their charter stands revoked June 1, 1907, as per section 6 of said decision, and that said brewery workers be and are hereby informed that their failure to so comply has by their own action worked the revocation of their charter. On May 1st, neither yourself nor the Executive Board of your organization informed the President of the American Federation of Labor as to the adherence of your organization to the decision of the Minneapolis convention. In lieu thereof, you sent me a telegram, stating that the members of your organization were then taking a referendum vote thereon. Up to this time your organization has not informed the American Federation of Labor as to its adherence to that decision. Under date of May 29th you advised me that by the referendum vote of the membership of your organization the conclusion was reached to refuse to abide by the decision of the Minneapolis convention of the American Federation of Labor, the highest court in the labor movement of our country. Now, therefore, in accordance with the decision and instruction of the Minneapolis convention of the American Federation of Labor, the Executive Council directs me to say, that the charter held by the International Union of United Brewery Workmen of America is, and stands revoked on this date, and you will, therefore, return said charter to this office upon receipt of this communication, your organization being thereby dis-associated from the American trade union movement-the American Federation of Labor. Fraternally yours, SAMUEL GOMPERS, President, A. F. of L. It will be gratifying to all labor and its friends to learn that the great plant of Hamilton Carhartt, of Detroit, is not only a union house, using the union label on its product, but is now operated on an eight hour workday basis. DISTRICT AND GENERAL ORGANIZERS. Number Commissioned Organizers, American Federation of Labor, 1,175. District No. I.-Eastern. Comprising the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. Organizers, Stuart Reid, Thomas F. Tracy. District No. II.-Middle. Comprising the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and the Province of Quebec, Canada. Organizers, Herman Robinson, Hugh Frayne, Cal Wyatt, W. C. Hahn, John A. Flett, William E. Terry. District No. III.—Southern. Comprising the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Organizer, James Leonard. District No. IV.-Central. Comprising the states of West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Organizers, J. J. Fitzpatrick, J. D. Pierce, Thomas H. Flynn, Emmet T. Flood, Arthur E. Holder, Jacob Tazelaar. District No. V.-Northwestern. Comprising the states of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Manitoba. District No. VI.-Southwestern. Comprising the states of Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Indian Territory, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Organizers, Henry M. Walker, James Leonard. District No. VII.-Inter-Mountain. Comprising the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho. District No. VIII.-Pacific Coast. Comprising the states of Nevada, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and the Province of British Columbia. Organizers, C. O. Young, M. Grant Hamilton. TALKS ON LABOR. ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT GOMPERS BEFORE THE NATIONAL PUBLICITY ORGANIZATION, A NEW YORK CITY. T THE first meeting of the National Publicity Association in Washington last year, I took occasion to refer to the disadvantages under which our worknen are placed by reason of the immense campaign funds that are raised and used time and time again. I think that the conference in Washington was within a day of the general elections in Great Britain, which returned to the Parliament of that country more than 50 representatives of the wageearners of that country. I took occasion then to refer to it and the situation which presented itself to the American people and the American workingmen. It is a strange fact that in the Congress of the United States there have been and are few men who can claim to be representatives per se of the wage earners of the United States. And why? Surely the intelligence of the American workmen will stand comparison with that of any other country. They do not lack patriotism. They do not lack in the desire for the promotion and protection of their own interests; yet there is a dearth of representative workmen in the Congress of the United States. I grant you that all those elected to Congress are presumed to represent the people as an entity, but I believe also that the workmen have particular interests to safeguard, which should be presented to the consideration of the law-making body of our country. Other interests find their special representatives, whether it be of law, of finance, of manufacture, or of commerce. There must be some tangible reason for that lack of representation by labor. The fact is, that party alignments are such that they give expression in their platforms to some thoughts of a general character. But-look to one or the other of them-they all lack definiteness of expression to which they are committed when the interests of wage-workers are referred to. For years Labor, as such, has vainly appealed to Congress for remedial legislation for relief of burdens. Our petitions have been placed in a convenient depository so that the congressional mind might not be troubled thereby. We have appeared before committees and urged the claims of Labor, the claims which Labor makes upon modern society for relief from onerous conditions. We presented to Congress resolutions for a thorough investigation of that abomination of our economic life-the labor of young and innocent childrenand we found that until we aroused the public conscience of our people to the heinousness of the crime, that Congress was playing with our petitions, claiming that the information given in a statistical table by the Census Bureau was all sufficient, that a sociological investigation of the condition of the labor of children of our country was unnecessary. Regarding the presentation of our petitions and arguments to Congress setting forth Labor's position in regard to the issuance of injunctions in labor disputes, they were never intended to serve as a method to prevent crimes, the criminal code of our country and of our states is all sufficient to deal with crime; our police system is organized for the prevention of crime, for the apprehension of criminals; our courts are constituted to try, according to due process of law, those who are charged with crime and, if found guilty, to inflict the proper penalty. If a workingman in a dispute with his employer commits a criminal act, the criminal law will deal with him. If he performs an act which is lawful, the injunction should not interfere with him in its performance. If it is a criminal act the injunction should not be issued, but the laws enacted to punish that crime should apply to him as to the business man or manufacturer or any citizen, for they are all supposed to be equals before the law. Our efforts in the presentation of labor's needs as I have here only hastily tried to outline, have received the scantest consideration, so much so that a comm ttee of Congress appointed to investigate one of the abuses of which we complain-the abuse in the issuance of injunctive process, that splendid process made for the protection of natural rightsthe committee appointed to investigate that condition of affairs which we propose to remedy by a bill, seriously in its report undertook to quote the judges who issued the injunctions (who abused the writ), in support of their own contentions against the evils that we sought to remedy by our proposed law. The committees of Congress are made up with a particular view, if not to secure specific special legislation, at any rate to avoid the necessary progressive legislation demanded by the people of our country. I am not blaming any particu ar man or set of men. It is not necessary in furtherance of our publicity bill that I should do so. I critcise the condition of affairs which permits such a condition to arise. I urge that we do all we possibly can to secure some tangible, effective law that shall bring such corrupt methods to an end and at an early date. The condition of affairs last year to which I called attention, the vain appeals for congressional relief that we made, determined the men of labor to enter into the political contest of 1906 and endeavor to administer a stinging rebuke to some of those who had been either indifferent or hostile to the reasonable demands made by labor. What did we find? Wherever labor made a more determined effort in one district than in another, in that particular district did the corporations pour in a tremendous secret campaign fund to defeat the very purposes in which we were engaged. I shall not particularize, because that is unnecessary. While we did not defeat many hostile legislators they were aware of our being in the campaign. We did secure the election of several men who hold union membership in the organization of labor and who will represent Labor in the United States House of Representatives. And when I say union labor I am sure that this will not in any way detract from such representatives standing as Americans devoted to the best interests of our country. In engaging in that campaign we solicited from our fellow-workmen contributions for our campaign fund. One of the first things we did, was to declare that no man who had received a nomination, or whose election we advocated, would be permitted to contribute one solitary cent towards the campaign. And after the campaign was over we published a report: "Financial report of the American Federation of Labor, Political Campaign of 1906, being a true account of all moneys received and expended for that campaign." We printed this in a 16-page pamphlet, giving account of every dollar received and from whom, of every dollar expended and for what purpose. I think that we are the pioneers in publicity. I trust the good example may be followed. More than likely we who have issued this financial report builded wiser than we knew, and it may in the future become quite a historical document. The largest amount from any one contributor was $500, contributed by the glass bottle blowers' association. The largest amount from any individual local union was $100. The purpose of this conference is to carry on this work, to reach the public conscience, to make the people feel the necessity for legislation of this character, so that there shall be a greater regard among our people for politics of the right sort. It is the general conception today that politics is a dirty game. There are numbers of men who eschew politics because they do not want by the remotest stretch of the imagination to have their names bandied about as having been engaged in a dirty game. We want to change that. I am satisfied that a measure of this character that will find its expression in a law will go farther than the letter; the spirit of such a law will have a far-reaching consequence; it will raise the morals of our political life; it will do much not only to eliminate corruption in the political campaigns, but to purify the entire atmosphere of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of our country. It will stimulate a healthy activity among the men of labor, the common people of our country, who will give some of the best that is in them to purify and better our political life. We believe in the government of Washington and Jefferson. We believe in the country that gave us Lincoln. We believe in the country that is producing the great men of today. We want the best men of today to be in the foremost positions of our public life. We want to build up character, better character, day after day, and to help along each citizen in the performance of his duty to make this country of ours the great and ideal republic for all time to come. DANIEL J. KEEFE BEFORE DETROIT PASTORS' ASSOCIATION. Daniel J. Keefe, president of the longshoremen's union and sixth vice-president of the A. F. of L., recently addressed a meeting of the pastors' union of Detroit. He spoke in behalf of organized labor and gave a vivid exposition of the aims, methods, and results of organization. His illustration of the results accomplished in behalf of temperance, education, and for obtaining comfortable and moral surroundings and just wages were frequently interrupted with bursts of applause. "We labor men," he declared, "are not so black as some would like to paint us. I think that the resolution in behalf of the Saturday working clerks are the best measures, from a church standpoint, you have ever discussed. There is no mission of greater importance to the institutions you stand sponsor for than that which will give working people Saturday afternoon free, to think, for recreation or pleasure, and allow them to go to church Sunday if they choose. "And I do not hesitate to say that if the church had adopted the policy of today 20 years ago and preached the policy of love, instead of talking hell fire until it lost all its terrors and the smell of brimstone had a wholesome flavor, labor and the church would have been closer together long ago. "We need you. We want your advice and approval and help; but we want it to come from the heart, not the tongue."-Detroit News. LET US HAVE YOUR OPINION OF OUR JAMESTOWN EXHIBIT. Those who go to the Jamestown Exposition should be sure to visit the social, economic, and union labeled product exhibit of the American Federation of Labor in the Social Economic Building In every feature this exhibit far surpasses any attempt of like character ever made by any labor organization, the American Federation of Labor included. The exhibit covers more than 4,000 square feet and every inch is occupied with some display or exhibit of an intensely interesting character. Visitors are requested to register their names in a book provided for that purpose and any suggestion or comment which may be helpful. Any expression of opinion on the exhibit will be welcome if sent to American Federation of Labor headquarters in Washington. |