is steady, but there seems to be a large importation of Greeks and Italians.

Lewiston.-Edmond Turmenne:

Union men generally secure better wages than the unorganized workers. All trades are working steadily at this writing. Hodcarriers and building laborers organized during the month.

Portland.-Joseph H. DeCosta:

Building trades quiet at this time, but miscellaneous trades are busy. Hope to report organization of metal polishers, buffers, platers, and brass and silver workers. Central Labor Union is making preparations for a large demonstration here on Labor Day.

MASSACHUSETTS.

Leominster.-H. N. Morse:

Through the efforts of the unions, wages have increased 75 per cent and hours have been reduced on the average two hours per day. Work is more plentiful this season than for two years. Nearly all the trades here are well organized.

Middleboro.-W. S. Anderson:

Work is plentiful and all men steadily employed. Organized labor in good shape. Hope to report a central labor union shortly.

Milford.-John McRae:

The past three months have witnessed decided improvement in labor conditions. Work is steady, but the condition of unorganized labor is uncertain and varying. Carpenters' union obtained Saturday half-holiday during four months in the year, 1912, and all the year around for 1913, with increase of 4 cents per hour without strike.

Norwood.-John J. Fitzhenry:

Organized labor is gradually establishing better conditions of labor in this section. The Norfolk County Central Labor Union, although a small organization, is wielding good moral influence. Better wages and shorter working hours have been secured by union men.

Since the Lawrence strike and the carmen's strike in Boston, the public has become enlightened and is more in sympathy with organized labor than ever before. Wages have been increased from $3.28 to $3.82 per day and hours reduced from forty-eight to forty-four hours per week. Painters secured the forty-four-hour week during the months of June, July, and August. Painters are organizing.

Worcester.-Geo. H. Miller:

Conditions are exceptionally good. All building trades have plenty of work. Painters have established the forty-four-hour week without reduction in wages, after a six weeks' strike. They have a three-year agreement as follows: Present wage scale ($19.20), to continue until April 1, 1913, and from that time to be $20 per week of forty-four hours until April 1, 1915. Plumbers have established forty-four-hour-week, also the bricklayers.

Street railway men voted unanimously to strike if necessary, to enforce their request for a 30 cent per hour flat rate. The company offers a sliding scale from 221⁄2 cents to 271⁄2 cents per hour. The entire matter is now being arbitrated. Electrical workers' union secured a substantial increase for linemen in the employ of street railway company. Granite cutters won strike for increased wages. Have agreed on a five-year contract with a scale beginning this year at 42 cents per hour which will be increased 2 cents per hour each May first, until 1917, when the agreement expires. City council has increased the pay of police officers from $2.75 per day to $3 per day. The police formed an organization about a year ago. The union men assisted them and on election day defeated seven "city Fathers" who had persistently opposed an increase in pay and pension of police officers. Four months later the increase was voted and the pension became a law. Tailors and lathers organized during the month. Roofers and perhaps also the metal polishers will organize shortly.

MICHIGAN.

Grand Rapids.-Claude O. Taylor:

Condition of organized labor here is good. Factory workers have obtained concessions from employers, due to the strike last year. Barbers secured increase in wages without strike. The strike of the corset workers of Kalamazoo has secured for them concessions from employers.

Lansing.-W. D. Borden:

Steam engineers organized union recently. Carriage and auto trimmers are about to organize. Printers received increase of $1 per week to be in effect for the next two years, and $1 more increase the following two years. All trades steadily employed.

Detroit.-E. H. Ellis:

Detroit will have a Labor Day parade this year, the first time in several years. R. Drake, a member of typographical union, has been appointed Secretary of the newly created State board, Employes' Liability and Compensation Commission.

Three Rivers.-A. Hahn:

All union men are busy. Organized labor in fair shape. No changes in wages or hours this spring. Tinners are talking of organizing.

MINNESOTA.

Minneapolis.-Frank Fisher:

Work is plentiful. A new closed shop agreement has been secured for linemen with the St. Paul Gas Light Company, giving them $2 per month increase in wages and double time for over-time work. Good work is done for all union labels.

MISSOURI.

Moberly.-D. S. Martin:

Work is steady in all branches. Slight increase in wages has been secured by some trades. Organized labor is shown the preference here.

Sedalia.-E. T. Behrens:

Brewery workers organized during the month. Retail clerks' union has placed a number of store cards and reduced their working time one-half hour per day. Employment is rather unsteady. A great many men unemployed.

Binghamton.-Jeremiah Ryan:

Organized labor in first-class condition. More especially so, when compared with the small un.certain wages of the unorganized workers who work nine and ten hours a day, while the union men have the eight hours at a stated scale of wages. Plumbers obtained increase of 25 cents per day. Brewery workers gained advance of $2 per week and hodcarriers increased wages 25 cents per day. Iron workers are organizing. Good work is being done for the union labels.

Brooklyn.-Rudolph Modest:

The organization of the meatcutters and butcher -workmen is making steady progress in the eastern section of the country. The unions in the middle west also report progress. In short time will complete the organization of two more new unions, one in Hoboken and another in Paterson, which will make eleven locals in our District Council for New York and vicinity.

Jamestown.-J. M. Kane:

Tinsmiths formed union during the month. Pavers, rammersmen, and flag-layers are about to organize. Painters, paperhangers, and decorators obtained advance in wages and union shop, without strike. Organized workers have a standard wage-scale and the eight-hour day. There is increased demand on the part of business men to demand union men when looking for employes. Middletown.-A. M. Phillips:

All trades steadily employed. Organized labor in good shape. Electrical workers (inside men). have organized union.

Newburgh-John Rothery:

Organ Tabor holding its own. Every union in good There are more or less idle men in nearly e in the city. Four large factories have e

Clerks' union, through arbitrater conditions and is increasing

its membership. We have an Eight-Hour State law, secured through the effort of union labor. Niagara Falls.-J. H. Kew:

Condition of organized labor the best it has been in years. Work is plentiful. Have one new union under way.

Ogdensburg.-E. L. Emmert:

All trades steadily employed. Organized labor in good shape, having gained some improvements in wages. A city ordinance provides that all municipal employment be given to home labor. The federal union is gaining in membership, and we expect to see the union in good working order shortly.

Saranac Lake.-C. O. Davis:

Conditions are satisfactory to all organized trades. Work is steady. Masons, plasterers, and bricklayers are organizing. The unions here are growing steadily. Hodcarriers and laborers organized during the month.

NORTH DAKOTA.

Grand Forks.-John D. Chubbuck:

Conditions of organized workers are decidedly better than the unorganized. All trades are organizing. Employment is steady and prospects are bright for a good season in all lines. Carpenters of St. Cloud, Minn., had slight trouble with contractors over working hours, but the matter was settled peacefully, without strike, Brewery workers of East Grand Forks and sheetmetal workers of Grand Forks organized during the month. Have painters and decorators' union under way. OHIO.

Cincinnati.-Frank L. Rist:

All trades working steadily. Garment workers working overtime in some factories. Moving picin wages without strike. Steel range workers, mature machine operators gained substantial increase chinists helpers, and building laborers organized during the month. As result of a strike of eleven weeks' duration, the sign writers' union gained substantial victory. They secured Saturday halfholiday and increase in wages averaging from 75c to $2 per day. Hodcarriers struck July 1 for increase of 22 cents per hour and recognition. Carpenters are on strike for increase in wages.

Cleveland.-Ed. McEachern and Michael Gold

smith:

Labor conditions good. Plumbers secured increase from $4.50 to $5 per day and Saturday halfholiday after being out on strike one week. Window cleaners organized during the month. There seems to be great interest manifested in union circles and a number of new unions are under way, among them auto workers, boxmakers, and sawyers, and several others. This is a good time for a Labor Forward movement here. We are working to secure several constitutional amendments.

Fremont.-H. C. Winnes:

All organizations have made some gains in membership. Employment is slack at this time. Bartenders are organizing.

Middletown.-H. W. Naegele:

Conditions were never better. Everybody busy. Plumbers received increased wages and shorter hours after two days' strike. Printers also have obtained increase in wages. We are endeavoring

to elect to Congress a man who will represent the people and favorable to labor legislation. Electrical workers are organizing.

Pomeroy.-J. McIntosh:

Employment is steady at this writing. Carpenters increased wages from $2.75 to $3 per day, eighthour day, without strike. Carpenters' and painters' unions have affiliated. Have unions of carpenters, coal miners, stonemasons, painters and cooks under way.

Springfield.-C. W. Rich:

The local movement has carried on its work during the last month in satisfactory manner. In addition to the organization of the plasterers' union, a number of crafts have made material gains in membership. This is notably true of the cigarmakers, brewery workers, retail clerks, and painters. Of prime importance is the activity of the women's union label league. This new organization has entered its chosen field with an activity that promises to greatly stimulate the demand for union label products. The establishment of the Wednesday afternoon half-holiday for all trades and professions, outside of factory employes, during the summer months, continues to grow, and gives promise in another year of becoming universal. The Trades and Labor Assembly is one of the prime factors in this movement. Union men in this jurisdiction will assist in creating favorable interest for amendments to the State constitution, especially those that favor the wageearners. If adopted, the constitution will be one of the most progressive in the United States. Work in all lines is extremely good, notably true in the building crafts, and there is a healthy demand for union men. The plumbers have been successful in having the city adopt a sanitary code, carrying with it the establishment of a plumbing inspector. A union man will fill the position. Quite often doctors, lawyers, ministers and other professions object to their associations being held up to the public as organizations similar in type to the trade unions. Recently, in Springfield, there has been organized the Springfield Real Estate Board. The organization is a good one, and there is need for its existence. There is no trade or profession that occupies a lower plane in the business world. To obviate this condition is one of the reasons for the formation of the Springfield Real Estate Board, composed of the best agents in the city. But listen: The board has established a wage rate of not less than 2% per cent commission on all work done. It has fixed a minimum rate of $15 on vacant lots and no house will be sold for a commission less than $30. The contract shop has been established with the public; any real estate on the market must be placed exclusively with the Real Estate Board to receive the attention of the members. Other rules adopted pertain to working conditions and the establishment of the Wednesday afternoon half-holiday. The Springfield Real Estate Board is making good. It is part of a State and national organization conducted along lines similar to the trade union movement.

Wellsville.-Frank Smurthwaite:

Condition of organized labor steadily improving. Work is dull in the pottery industry at this writing. There is fair demand for all union labels.

OKLAHOMA.

Chickasha.-A. W. Bennett:

State of employment shows improvement over last month. Organized labor in good shape. Machinists helpers have formed union.

Guthrie.-G. P. Lashbrook:

There are several new unions under way. The retail merchants of this city are in favor of trade unionism and assisting in the organization of various trades. Clerks, laundry workers, engineers, painters and paperhangers, teamsters, plumbers, and federal labor union are organizing at this writing.

PENNSYLVANIA.

Carbondale.-C. J. Rechsteiner:

Mines, shops, railroads, and factories are all working full time. Wages of employes in some shops have been advanced without strike. The organized workers are getting shorter working hours and more wages than the unorganized. A city ordinance provides the eight hour day for city employes. Textile workers of Mayfield are talking organization.

Hazleton.-Albert Walck:

Organized trades in fair shape. Have organized a union of plasterers and have unions of electricians and laborers under way.

Galeton.-C. J. Latterman:

All trades steadily employed in this city. Painters and paperhangers and bartenders have formed unions since last report. A central body is being formed here.

Pittsburg.-Fred. L. Wilson and M. P. Gordon: The condition of organized labor is far superior to the condition of the unorganized. Union men are demanding union labeled goods more than ever before. There is considerable difference in the amount of wages received by organized and unorganized workers. Union painters obtained increase of 20 cents, making their scale 521⁄2 cents per hour and Saturday half-holiday. This is an 80 cents per day increase over the 1911 scale and the scale for 1913 provides for increase of 20 cents more. Sheet metal workers obtained increase of 21⁄2 cents per hour and improved working conditions and signed agreement for two years. Electrical workers increased wages 21⁄2 cents per hour, up to January, 1913, after which time they will get another increase of 5 cents per hour, with signed agreement for two years. Street railway employes obtained increase from 1⁄2 cent per hour to 3 cents per hour. Agreement signed for two years. Union label trades council has been organized. Building laborers are organizing.

be a shortage of masons and carpenters. A twelvestory bank building to be built entirely by union labor creates a demand for union mechanics in the building industry. Textile workers organized in June with a membership of forty, and up to the time of writing, they have increased to 130, and have prospects of 100 more for initiation at their next meeting. Laundry workers and bartenders are the next to organize and come in line. TEXAS.

Bridgeport.-J. C. Phillips:

Everything is harmonious in this city. Miners have new contract, secured April first, with slight advance in wages. Clerks won out in a controversy which lasted fourteen months. Quarry workers at Jacksboro organized during the month, and the quarry operators have declared a lockout.

Childress.-Jeff Dulaney:

At this writing, employment is not very plentiful. We have never had to call a strike in this city. The trades are pretty well organized. Public school teachers are organizing and laborers are reorganizing.

Palestine.-S. A. Taylor:

Nearly every trade here is organized. A federal labor union (colored workers) was organized by Organizer Shearod recently. Teamsters and chauffeurs and laundry workers are about to organize. Work is steady in building trades and railroad shops; working eight-hour day.

Thurber.-J. M. D. Lasater:

Mine workers obtained increased wages without strike and a new contract for two years. Work is steady. Drug clerks are about to organize.

Waco.-John R. Spencer, W. E. Carey, and B. F. Shearod:

Organized labor is steadily gaining in our locality. We have organized one craft this month, the brewery workers and ice men combined; a fine organization. The musicians' troubles are all settled and the members are working. The butchers are getting new members and are good union-label boosters. Prospects are good for more new locals in the near future.

VIRGINIA.

Richmond.-James Brown:

Organized labor in prosperous condition. All trades steadily employed. No strikes or lockouts to report. The union labels are patronized.

WASHINGTON.

Bremerton.-W. O. Tappe:

Organized labor is steadily gaining. We have improved conditions without strike. Employment is steady. Printers and building trades have organized. Musicians and carpenters are forming unions. There is a growing sentiment in favor of trade unions in this section.

Elma.-C. L. Hathaway:

We have five unions here, all in good shape. Work is steady. City council passed resolution for the eight-hour day on all city work. Hope to report organization of clerks ere long.

WISCONSIN.

Fond du Lac.-Joseph Koenig:

Conditions are far better for union men than for the unorganized workers. Shorter hours have been secured and wages increased. Employment is steady. Lathers organized union recently. Cement workers' union is under way.

Madison.-G. W. Bartell:

Organized trades steadily employed. Carpenters increased wages from 371⁄2 cents to 40 cents per hour, minimum wage. Engineers advanced from 40 and 50 cents per hour to 50 and 564 cents per hour, minimum wage. These advances were secured without strike. We have a petition before the city council asking that none but union men be employed on city work. Hodcarriers and building laborers have organized. Building trades council is being reorganized. Cement workers are organizing.

Conditions of organized trades fair. Continued agitation for the union labels.

The above is a summary of reports for the month from the following organizers: California:

John W. Teeney, Santa Cruz. Colorado:

Alfred Pomeroy, Leadville. Illinois:

Ed Dagon, Coal City.
Indiana:

John J. Sullivan, East Chicago.
J. O. Mick, Goshen.
Kansas:

G. O. Norris, Blue Rapids.
W. W. Roach, Independence.
Louisiana:

L. M. Hudnall, Monroe. Maine:

W. H. Roberts, Vinalhaven. Massachusetts:

Samuel Ross, New Bedford. Minnesota:

Loui Hallenberger, Red Wing. Missouri:

A. W. Hood, Chillicothe. Montana:

John W. Davis, Bozeman. New Jersey:

John Keyes, Elizabeth.
New York:

W. E. Miner, Norwich.
A. Gelina, Silver Springs.
Oklahoma:

D. S. O'Leary, McAlester.
Pennsylvania:

Frank Buerger, Latrobe.
M. W. Forester, Monongahela.
Texas:

R. S. Greer, Beaumont.
C. A. Perkins, Brownwood.
E. M. Ware, Palestine.
Vermont:

Denis Dineen, St. Albans.
West Virginia:

W. J. Murphy, Huntington.

Correspondents will please write on one side of the paper only, and address

SAMUEL GOMPERS, Editor, Washington, D. C. All communications relating to finances and subscriptions should be addressed to

FRANK MORRISON, Secretary, Washington, D. C. The publisher reserves the right to reject or revoke advertising contracts at any time.

The editor will not be responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts.

The American Federation of Labor is not sponsor for, nor interested in, any souvenir publication of any kind. Entered at Washington, D. C., post-office as secondclass matter. SUBSCRIPTION:

Federation of men teachers 14221. tax, mar, '12, $1.15; d f. $1.15..

Flour and cereal mill employes 14030, tax, may, '12, 40c; d f, 40c..

Cloth and stock workers 10184, tax, may, '12, $1.65; d f, $1.65..

1. Federal labor 12586, tax, apr, '12, $3.40; d f, $3.40...

Federal labor 11478, tax, a, m, '12, $5; df, $5 Baggage messengers 10167, tax, may, '12, $1; df, $1.

Railroad helpers and laborers 13216, tax, apr, '12, $1.75; d f, $1.75...

Trades council, Racine, Wis, sup.. Federal labor 14167, bal sup...

Gas appliance and stove fitters 12432, sup... Mineral water workers 12674, sup

Central labor council, Cincinnati, Ohio, tax, feb, '12, to and incl jan, '13.. Trades council, Albion, Mich, tax, jan, '12, to and incl june, '12

Federal labor 7231, tax, a, m, j, '12, $7.50; d f, $7.50.....

Federal labor 13056, tax, may, '12, $2.25; d f, $2.25.....

Federal labor 12706, tax, a, m, j, '12, $2.25;

d f, $2.25

Federal labor 12985, tax, may, '12, $16; df, $16.

Federal labor 12953, tax, june, '12, $4.80; d f, $4.80

Federal labor 12424, tax, m, j, '12, $3.20; d f, $3.20...

Elevator conductors and starters 11959, tax, june, '12, $13.20; d f, $13.20...

Vacuum bottle and apparatus glass blowers 14201, tax, june, '12, $3; d f, $3 Firemens assn 12270, tax, m, j, '12, $10; d f, $10

Clock and watch makers 13158, tax, apr, '12, $2.75; d f, $2.75..

Marble, mosaic, and terrazza workers 10263, tax, a, m, j, '12, $2.85; d f, $2.85.... Tuck pointers 18218, tax, f, m, a, '12, $1.50; d f, $1.50

500

Hair spinners 12347, tax, may, '12, $2.85; df,

Central trades and labor council, Parkersburg, W Va, tax, jan, '12, to and incl june, 12

$2.85

500

Flour and cereal mill employes 13224, tax, june. '12, $1.05; d f, $1.05..

Riggers prot 11561, tax, may, '12, $9; df, $9 Railroad helpers and laborers 14088, tax, may, '12, $1.15; d f, $1.15..

250

Central labor union, Lawrence, Mass, tax, nov, 11, to and incl oct, '12..

Superheaters and engine pipe fitters 14129, tax. may, '12, $2.50; d f, $2.50.

10 00

Federal labor 12886, tax, apr, '12, 85c; d f, 85c Federal labor 12222, tax, may, '12, $10; df, $10.

1 70

Machinists helpers 13205, tax, may, '12, 80c; d f, 80c

Intl glove workers union of A, tax, may,

20 00

12

Federal labor 14234, tax, may, '12, $3.50; d f,

$3.50

12.60

Switchmens union of N A, tax, may, '12..... White rats actors union of A, tax, june, '12