between employer and employes. He never framed up a strike, or issued senseless ultimatums to employers he didn't know. If there was any trouble between any typo chapel and its employer, and McMahon was called in to uphold the claims of the men, he always insisted that they make haste slowly and not get unduly excited until he had fully investigated the case. Then McMahon called on the employer. He did not assume to run the employer's business. If the employer didn't want to talk over the situation, McMahon would not press the matter. If there was nothing to arbitrate McMahon would bow himself out as politely as he had come in. There were no threats, no bulldozing or bluffing in McMahon's methods. He never forgot that he was a gentleman, and the employers instinctively knew it the minute McMahon put his foot within their door. It is not strange that McMahon seldom failed to get even the most obstinate employer to talk it over. As a result he usually succeeded in getting to the merits of every controversy. Quite often he sided with the employer. McMahon was always fair. In such instances he would go back to the union and tell the men frankly that their demands were unjust. He usually persuaded them that he was right. The amount of labor wars, with all their incident hardships, that McMahon thus averted no man can calculate. McMahon was a peacemaker. He was the kind of a man that both labor and capital in this country need, and need badly. There may be more brainy and better educated men in this nation than your McMahons, but there are no more useful men. It is the McMahons, not your great statesmen, who are solving our so-called labor problems -men who can see both sides of a controversy, sense out the just course, and get both sides to accept it. McMahon was a friend of the founder of this paper. He had his confidence to such an extent that what McMahon said was fair was usually accepted without argument or amendment. Or. ganized labor can't have too many men of that kind as its leaders. Employers can not treat such labor leaders with too much courtesy and consid eration, for, after all, it is your men of the McMahon type on both sides of the industrial problem who are blazing the way to a better day for capital and labor. Ir is likely that the plumbers' union at Winnipeg, Manitoba, will be forced to disband, owing to an award of $4,000 damages made against the organization in favor of the master plumbers. The verdict was secured by a firm for the picketing of their premises during a strike. The union claims to have the right, under a decision of the English courts, to carry on picketing, providing it is legal, and has taken an appeal to a higher court. A Non-Union Strike. Strikes are evidently not the exclusive stock in trade of those dreadful labor unions. The press, at the time, devoted much space to the strike at the plant of the Pressed Steel Car Company at McKee's Rocks, Pa., which was finally settled by the employes receiving most of their demands. It will be remembered that the men-a large part of whom were alleged to be "ignorant foreigners"-were not affiliated with any labor organization, which led the Washington (D. C.) Herald to comment as follows on the importance of the trade agreement in furthering the cause of industrial peace: The strike in the car works near Pittsburg is an object lesson to economists and to students of the labor problem. Its lesson is the importance of the trade agreement to industrial peace. This lesson implies another, and that is the importance of or ganization, both of employed and employers; for the trade agreement is a collective contract, and is practicable only with organized labor, that can meet upon responsible and representative conditions organized capital. men. If a The notable feature of this violent and bloody strike at Pittsburg is that it is one of non-union Here is another proof, if proof were needed, that modern unionism, intelligently conducted, is an agency for peace. When an employer, and more especially an impersonal employi: g corpora. tion, treats only with individual wage earners, they are at the mercy of its self-made terms. man out of work applies to such a source for a job, the question may be, not "How much pay do you ask?" but "How little pay will you take?" Alone, unaided, and with the need of bread imperative, the applicant has no choice but to answer the second question as shrewdly and as humbly as he may. But if he belong to a union that has an agreement with the employer, he may demand and receive the standard wage; and if the union perform its duty, the worker will render full equiva lent for his pay. It has now become a fact that the industries most thoroughly organized are those most free from strikes. When the time arrives for the continuance or the modification of an agreement between workers and employers, the representatives of each side may meet in amicable conference. It is for the advocates of capital to prove that the condition of the particular industry concerned must lessen the factor of labor cost or cease production, in case they wish to reduce the scale of wages. It is for the spokesman of labor either to disprove such an assertion of fact, and thus establish a rightful claim for a continued or a higher rate of wage, or else to accept a demonstrated industrial condition, and suffer with capital its smaller returns. It is the organized capacity to fight that makes possible these intelligent treaties of industrial peace, based upon mutual respect and good faith. The revolt of the employes at the McKee's Rocks plant against oppressive working conditions affords a striking example of what the workers of America may expect if the union smashers should realize their fervent hopes. The company was finally compelled to fight the very men whom they had previously used to break the power of the union. The partial success of the unorganized steel car workers may have a bearing on the outcome of the struggle of the union tinplate workers and the lake seamen against the anti-union policy of the steel trust, of which the Pressed Steel Car Company is said to be a subsidiary plant. A victory for the corporation will be little short of a calamity for the employes, after the almost unbelievable stories told by the McKee's Rocks strikers. One of the evil conditions wiped out by the strike will be the use of the employment agencies for strike-breaking purposes. As a result of the struggle, it is declared that the government will take a hand in the suppression of agencies of the caliber of the notorious Berghoff concern, which have been in league with strikebreaker Farley and his ilk. The light of publicity will have the effect of defeating such tactics on the part of unscrupulous employers in the future. Ordinarily, when a body of men find their working conditions unbearable, all of them, even the most unthinking and selfish, conclude that a union would be a good thing. Here is an opportunity to increase the half loaf they have to a whole loaf by a strong and militant organization, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. F. L. AMES, one of the "old guard" and a former president of Norwich (N. Y.) Union No. 453, has been nominated for county clerk of Chenango county, N. Y., on the republican ticket. Mr. Ames was assisted in his campaign by the members of No. 453, and also by the local trades assembly. He had a fight for the nomination, but won out by a good majority in the convention. Two of the delegates from the nominee's home town were union men. Mr. Ames was formerly employed in the government printing office at Washington, D. C. The Home Building Fund. The following sums have been received during the month by Secretary-Treasurer Hays as donations to the fund being raised to finish the construction of the addition to the Union Printers Home: Previously acknowledged... 7, Pittsburg 256, Great Falls 359, Sault Ste Marie. 568, Lake Charles 3, St. Louis German-American. 6, Cleveland German-American. 18, Belleville German-American. 6, New York Mailers.... W. G. Dennis, Prince Rupert, Can.... Total $5.924 38 50 00 50 00 5 00 5 00 5 00 20 00 5 00 5 00 5 00 1936 2 00 5 00 5 00 5 00 5 00 2 50 3 00 5 00 5 00 10 90 10 00 2 00 5 00 2.00 I 00 25 00 I 00 . $6,170 14 Now WHEN a panic hit the country about two years ago the union workmen in the glassmaking industry accepted a reduction in wages approximating 50 per cent. that "prosperity has returned" these same employes asked for a restoration of 20 per cent of the 50 per cent reduction. After a three weeks' strike an 8 per cent increase was granted. The new tariff law gives the manufacturers ample "protection" in order to enable them to pay good wages to their employes. While ninety-nine out of every hundred of the glassworkers favor a high protective tariff, the fact will now probably dawn on them that they have only been able to demand a high wage scale by reason of having a thorough union organization. THE JOURNAL is in receipt of a copy of the Mammoth Record, published in the district in which are located the towns of Silver City, Robinson and Mammoth, Utah. While there is no typographical union in that locality, the Record takes pride in the fact that it employs none but union printers. The neat appearance of the publication is a corroboration of this statement. THE label campaign of Philadelphia Typographical Union has been waged in such an aggressive manner that the political candidates have ordered 24-point labels placed on all printing used in connection with the election this fall. During one month recently thirty-three business houses were added to the list of those using label literature. Heretofore these firms patronized non-union printers exclusively. THE first move in the fight against the ruling of former President Roosevelt, which debars certain government employes from taking such political action as they believe they are entitled to, has been made by the postal clerks' union of Seattle, Wash. A weekly paper has been started to further the cause, and, from the tenor of the first issue, it is evident that the postal employes are going to have a vigorous supporter. Another reform demanded is relief from the ruling which debars them from appealing to those "higher up" against wrongs which they insist exist. COUNSEL for the "rat" Werner Company, of Akron, Ohio, profess to see victory for their client in the case of the Encyclopedia Britannica Company vs. the Werner Company, for an alleged infringement of a trade name. A decision in the federal court at Trenton, N. J., last month, was favorable to the defendant in a controversy in which the issues were claimed to be identical with those in the Werner suit. The Werner case is now under advisement in the United States court at Cincinnati. The Akron concern seems to have its hands full just now in defending suits in court and attempting to keep its plant in operation with “free and independents." THE Prudential Life Insurance Company, with its home office located at Newark, N. J., employs more union printers than any other establishment in that city. In place of the union label, the company uses the imprint, "The Prudential Press," on all its printed matter. Typographical Union No. 103 requests that the printing of this company should not be returned with the sticker attached, as it is annoying to one of the best friends of the organization in that jurisdiction. Remember that all Prudential printing is done under strictly union conditions, in one of the finest and most sanitary plants in the country. THE Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, in its issue of Sunday, September 5, published a feature article of the Union Printers Home, together with pictures of the International officers. This is claimed to be the first time in many years that either a "write-up" of the International Typographical Union or any of its several beneficial features has appeared in the press of the Queen City. The giving of so much of its space by the Commercial Tribune is highly appreciated by both the members of Typographical Union No. 3 and the parent organization. AND now we have an obsequious Chicago judge upholding the contention of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association that the law, enacted at the last legislature of that state, providing that women shall not labor more than ten hours a day, is invalid. This decision was made when it was known that the Illinois law was drafted on the lines of the Oregon statute, which had stood the test of the United States supreme court. The decision of the Chicago court will be fought by the state factory inspectors in the higher courts for a final settlement of the question. THE jurisdiction of the union label has been extended to the north pole. The United Garment Workers of America claim that every bit of clothing worn by the intrepid Dr. Cook, while sojourning in the arctic regions, was made for him by a New York concern, which employs none but members of their organization and uses the label on all its work. "Pass the word along" to the frenzied freak of Battle Creek. WHEN the Payne tariff bill was finally enacted, the statement was made at Washington that the tariff had been arranged satisfactorily to the employing and manufacturing interests of the country. That this was actually the case was proven by the subsequent action of the makers of ready-made clothing in advancing the price of suits from $3 to $5 each. Now Fresident Taft takes the stump and declares that the cost of living has not been increased by the Payne bill. In the meantime, the plain people, in their bewildered state, are wondering "where they are really at." ACCORDING to a report made by the trustees of the Frank F. Foster fund, the total receipts for the relief of one of the most brilliant exponents of the cause of organized labor reached a total of $3,537.47. Of this sum, $1,863.21 was credited to the Massachusetts state branch of the American Federation of Labor, and $1,744.47 to Boston Typographical Union No. 13. McLean hospital, where Mr. Foster spent his last days on earth, received $938.75; the funeral expenses were $232, and the widow received $2,366.72. Those were the only items of expenditure, the trustees stating that there are no expenses reported for collecting and conducting the fund. THE first convention of the Printers' League of America was held at the Hotel Astor, New York, commencing September 23, and continuing in session for three days. Delegates from about sixty cities were in attendance. The league, it will be recalled, was organized about three years ago, the main purpose being to substitute arbitration and conciliation for costly strikes and lockouts in the printing trades. Among the speakers on the program of the first convention was President Lynch. The following officers were elected: President, Charles Francis, New York; first vice-president, John W. Hastie, Chicago; second vice-president, J. K. Harrington, Oakland, Cal.; sec retary, D. W. Gregory, New York; treasurer, W. H. M. Van Hart, New York. ELEVEN HUNDRED students are now taking the I. T. U. Course in Printing. Are you one of that number? PRESIDENT GOMPERS found, on his visit to Hungary, that 95 per cent. of the men and women engaged in the printing trades were organized. A low wage scale generally prevails, the minimum pay for day work being $4 per week, although on the average the wages reach a little more than $8. OUR pension system continues to be the subject of a great deal of comment from the press throughout this country and Canada, and THE JOURNAL thus far has not seen an unfavorable criticism of the project. The New Orleans Times-Democrat editorially remarks: The showing thus far is highly encouraging, and with the careful administration of the fund there is good reason to believe that the experiment will prove in every way successful. The benefits of such a system are readily seen. The amount fixed -$4 per week-is large enough to prove of very material assistance to the beneficiary, while the individual assessments are in no way burdensome. The working out of the plan will doubtless be watched with lively interest by the members of other labor organizations, and its success may lead to the adoption of old age pensions as a regular feature of American trade unionism. RECENTLY it became necessary for Washoe Typographical Union No. 65, of Carson City, Nev., to write a letter to Governor Dickinson protesting against the employment of convict labor on certain work for the state. In replying, the governor said, in part: I appreciate the courtesy your union has shown me in deferring action on this matter until you could hear my side of the case. The Typographical Union is recognized as one of the strongest in the world, and its greatest source of strength, in my judgment, lies in the fact that it is actuated by a spirit of justice and fair play. The members of No. 65, after hearing the explanation, express themselves as being in perfect accord with the ideas of the state's chief executive, and are greatly pleased over the outcome of the matter. ORGANIZER WOODMAN reports that Beaumont (Texas) Union No. 339 has negotiated new agreements with the publishers of that city, carrying a substantial increase in wages. Hand compositors receive an advance of $3 per week for night work and $2 per week for day work, the new scale providing for $24 and $20 for morning and evening newspaper work, respectively. The scale for machine operators is 12 cents per thousand, nonpareil, and 13 cents, minion. A concession secured in the new contract is the placing of the proofrooms under the jurisdiction of the union. AN agreement was signed on September 16, to remain in force for one year, between Cœur d'Alene (Idaho) Union No. 445 and the Press Publishing Company of that city, and hereafter only union men will be employed. A minimum scale of $18 per week for both book and job men and machine operators was arranged for by the terms of the settlement. The differences with the union commenced nearly a year ago by the posting of a notice that the plant would return to a working schedule of nine hours a day, and after a conference with the management a lockout resulted. That the Press is again being operated under union conditions is the source of much gratification on the part of union printers in that section. Spokane Typographcal Union rendered much valuable support during the contest. |