The Labor Dispatch (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, April 2, 1915 Page: 4 of 12
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SPECIAL NOTICE
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BROUGHT RESULTS, ANYWAY
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COST OF LIVING
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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION
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THE USUAL METHOD
(To Be Continued)
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Entered as second-class mail matter September 21, 1912, at Post-
office in Galveston, Tex., under Act of March, 1879.
Editor and Publisher.
Phone 409,
J. W. YOUNG
Office 212 Tremont Street
Mf
he ahur Bispatrh
Formerly The Galveston Labor Dispatch
One Year .......
, Six Months ......
Three Months . .. .
Subscribers who change their address, or fail to get their paper
regularly, should immediately notify this office, giving both old and
new addresses.
.If subscribers do not receive their paper by Saturday morning at
10 o’clock, kindly phone 409 not later than 5 p.m. and same will be
sent by special messenger.
The American Federation of Labor has set
its mark for three million members by the end
of 1915. The two million mark was passed long
ago and the total membership is steadily in-
creasing, but without the support and aid of
those who are now members the executive body
Any erroneous reflection upon the standing, character, or repu-
tation of any person, firm or corporation, which may appear in
the columns of The Labor Dispatch, will be gladly corrected upon
its being brought to'the attention of the management.
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Employers generally put up a more or less
plausible excuse when cutting the wages of
their employes. All of the big employers make
a habit of giving something to charity one way
Weighed down with the persecution its members have undergone in Colorado, and bound by thongs of in-
junction and adverse, unjust court decisions, organized labor of that state has still advanced by almost super-
human efforts until it is now almost out of the industrial jungle. But seeing that labor has progressed and
fought upward in spite of the unjust opposition it has met, the employers through their politicians and legisla-
tors have prepared to fire the fuse to the bomb of persecution by enacting a law that would make it treason
to strike. Will those corporation owned officials and legislators paid by the gods of creed dare to do this ?
Will organized labor be unable to defeat such radical class legislation? With the active support of the
unionists of all other section, organized labor will be able to suppress this move before it is well started.
Your time to take action is now.
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The United States Commission on Industrial
Relations has been a commission that has per-
formed a real service for the people of this
country. It has found out the errors that exist
and pointed out a remedy for them, and it has
fully deserved the following interesting state-
ment The Public makes about its latest work:
That the faith reposed in the Commission on Indus-
trial Relations has not been misplaced is evident from
the fact that the commission is now entering upon a
new phase of its work. It proposes to make a thorough
investigation into the American land question in its
relation to labor and capital. It will determine as far
as possible the relations of land owner and employing
farmer, tenant and farm laborer. It will consider the
tendency toward concentration in landownership, the
rapid increase in tenant farming, the movement to
raise rents, the development of class feeling among
the white tenants, the inter-racial competition growing-
up among the Mexicans, negroes and European immi-
grants, and the native white tenants of the Southwest.
From the very foundation of the government efforts
have been made to get the people to the land under the
most favorable conditions and circumstances. And
since the formaiton of the Agricultural Department a
great deal of assistance has been rendered the farmer
in the operation of his farm. Not only has he had ex-
pert advice in the selection of seed, and planting and
cultivation of his crop, and the raising of livestock, but
he has had much done for him socially, in the extension
of the rural free delivery, and the nominal postage on
reading matter. But never has there been an intelligent
inquiry into the relations of farm owners and farm
operators. It is easy to see how a man taking up a
hundred and sixty acres of land at a dollar and a quar-
ter an acre, in a community where it soon raises to a
hundred or a hundred and fifty dollars an acre, may
retire to city life while a tenant fills his land. Such a
farmer may be considered a successful business man.
But the success of the tenant who goes upon this land
at high rental is too much shrouded in mystery. It is
highly important that the public should be informed on
the question.
When the Commission on Industrial Rela-
tions has completed this hearing at Dallas, it
will have done much to show conditions as they
are and how they may be bettered.
(By Samuel Gompers)
Editor’s Note : The matter contained in ttys article is an abstract
of the. statements made by Mr. Gompers before the United States
Commission on Industrial Relations at its- hearing in New York in
Max, 1914. The interrogatories are omitted and the straightforward
story of the makeup, achievements and aspirations is told sequen-
tially.
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THE AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT;
ITS MAKEOP AND ACHIEVEMENTS
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The strike of the Colorado miners, members
of the United Mine Workers of America, was
something that was very, very costly to both
sides, but it has fully demonstrated that as a
last resort the strike is an effective weapon, for
the miners have, through this strike, accom-
plished many things for their own benefit, in
fact have succeeded in bringing about every
condition they demanded with one exception,
recognition of the union, and they are in a fair
way to win that soon.
The eight-hour day has been recognized and
the pay has been increased. The company store
no longer holds the position it did before the
strike, and officials of Colorado have learned
that it is a great deal better to enforce the laws
that were enacted for the preservation of life
and protection of humanity than to allow the
bosses to corrupt the executives and ignore all
laws of safety. Some of the public officials
have been driven from office on account of their
actions because they were neither fair nor hon-
est with the rights of the workers.
Another great good that was accomplished
was in securing fair weights and measures from
the company stores when patronized, and they
have become able to demand and receive fair
consideration from the pit bosses.
The strike was one of the greatest industrial
struggles in the history of this country and
called for great sacrifices, but good results
have been won. The investigation as to the
causes of the strike and the methods of the
mine operators in dealing with their miners, to-
gether with the widespread publicity given the
findings of the investigating body, have been
great educational features that will have a last-
ing effect for the good and no doubt prevent
the recurrence of such terrible struggles in the
future.
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“Will They Dare’’
THE LABOR DISPATCH, GALVESTON, TEXAS, FRIDAY, APRIL 2,1915.
The demands of earnest members of organiz-
ed labor of this city for the union label on what-
ever they are buying has brought good results
in the past and is today bringing better results
and quicker results than ever before.
Today there is no real excuse for a union man.
not wearing union made clothing from head to
foot in this city. Many of the retail dealers and
merchants have put in extensive lines of union
label goods from collars to full suits while some
are handling nothing but union label goods.
If every member of organized labor would do
his part as have those few who continually de-
mand the label, every store would soon be
handling almost nothing but label goods and the
scab made articles would be as scarce and hard
to find as union label goods were a few years
back.
When you buy the union label you have done
your part toward some other organized work-
ers helped him to get a living wage, decent
working conditions and reasonable hours of
labor. You have aided in giving this other
worker an opportunity to make a living and still
have enough to get some few of the pleasures
out of life, and you may be sure that the other
worker will be grateful and that he is doing his
part by your own label every day.
Every good deed done another comes back
multiplied; and not a single act ever brought
quick beneficial returns as demanding the label
of the other craft when buying. When you fail
to demand the label you are placing your money
in the hands of the enemies of organized labor,
giving them that much more with which to
fight the progressive march of humanity as
represented by organized labor of today, and,
you have taken that much away from the cause
that has done so much for you.
Grass Rug company and big stockholder in
several other large concerns of Oshkosh, last
winter cut the wages of all of his employes by a
total amount of $2,500 per month. This has
been going on for four months now, and his
present proposal is that he will give the first
$2,500 toward bringing Billy Sunday to Oshkosh
to preach the gospel to the workers. He de-
clares that the workers’ need of salvation is
great and that they, not being able to pay for
the services of such an evangelist as Sunday,
should be helped. Steiger is therefore donating
$2,500 toward the cause, the amount that he
robs his wage workers out of every month under
the reduced wage scales that he has put in
force throughout the winter.
Besides making the reduction of wages in all
departments, this employer through fear is
closing the mouths of the workers as best he
can, giving them to understand that the one
who complains to outsiders will no longer be able
to get work. The Trades and Labor Council of
that city has taken an active interest in this af-
fair and is rapidly overcoming conditions such
as might arise in any other section if the em-
ployers were given their way. They would cut
the wages and throw in a little extra “salvation”
as balm.
will not be able to reach the mark of three mil-
lion that it has set for itself for this year.
If you can interest some other person in the
principles of unionism, if you can convince a
man not now a member that unionism offers
him advantages than can be gained in no other
way, you have done your part toward helping
the A. F. of L. reach the mark it has set for
itself. If the non-union man you know is a
worker of your own craft, show him what bene-
fits and protection are afforded you by the union
of which you are a member. If he is a worker
in some other craft, try to interest him in the
union of that craft.
eWith the three million mark reached the
American Federation of Labor can offer to
every individual member a protection that it
has never been before able to offer. The labor
movement is growing rapidly, and it will con-
tinue to grow whether you aid or not. It is
gaining strength with its growth, and in what-
ever measure it gains strength, in that much
fuller measure will it protect and benefit its
members. Your aid will hasten its growth, and
will be returned to in extra benefits afforded
through the close affiliation of all of the or-
ganized crafts.
Begin doing your part at once and help realize
the ambition of three million members affiliated
to the American Federation of Labor by the
close of this year. If each two men now mem-
bers succeed between them in adding one mem-
ber to the list, that will be accomplished.
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or the other, and letting the fact of their gift
become as widely known as possible through
publicity in some friendly newspaper, but it has
remained for an Oshkosh, Wisconsin, man to
outdo all the others by taking from the wages
of his workers and using the money to buy the
gospel for them.
Emil H. Steiger, president of the Deltrox
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The American Federation of Labor was formed in
1881 in Pittsburgh. I was elected its first vice-president.
With the exception of three terms I have been president
of the A. F. of L. since that time.
The Federation covers practically the whole field of
industry. There are no limitations as to membership.
The only requirement, so far as the A. F. of L. is con-
erned, is that the organization desiring affiliation shall
be composed of wage earners.
The A. F. of L., as its name implies, is a federation
and not, as it is often mistakenly called, an organiza-
tion. It is a federation of organizations, each of which
has its own government, determined by its own needs
and requirements, the results of the experiences of the
members of the organization. This right to self-govern-
ment was recognized in the beginning and has been re-
affirmed and adhered to as consistently as possible.
The Federation has no powers except those which are
authorized and conceded by the organizations which
compose it. These powers are enumerated in its writ-
ten constitution and the definite direction of conven-
tions.
There are affiliated to the A. F. of L. 110 national
and international unions, 42 state federations of labor,
623 city central bodies or local federations of trade
unions in a city or town, 642 directly affiliated local
trade and federal labor unions whose chartered exis-
tence will continue until there are sufficient numbers
belonging to each trade or calling to form a national
trade organization. There are industrially five depart-
ments for the more effective co-operation of allied
trades.
The A. F. of L. holds annual conventions wWich for
many years have been held in the month of November.
The officers of the Federation consist of a president,
eight vice presidnts, a scretary and a trasurer. These
eleven officers constitute the Executive Council. The
convention is the supreme law-making- body of the Fed-
eration, exercising all authority within the limitations
of power conceded to the Federation by the constituent
or affiliated sovereign organizations. If I may be per-
mitted to draw a comparison, we modeled our A. F. of
L. after the government of the United States, both as
to federal jurisdiction within federal limitations and
state sovereignty with local prerogatives and rights.
The federal government exercises such powers as are
conceded to the United States by the various states. In
the A. F. of L. the right of secession remains with the
affiliated unions. No one can question the right of a
local organization within the federation to secede.
The affiliated organizations are held together by
moral obligation, a spirit of comaraderie, a spirit of
group patriotism, a spirit of mutual assistance.
There are no coercive methods used by the A. F. of L.
to prevent withdrawal or secession of any affiliated or-
ganization. The Western Federation of Miners, for
instance, withdrew from the A. F. of L. about 1896.
There were many efforts and many suggestions made
to induce individual unions belonging to the Western
Federation of Miners to join the A. F. of L. as local
unions. Not only were these efforts discouraged but
the proposal was repudiated.
Similarly, no coercion is used in regard to national
organization which are not affiliated to the A. F. of L.
We feel that it is the duty of every wage-worker to
belong to the union of his trade or ca lling; that it is
the duty of every local union of a trade or calling to
belong to the union of his trade or calling; that it is
tradeo r calling; and that it is equally the moral duty
of every national or internatioanl organization of bona
fide workingmen to belong to the A. F. of L. But
coercive methods are never employed.
When an international union affiliated to the A. F. of
L. refuses to carry out convention resolutions applying
to the members of that trade, the A. F. of L. has no
power to enforce judgment. I recall but one instance in
which an organization, which had in advance agreed to
abide by the decision of the executive council in regard
to a dispute between it and two other organizations, re-
fused to abide by the decision rendered against it. The
executive council then decided that the organization’s
charter, or its chartered relations with the A. F. of L.,
should cease upon a certain date. However, a year
afterward the organization re-affiliated upon a declara-
tion by the convention.
All the actual power outside of the moral power that
the A. F. of L. possesses is the power of expulsion from
membership in the Federation. Expulsion can occur
only upon a roll call vote at a convention of the A. F.of
L. in which two-thirds of the votes are cast for revoca-
tion of charter or expulsion of the organization. The
moral force of the A. F. of L. is the most effective in-
fluence or power it has in dealing with allied organiza-
tions.
The experiences of the men in our movement have
shown one fact standing out in bold relief; that every
movement of workingmen which had a system of gov-
ernment by which power, force, or compulsion was ex-
ercised aroused resentment, repudiation and dissolution,
while on the contrary an effort which was controlled by
exerting moral force upon the doing of men and women
has always exercised a beneficient influence. In other
words workingmen are just human beings. When men
and women are told they must do somthing at the peril
of their organized existence there is always aroused in
them a spirit to say: “I shall try to do the very opposite .
to that which you have commanded me to do.” If the
better judgment and the better feeling of men are ap-
pealed to they are more ready to do an d willing to do
the best that they can. No member of any organization
has the right to force a member to go on a strike. The
sole force that any organization has is moral.
The executive council of the A. F. of L. is an admin-
istrative committee for the purpose of carrying into ef-
fect the conclusions reached by the conventions, and to
take initiative in any matter, particularly legislative,
upon which the convention has not had an opportunity
to express itself, to be helpful in any and every way
to any activity contributing to the protection, benefit
and welfare of the people, particularly the wage-earners.
The powers of he Executive Council are set forth in the
constitution.
In the report of the Executive Council submitted to
the Seattle Convention of the A. F. of L. last Novem-
ber was incorporated the report of the Secretary of the
Federation, Mr. Frank Morrison. His report is based
upon those made to his office by the affiliated organiza-
tions, giving the membership upon which the organiza-
tions’pay per capita taxes for their respective organiza-
tions. The affiliated membership for the year 1913
which Mr. Morrison reported and accounted for was
1,996,004. I ought to explain that we aim to avoid the
practice of padding the membership of any organiza-
tion foi ihe last month preseding the convention in
order to increase the voting power of the delegates of
the organizatoin. In order to prevent this practice, in
1885 the convention determined that representation
should not be based upon the months payment previous
to the convention, but upon the average payment of the
organination during the year.
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Crop statistics and figures published gener-
ally over the country recently show that more
than tiwee as much was produced by labor hi
1914 than in 1913. The big increase was due
mainly to production of food stuffs, wheat, corn
and oats. But there was an increased produc-
tion of almost everything, all the products of
labor, and still the cost of these necessary com-
modities has increased throughout the land.
The answer is easy to find. During the first
seven months of the European war we exported
$377,400 worth of breadstuffs and meats, an
increase of $188,000,000 over similiar exports to
the same countries for the same months for the
preceding year. This means 100,000,000 bushels
more wheat, 10,000,000 bushels more corn and
50,000,000 pounds more meat sent to the war-
ring countries than was sent the year before
when there was no war, and with this condition
we have been forced to pay more for the same
commodities at home than ever before.
In the same proportion our production of war
munitions, including automobiles, leather goods,
guns, ammunition, clothing, etc., has been in-
creased because the nations at war have not the
time to manufacture the products they demand.
Still our labor, producing twice as much this
year as it did last, is paying more for what it
lives on and getting no more for its productions.
Our factories have speeded up and increased
their output, and at advanced figures for their
finished products. The monopolies are reaping
.a rich harvest from the troubles of other na-
tions, but our producers are reaping nothing but
extra work and with that are having to face
higher priced necessities of life that by all
rights should be far cheaper now than at any
time during the last ten years.
" GETTING THREE MILLION
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Young, J. W. The Labor Dispatch (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, April 2, 1915, newspaper, April 2, 1915; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1447674/m1/4/: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rosenberg Library.