Newspapers / The Harbinger (Raleigh, N.C.) / Oct. 31, 1903, edition 1 / Page 1
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r. y HARBINGER s gKm m 1 JriK ' ORGANIZATION. EDUCATION. ELEVATION. Vol. II. Raleigh, North Carolina, October 31. 1903. No. 43 HOW IT HAPPENED- They tay in Beaumont, Texas, Where oil wells by the score Their wealth of greasy richness Into the big tanks pour, That Mr. Rockefeller, Who thought to call a halt On independent gushers, Just pumped 'em full of salt. Of course it was base slander Upon the goodly man. He only thought to help them By this peculiar plan. He saw they were inclining Towards the sins of flesh, And thereby were becoming Entirely too fresh. And Mr. Rockefeller, Who sa the dangers dread That faced their souls was troubled, And sadly bowed his head. And bowing then he trembled And neither ate nor slept, But interceded for them And wept, and wept, and wept. And thus the explanation For all the salt they found In oil wells down in Texas Where oil wells do abound. Twas not a game he played 'em Not in a thonsand years 'Twas but the natural sequence Of Rockefeller's tears. SELECTED SAYINGS- Working people should remem her that their votes elect the judges who interpret the law in favor of the men who employ them. Union Leader. Thp ranitalistic tool, who is ' r , eager to pump hot air into the : toiler, ih the way of explaining benefactions is small. To create the mutual dependence of capital a model town, to establish lia and labor, will be just as anxious bries, gymnasiums, natatoriums to pump cold lead into him, if , he thinks the occasion demands it. L. T. Fisher. Why do workingmen persist in voting to send the employe to the Legislature, and expect their interests to be looked after? Why not elect men from their own ranks to fill the offices ? The Metal Worker. "Remember," said the good preacher to complaining work- good or evil in their purpose and ingman, ''that the good Lord . in their result, these benefactions never sent any little mouths to J do not constitute real co-opera-this world that he didn't send ' tion, which can be obtained .only the food to feed them withJi "Right you are," said the worker, "but somehow he; sends the little mouths to my house and the food to yours;" Ohio Socialist. .; -i vThe miners seek gold in the veins of the mountains -the capi talist gets his gold from the veins of the workingmen ! W S. Waudby, in - Typographical Journal.' ' ' ' ' THE LABOR MOVt MENT-ttSftEAL MEANING. The Jabor movement ite' its broadest term is the effort of men to live the lives of men. It is a : systematic,' organized struggle of the masses to obtain primarily mo?! leisure and larger economic resources ; but that is not by any '.means-, all, because the end and purpose of all is a richer existence for the toilers, and that with respect to mind, soul and body. Half conscious though it be, the labor movement is a power pushing toward the attainment of the purpose of hu - manity ; in other-words, the end of the growth of mankind name ly, thef ull and harmonious devel opment in each individual of all human faculties of working, per ceiving,;knowing loving, ;, in fact the development of whatever capabilities; of good that, there may be in man. Professor R. T. Ely. i founded the hope of future peace in the industrial world. It brings to the waere-earner what all the beneficent schemes in the past have failed to give a real co-operation between the employer and workman, a voice in the adjust ment of conditions of labor. The various co-operative plans inaug urated from time to time by phil anthropic employers are an ac knowledgment that the toiler should have some part in the con duct of the industry, but they rarely stimulate the workmen to any marked extent, and seldom give him any vital interest in the business. The employes of the United States Steel Corporation could not. at the present rate of sub scription, gain control of the stock within three centuries even should the stock not be increased during that period. Co-operation be tween employer and employe, in a real sense, does not consist of the grant of small favors and priv ileges, or even the payment of premiums While individual employes have given lavishlv. except in a few - instances, the influence of these and assembly rooms for working' men is certainly praiseworthy, but oftentimes these gifts involve such a dependence of the workmen upon his employer as to make it impossible for him to present reasonable demands for the cor rection of grievances. After all is said and done, it is not charity but justice which the American uorkingman desires. Whether through . the trade agreement. The trade agreement repiesents the highest form of co-operation in modern history, and is the clearest and . most unmistakable recognition of the importance of labor to capital and of capital to labor. The formation of a trade agree ment which, will, be satisfactory to both sides and will meet with the approval of all parties, is by no means easy. Those who de clare that ; wprkingmen have ,no ability for self-government should study the making of trade agree ments, which, with the confer ence preceding them, call for no mean degree' of intelligence arid conservatism upon' the part of the workingmen, and, added to these qualities, diplomacy and skill upon the part of the leaders. In order that they may go into the conference with a basis of reason able demands upon which to ne gotiate, one . section of workmen may have to make concessions in favor of another, and not infre quently the entire body must post- post the presentation of justifiable demands until a more opportune time. In order that an agreement may be lived up to, it must be fair to both sides ; hence employes TRADE AGREEMENTS- ' Upon the trade agreement is' must appreciate the position of the employers ; and even if it were possible, it is unwise to insist upon terms 1 hat are ruinous to employers. The problems taken up and discussed are complex, and require an unusual degree of technical knowledge. The work ingmen, or their representatives, must be thoroughly informed con cerning every factor entering into the question of the ability of the employers to meet their demands- They must appreciate the dif ference between what is desirable and what is attainable, and must exercise an unusual degree of self-restraint. Apart from its democratic character and its recognition of the rights and obligations of both sides, the chief advantage of the trade agreement lies in the in sight which it gives employer and employe into the cenditions un der which work is performed and the manner in which the business of the industry is carried on Prior to the advent of the trade agreement workingmen were apt to exaggerate the profits of their emyloyers, and, often without cause, to believe that they were being unjustly dealt with. Em ployers, on the other hand, many times failed to understand the effect upon the wages of working men of advancing prices and an augmented cost of living, and were liable to obtain from their foreman a false conception of the conditions under which their em ployes lived. Often, too, a feel ing of superiority over working men and their representatives, manifested itself, but this as a result of the trades agreements, more particularly as a result of the conferences leading up to them is being obliterated. Joint agreements are treaties of peace determining the condi tions under which tne industry wil be conducted for a year or more ; and such agreements have been scrupulously maintained, sacrifice of considerable temporary advantage, employers as well as workmen showing a gratifying tendency to live to the spirit as well as to the letter of the agree ment. It must not be supposed that the trade agreement will entirely prevent all strikes. I think there is no doubt that it will minimize, such industrial disturbances. By preventing or correcting misun derstandings, by bringing each side to appreciate the views of the other, by creating a friendlier feeling between employer and em ploye, and, finally, by making strikes and lockouts when they must be resorted to so wide spread, general and expensive that they will be' avoided. It will bring to the conduc of large in dustries, employers and workmen ready to arrange their respective affairs in a sane and business-like manner, and with each passing year the industries in which trade agreements prevail will become established on a. firmer and more permanent foundation of peace.- Rochester (N. Y.) Labor Journal. Take The Harbinger. BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL Tbe Unions of Los Angeles to Form t Strong Central Organization. Special Correspondence. I Los Angeles, Cal., Oct. 28. The various unions of this city identified with the building in dustry soon will be formed into a strong Building Trades' Council, officers of the State Council hav ing recently been in Los Angeles and perfected plans to this end. This determination is very timely, and as the fact has developed at a recent meeting of the Boss' Builders' Association, it was de cided to adopt a "unifoim scale" on and after November 1, mean ing that the "bosses" would at tempt to enforce a scale lower than those of the various unions. Of course, this latest move to fight the unions is backed by the notorious Los Angeles Times, whose mission is to organize every union-hater into one camp, and then use the camp in the in terest of Otis. - But from present indications, it appears that the Building Trades' Council will be more than a match for the scab contractors, notwithstanding the fact that they are endeavoring to flood the city with idle mechanics, to be used when the "uniform scale" goes in effect. The Building Trades' Unions are bting aided and encouraged by every union in Los Angeles, as organized labor in this city has learned that "an injury to one is the concern of all." Union men and women every where can help their fellow-unionists in 3) 1: lar.i Cilif jm " y rapping the infamous Times at every opportunity. Let every reader of The Har binger write one letter to each of the following advertisers in the Times : Carrara Paint, 811 Carrara Bldg., Cincinnati, Ohio. "Santal Middy" E. Faugera, 26 North William street, New York, N. Y. Eoval Bakinpr Powder Co., 100 William St., New York, N. Y. Philo-Hay Specialties Co., New York, N. Y. "Castoria" The Centaur Co., 77 Murray street, New York, N. Y. Chemical Co., Boston, Mass. "Postum" Postum Cereal Com pany, Battle Creek, Mich. Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., Lynn, Mass. Scott's Emulsion Scott & Brown, 409 Pearl street, New York, N. Y. ; Ghirardelli's Ground Chocolafc D. Ghirardelli, San Francisco, Cal. Tell these advertisers that organ' ized labor does not look with favor upon any person or firm that is aidine labor's meanest enemy, the Los Angeles Times. C RACKERpHkERS S TILL STRIKING- The cracker packers and bakers of Chicago are still at war with the National Biscuit . Company, and at a largely attended meeting refused to go back to work for the Cracker Trust until they were recognized as a union and union wages were paid. The Boston and Main railroad has made a general increase in freight rates of one cent for every hundred pounds of freight. The shoe manufacturers of Hav erhill do not take kindly to the measure, as it means a consider able item in their yearly expense. THE TRAMP AND THE SOCKS The following is not a fairy tale, but is a story taken right out of life : "In Rome, N. Y., on Christmas eve, 1078, iMrs. Jennie Yarmouth gave Geo. W. Todd, a friendless tramp, a pair of heavy knit socks. He was so grateful that he left with her his personal note for $5,000 in payment. To please him, Mrs. Yarmouth kept the note. Last spring Todd died, leaving $52,000 in cash and not a relative. The court appointed an administrator. Mrs. Yarmouth hunted up the old note and en tered suit, recovering $5,000 and interest on the face of the note." Both winter and tramps are com ing on apace and Charlotte house keepers who want 10 try their luck with a pair of socks will doubtless have abundant oppor tunity. The kind that Mrs. Yar mouth Lestowed upon the tramp was heavy knit and presumably all wool, but "p obably any old kind will do. The time for be stowing the socks, however, ought to be on Christmas eve, for that is probably where the luck comes in. The probabilities are that if Mrs. Yarmouth had given the socks on any other day, she would not have drawn the prize. Save your socks and watch out for the Christmas eve tramp. No telling but that you might strike a Santa Clause in disguise. Any day is a good time to cast bread on the water, but Christmas eve is the time to throw socks at tramps. Charlotte Observer. PRINTERS ENJOINED. In the case of the Republican News Publishing Company, Pub lishers and Proprietors of the Hamilton (0.) Daily Republican News against Hamilton Typo graphical Union No. 290, the Hamilton Co-operative Trades and Labor Couucil, and the.Non pareil Printing Company, Judge E. A. Belden, of the common pleas court last week granted the News the injunction asked for and sustained the contention in every particular. The petition set forth that the defendants had illegally conspired against the paper by instituting a boycott against it; had ap pointed committees to tell Hamil ton merchants that the Republi can News was unfair and that if the merchants patronized it or the company, they would be boy' cotted themselves, and it asked that the defendants be restrained from in any way threatening, intimidating, coercing or boycott ing the publishing company, or any of its patrons. The court held that a boycott is unlawful, the word itself im plying a threat. It also held to be unlawful for one person to induce another to break his contract. The liberty of making contracts, it held, was absolutely essential to the acquisi tion, possesssion and protection of property, and it was right of every person to employ in his business whoever he saw fit, so long as he did not violate morals or the public health or , welfare. This is another taste of Roose velt's "open shop" medicine. THE CIVIC CONFERENCE. In the event that financial depression comes, President Gom pers of the American Federation gave out on Saturday last a warn ing against the cutting down of wages, and a Jplea for har mony between employers and toilers by jSenator Hanna was made at the closing of the Na tional Civic conference. Mr. Gompers had listened to the argument of the representa tives of capital and labor, who had come from various parts of the country to discuss questions that would bring) them closer to gether. In reply to one of the speakers, the editor of a New York paper, who at the meeting the day before told the employes in the event of a possible finan cial reaction not make any un reasonable demands upon the employers. Mr. Gompers spoke of the harm that would follow any attempt to lower wages. Senator Hanna, as did a num ber of other speakers, including those for capital and labor, ad vised conservatism in all disputes between both sides and praised this element of labor organiza tions. Labor leaders and employers bel leve that the conference has done much in bringing the wage earners and capitalists together in an effort to establish more har monious relations. By the way, Mr. Workingman you who tramped several miles on Labor Day, displaying your self to an admiring crowd of spectators, was your daughter, your wife or your sweetheart in attendance at the fashion show in New York ? No? Well that's strange. The head of the Department of Commerce and Labor was there, and naturally I supposed the women and girls who fashioned those fine dresses, and made the cloth, and snun the thread, and stood over the looms, were there. You say their clothes were not fit ? Well, that's too bad. It seems, then, that this fashion show was for those who wore the fine clothes but did not make them and it develops that those made the clothes do not wear them. Lr. Broughton, Atlanta's sen sional preacher, is doing a gospel job in Macon, and here is what he said in one of his sermons about the society women of his home town : "I can count 125 saloons in Atlanta," he said. "Now, how many have you here? How many clubs where whiskey is sold without license have you ? In Atlanta they have them with out number, and these clubs, why i ' Atlanta I have known society women to go to them and get so drunk that they had to be put in a cab to be sent home. I know one society woman who was so drunk it took four men to put her in a cab. How many men does it take to put a drunken so ciety woman in a cab down here ?" Fla. Labor Journal. We thank God we have none of that kind of society people in Raleigh.
The Harbinger (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Oct. 31, 1903, edition 1
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