THE MEDIUM OF ORGANIZED LABOR.
THE SATURDAY RECORD I in sPite of the Sreat armies of men they
nave sens to me irom, nave mamuimeu
their labor standards, with little Or no
variation. "Victoria ha& slightly in-
creased the amount of overtime which
way be , permitted vto women and chij-
dren in special-' cases. ; On . the other
hand, 'Manitoba has reduced C its legal
overtime. m No change in restrictions on
women and child labor is reported from
New Zealand. ; . 'X '
In England ithe ;war ; exemptions to
the factory laws haye :not included a
lowering of the age limits for factory
work, and the. exemptions to the school
attendance laws permitted for agricul
ture and "
War Times1 Call For Well-Condi-;
' r; tioned Labor.
Issued weekly - from the ofiace of The
Saturday Record, 509 So. Fourth St.. .
Wilmington, N.C, -GEORGE
W. CAMERON,
Edifor and Proprietor.
- Wfl are alwavs slad to' receive letters
or articles frbmVour subscribers along
any line of interest to our readers.
, Subscription price $1.00 a year, in ad
vanced '
Entered at the postoffice at Wilming
ton. N.J C, as' seoond-class mail matter.
' SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 1917.'
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State Federation of Labor
;Mr.. Ev. Meadows, secretary-treas-
urer of the North Carolina State Feder
ation of "Labor, has Sent out an appeal to
central trades unions and locals urging
i-.-. . . . ' -: J . ... ' ( . . .
them to assist'in bringing . about the af-
,,j ...... ) Vi.! v..- -
filiation of unafllliated unions over the
. State. This is a step toward a -more
thorough organization before the con
vention of the State Federation of La
bor, whicl takes place in Salisbury in
August.; Every union mad in the State
stirtiild awaken to the necessity for a
light employment'' are now
bitterly regretted by the general edu-.
cation authority which has sanctioned
them ,
"Suspend Frof its" Suggests Presi
; dent Gompers
Writing as chairman of the commit
tee on labor, advisory commission,
conncil of ' national defense, President
Samuel Gompers makes this sugges
tion to T. O. Cranwell, president of the.
Continental Can Company, Syracuse,
N. Y.:
"Suppose you and your fellow manu
facturers were willing to suspend en-
, A stronger State body and interest him
self at the-next regular meeting of his tirely, in this hour of the country 's
- 1.; r ot,h emergency, the pursuit of profits;
- uuiuu m mo cvu x , would there be any possibility of
conscientious delegate to represent the shortage of tin cans?"
' ' membership, in proportion to numbers The manufacturer urged a rhodifica'
allotted, at the convention. tion of laws governing the hours for
. .
; The State .Federation in the past has women workers, which was disagreed to
been sorelv neglected by many strong by President Gompers, although the
. Renorts to the American 'Federation
. ' , . J ' - ' , . 7 Jr
' of Labor headquarters indicate thattne
nation's best thought is accepting,, the
trade union position, that labor flaws'
and other social legislation' muatsno t he
.waived or weakened because of the war.
Exploiters of ' labo'x' have" failed J, to
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twist thev declaration iOtv the Council of
Rational Defense to "suit their purpose.
This declaration; is based on possible
eventualities' that would imperil our'
national lifeJ . The. council insists that
it, rather than aii l-fem ploy er or group of
employ ers-who would' take advantage
of, war's firstalarms, is the best judge of
future conditiops.v
President Wilson's ' clear-cut declara
tion on May 15, in addressing' a delega
tion of trade unionists, has,: been a PQW-.
erful factor in checking this tendency,
as it is a notification' to laborvexploiters
that they can expect no aid from the
nation's chief executive i'n their attempt
to tearaway the foundations of social
rogresst The President said:
"I have been very much alarmed at
one or two things that have happened:
At the apparent inclination of the legis
Matures of one or two of our States to set
aside even temporarily the laws which
have safeguarded the standards of labor
and life. I think nothing could be more
deplorable than that.
"Therefore, I shall exercise my influ
ence as far as it goes to see that that
local bodies of orgnnized workers, as
well as having had several setbacks on
account t)f negligent and unfaithful of
ficials; so we hope that tevery union
man in North Carolina will give his as
sistance to the movement to get to
' gether in Salisbury in August and
strengthen the spirit of brotherhood
and justice among the united workers
of the State. Let us go forth with the .
determination- to make effective the
J ideals of the great labor movement.
XJrge upon every mion man" the neces-.
sity of greater interest in the State Fed
' eration, Let every delegate go to the
f convention with the determination that
good shall be accomplished for organ
i zed labor. Be up and doing, brother !
Agitate ! Educate ! ! Organize4 1 1
"War Emphasizes Need of Child
Labor Laws
"The experience of war time has
1 demonstrated the necessity technical,
economic and even physiological of
s; the labor laws enacted before the war.
In oiir legislation, secured in time of
- peace, we shall, find the conditions for a
better and more intense production
darrng the war."
These words of Albert Thomas,
French munitions minister,, illustrate
the attitude of France and England after
two years of emergency exemptions for
war industries, ' according to the chil
; . drenrs bureau of the United States De
apartment of Ijabor, which has just com
; pleted a brief review of all available re
vs ports on child ,lab6r . in , the warring
, countries. ,
In France and England; earlier stand-
; ards of hours are being restored,' not
only to protect the health of the work
'ers, but for the sheer sake of industrial
efficiency, present and future. In Italy
the - central committee on industrial
mobilization V has ...taken , steps in the
same direction. In Russia, a year be
fore the revolution, a movement was
under way j to praise the age limit for
children industry.:.
" Canada, Australia: and New Zealand,
trade unionist says he fails to under
stand how he can be of "some assist
ance'V'in this case. -
In answer to the claim that there is a
scarcity of labor, President Gompers
says:
- "It is to be regretted that there is no
"public method by which such assertions
may be proved or disapproved,
"There may be a scarcity of some
kinds of labor in your district at lower
wages than are acceptable to unem
ployed persons .who might fill a demand
at what they regard as living wages at
steady work.
"In all these cases the absence of pub
lic employment agencies which might
indicate the movement of supply and
demand of workers, leaves the interest
ed observers without other help than
wtheir own or other-men's guess wor."
President'Oompers quoted statements
made by officers Of the Amalgamated
Association1 of Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers in a, conference with Secretary
of Commerce Redfield and himself that
the deficit in the" output of cans could
hot be laid to the door of labor as it
could be shown that in certaiu places
members of this union are not working
fuli time. , - ' i k
does n6t happen and that the sacrifices
we make shall be made voluntarily and
not under the compulsion whfch is mis
takenly interpreted to mean a lowering
of the standards which we have sought
L through so many generations to bring
to their present level."
;In his telegram' of April 30 to Illinois
trade unionists, Secretary of War Baker
said:
"The recommendation of the Council
of National Defense was that power "to
suspend existing, statutes be granted
only in emergency cases involving the
national defense, and therwonly upon re
quest of the Council and for a4 stated pe
riod. The declared policy of the Coun
cil is to maintain all existing laws and
-regulations. No position has been taken
by the Council in opposition to; or dis
couragement of the passage .of further
regulations looking to improvement in
industrial conditions.'' ,
Secretary of Commerce .Redfield took
the same position in his address before
the convention of the National Associa
N A Very Commendable Act ;
Thejmanagement of 7the Delgado, Cot
ton Mill Company,. Messrs. R. R. Bel
lamy, president; T. R. Ames, secretary,
;and W. A: Woods, superintendent, have
granted-to those .of their employes who
reside in company houses their use
without rent charges, and to those em
ployes who reside outside the mill secv
tion they .have given axu increase in
pay equivalent to their rents.'
This sacrifice is made-by the com
pany to relieve the workers of a portion
of the burden imposed on them by the
high cost of living andt is a most com
mendable act, ; which, will undoubtedly
strengthch the, feeling of mutual re
sponsibility that has always existed be
tween Hhe -management ' and theem
ployes of this company. . " '; -: r
N
; " Women have such a,good time talk
ing because ' they have so little to say
that they do noi care how they say it.
The editor of the Wilmington Dis-;
patch says, in speaking of the Socialist
Pacifist meeting in New York recently: ;
"Many a buzzard is liable to parade in
the uniform of a Dove of Peace these
days." No danger, Brother Cowan, for
that Vulture of Speculation has absolute
control of the parade ground's. "L
: i . - ' .
"So you arethe applicant for position
as chaueflfer ?'' .
"I am, sir." ' v
:'.n .t,-.. . - ' :
Are you a' careful driver ?"
"I am, sor." :
"Do you smoke ?n
"No, sir." "
fDrink?"A
"Do you' swear?"
"Well, it depends on what kind of a
car you've got, sir.
There is now said to be a peanut
trust. It ought to be roasted, ,
! , V ,
JL
COASTr.MME MOTEIL AMD CAFE
208 North Front St. Short Orders a Specialty.
CAFE SERVICE FIRST-CLASS.
Prices Moderate, i
ROOMS ALWAYS IN SANITARY CONDITION.
Bed Linen' Changed Every Day. ' i
MnLOONAIIIBES
' . WOEMMGMEM .AEE MAMY
Are Few in Wiming
. ?toh,3ut
This fact should convince our business mn '
that the bulk of trae comes from the latter
class who patronize their -friends. The use
of this , "; -
r&z ciyrr
on your printing will appeal directly-0 . '
' everyiranch.of organ
friends as itplainly Tshows iHat : vou fullv'
-tion of.&Ianufacturers New York, la - : y
V'!In practice therefore, there shQUia
-be; no disturbance of labor standards, no ,
iiOTtioof;klteWdJhpui.-l Let theses-
things;' rest till the nation itself pans,
keep tfestk'ndards of Jiving untouched ;
and Uio Btapdard of friendly leadership -V
exalted If ihe nation's need -shall cal?,
'yoivillHfetoid wbat is required. Tift.'
tbatVall shall comer let there be no unr
due pressure iipon labor - and let no ad- v
Vantage be taken Vhether fpr profit or
i ot- pride or supposed; principlev in th e r
hour of the nation's trjal.' . . .N .
These declarations by President Wil-;
son and his cabinet officials-are in lineJ
with the prese'nt attitude of the British,
government after its disastrous expert-
ence following an" assent to the plea of -employers
identical to 'that in our own
country. British authorities have ac
knowledged their mistake and the main
tenance of labor standards is nowtheir
greatest consideration.
w This war will not be a 100-yard dash,
with the contestants calling onevery , ,
ounce "of energy for tne few , seconds
necessary to cover the distanced The
present emergency will be along strug- .
. . ".: .... .
gle, a marathon.- Under these circum
stances it is worse than unwisdom to de-....
vitalize our first line of defense, the pro
ducers, by stripping them of protection ;
against employers, whose ideals are less
of patriotism than of profit and divi- .
dends. -
Suffer no longer with Asthma, Catarrh,
Rheumatism, Paralysis, Kidney and -Bladder
trouble, Venereal . and Female
diseases. Use Nielser's Eel Oil for all
pain. For sure cure, eon suit Dr." Ai..C.
Nielsen, 109 1-2 Dock St. Adv
i
9
I.
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