Oklahoma Labor Unit (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, October 10, 1908 Page: 1 of 4
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A Clean •
Conservative
Independent
Non-Partisan
Newspaper for
the Homes
OKLAHOMA LABOR UNIT
THE
"ALL IN ONE; ONE IN ALL"
PARAMOUNT QUESTION: LIFE. LIBERTY. THE ENJOYMENT OF THE GAINS OF OUR OWN INDUSTRY
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE OKLAHOMA STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR
Gui Poncy.
Honest
Legitimate
Methods
Ev f Day
VOL. 1.
GREATEST ENTERPRISE
OF OKLAHOMA
THE GREAT STATE FAIR
AT OKLAHOMA CITY.
The Oklahoma State Fair is Breaking
All Records for Attendance, and
for Magnitude and Quality
of Exhibits.
The fair being held here is the best
In the history of that exposition. The
Oklahoma City exposition has passed
the stage of experiment. It has proved
beyond question that it is possible to
get together features of state-wide in-
terest and of importance enough to
bring large crowds hundreds of miles
to view It.
The management of this exposition
have proved their ability to formulate
and manage an exhibition covering all
the features of a great fair. With an
unfaltering aim they have broadened
their field and prasped bigger ideas.
With open countenance and extended
fair in reality. We do not wish to con-
vey from the above that it was a little
thing. Quite the contrary. Its exhib-
its were varied and covered a larger
scope. The live stock exhibit has not
been equaled in numbers for a long
time, and never was equaled in quality.
The management seemed to think the
public would be interested in the many
exhibits shown and if the crowds vis-
iting them dally is a crlterian, the pub-
lic was pleased and the good judgment
of the management proved. A good
list of the various breeds of live stock
were shown, but. not all the breeds
were represented. The farm products
were large and varied and were easily
one of the big features of the fair. The
art hall was replete with a fine display
of work done by women and proved
one of the big drawing cards. The
varied industries hall was also full to
overflowing each day and the exhibits
were of a high class.
The paintings in the art hall were of
Willi OJM'Il CUUUWHB""® «•" I UC jiniiiviiiB" ••• —
hand they have welcomed every tea- j „ j,igh character. It was a genuine
ture that wouid lift their exposition to ^ rest to visit these indoor exhibits after
a higher plane and nearer to the hearts spending hours in the open viewing
of the public. They have worked in the course sights.
earnest and the crowds that attended 1
each day. and the exhibits brought to
the grounds at large personal expense
attest their labors have not been in
vain.
This year the fair has grown bigger
and better than the previous one. The
attendance has been larger, the live
stock exhibits better, the farm pro-
ducts more diversified, the machlnery
dlsplay greater, and the general tone
and color of the entire exposition more
pleasing and entertaining. Each year
adds more exhibitors and better ones.
Those who have been regular exhibi-
tors have been compelled to take a
step forward in order to keep pace
with the new ones coming from other
territory, where competition has been
higher Gradually this infusion of new
exhibitors in the live stock depart-
ments is building up one of the great
stock shows of the south-west at Okla-
homa City.
The fair was largely attended Moil-
day the weather was threatening and
the morning was visited with showers.
Still the afternoon attendance num-
bered fully 7,000 persons. As the week
grew older the weaither grew better
and the attendance grew larger. What
the total attendance was we do not
know. They came from the farms and
ranches of the West. South and North,
and from the more thickly populated
districts of the East. But the crowd
was not all from Oklahoma. Kansans
came by the hundreds, and Texas was
we'l represented, as well as Missouri
and Arkansas. On Thursday one rail-
The poultry display was the largest
we have ever seen at any state fair
this year. A special section for honey
and "the little busy bee" occupied a
| prominent place and was always
thronged with visitors.
The machinery exhibits covered sev
eral acres. The manufacturers seemed
to know what kind of machinery was
the more interesting. Steam plows,
threshing machines, grain drills and
pumps for irrigating purposes and wa
tering large herds were the more num-
erous. Wire fencing was also a prom
inent feature of this display.
From one end of the ground to the
other the people walked and viewed
the exhibits They seemed to want to
see all that was going on. Many made
favorable comment as they Journeyed
through the different departments. The
steam plow and grain dirll exhibits
were attended by thousands of men.
There were many wheat farmers at
tending these machine demonstrations
The manufacturers know this better
tha nal lothers and the wise ones are
coming out to the Oklahoma fair to
show their goods. Among the cattle
exhibltst were 200 head of the beef
type and about 30 head of dairy ani-
mals, taking no note of the large ar-
ray of nurse cows that followed the
beef breeds. Shorthorns. Herefords
Aberdeen-Angus and Galloways were
represented. The hog show numbered
about 350 head of which about 130
were Poland Chinas, 100 Durocs, 100
Berkshires, 30 O. I. C.'s and 30 Hamp
shires. A display of sheep was on
OKLAHOMA CITY. OKLAHOMA. SATURDAY. 0CT0BIR 10. 1908.
WAR IS DECLARED
ON ORGANIZED LABOR
Ever since the legislature adjourned there has been n movement
on foot by the capitalist class to wage a determined war to the
finish against organized labor in the state of Oklahoma. . c ose
watch has been kept by labor leaders and the officers of the Mat.
Federation of Labor for the initiation of the plans.
The first note was sounded last week, though not openly, when
the Guthrie local of the Raihvaj Employees' Protective Association
was formed in Guthrie. This local was formed in the freight house
of the Santa Pe under ihe auspices of the officials i>t the road.
The second local was formed in Shawnee when' this men were
allowed to suspend work for two and a half hours Willi PAY,
and the meeting was called to order in the shops \\ 1111 Wl SU-
PERINTENDENTS PRESENT urging the immediate formation ot
the "union."
While the meeting was in progress one of the men who believes
in personal liberty left the meeting in disgust and returned to work.
One of the superintendents followed him to Ins bench and asked
him what he thought of the moveemut. He said, "Not much.
The superintendent said, "You should have stayed at the meeting.
They were just getting ready to make you vice-president of the
The answer of the wise one will never be printed in full, but
it. is only a question of time when he will be dismissed from the
sendee o'f the company for "negligence" or "insubordination."
Pretty complete information regarding this movement will be
found in the leading editorial in this issue.
The labor bills passed by the last legislature are pricking the
employers to the hearts (their purses) and they will use every
means in their power to prevent further legislation favoring the
laboring people. This fight has been expected by the officers and
leadinsr members of organized labor and we are ready for the
battle GET IN LINE, BOYS, THERE WILL BE SOMETHING
DOING.
NO. 18.
JAMES IW. LYNCH i
DISCUSSES TUBERCULOSIS
The following article is taken from
the report of President James M
,ynch to the fifty-fourth annual con-
vention of the International Typo-
graphical Union, which convened in
Boston on August 10:
"The movement for the cure and era-
dication of tuberculosis continues to
gain momentum. The daily and week-
ly press and monthly magazines are
doing their share in the education of
the people in this direction. In our
own trade, It is the belief of the writer
that conditions are becoming better
from month to month. The member-
ship are aroused to the necessity for a
thorough understanding of the best
In this country and abroad in this meet-
| iug. It will bo the first congress of the
sort to bo held in this country, and It
will dirfer from the earlier congresses
in giving greater prominence to the
J i ion-medical aspect of the campaign
I against the white plague. The pro-
gram will cover the anti-tuberculosis
movement as a whole, and emphasis
will be laid upon the humanitarian and
social factors of the problem, as well
as the medical, surgical and pathologi-
cal aspects of I t. A central committee
was appointed for each state and for
each of the countries abroad at the be-
ginning of the preparations for the
congress A number of these have or-
PRESIDENT BOWERMAN
CALLS CONVENTION
Issues Official Proclamation Calling Special Convention
at McAlester October 19—Removal 01 Langston
Case-Resignation of Pete llenretty.
road brought in in less than one hour exhlbltjon A great string of light
over 500 persons and the total atten - harn0ss hc
ance for that day was estimated at
nearly 50.000.
The future of the exposition seems
to be assured, regardless of what at-
titude the state may take toward es-
tablishing a state fair. Since its n-
ceptlon it has grown so steadily and
paid its way so easily that the man-
agement no longer feels uneasiness
that comes from financing so large an
undertaking. When such an enterprise
is endorsed by the attendance of thous-
ands and thousands yearly its stability
i„ assured. Exhibitors have learned
this and they know they will receive
their premium money if they are fortu-
nate enough to have good enough stock
to win it. The attendance of some ot
the leading showmen in the live stock
world is bringing tjie value of the
awards up to something more than
monetary one. Some of the best breed
ers and showmen of the southwest are
looking to Ok'ahoma City as a place
to show their stock and this year
brought out a bunch of them.
The people come to the Oklahoma
fair with a promise to see something
and they are not disappointed, or at
least we could hear of no complaint.
The exposition pleases them and they
are treated with such cordiality that
they come back and bring one or more
friends with them. This seems to be
the secret of the growing success of
the fair. The officers are polite and
courteous and a general welcome is
extended wherever one's presence Is
harness horses and roadsters were In
evidence and some of these were
shown in harness to an interesting
crowd. The hog and cattle shows
were easily the strong features of the
live stock department and were good
enough in quality to go in any com
pany.
The management has been very suc-
cessful in placing the right men in the
right place. The energetic superin
tendents of the various departments
are to be congratulated on the man
ner in which they conducted their of
fice. Friction between the superin
tendent and assistants and the exhlb
Itors Is unknown. All runs "smooth
as oil" and this Is so pleasing a fea
ture with the exhibitors that they have
invariably returned each year
The Judges of the fair were all men
of high character and reputations that
made their awards stand for some
thing. In the live stock departments
the judging was done by men who
know the breeds and were In every
way capable.
To give special mention to every
good feature would require too much
space but below we give a review of
the most notable attractions
FOR WELL DRILLERS.
The Fort Smith Well Drilling Maun-
facturlng Co., of Fort Smith. Ark., is
represented at the fair by a complete
display of tools for drilling wells..
extended wherever urn: « I" — — They make a specialty* of their rotary
made known to them So long as thisjwe), drin requiring one man and one
. i . U niiKli/* tho I . Ti 1— nnn IrlnH f\( m«-
treatment is extended to the public the J team It drills in any kind of ma
Oklahoma fair management need have (tprial, has a guaranteed capacity of
nr. fears of the future. j 400 feet, is simple In construction and
Viewing the fair as a whole the ex- j ts one rrf (£„ best outfits on the mar
position is worthy the name of te| (Co tta«.4 >
TO ALL THE LOCAL UNIONS
AFFILIATED WITH THE
STATE FEDERATION OF
LABOR:
Greeting:—
Having made an extended tour
through the various trade union
centers and having discovered
thereby that the actions of the
executive board are being gross-
misrepresented through the
medium of private letters and
other methods employed by some
one to the extent of causing a
condition of discontent among
the members of our organization
I deem it my duty to call a spe-
cial convention to be held at Mc-
Alester, before which body will
be placed all the facts and evi
dence in the case. Having noth
ing to conceal and having the
greatest desire to place before
the members all the particulars
with full confidence that after
this case is thoroughly under-
stood the actions of the board
will be upheld.
THEREFORE I, E. A. BOWER
MAN. PRESIDENT OF THE OK
LAHOMA STATE FEDERATION
OF LABOR, DO HEREBY CALL
A SPECIAL CONVENTION OF
DELEGATES REPRESENTING
ALL LOCAL UNIONS TO MEET
at mcalester, okla., at °
M„ MONDAY, OCTOBER
19th, 1908.
Representation will be based
as per the constitution, namely:
One delegate, regardless of men-
bership, for all local unions or
central trades council, and one
additional delegate for every fif-
ty members or majority fraction
thereof. All local unions who
were entitled to representation
at Ardmore, or those who have
affiliated since the convention
will be entitled to participate.
On account of the short time
intervening between now and the
convention, local unions are in-
structed to make out credentials
on local stationery, properly
signed and sealed by the presi-
dent and secretary of the local
union.
Yours fraternally,
E. A. BOWERMAN.
President Oklahoma State Feder-
ation of Labor.
All communications should be
addressed to E. A. Bowerman,
Prest., Box 1221, Oklahoma City,
Okla.
P. S.—I should urgently re-
quest that all local unions be rep-
resented at the convention as the
Legislative Committee advises
me that they will have some im
portant legislative matters to lay
before the delegates some time
during the convention, which
they wish to be advised upon.
With the above proclamation Pres-
ident E. A. Bowerman has called a
convention of the Oklahoma State Fed
eration for the purpose of disposing
defininteiy of the Langston case.
J. Luther Langston, who has serv-
ed the Fedration as scretary-treasur-
■er for one term and was re-elected
for another term, was deposed as sec-
retary by the Executive Board
charges of mutilation of records and
reports and for insubordination. Lang-
ston refused to recognize the authority
of the president or the Executive
Board as having power to in any way-
direct his movements as secretary and
applied for an injunction restraining
the Executive Board from occupying
jls office or taking charge of the rec-
ords and accounts. When Langston s
injunction case was tried the judge
decided that there was not sufficient
evidence to justify an injunction and
the case was thrown out. Langston
jtlll refused to vacate the office or
deliver the books to the Executive
Board and the Board secured a writ
of replevin Langston retaliated by j
issuing a recovery bond and re-secured I
the books.
Pete Henretty, who had been ap-
pointed secretary pro tempore, re-
signed in order to show every consld^
eration to Langston. • 1
The case to decide who has the
right to the property was set for Tues-
day, October 5th, but on motion of
Langston's attorney was continued for
fifteen days to give them time to pre-
pare evidence. The case will be
heard October 21st, two days after the
convention at McAlester.
Following Is the resignation of Pete
Henretty in full:
"October 3, 1908.
"Mr. E. A. Bowerman, President Okla-
j homa Stae Federation of I-abor,
| Oklahoma City, Okla.
Dear Sir and Brother:—
I "Information having reached me
.from various parts of the state to
the effect that J. Luther Langston,
late secretary-treasurer of the Federa-
tion of Labor, Is circulating a false
statement through private letters and
other infamous methods peculiar to
him only, that I prosecuted the charges
against him for the purpose of getting
hi* job, statements, dear sir, which
you and all the other members of
(Continued on paife 4.)
JAMES M. LYNCH,
President of the International Typographical Union.
Methods of prevention and cure of the
great white plague. The first great
Hep Is securing sanitary workrooms.
The wage-earner may be as careful as
possible outside the workroom, and
then lose all the benefit by laboring in
poorly ventilated and filthy composing
rooms. There should be ample and up-
to-date toilet accessories to the com-
posing room. In brief, we are justified
from every standpoint In demanding
that the employer shall do his share In
stamping out tuberculosis. The Inter-
national Congress of Tuberculosis the
last session of which was held in Paris
In 1905, Will in 1908 meet in Washing-
ton, on the Invitation of the National
Association for the Study and Preven-
tion of Tuberculosis.
"Widespread Interest Is being taken
ganlzed. and have formulated definite
plans for the representation of their
respective states or countries in the
congress, and in the exhibition that
will be held in connection with It.
Some Idea of the extent of the interest
shown in the United States In the con-
gress is to be gained from the fact that
over (100 persona in different sections
of the country are serving on State
committees. The movement for the bet-
ter education ot the people on the rav-
ages of tuberculosis, and that It 1b a
preventable and in its earlier stages a
curable disease, has become so popular
that it Is now a certainty that won-
derful results will accrue In fact, bet-
terments are already in evidence As to
printers, agitate continuously and radi
cally for sanitary composing rooms."
POLITICS IN THE UNION.
The opponent of the display of poli-
tics In the union Is right. What 1b
wanted is for the union man to get
Into politics. Not cheap peanut poll-
tics for the sake of defeating one man
or a set of men on account of personal
differences, but united, intelligent ac-
tion for the electing of union men or
those friendly to unionism, to office.
The one reason why the oljl army vet-
eran has been able to receive such siK
al recognitions is because ho Is organ!
zed—politically organized. If the
2,000,000 members of organized labor
ng America will intelligently mas
heir vote this fall for the elective
jfflces, there will be a wonderful
amount of bills passed by the next
Congress and the next session of the
State Legislatures In the real interest-
of labor. There will at the same time
lie a wonderful awakening among the
j judges of the various courts of tli"
country. The reason why adverse de
clsions to labor come so thick and fa?
is because labor Is a scattered and
broken political factor. The employing
powers of the country, through their
magnificent press have been able In
I the pa«t to keep labor split, and divided
about even. This made their
enormous vote of no political power.
The Journal" is insistent on this
point. It feels confident that If all
the trade union locals in this country
would at each session resolve them-
selves into a committee of tehwhole,
after routine business has been com-
pleted. and discuss real politics, the
end would soon be in sight. Occasional
mall meetings should be held and
there di cussions taken on a wider
scope. It Is not mere Individuals that
can pave labor It is by living funda-
intal principle* given life and ac-
tivity by labor itself Not men but
measures.
The day of the strike Is well nigh
over. The battle on the economic fle d
ls crude, clumsy and easy defeat
awaits the worker. The powers of gov-
ernment are In the hands of his Indus-
trial enct.iv Here the emqloyes hoqe-
I, | weak. Just the reverse 1b true
the political field. Let labor strike
lt the Imllot t" < this fall, and the mag-
n i> , on a thousand thrones of the pri-
vate owner hill of the world's wealth
will tremble You my brother worker,
> the political g mt w ho must awak-
en. The pygmies will run for coyer
when you reach forth your political
arm.—Easton Journal
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Egbert, R. Oklahoma Labor Unit (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, October 10, 1908, newspaper, October 10, 1908; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc106675/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.