The Oklahoma Labor Unit (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 27, Ed. 1 Saturday, December 24, 1910 Page: 2 of 8
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Carnegie and Human nappmess
Andrew Carnegie has given $10,000,-
000 to promote the cause of universal
peace, making a total of $180,000,000
which he has dedicated to the public
out of his private fortune.
It is magnificent. Hut-
Does the career of Carnegie repre-
sent the highest service to mankind?
Is this man, as a matter of fact, a
great promoter of human happiness,
a great benefactor? Let these facts
answer:
HE - ACQUIRED HIS LAST
WEALTH HY THE EXPLOITATION
OF HUMAN LA HO It IN THE STEEL
MILLS OF PITTSBURG
The average pay for his workmen
was below the line of decent subsist-
ence. Every attempt of organized
labor to better the conditions was
heartlessly crushed. The men who
largely made Carnegie's millions in
the sweat of their faces have not re-
ceived a fair share of what they pro-
duct d.
HIS WEALTH IS ALSO DUE TO
THE MAINTENANCE OF A I UOH1H
ITIVE PROTECTIVE TARIFF ON
THE PRODUCTS OF HIS MILLS.
This tariff has laid a needless bur-
den, directly or indirectly, on the
shoulders of every man, woman and
child in the United States. To keep
It there the infamous Pennsylvania
A SWEATED INDUSTRY.
Garment making Is a "sweated" in
dustry, says a Chicago daily news
paper.
The garment worker does not make
s coat, or a v<st. or a Mir Of trOUt*
ers pants, in shop talk. She only
makes a very small part of the gar
ment.
She sews on the buttons, and noth-
ing else. Or she makes buttonholes or
faces the pockets; or makes the pock-
et, or bastes, or stitches the under
collar, or presses the arinholes, or
raises the armholes.
There are six people engaged In
making the different parts "i the
pockets. There are fifty-eight per-
sons working on one coat. Each doe?-
one little thing, nd NO! HING EI SE
She has become a machine, or rather
a small cog in a machine.
Much of the work is "piecework,"
I. e., is paid by the pic e. Button-
holes on coats are from 11 to 3 cents
depending upon whether the uirl is a
"greenhorn" or an expert. If she is
"green" she only gels lVfc cents. (Jet
ting only so little, and being necessar-
ily slow, she "earns" less than a dol-
lar a day. Breaking of buttons, or
even of thread, in fact, every little
accident, is "lined," and deducted from
the wage at the end of the week.
The workers are under "foremen"
or "forewomen," where promotion de-
pends upon the amount of work they
get done and the low labor cost of
(he garments produced under their
direction.
This Induces "speeding up." It puts
a premium upon lining of employes.
It makes the "foreman" a SLAVE
DRIVER. Many of the workers RE
FUSE TO BECOME FOREMEN, be
cause of the inhumanity a GOOD fore-
man must practice.
When a worker reaches a certain
speed—gets to make a fair wage—she
is put upon a weekly wage.
The boss always wins—always has
the advantage.
Much of the work is taken "home,"
if the p'aces in which most of the
strikers live can be called home. One
of the girls told us of how, by working
from 7 to 12 at night, she could make
63 cents, and that the extra light only
cost 3 cents.
There are eight different national-
ities employed in the Chicago shops.
Most of the workers cannot speak
English. They are poor when they
arrive from Europe. They are indus-
trious, and go to work at anything
and any price.
Thus they become the hapless vic-
tims of a conscienceless, greedy set
of men, who exploit them in a most
shameless manner.
The moral effect is deplorable.
Young men and women are driven to
vice and crime.
The American people must protect
these foreign waifs. We owe it to
them; we owe it to humanity. We
owe it to ourselves.
system of corrupt politics was Invent-
ed and maintained. It is a festering
sore on the republic.
TO THE UNJUST ECONOMIC AD
VANTAGES OF UNDERPAID LABOR
AND OVERPAID TARIFF HE ADD
ED THE EXACTIONS OF ONE OF
THE CRUELEST MONOPOLIES
EVER DEVISED—THE STEEL
TRUST.
This trust huB beaten down compe-
tition, obtained control of the sources
of supply, monopolized the market,
and charged any price It pleased for
supplying the necessities of the na-
tion's commerce.
THE MILLIONS CARNEGIE IS
GIVING FOR THE PROMOTION OF
HUMAN HAPPINESS WERE WRUNG
FROM HUMAN MISERY.
Will his benefactions of blood mon-
ey buy him an immortality of grati-
tude as one of the benefactors of the
race?
No, not if he gives the last penny
to chisel his name on libraries, hos-
pitals and peace temples.
Immortality is purchased with the
gold coin of unselfish sacrifice, not
with the bonds of industrial monopo-
lies. And the undying love of the
race is reserved for the soldiers of
liberty, not for the exploiters and
oppressors of mankind.—Oklahoma
News.
church and bids him welcome to the
union and receives him in the fold,
forgetting his past transgressions and
counselling him to a brighter and
more brotherly life.
That is another worker saved for
the purpose of benefitting the family
lor its material needs and seldom ir
ever will he be found a backslider.
He has had his experience on the
outside and with him it is "never
again!"
FAITH IN THE PEOPLE.
When some one observed to Mr
Gladstone that the "people are not i
always right," he replied, "No, but !
they are rarely wrong."
Mr. Gladstone had a large faith in !
the people—the common people. At j
another time he said that all the
great movements for the development i
of the race have sprung from the com-
mon people.
It \sas this that made him the pow-.
er he was In Great Britain, it is said
that once when he presented an ofll-
eial document to the Queen, she re-
fused to affix her name. "Your Ma-
jesty," said he, "you must sign."
She indignantly replied, "Mr. Glad-
stone, do you know who I am? I am
the Queen of England!" "Yes, your
Majesty," replied the great man, "but
do you know who I am? 1 am the
people of England, and you must sign
this document." And she signed it.
One of our American statesmen had
a similar faith in the people. He ex-
pressed it in a way that gives encour-
agement to those who have enlisted
in the "eternal struggle to be free" on
the part of the people against privi-
lege. Said he:
* "It is very curious, profoundly im-
portant, and to the last degree inspir-
ing, to review the advance of the
people during the ages. The conflict
of popular rights with established
privileges takes on the aspect of a
wide-stretched battlefield, the hills
and apparently inaccessible places sur-
mounted by mighty fortillcations,
erected with infinite practical skill,
manned by alert and seasoned sol-
diers and captained by the ablest
minds of the successive ages.
"In the valley are the great strug-
gling masses. It seems Impossible
that ever they should scale the heights.
And yet, looking upon history as such
a battlefield, we see advance after
advance of this tremendous throng.
We see mighty conflicts, and at the
end the people lodged and themselves
intrenched a little higher up.
LAWYERS' "CLOSED SHOP."
HAD HIS EXPERIENCE.
In the vineyard of labor there are
many apostles. Some have a long
lineage, others are of the moment.
They all help to make the working-
man's lot a better one and all did not
receive the inspiration at the same
time. It was in them but It required
the necessary time to bring it to the
surface.
Every practical workman experi-
ences the power of his co-worker with
time, but he does not alway appre-
ciate it until too late. He then real-
ises that there is something lacking
in the body politic and he bestirs him-
self to get at the bottom of it. He
may not be in the union and then
wonders why his fellow workers have
been giving him the glassy hand as
they do.
It gets him to thinking. What am
I? he asks himself. Here I know my
business as well as those that are
working with me and they shun me
as if I had a contagious disease. They
do not shun him, but have no respect
lor him, because, he will not protect
himself. He is selfish and is only
looking for his own interest. What
does he care for those that he works
with. Why should they be interested
in his welfare?
That is the position of the non-
union man with the union man.
The non-union man believes that he
can stand alone but when the shoe be-
gins to pinch he looks around for help.
What does he do? Go for the boss?
No, he appeals to his fellow workers
and if aid s not furnished begins to
make sarcastic remarks about the
other fellows that he has been work-
ing with. He did not need them be-
fore, they do not need him now.
Then comes the tug of war. He is
about to be slid. The boss has no
further use for him. What can he do?
He has ignored the union and now
turns to It ss a haven of refuge. Tho
union is magnanimous the same as a
"father confessor" of the Catholic
The lawyer's union of Los Angeles
is pulling the "closed shop" strings
good and tight. Monday attorneys
were warned by Superior Court judges
that clerks or other attaches of their
offices cannot attend to the prelim-
inary court matters such as appearing
to have cases set for trial or to pre-
sent motions for continuances.
Last Saturday a young law student
was found guilty of contempt of court
lor practicing without being admitted
to the bar. He was not a full-fledged
members of the lawyers' union.
These "closed shop" restrictions are
necessary for the protection of the
legal profession.
The "closed shop" is just as neces-
sary for the protection of labor.—Cit-
izen.
RAILROAD MEN'S
MEETING SECRET
tn
ID
SUGGESTING THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES TO YOU FOR YOUR AID IN CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. TIME IS SHORTER
EVERY DAY NOW AM) STOCKS ARK 15KINO PICKED OVER. COME IN AND MAKE YOl'R SELECTIONS, HAVE THEM
SET ASIDE ANI) DELIVERY MADE FOR THE LAST OF NEXT WEEK. A SMALL PAY-MENT DOWN WILL HOLD ANY
ARTICLE IN THE STORE 31'B.tECT TO YOUR ORDER FOR THE GIFT SEASON.
II E A E T I Fill. AND
ARTISTIC. WELL DE
S I CI N E D. II E A V 1
FRENCH PLATE MIR
ROR, THE WOODS AND
FINISH IN THE DIF-
FERENT WOODS,
PIECE OF Fl'RNlTI'RE
ON THIS ORDER WIU
M \TC11 IN WITH YOUR
OT1
FN!
TOR
\NI
WANTED A DRESSING
TABLE FOR MANY
DAYS. NOW (JET BUSY
$ 12.50 TO $30.00.
HI si,
I.\1>I
IN EARLY ENGLISH. GOLD
O A K. M A 11 O II A N Y
BIRDS'.'-YE MAPLE. SOME
TlllNiI VERY USEFUL AS
WELL AS ORNAMENTAL
ICES FROM $10.00 TO
A GIFT OF ONE OF
HE9K WOULD BE APPIIE
CI A TED
WW
II Y THE WIFE Vga
) DAUGHTER HAVE fiJ.f ff
MATCHED CHIF-
FON I E R S AND
nilKSSERS FOR THE
It E D ROOM ARE
QUITE PROPER AR
TICLES IN THE
HEAVY FURNITURE
LINE, THE .NEAT
COLONIAL SHAPES.
ARK PLEASING. LET
US SEND A PAIR OF
THESE TO YOUR
HOME WE CAN
PLEASE YOU IN
STYLE, F I N IS H,
QUALITY AND
PRICE.
\f/*
\v//' *J , I
v / /> \ ,?rvv
/> \\
The Housefiirmshers
Git AND AVE.
s-io
FAVORITE STORE. CASH OR TIME PAYMENTS
THE PEOPI
PHONES
GOMPERS SHOWS
UP GOVE*
(Continued from page 1.)
no learned phraseology, but in the lan-
guage of the plain people, Wentworth
askc.d: "After we win the Tampa fight,
what then? Will capitalist greed be-
come any Uglier? Will the judges
of the land cease to hand out injunc-
tions to the master class?
"It is time," Wentworth continued,
"to pause and take stock. Let us see
what we are about. Tampa is not an
A SERIOUS SITUATION.
STARTLING STATISTICS.
isolated case. There is not a city in fa|riy with the bosses.
the United States except Milwaukee ] Nothing short of this will protect
where municipal authorities are not [ (he returning strikers from shameful
ready to line up with the employers ! abuse and pitiless discrimination,
and against the workers. The reason ; ]n the meantime, the situation Is
for it is simple. The city officials are becoming dangerous.
It is a menace to the peace of the
lines in Manhattan, Brooklyn. Hobo-
i ken and Jersey City. , ,, ~ , _
m. . .... , .. . . ., . According to Census Director Du-
The garment workers' strike has as-1 . Although there has been no threat | rand-s announcement, Fall River,
sumed a most serious phase. The to make the strike national, this is a Mass has the heaviest death rate of
agreement offered by one of the scab weap(m wh)ch the longshoremen any c'lty in the United States-nine-
concerns has been turned dow n, i he resort to as their un- teen deaths per one thousand inhabi-
defeat of the proposition is over- probably will resort to, as their un tant aga£st flftecn death8 per one
whelming. ion is one of the main constituents of thouBand for (he country aB a whoie.
I he great majority of the strikers the American Federation of America, This unusually large death rate is clue,
(.re determined not to go back to work and is strong over the entire American the director claims, to an abnormal
\\ni" they';an d," s° under dece.n' con; Beaboard mortality among Fall River children,
dltions. ',ns|st', as " ™a, I . i caused by the factory system. Great-
self-protection, that they shall be per- j er numijer of women are employed
mitted to maintain a union, which, | GETS PERSONAL LETTER during long hours every day, with the
FROM A CONSTITUENT result that the children of the tired
| mothers are handicapped, many more
.... - tt4, . . .. I of them dying than would be the case'
In these days of political strife, the ! un<]er d|(jereBnt condillons...
following bit of genuine humor, writ- j It js hardly necessary to add any-
ten by an angry constituent to an thing to this statistical argument
through its offices and committees,
shall consider the grievances of indi-
vidual workers and shall adjust them
not of the working class. They
are prejudiced against the working
people."
city.
The death of Michael Cudahy
millionaire packer, gave the capitalis-
tic press a line opportunity to get off
the usual cargo of "bushwa" about
every poor boy having a chance to
become a millionaire. Of course every
poor boy has a chance—one in 'steen
million, and the chances growing few-
er every day. Michael Cudahy had
his chance at the packing business and
seized it. What chance has a poor
boy of today to become a millionaire
packer? A few years ago railroad
presidents were seleced from men who
had learned the art of railroad build-
ing and managing from the bottom up
—beginning as section men or brake-
men. Fine chance now to get to the
Australian member of Parliament may'aKJ,'ns* the evils of capitalism.
prove interesting, says the Electrical j The first duty—the supreme duty-
Worker I government is the development of
■ Deer Sur-You're a dam fraud, and manhood and womanhood.
you know it. I don't care a rap for
The Citizen takes no delight in ex-
the position or for the muney either, I'08'"* ,h° evlla of capitalism. It
but you could have got it for me if I'1'?/"8 commendation to cen-
you wasn't as mean as muk. Two
pounds a week ain't any moar to me
sure. But the public must be made
to see the horror, the awfulness, of a
system that not only degrades man-
hood and womanhood, but shortens
and destroys life itself.—Los Angeles
Citizen.
Yesterday two strikers were killed.
Several policemen were seriously
the : hurt.
It is not a revolution; it is not even
a revolt. The strikers are too piti-
fully weak and unorganized for that. I than 40 shillin's is to you, but I object
It is DOLLARS, sweated "from help- to bein' made an infernil fool of.
less women and girls, backed by a 1 Soon as you was elected by my hard-
brutal police against a suffering mul-j working friends a feller wanted to bet
titude. me that you wouldn't be in the house
That these women and girls are moren a week before you made a ass
out in winter; that they refuse to go ! of yourself. I bet him a Cow on that
back without the protection that the ! "s I thought you was worth it. When
public can give them; that they would I f?ot your note sayln" you deklined
rather starve and freeze than go back | to askt in the matter I druv the Cow
unprotected, prove the dastardly in-! over to the Feller's place an' tole him
famles to which they were subjeced, he had won her. That's oil I got by
and to which they again would be howlin' meself horse for you on elec-
subjeeted If they surrender. j tion day and months befoar. You
Men and women of Chicago—of not only hurt a man's Pride, but you
top that way! Railroad presidents of I America—listen to the cry of forty : injure his bizness. I believe you think
'today are selected for their ability i thousand men and women out of em- you'll get it agen. I don't. An' what | Anyone nerniing
to manipulate stocks and bonds, not ' plovment and eighty thousand who ' don't think is of moar konsequineo
for their ability to construct and oper depend upon them. I than you imajin. 1 believe you take
;ite great railroad systems. A lot of I One hundred and twenty thousand a pleshir In cuttin' your best friends, |.;1 In uikrri thrMiiu-h Muim &. i'u. rtMul'vf
j buys are beiiu; ruined these days by human beings are appealing to you but wate till the clouds roll by an'. >wflce, without chniye, In the
tilling their minds with the "bushwa" ' for protection. they'll cut you—just behind the Ear, j H| t (
j about having js manv opportunities You can protect them by demanding where the butcher cuts the pig. , IV , , ,
as the boys of former generations j that the strikers be taken back; that Yure no man. Yure only a tule. Go S3; K, ih
It's a plain He—for they haven't. Am, they be permitted to organize and to hel. I lowers myself ritin' to a y^.r: iourni.>nUi , ti. Soldbyuii iiew.ttonier*.
they will not have until social condi maintain a union in the shops where- skunk, even tho I ined him a member MIIMM P Pn 361 Broadway, New Ynrjf
re revolutionized.—Wagework in they work for their daily bread. I of Parliament." 1 - - --
! It Is not a question of wages. It
is protection against the infamies of
RANKS ARE BROKEN. | the bosses for which these people
plead. The American people, and
thev alone, can give this protection.—
Daily Socialist.
Trade Marks
Designs
Copyrights 4c.
i nil fit i ti nttd rtpscriiitlon may
I frtie wliotlier an
Legislative Committee Session '3 Held
Rehind Closed Doors.
i Having for its object the securing
j of laws beneficial to their organiza-
tions, representatives or the different
trainmen's unions of Oklahoma, met Hons are revolutionized.
I iu Oklahoma City tills week in joint
convention. Hie four branches of the
j railroad workers—conductors, engi-
neers, switchmen and firemen-—were
l represented. The convention was held The striking garment workers of
at the Trades Council Hall and what Chicago have broken into the ranks
I transpired will not be made public un-jof the stand-pat employees. Last
til later. j week leaders announced a settlement
It is Baid to be the object of the rail-i with one small concern, which, they
road employes to secure the passage of claim, is a forecast of labor victory
laws by the next legislature, which soon In the war for the closed shop,
meets in January, that will give them The settlement was with the ITnlt-
greater protection against accidents. <tl Woolen Mills whose 250 employes
Also It is said that they will ask for will return to work Monday. They
! shorter working hours. For just what have gained the closed shop, ad-
relief they will actually petition the j vanced wages, stipulated hours of
legislature. Is a surmise, however, as labor, and the agreement that any
the transactions of the convention future disputes will be settled by ar-
were all Becret.
| "We want only what Is fair to the
working men of the state." said one of
JMatich ornce. 626 V St. Wssliluston. D 1
the officers Wednesday, "whether they
are union men or not. We don't feel
like making our plans public Just at
this time, but we will do bo later."
The railroad men were banqueted
Thursday night by local labor union
men, E. W. Vance acting as toastmas-
ter.
bltration.
ZIEGLER
IN SHAWNEE.
C. C. Ziegler, president of the State
Federation, Is visiting the various un
ions of Shawnee this week. Those
that are not affiliated with the Federa-
tion will be shown the benefits of such
affiliation, and other matters of Inter- [ the first attempt of the strikers will
est will be explained by Mr. Ziegler. I be to tie up the big trana."
LONGSHOREMEN DEMAND
MORE PAY; WILL STRIKE
I
New York, Dec. 20.—That the trans-'
Atlantic Steamship companies are
menaced by a strike which would
practically tie up ocean traffic, be-
came known today.
Longshoremen have delivered an ul-
timatum to the steamship companies,
demanding more pay and threatening
to Btrlke If it is not forthcoming.
The date for the strike Is January 1.
Although representatives of the
steamship companies declare that they
will not give In, labor leaders are op-
timistic that there will be an eleventh
hour settlement.
The steamship men understand that
Marshall - Harper Co.
Successors lo ]. H.\Mar shall Co.
Funeral Directors andEmbalmers
Private Ambulance
120 North ffiroadway
'Phones 900 and I S3 6
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Wilson, Ollie S. The Oklahoma Labor Unit (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 27, Ed. 1 Saturday, December 24, 1910, newspaper, December 24, 1910; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc106945/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.