Vol. I. No. 17
PORTLAND LABOR COUNCIL ISSUES
WARNING TO KEEP IMMIGRANTS
OUT OF THE STATE OF OREGON
PO RTLAN D , OREGON, FE B R U A R Y 10, 1912
Famous Gainsborough Which Mr.
Morgan Will Bring to America
The Central Labor Council of The almost criminal practice of
Portland and vicinity herewith some employers of labor in adver
submits for your consideration tising in Eastern papers that
the evils caused in the State of wages o f carpenters in Portland,
Oregon through false advertise Ore., are $7.00 a day fo r eight
ments which have brought to the hours, with steady employment
State of Oregon many thousands guaranteed, cannot be too strong
o f men, women and children from ly condemned. The facts are that
the Eastern and Middle Western carpenters’ wages in Portland are
$2.50 to $4.00 a day, hours range
Statea.
Large numbers o f these people from eight to ten, and as a rule
are now destitute, after having aere are three men looking for
spent their savings in railroad each job. The same conditions
fares and in vainly seeking work. prevail in many other trades.
In conclusion, we wish to state
Their suffering at present is so
intense that the City Council of that we love our city and State.
Portland was forced to appropri It pains us to advertise to the en
ate a large sum o f money to put tire country the distress and dis
some of these actually starving ease among our people caused by
people to work on park and some money-mad employers and
street work at wages below the real estate sharks. But we feel
prevailing rate for laborers. P ri it is our duty as citizens of Ore
vate charity has and is still be gon and o f the United States,
to expose swindling that already
ing taxed to its utmost.
The fault fo r this lamentable has caused untold suffering.
W e welcome to our State men |
condition o f affairs lies with un
scrupulous employers o f labor and women who have a true u n-1
and a certain type o f real estate derstanding of conditions in Ore
men. For years false advertise gon. There is room for such im
ments about land and labor con migrants to aid us in the devel
ditions in Oregon have been opment o f our resources. What
we protest against is the unscrup
placed in the Eastern papers.
These advertisements lured to ulous exploitation o f deluded peo
Oregon homescekers, mechanics ple.
and laborers, who, on arrival
The foregoing is a shameless
here, quickly found that they had exaggeration and is a senseless if
been duped.
not malicious statement. This in
Oregon, comprising a territory famous lie has been mailed to
o f 96,000 square miles, with a the Governor o f
every State,
population of about 700.000 peo with the object o f influencing
ple, is, in the main, a great w il homeseekers not to look to Ore
derness of forests and mountains. gon. It is a piece o f treachery
The forests are largely held for as despicable as the act o f any
speculation by the railroad in ther traitor. The circular is a
HE announcement that the collections o f J. Plerpont Morgan now
terests and other great corpora dastardly effort to offset the ex
housed in London—or, at any rate, a large part o f them—are to be
tions. To clear an acre o f this ploitation work o f the Portland
brought to this country and placed on exhibition in the Metropolitan
museum in New York is of the greatest moment to art lovers in the
forest land, after it has been commercial bodies and the rail
logged off, costs from $50 to $100 road companies which have al United States. The value of the paintings, jewels, bronzes, porcelains, etc.,
an acre. Hence, there is little ways been careful to keep within In question is variously estimated at from $5.000,000 to $15,000,000 Among
the paintings of which mention is made is the famous Gainsborough portrait
chance for paying farms on such the truth.
o f the Duchess of Devonshire, now in the National gallery, London, which
lands, except for men with con
The fact that the letter was was stolen uearly forty years ago and was eventually restored to its owner
siderable capital.
sent out under the auspices of through the mediation o f an American. Pat Sheedy, “ the honest gambler/'
Open country, suitable for organized labor w ill tend to de after its whereabouts had been unknown for twenty-tive years. Mr Morgan
farming, has long ago been taken tract from its statements. The bought the picture for $150,000.
up and prices fo r such farm land public is looking with extreme
are very high.
disfavor these days at everything
Railroad
t r a n s portation emanating from
union
labor
throughout the
State is very sources, as everything unionists
poor.
say is true is always a falsehood.
The orchard lands are held for This is the “ fa ll” The Oregon
almost fabulous prices, in the ian takes out o f this damnable
hope that Easterners can be and treacherous letter:
fooled to buy them. The same
The essential part of every one
trick that was played 20 years
of the foregoing sentences is un
ago in Southern California, when
true.
Destitution among those
orange orchards sold fo r $1000
willing to work was but tempo
an acre.
rary and is now past. Private
The bottom o f these wildcat
charity has not been and is not
schemes dropped out in Califor
strained.
nia and the Coxev army followed.
Oregon is not a wilderness.
The bottom o f Oregon’s wildcat
schemes is now dropping o u t; Not more than 57 per cent of
hence idleness, destitution and a Oregon is in forests and moun
general reign o f crime committed tains.
Orchard lands, fully improved
by misled and desperate men.
O f course, the great majority and in bearing, located in demon
of the employers o f Oregon de strated districts, sell for high
lore the practices which have prices, and unimproved lands
brought about the present chaotic near fancy hearing orchards are
industrial
conditions
in
this also priced beyond the means of
But
State. The general majority of the ordinary individual.
real estate men are opposed to foothill orchard land, as good as
the bunco tactics o f the minority. in the advertised districts, now
But up to date with no tangible half cleared, can be purchased in
the Willamette V alley as low as
results of betterment.
$50 per acre.
Therefore, the Central Labor
Some wildcat schemes have
Council of Portland and vicinity
ppcals to you to give this mat been promoted in Oregon, just as
ter publicity in your State and aere have in every State in the
prevent great injustice and suf Union. The bottom has dropped
fering to men. women and chil out of most o f them, but wildcat-
dren o f your State who otherwise ting was not in the slightest de
might fall victims to false adver gree responsible for the unsatis
factory labor conditions that re
tisements sent from Oregon.
cently called for action by the
Specially dealing ■ with labor
Portland city authorities.
conditions in Oregon, we wish to
Last,
and
very
important. :
state that out of the population
there is not now and has not I
o f 700.000 there are 207.000 in
been in recent years a “ general
Portland— our
principal
city.
reign o f crim e” in Oregon.
This readily shows that the re
There are
numerous other
maining 500.000 are scattered
statements
in
the
labor circular
over 96.000 square miles. In the
O M AN ’S sphere has been enlarged by a sturdy member of the ‘ weaker
East when work becomes scarce that might he discussed. One of
sex/* who has for more than forty years been rarrying the mail
between the Florin (Pa.i postoffice and the railway station She is
* one city or State, mechanic# the important remaining ones is
Mrs. Samuel Walters, wife of an employee of the Pennsylvania rail
and laborers can easily move to the implied attack upon the illus
another city and S ta te and seek trated literature'sent out by com-j road. In all weathers she has attended to her duty and has a record of n^ver
for work. The great distances in m ereial' organizations and rail having missed a mall. She has hail bat one vacation, which she spent in a
trip o f a few days to New York city. She is held in high esteem by the eni
our State m ake such moving a 1 road companies. W e know noth ployees of the railway [>ostal service, and the government now pays her four
great hardship and very expen- j ing o f false advertisements f o r , times as much as when she first took up her duties The photograph shows
(Continued on Page 3.)
Mrs Walters at her post waiting for the passing train to get the mail bag.
sive.
T
Mrs. Samuel Walters, Veteran
Mail Carrier, at Her Post
W
Price 5 Cents
FIVE PER GENT LOAN SHARKS
BECOMING ALARMED; LOOSEN
THEIR VILE GRIP ON VICTIMS
Attorney llurst, anil all other tigators have received informa
attorneys who are in any way as tion that these human wolves are
sisting him, are deserving of the frantically seeking to effect set
thanks o f a great, though silent tlements with their debtors upon
element in this community, which almost any terms. They have
is endeavoring to find a lasting ■ased carrying their evidences
remedy fo r the loan-shark evil. o f indebtedness into the courts
Ben Selling, and all those who to. force them to become accom
are w illing to join with him in plices in their dirty and nefarious
establishing a fund to form the business. One instance is given
capital o f a collateral bank, o f a man who defied one o f these
where the worthy and honest beasts of prey and refused longer
poor may have financial accom to be victimized. To his honor,
modation, minus cutthroat meth be it said, that while he declined
ods and interest charges, deserve to pay any more interest, having
likewise the public thanks.
already paid twice as much as
It is no crime to be poor. It lie hail borrowed, did offer to pay
is no uncommon thing fo r any the original face of the note in
man, be he rich or poor, but finds installments most convenient to
that there are times when he himself. He should have declined
needs ready money. The man of to have paid another dollar,
wealth and property has little should have demanded hack his
trouble in going to a bank and oto and nil such money as is in
getting a loan on aeeptable se excess o f the legal rate o f inter
curity, general real estate. The est.
poor man, with no real estate,
By the Russell Sage Founda
feeling the need,’ looks about him tion, a Division o f Remedial
He sees an innocent-appearing Loans is provided with an aggre
“ ad.” in some newspaper, assur gate capital o f $10,000,000. These
ing him that with no publicity, avc outstanding loans o f $20,000,-
he can secure a loan on his sal 000 and the annual losses arc not
ary at 5 per cent a month. Or, more than $10,000. Tt is surpris
perhaps, be pledges bis household ing to learn that in the industrial
furniture or a watch, or ring to> centers o f the United States there
some pawnshop, at the same ru is one usurer to every 5000, and
inous rates. He knows, when he one victim in every 20 o f the
signs a note calling for more population. One loan institution,
money than he has received, that with a number o f offices, showed
he is paying the price in his own 45,000 loans wilh an average in
f c ’s blood, but the emergency terest of 228 per cent.
scorns great, and he comes to the
W hile Portland is not so badly
w ily shark’s terms. Thus do
the grip o f fbese merciless
these parasites o f society fatten vampires as arc some cities, she
upon the misfortunes o f others, lias altogether too many o f them.
hey produce nothing, yet they If is a cheerful sign to note that
They prodee nothing, yet they these will, from now on, grow
drain the earnings o f the poor.
less instead of more. The loan
Now Attorney TTurst believes sharks always hold over their vic
in throwing the fiercest light, o f tim ’s head, if he is a salaried
publicity upon those unconscion man. the threat that they will lay
able villains and exposing them. the matter before their employers
ITc believes in givng the poor in case o f a default. The un
man his opportunity to escape fortunate victim fears that this
their usurious clutches by show will cause him to lose his job, and
ing up their methods in court. he “ comes through” .
This is precisely the thing these
Tin1 Western Union provides
vampires do not want. The co limited loans to its own employes
terie o f worthy Portland lawyers who arc worthy and deserving,
•arc going about the solution of and this example is a good one
I this problem in the right way. for employers to follow.
TH E
They recently received a quan TIM E S would advise any man,
tity o f literature issued by the who works fo r another and who
1 Kussell Sage Foundation in New is in financial distress, before tak
York, which shows the approved ing recourse to the loan shark, to
and practical methods by which go frankly to bis employer and
this class o f undesirable citizens tell him o f his dilemma. In many
can best be eliminated.
instances he will get relief. I f
One of the most encouraging already a debtor to these liound-
matters to be observed in this i ing bloodsuckers, • he might take
connection is that the usurers his employer into his eonfidenee,
avc seen the handwriting upon anil most o f them, being fair-
the wall, and are scudding for minded men. will asist him to es
cover. The public-spirited inves- cape their clutches.
A. F. OF L. AND
UNION MEN HELD
I. W. W. HELP
GUILTY IN USING
TEXILE WORKERS THE WORD “ SCAB '
LAW R EN C E. Mass. The Cen
tral Labor Union of this city,
which is affiliated with the Amer
ican Federation of Labor, will
i enter into the light for tin- suc
cess of the strike of more than
i r m in
ha s
t, X t i l e
been
il l d e r
on
t l i*
the
ne
irly
d ire e tio i
o r g a n izat io n
rs o f
o p e n d iv e s ,
fo r
the
W h ieh
a
of
I m i ■striai
m ad h
1
•ival
W ork-
W o rld .
Last week, after many days of
deep consideration, Judge Taz
well, o f the Municipal Court,
launched another dictum on the
matter applying the word “ scab”
by union men to non-union or
to union nidi who have hail the
good sense to stay at work un
mindful o f the mandates of or
ganized labor.
Now, Judge Tazwell lias bail
this legal problem to crack so
many times within the last few
o f th c C h u rei
of
1» b l i e f i r u m
months, that by this time he
he
th e A s c e n s i o n
in X e w
Vi rk
vs . h a s d e v e l o p e d t h a t t !<’ ! 1 * is I ought to lie a complete elieyelo
podia o f learning upon this sub
j a w r e i ('f * e v -
a p a u p e r b u r i a l in
ject.
I ii H recent
issue TH E
n th e r
IT v
day
am
that
í rac-
TIM E S printed tin- story of a
t i l a l l y e v c r y o p e is
hat o f
m i II
man who bad ben followed all
” 1 e r a t i v e 's f a m i l y .
the way home and followed hv
The
ol is e rv a n e e
i f
Rev
1er
t ie rt S . J i J i n s o n o f I l o s t o n in t w o 1 the reiterated and insulting ap
plication o f the word “ seah.”
la v e p rom p t-
v i tits to L a w r e n c e
from n hunch o f idle unionists,
e i l t in * ni b l i s t e r t o s a y :
who rejoice in the euphonious
‘ • I f tin f i g u r e s s h i i w n t o nu • b y
th e m ill
t hr* names o f Juhrs, Jones. Poehler!
ow ners
c o v e rin i?
Blank, Mailer and Wolford, and
h ro
p a id
the
o| » p r a t i v i
W li g e s
correct, the average weekly wage who at one time were indlistruins
men at the Albina cars hops
(Continued on Page 3.)
An
in v ■ stigatiori
S t od w ell,
connect
iy
p i
1
S a n IK 1 A .
w it 1
the
(Continued on Page 3 . )