7
PORTLAND LABOR PRESS
THE WORLD-WIDE
LABOR MOVEMENT
Portland
Labor Press
Interesting Items From Trade Union
Papers and Exchanges, at Home
and Abroad.
L a s t y e a r forty-one liv es w ere lost
in th e C olorado coal m ines. T h is w as
one for each 173 m in e rs em ployed.
T h e B re w e rs’ union of St. Louis
voted $1,200 to p u rc h a se b u sses and
o p e ra te th e sam e d u rin g th e s tr e e t
ra ilw a y s trik e .
A bout 100,000 w o rk e rs a re u n em
ployed in th e City of N ew Y ork a t
th e p re s e n t tim e. G re a t is c a p ita l
istic p ro sp e rity !
E ig h t C hicago g irls h a v e sued th e
A rm o u r P a c k in g C om pany for $400,-
000, e ach claim in g $50,000 d am ag es
for being b lack listed .
T h e M a ssa c h u se tts 58-hour w eekly
lab o r law h a s been d e c la re d u n c o n sti
tu tio n a l by th e c o u rts. I t c o st a lo t
of tim e and m oney to h a v e it passed.
T h re e
th o u sa n d
th re e
h u n d red
and e ig h t c h ild re n a re em ployed in
th e c o tto n and w oolen m ills of N o rth
C arolina, for an a v e ra g e of 32 c e n ts
a day.
It is c h a rg e d by New Y ork u n io n
i s t s 't h a t im m ig ra tio n la w s a re d e lib
e ra te ly and openly v io lated , and t h a t
la b o re rs in sw a rm s a re im p o rte d by
c o n tra c to rs.
A ccording to th e re p o rts of th e
M olders’ N a tio n a l U nion, 4,000 new
m em b e rs h av e b een e n ro lled , a n d a n
a v e ra g e in c re a s e of 15 p e r cent, in
w ages w as secu red .
P ro s p e rity s tru c k th e m in e rs of th e
B irm in g h am d is tr ic t a few days ago
in th e sh a p e of a 10 p e r cen t, re d u c
tio n in w ages.
A bout 10,000 m ore
m en a re “p ro sp e ro u s.”
Our Aims and Objects
In order to educate the wage-workers upon the
various phases of the modern labor movement,
as well as to strengthen, protect, and promote
their interests, the trade unions of this city
have organized the Portland Labor Press Pub
lishing Association, and incorporated under the
Benevolent Act of the state of Oregon. Its
object is to publish a weekly paper— The Port
land Labor Press, and to give to the wage
workers as well as the general public of this
city and state reliable information concerning
the local as well as international labor move
ment.
4», ¡ i
Indorsed by the Portland
Federated Trades Assembly
The above named body, at its regular meeting
on August io, 1900, has by an unanimous
vote indorsed the Portland Labor Press and
also adopted it as its official paper.
T h e W isco n sin S ta te F e d e ra tio n of
L abor, by a vote of 45 to 9, d e c la re d
fo r th e co llectiv e o w n e rsh ip and op
e ra tio n of all th e m ea n s of produc
tio n and d istrib u tio n .
A ccording to th e re p o rts of th e In
t e r s ta te C om m erce C om m ission, over
7,000 p e rso n s w e re k illed and m o re
th a n 44,000 in ju re d by ra ilro a d ac ci
d e n ts d u rin g th e y ear.
A cco rd in g to d isp a tc h e s, th e union
fre ig h t h a n d le rs in C leveland, on th e
docks, a re bein g d isc h a rg e d , a n d th e ir
p lac e s filled w ith n e g ro e s. T h e w h ite
m en h a v e b e e n rec e iv in g 40 c e n ts a n
hour, an d th e n eg ro es a re to rec e iv e
$10.50 p er w eek.
T h e B altim o re & Ohio R ailw ay
C om pany h a s issu ed an o rd e r fo rb id
d ing its em ployes to hold p o litical of
fice. B ut, th e n , th is is a fre e c o u n try ,
w ith e q u a lity b efo re th e law , an d ev
ery b o d y h a s an “e q u a l” o p p o rtu n ity
to b ecom e “p re s id e n t” som e day.
The Best Advertising Medium
The Portland Labor Press is published, owned
and controlled by trade unions which have
raised the money in order to establish this pa
per and also subscribed for their entire mem
bership. Thousands of wage-workers are thus
directly interested in the success of this paper,
and will therefore patronize those who patron
ize them. It has a field of its own, and as a
means of reaching organized labor in this city
and state, it can neither be equalled nor ex
celled by any other medium.
T h re e h u n d re d a n d fifty b ra k e m e n
w e re d isc h a rg ed by th e D. & H. R ail
w ay C om pany. Since e q u ip p in g th e ir
c a rs w ith a u to m a tic c o u p le rs and a ir
b ra k e s , th e y c a n g e t a lo n g w ith less
help. As for th e b rak e m en , w hy th ey
a re sim ply “b ro k e .” B u t w ho c a re s.
T h e le g is la tu re of N o rth C aro lin a
h a s p assed a c o n s titu tio n a l a m e n d
m e n t t h a t d isfra n c h is e s n e a rly ev ery
colored v o te r in th e s ta te .
If th e
w o rk in g m en of th is c o u n try do n o t
a w a k e n p re tty soon, sim ila r le g isla
tio n ” will be e n a c te d so a s to in
clu d e th e e n tire w orking class.
1
1
Portland Li bor Press Pub. Ass’n
Incorporated
Room 514 Marquam Building, Portland, Oregon
E. R. W allace, of N ew H a m p sh ire ,
sa y s th a t th e c o n d itio n of th e m ill
o p e ra tiv e s in N ew E n g la n d is d e
p lo ra b le :
“C o m p etitio n am o n g th e
te x tile m a n u fa c tu re rs is so stro n g
th a t th e w ages h av e been c u t to a l
m o st noth in g . M any m en w ho w ork
a t th e m ills a re com pelled to su p p o rt
th e m se lv e s on a w age of $2 a w eek.
T h is m ea n s insufficient food and
s c a n t w e a rin g a p p a re l, and, failin g to
g e t th e p ro p er n u trim e n t, th e ir h e a lth
su ffers from th e close c o n fin em en t
and h a rd w ork. In m an y re s p e c ts th e
sla v e s in th e S outh b e fo re th e w ar
fa re d b e tte r th a n th e s e peo p le.”
Ja p a n .
T h e lab o r o rg a n iz a tio n s a re c o n
tin u in g to develop. T h e iro n w o rk e rs
re c e n tly decided to in tro d u c e b e n e
ficiaries, and a sy ste m of e d u c a tio n
is also to be in tro d u c ed . T h e em
ployes of th e J a p a n ra ilw a y a re ag a in
c o m p la in in g of th e b a rb a ro u s and
o p p re ssiv e m e a s u re s th e y a re obliged
to su b m it to.
F ra n ce .
T h e In te rn a tio n a l C o n g ress of M in
e rs h a s b een ho ld in g its a n n u a l m e e t
ing in P a ris .
I t is rec k o n e d t h a t
a b o u t 1,200,000 m in e rs a r e r e p r e
s e n te d . A bout h a lf of th e s e a re E n g
lish a n d S cotch.
T h e re a re a b o u t
130,000 in F ra n c e , 120,000 in B elgium ,
250,000 in G erm an y , a n d 100,000 in
A u stria . S pain, th o u g h h a v in g coal
m in es, is n o t r e p re s e n te d a t th e co n
g ress, n o r is R u ssia.
T h e U n ite d
S ta te s a re n o t re p re s e n te d , e ith e r.
T h e c o n g re ss a d o p te d re s o lu tio n s in
fav o r of an eig h t-h o u r day, of th e n a
tio n a liz a tio n of m in es, of a m in im u m
w age, of p e n sio n s a t th e a g e o f 55
y e a rs, an d of in d e m n itie s in c a se of
a c cid e n t.
G re a t c o rd ia lity re ig n e d
d u rin g th e p ro ce e d in g s, a n d th e r e
w as no e n m ity b e tw e e n th e w o rk e rs
of d iffe re n t n a tio n a litie s assem b led .
T h e c o n g re ss w as n o t h eld in th e E x
h ib itio n , b u t in th e h all of th e ‘‘So
c ie tie s S a v a n te s ,” in th e R ue S t.
G erm ain , in th e L a tin q u a rte r.
R ussia.
T o lsto i h a s b een fo rm a lly excom
m u n ic a te d from th e Synod of th e
G reek c h u rc h .
T h e fo llow ing is a
tra n s la tio n of its d e c re e :
“ Leo T o lsto i is an en em y of th e
H oly O rthodox C h u rch . H e does n o t
reco g n ize th e triu n e God. a n d b e lie v e s
t h a t J e s u s — th e second p e rso n o f th is
T rin ity — is only a m an . H e h u m ili
a te s th e holy te x ts of th e G ospel, h e
c e n su re s th e H oly C h u rch by c a llin g
it a h u m an in stitu tio n , he r e je c ts th e
E c c le sia stic a l H ie ra rc h y , a n d je s ts a t
th e S a c ra m e n ts and th e c u sto m s of
th e O rthodox C h u rch . H a v in g con
sid e re d all th e s e th in g s, th e H oly
Synod d ecid es th a t th e m a ss o r fu
n e ra l serv ice sh a ll n o t be said fo r th e
rep o se of th e soul of L. T o lsto i u n le s s
h e re p e n ts b efo re he d ie s.”
B ut even th e H oly Synod does n o t
propose to p ro se c u te him w h en h e is
alive, so t h a t is a fte r all som e sign
of p ro g ress.
G IG A R M A K E R S ’
U N IO N .
T h e m em b ers of th is union a re all
a rd e n t b e lie v e rs in and a d v o c a te s of
hom e in d u stry .
O ver 5,000,000 c ig a rs a re sm oked
in P o rtla n d e v e ry y e a r; o u t of th is
n u m b e r less th a n 1,000,000 a re m a n u
fa c tu re d by P o rtla n d lab o r.
It re
q u ire s 200 c ig a rm a k e rs w o rk in g 300
d a y s in th e y e a r to m a k e 5,000,000
c ig a rs . At an a v e ra g e s a la ry of $15
p er w eek, th is w ould le a v e in P o r t
land in w ages o v e r $156,000 a n n u a lly .
L e a v e n w o rth , K an., Aug. 31.— Six
h u n d re d coal m in e rs s tru c k to d ay fo r
90 c e n ts a ton. T h e y re c e iv e d 76 c e n ts
u n d e r la s t y e a r ’s c o n tra c t, w hich e x
p ire d to day. T h e o p e ra to rs sa y th e y
c a n n o t accede. C o n fe re n c e s a re b e
in g held.
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