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PO RTLAND
LABOR
PR ESS
gang takes no risks. It ha* control of everything,
roba everybody, and club» and «hoots everything A
that even chirp» In protest. The city hall 1» the
neat of these robbers City official», Including the Fred C. Denton Puncture« H i « A r t n i -
Mayor, are tools of the piratea that long ago throt
t
“
tied the city, and have been bolding It up ever ! ments for Constitutional Convention
since, until Its pockets are empty and Win Penn,
surmounting the robber»' roost, has turned black iu
Recently C. N McArthur, the champion of the
the face.
proposed constltutlon-vl convention, »rote to the
And this state of affairs exists with the sanction Albany Democrat in defense of bis pet project. He
and approval of the working class. Without that, claimed that the act authorizing the convention
this disgraceful and shocking debauchery could not provided for the submission to the people of the
last an hour.
constiution It might draft.
He declared he had
At this writing the streetcar strike Is about secured a long list of authorities .supporting his
over, 1 believe
It was re-enforced by organised contention that sach a constitution roust be snb-
latsyr of the city. In that situation the working milted. He further claimed (hat our present ini-
class should have acted as one, and every worker i dative had been abused, and that the convention
should have thrown down his tools and paralyzed would remedy these abuses and bring the funda-
plutocratic Philadelphia. Just 24 hours of paralysis mental law of Oregon up to date, It » , very ably
would have effected a miraculous change.
¿p-osented, and deftly worded.
The economic and political solidarity of the
However, Fred C. Denton, a well known and
workers of Philadelphia Is sadly wanting, ami Its
»nappy writer on progressive subject«, come» back
lack
Is
woefully
In
evidence,
if
ever
there
was
a
The Building Trades unions of Portland are
In the Democrat with a reply that will be hard to
Yell organized, and are conservative iu proportion lee son teught workers. It is the lesson of lidustrlal get away from. It is as follow«:
unionism versus craft unionism and the Socialist
to their strength.
Editor Democrat In a recent issue C. N. Me
pa-ty versus capitalist party, namely, Republican
The streugtb tn the Building Trades Council la
and Democratic party, now being taught to the Arthur calls ateintion to the fact that the law pro
largely due to the excellent form of organization oi
of the constitution which
workers of robbed and rotten Pnlladelphla. Port- „ vtoes for t i e submission
.
might formulate.
formulate. That
That Is the trick
the building trades department of the A. F. of J-., land worker, take heed and study your own mate ¡a convention ">'«»*t
of whloh the local council Is one ot the require
¡of the game, the firm ace, so to «peak C. N. Mc
rial welfare.
O. GETR1CH. Local fcos.
ments of the national laws.
Arthur way have a long Hat of decisions sufficient
to fill several volumes, but here Is one that equals
Experience hag taught labor to act oqly alter
thorough counsel among themselves and with their E U G E N E ITEMS A N D COM M ENT all he may have compiled.
employers.
As a result, each building trades
"In 1801 the legislature of Virginia called a con
Eugene Union Advocate.
stitutional convention and provided that the consti
union Is required to hold membership In the local
In Eugene the absence of the eight-hour dav
tution thus dra *n should be submitted to the people.
council, and to abide by the w ill of the council.
bar cost the city the presence of many finished
Today each Individual union la required to uc-ure
The people were suspicious because of the promul
mechanics, who, looking about and finding the day
the consent of the majority of all building trades |
’ T '" ! “6
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me
gation of the constitution of Delaware four or five
n* an<1 ,he P*y
short, promptly
moved on to where years before without submission to the people. They
unions before un Increase In wages or
>r , oi
OI iivr
aer charge
VIIU’-KA
— a
.
the hours of service were shorter and the remuner demanded from the candidates a sort of Statement
In working conditions can be asked from the em
ation gr« ater. This aud this alone is responsible
Number One. pledging the submlssln of tue new
ployers. Furthermore, no union is permitted to go
for the unusual percentage of genuine
wood constiution to the people.
on strike without content of the council.
butchers'' who in nine or ten hours, or even all
"The convention thus legally bound and faithfullv
The council in turn hat an executive committee, day. cannot do a day's work. The puerile whine
pledged drafted a constlutioo which pleased them
which deals with both union and employer where of “let well alone” does not suffice.
T he labore.-
a change In wages or conditions Is asked for. This ls worthy of his hire. If a house Is worUi (llMXl «to much that the governor was Instructed to pro
committee makes a thorough investigation aud re to build, don't try to rob the man behlud the ham claim It In force, and he proceeded to do so. The
ports the tame to the council before final action mer—and also his wife and "kiddie«"— that you supreme court of the state had presented to It all
the authorities McArthur knows anything about,
on the subject la taken.
may get It dowc for (875.
but decided that when a constitutional convention
In case of Impending difficulty, the council re
met it was the state Itself, and all Its acts not In
ports to the arbitration plan of the department,
Laugh with the union boys and be happy; scowl conflict with the United S ta t s constitution must
which la aa follows:
with the scabs and you scowl in sorrow.
stand.
The United States courts could not be
Each trade connected with the Building Trades
i approached to take It up. This game, with varin-
department is required to enter Into an agreement
Building promises to be plentiful In Eugene this
for a certain specified period with their employers summer, and union contractors promise to be "right it Ions, has been played In Delaware In 1897 Virginia
jin 1802, Konucky in 1880. Mississippi and 1 / ulsiana
In each locality covered by the Building Trades de- on the Job" from start to finish.
¡and many other states have adopted con,dilutions
pi. tire nt.
I without popular vote. Lawyers differ as to the
I. Should a dispute arise between the parties to
Where Ignorance is bliss, 'tls folly to be wise"
° ' " ' nLe" tJon• “ > override their Instructions
the agreement at any time, the grievance shall be certaluly must have been said by some mortal who
referred to a Joint board of arbitration to be cre tried to unionize the natives of the W illamette but IT HAS BEEN DONE R EPEA TED LY. With a
packed supreme court the promulgated, proclaimed
ated and maintained as follows:
Valley at some time or another.
¡new constitution would be forced upon the people of
5. Each trade under the Jurisdiction of the de-
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o?d ,her* W° ,1,d ***
way ,o
ln' ° th«
partn. nt shall appoint annually one member to
The bricklayers and masons will soon he arlth
S t,t®B courta
« would do the people
nerve upon the Joint board of arbitration, and each us again, and indications point to the fact that in
association of contractors tn each trade under the Eugene this sun.mer the number of mechanics em
Jurisdiction of thia department shall appoint an ployed In those lines will far exceed that of any
nually one member to serve on the Joint board of other previous season. Suffice to say that moat of
arbitration.
them will be "fair" men, too.
3« The appointees shell be required to create
and maintain a Joint board of arbitration, to whom
The Eugene Plumbers Union ha« a membership
shall be referred any dispute arising In the trades of upwards of thirty skilled mechanics and wo
i-
covered by this department, where the re p r e » /ta understand that there Is not one non-union plumber
tlvea of the trade Interested fall to agree on an In town. Which Indeed speaks exceedingly well for
adlustment.
that organlxatlon.
Long may they prosper; they
4. When the parties tn dispute have so failed, are a royal bunch aud Eugene ought to be proud
they shall promptly report such failure to the Joint of them.
board of arbitration, which must be convened Im
mediately thereafter and the case in dispute sub
The second big social given by the Carpenters
milled to the Joint board of arbitration.
In their hall last Thursday evening was a hummer.
8. There shall h e no cessation of work pend Brother H. and his assistant« certain'v know how
ing a reference ot such a dispute to the Joint board to make good coffee and the ladles who furnished
of arbitration, provided a meeting of the board the eatables certainly do know how to please the
w ill be convened not later than 48 hours after the palate. A lengthy program was rendered and a
dispute b»s arisen.
general good time was enjoyed by all present But
6. I t Is expressly understood that by and there Is Just one noticeable defect (7 j about these
through the creation of a Joint board of arbitration meetings of the laboring men of Eugene and tbelr
It shall be empowered to Insist upon an agreement families which we cannot refrain from commenting
being entered Into between employee and employ on. It Is the fact that no non-unionists seem to
ers hi each trade Interested. When these agree have an Inclination to attend the meetings. Wonder
ments are made >at the provisions shall be main If they are afraid they w ill be seduced? They nave
tained Inviolate, and that in the event of any trade been extended an Invitation to attend each and
or trades falling to enter Into an agreement. It Is every meeting held th is far. and their steadfast
distinctly understood to be within the power ot this refusal to be persuaded would lead one to uelleve
board of arbitration to prepare a form of agree that they must be ashamed of something or
ment as may appear In Judgment of the board to somebody.
be beet suited to the conditions of the trade in
volved, and this proposed agreement shall be de
J. L. Jenkins, a local printer, w ill forsake the
clared the Instrument of the Joint board of arbitra musty print shop and enter a more lucrative field
tion. and shall be recognised and lived up to with when he goes Into the poultry business near
the same faithfulness as though the trade Interested Euegene soon.
had created the same.
7. Should at any time a deadlock occur In the
Charles E. Barbour leaves today for Salem.where
Joint board of arbitration, or failure to agree upon he ha* accepted a liosition on the Dally Capital
a settlement of any dispute result, the joint board Journal
Mr. Barbour has held various positions
of arbitration ahall select an umpire under such of trust during almost two year« of continuous resi
conditions as they may decide upon, and the deci dence in Eugene, among which was the presidency
sions of the umpire shall be final and binding.
of Eugene Typographical Union No. 49d, and the'
8. For the failure of any disputant to recognize managing editorship of the Union Advocate
He
or abide by the decision rendered by the Joint has many warm friends In Eugene who w ill miss
hoard of arbitration, such penalty shall be Imposed him very much, but the Salem boy« profit by what
aa the Joint board of arbitration may decide.
we lo«e.
f . Should a local union refuse to recognise or
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abide by the decision reached, or to bear the pen
The defeat of the two professed enemies of
altv Imposed, then the International union of the organised labor In the city election serves to show
trade In dispute shall suspend or otherwise disci that a little active work on the part of laborers
pline such refractory local.
just before election sometimes amount« to a great
10. Should an employer refuse to abide by a deal, even though the majorities nrw not large.
decision rendered by the Joint board of arbitration,-
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or Itear the penalty Imposed for such refusal, the
la rg e r printing plants than all Eireene'a print-
trad* affected ahall have the right to take such shops combined have tried the expedient of adver
action as they may decide.
tising for "scab" and "rat" printers In time oi
trouble, and gone broke tn the end because they
could not procure competent assistance outside the
A Live Course of Lectures
Dr. Davidson Buchanan, the now well known ranks of the Typographical Union. If they would
progressive speaker In Portland, will deliver a stop to consider that only one printer out of every
ten is non-union, and that even this one w ill prob
series of lectures to the Fellowship league at the
ably Jolr when he become« competent or when the
Selllng-Hlrsch hall during May on economic topics.
opiiortunlty presents Itself, they might save them
He Is a man of wide experience and observation;
a traveler, thinker and only 70 years young. Because selves much time, trouble and expense by ceasing
of the deep Interest taken In these lectures the to look for nonunion printers and quit "biting off
their nose to spite their face.”
People'« Forum w ill meet with (he Fellowship
League during May, when Dr. Buchanan will bring
A w riter In the Bandon Recorder tells of a 180
up the following topics: For the entire month the
general subject will be "Evolution of Economic acre tract of timber that the stumpage yielded
Justice.” Sunday, May 1, the pau-tlcular subject w ill 117.000. The land Is still there. With the timber
be “Right Thought Unveiling Reality." Sunday, on IL that land was assessed for less than (8,000.
May 8. "A Commercial Prophecy Approaching Ful One company with nine million dollars' worth of
flllm ent.” May lf>, "Patriotism, True and False.” timber on a single tract, and presumably about
May 22, "Philosophy of Invention." May 28. "Search three millions in other tracts, pays on an assess
ing (or a Just Man.” Thinking men of all ranks ment ot a million and a half. Farm lands In culti
-and political or economic opinions should attend vation are assessed In some Instances twenty-five
this special economic course.
Dr. Buchanan is times as much as valuable timber lands adjoining.
studying conditions In Oregon, as he has elsewhere, Still, we are told there Is nothing wrong about our
by living amongst the people He has the fruits of tax laws, and our assessors and county court« are
a long life to give them; a life spent In gathering above reproach, and not to be criticised by the
knowledge and doing good ra.aer than accumulating workingmen or farmers.
ARBITRATION
AGREEMENT
TILT WITH C. N. McARTHUR
Plan Under Which Build
ing Trades Unions Work
With Employers
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No charges.
“Suggested" Servitude
(Oeorge R. Kirkpatrick.)
long time ago the mastors used to capture a
Kian'i body, amt by the use of armed guards used
to keep him Iu subjection. Later the masters dis
covered a means more simple and pleasant—they
decided to get hold of his mind.
All the Institutions are used In influencing the
minds of workers. Colleges, newspapers, churches
•—all are i.sed In the same way
They have sug
gested over and over again, millions and millions
of times to the producers to be meek, to be hum
ble, to he contented with poverty, to love their
master«. Being «uggested «o many times, they get
the habit and serve.
A
Philadelphia Conditions
Editor Labor Frees: The gang
a ty of Brotherly Love baa stolen
blind
Pirates on the high seas
•ays were not In the same clasa.
In control of the
the people stone
In tbelr palmiest
The Philadelphia
A correspondent In the Bandon Recorder calls
attention to the fact that the last legislature tacked |
the emergency clause— wt»h no emergency exist
ing—to the Port Commission law, gave authority of
taxation to an Irresponsible and unbonded port
commission, where such ports are formed, and
made openings for graft along several lines. This
Is sll true enough, and these difficulties and omis
sions may yet have to be made good by the Inltla
tlve. No taxing body In Oregon should be beyond
reach of the people.
Some very Intelligent and honeet tax reformers
waste considerable time and thought over the taxa
tion of notes and mortgages. I f they are taxed,
the borrower pays more Interest; If noL he pays
less Interest. The lender will dodge the taxes and
collect the Interest where he can. The borrower
can't help but pay the tax.
What time U It?
I don't know.
Isn't your watch going?
Worse than that It's gone-
!»ll)
good. In all probability, If they did get to the
United Slate» courts with a suit.
"Any material opposition of a revolutionary form
to the operation of such a constiution would be
quickly »quelch«d. Why take the chances '
"If McArthur Is of the opinion that the initiative
has been abused, why docs he not propose to the
people an Initiative amendment restricting Its oper
ation and remedying the abuses be vaguely refers taf
"The answer that moat people give to this query
Is that our honorable assistant governor does not
trust the people Why. then, should we trust him
in such an important matter?''
The growth of the Bast Side of -Portland excites
attention oi everybody who visile the metropolis
from time to time. The reason is, that the car
lines cany people to the suburbs for five cents
twice as far on the East Side aa on the West Side.
It costs 20 cents to go aa far north on the West
Side of the river as It does south and east on the
East Side for five cents. Lines of the Oregon Elec
tric and the United Electric do not transfer to the
other parts of the city, and It has been proved
times without number that population seeks the
cheapest outlet
In doing so it creates land values
in the wilderness; but pigheaded managers of suit
urban lines on the West Side of the city refuse to
realise that cheap fares make profits and high
fares make deficits.
It Is proposed to carve a county seat out of
Douglas and Lane, with Florence as the county
seat. The name will probably be Bluslaw. It will
have six million dollars' worth of property cm the
assessment roll, according to present assessments.
It could now easily double, or triple, that by as-
»easing timber at ninety per cent of the real
value. W ith the amendment of the People's Pro
gressive Government League adopted, It could be
run for a very small sum on a business basts aud
save in traveling expenses alone all it would coat.
Magazine articles are given wide circulation now
with causes of high prices set forth in very wise
appearing paragraphs. Nearly all of them utterly
Ignore the effect of land monopoly in high prices;
and yet the price« for land have more than doubled
within the last -tecade. and labor has to first pay
this before It eats, drinks or wears.
The poor
liability laws
will continue
army, unless
Liability law,
maimed and helpless victims of our
will die In a 'ew years. Each year
to add its quota to the sad little
the people vote for the Employers*
now proposed by organized labor.
When counties, cities and districts take to build
ing trolley lines of their own, and proceed to
Improve the water ways that railroad lobbies in
Congress hold back from development, the trans
portatlon trust will collapse, and not before.
Advertisers, Reflect Upon This
“Printer’s Ink,” the recognized authority on adver
tising, after a thorough investigation on this subject,
says:
“A labor paper is a far better advertising
medium than any ordinary newspaper in comparison
with circulation, A labor paper, for example, having
2000 subscribers is of more value to the business
men who advertise in it than an ordinary paper with
12,000 subscribers.”
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riches.
T H U R Ä D /V , A PRÎT,
Protzman - Campbel!
Shoe Co.
146 FIFTH STREET
P H O N E : M AIN 1 6 2 3
W e h ave recently received
1032 pairs of M en’s L ow
Shoes for sum m er. All the
latest styles, tan and black,
and all the new and nobby
lasts. All are union m ade