508. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker (IBEW)

8/3/2019 508. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker (IBEW)

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TOOLS

FO R

Electr ical WorkersAS WELL AS EVERYBODY ELSE.

SPLICERS PLIERS CLIMBERS

LOUIS ERNST & SONS,129 MAIN STREET. EAST.

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK AM

I f you believe in C o m b i n a t i ~ f Laborask your dealer for this line of Women'sBoots and Low Sh o e s = ==


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- - - - 75he - -ELECTRICAL WORKER

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONALBROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL W O ~ E R S .

\Entered at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., as $econd-class matter.VOL. III. No. 5. WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH,1903"

Single copies, 10 cents$1 per year in advance

LOOKING BACKWARD.In ou r everyday talk about electric dyna

mos an d motors, how many of your readerscan tell in what year an electric mo tor wasshown by which power enough was given to. propel a car in which one or more personscould ride? ' ,In 1847 Moses G. Farmer gave an illustrated lecture on electricity. One of hi sillustrations was a track, about sixteeninches wide arouna. th e hall, upon whichli e showed a small car, about two feet long,eighteen inches wide and one foot high, onwhich was mounted a motor, th e armatureof which was connected to on e axle of th ecar, by bevel gear. This motor car , wascoupled to another, somewhat larger, having two seats facing each other, on whichMr. Farmer putfour children an d let them,ride around the room. Th e current to'sup

motor and th e Jacobs motor were introducedWhile the Henry electric engine was of areciprocating type an d of very small power,those of 1839 were very similar t


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7 ' .A Ir .... :2

I'- ......THlt nLnCTRICAL WORiltRTHE CAUSE OF HARD TIMES.

There is an over-production of cotton,An over-production of 'corn ;Too much of everything is grown,Too many people born;A surplus yield of wheat and bread,

Of potatoes, oats and rye,Hog and hominy, ham and eggs,

And home-made pumpkin pie.Too much to eat, too much to wear,

An d cattle on too many hills;Too many agricultural tools,Too many plows and drills.

There's a surplus now'of clothing,Of every grade an d kind,Too many books and papers,Too much of thought an d mind.

roo many men to do th e work,Too many woroatl to weep;

1\IIore daylight than p ~ G l p l e n ~ e d , Too m u c l : : i ' n 1 g h ~ for sleep.

If benedicts a surplus,An over-supply of wives;:0 0 l'J.any buds and blossoms,' M ~ r e bees than there are hives.

More sunshine and more shadowThan is needed for th e dell ;

An over-production of gravestones,More coffins than we can sell ;An over-production of ignorance,A sight too many schools;

Too many poor, too many rich,

On the other hand, th e money changer isever on th e lookout for opportunities to invest hi s holdings, so that in a comparatively short t i m ~ he will have two dollarswhere he had one, and all this without producing one penny's worth.

So long as men of wealth proceed withinth e limits of th e l a ~ none can say themnay, an d i f they always kept within legallimits none would protest against theiractions, but at this day and date th e old cryof the "survival of th e fittest II greets oneon every hand, and were al l men to proceedstrictly along th e lines of tha' slogan th eentire human race would ere long be re duced to a state of' absolute savagry.

Labor unions are for making conditionsthat will, in a great measure, eliminate selfishness an d create a brotherhood supportin g one another in sickness, health and oldage.Capital, on th e other hand, is continuallyclashing, ever scheming to overcome rivals,forcing them to the wall-oankruptcythus making the survivor and stronger themaster of th e situation, to c o n t r o ~ th e fieldand lay tribute upon th e consumer, compelling all th e people to contribute to th eextortionate victor, or starve, freeze, an d gonaked.

This may seem like a strong statement,bu t when OIie stops to .reflect upon' th eactions, during th e past year, of th e beeftrust; th e coal-oil trust and th e coal trust,


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TH E BLBCTR.ICAL WORKER. 3. of thousandsof God's noblest creation

Uves that great blot from th e escutcheonto erase -of this fair land.N is it reasonable to suppose that th eow, . t bression on the part of trusts IS 0 eo ~ ~ out during one session of th e law

::aking power of this country? Not much I. 11y since one of th e barons has de-Sspecla . . h G dctared himself in a partnershIp WIt 0Almighty. Le t th e modern h B e d l s h a . z ~ , while he yet has time, read th e an wrltln.gth Wall "The voice of the people ISon e , .th Ice of God," or the day of reckonInge vo . . d fi d'1II&Y overtake him an d hIS k In , n In gthem unprepared an d without an ark tonavigate the troublous seas.

Optimistic, yes; optimistic is th e view ofth great mass of th e producersof this landofeplenty, that a peaceful solution will beeYolved to settle this great and vexed problem that noW confronts th e people.

JOHN B. DICKMAN.iElULTANT EVILS 11'1 INCORPORATION OFTRADES UNIONS.

BY HON. C. S. nARROW OF' CHICAGO,CIder Counsel for the United Mine Workers Before

the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission.The demand for th e incorporation oftrades unions is th e last bench of those whooppose organized labor. !t is impudent andpresumptuous. No friend of trade unionismeyer believed in it or advocated it or called

demand for incorporation for th e purpose ofdestroying them indirectly. Th e demandthat trades unions should be incorporatedis based upon th e assumption that theyshould be made legally responsible for contracts. I t is made by a class of men whohave persistently refused to contract withthem or to have anything to do with them,except to oppose an d vilify them.

When th e public reaches th e stage of consenting to their existence then it shouldalso recognize the right to manage theirow n affairs for themselves. The enemiesof trade unionism have no r ight-in decency-to prescribe rules an d conditions fortrades unions to accept. I f workingmenhave th e right to organize, it is for theman d their friends to provide th e methods fortheir organization an d for their work. .

Th e great combinations of capital thathave taken the form of corporate existencehave done this primarily to escape personalresponsibility an d reliability. When profitswere to be divided, they went to th e stockkolders. When liabilities were incurred,they were those of th e corporation, an d th estockkolders escaped responsibility. Th egreat corporations hire their lawyers by th eyear. They, of course, deal anly in highpriced lawyers, who are trained in al l th esubtleties of th e law. Their salaries arepaid regardless of th e amount of s e r v i c ~ they contribute to their employers. I tcosts th e corporation nothing to be constantly in court. There is nofa single labor


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4 THE ELECTRICAL WORKERplications would be made for receiverships,an d these receiverships, according to th eusages of th e courts, would be appointed byth e parties interested in th e collection ofjudgments and redress decreed by th ecourts, and th e result would be that th elabor organizations would be controlled andowned by th e employers, an d fo r their ownbenefit.

In this way th e employers and combinations of capital would easily accomplish~ h a t they have all along sought to do: thatis , they would control their own businessand the business of organized labor, too.

Th e demands of capitalists for th e incorporation of labor unions would exactlyparallel th e demand of a body of atheists tofix th e rules governing th e Christian churchor for th e Democratic party to dictate thepolicy of th e Republican party.

Ho w th e labor organizations shall managetheir 'bwn affairs is not the business of th ecorporations or the employers. This newdemand for th e incorporation of laborunions is not only unjust and unreasonable,but it is impudent an d insulting to th e lastdegree.

ST. PETER AND THE SCAB.St . Peter stood guard at th e golden gate,With solemn mien and air sedate,When up at the top of th e golden stairA shrouded figure, ascended there,

"So, good St . Peter, you'll clearly seeThat the gate of Heaven is open to me.Here's the company's letter of recommendWhich I hope you'll read before you send 'For the angel guide to the throne of grace-_I t might gain fo r me a higher place.You'll find I was always content to liveOn whatever the compan y agreed to give. And I ought to ge t a large rewardFo r never owning a union card.I've never grumbled, I've never struck,I've neTer mixed with union truck;But I must be going, my way to win,So open, St. Peter, and le t me in,"St . Peter sa t an d stroked hi s s taffDespite hi s high office, he ha d to laugb,Said he, with a fiery gleam in hi s eye," Who is tending this gate, sir, you or I?I've heard of you and your gift of ~ a b ; You are what is known on earth as a scab."Thereupon he rose in his stature tallAnd pressed a button upon the wall,And said to the im p who answered th e bell,"Escort this fellow around to Hell... Tell Satan to give hi m a seat alone,On a red-hot griddle up near th e throne.But stay, e'en the Devil can't stand the

smellOf a cooking scab on a griddle in Hell.I t would cause a revolt, a strike, I know,I f I sent you down to the imps below.


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tion to it . And he very often gets there, isreinstated and th e employer has ju;t a littlemore respect for hi m than th e other fellowwho will submit.

The knocker is th e ma n that as a usualthing has a pretty good job, works al l thetime he can, very seldom attends th e meetings of organization, don't think thingsare run properly, makes adverse commentson the report of every committee (he coulddo th e work better), bu t wilt' never serve ona committee that is compelled to interviewth e bosses. He pays his dues under protest, suffers small in fractionsof th e rules ofhis union, don't believe in being too aggressive (because he might lose his job), plodsalong on th e goodness produced by othersan d accumulates a whole lo t of things bu tth e respect of hi s fellowmen, an d finallydies and gets his benefits that he never,worked for.

As between th e two, give us th e kickereverytime. He is th e man that will ge t outan d hustle to make an y movement fo r thebenefit of hi s fellowman a success, and hedon't ask an y odds from anybody. He willalways give his share to help a worthybrother ou t of work or wh o has sickness inhi s family, while th e knocker will give athousand excuses rather than give up adime. Don't be a knocker.

MISERY IN LONDON.

A.: St. John Adcock's Touching Poem on

Penniless, nothing to do,Empty cupboard and fireless grate,

Wives and kiddies a-hungering, too -Still for work should we idly wait,

5

Or march through the city, and, machingthrough

Beg fo r charity most of us hate?Trudge, t r u d g e ~ trudge!It were better to toil and drudgeThan go maching thus through the rain an d

sludge,Helpless under a curse so fell,Yet without music, and broken andboweu,

We marched through the West and its happier crowd,

March by th e doors of the rich and th eproud,

Haunting their heaven l,ike ghosts fronihell. .

Marching, a haggard brigade,Marching slow with a weary t r ead-It 's harder than work and poorer paid,

An d your alms can buy us hut bitterbread.

Do we look like shirkers cadging fo r aid?Then give us not money, but work in

stead.Tramp, tramp, t r a ~ p !Too glum for a mo b on th e ramp,An d if idler, wastrel, trickster, or scampPlods in ou r gloomy ranks at ease,Nor cares whence the scraps comes, so's that

he dines,Hi s ways are not ours though he walks in


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, 1 . , ~ . ~ ~ ," ;"4:- . ;

6 THE ELECTRICAL WORKER:"/. ~ ~ .

We march from the slums and the wharvesan d th e docks,

To rl?ttle a dirty collection box.An d be g for th e pence we would ratherearn.Will YOU DO YOUR DUTY?

" I decline," is a phrase that is often heardfrom a member who is nominated for an office in the union, or appointed upon a committee. "You decline what?" Do yo uknow what you are doing when you pipeout: " I decline?" Do yo u decline servingon 'some committee that is part of the ma ch inery, decline to help your union in thecapacity of an executive or administrativeofficer? Decline to perform any duty allotted to you by th e president? Yo u do!Then why? Do you not know that there

not another member that can do as wellor better than you, provided you do yourduty? Look at your constitution, look upth e points belonging to your duty in theposition yo u have been elected to, an d is i tno t your duty to do whatever you are appointerl to do by your president?

Every member has his part to perform.Your part, then, as th e true brother you

profess to be, is to do your share of unionwork. Come now, candidly, haven't yo ubeen resting on your oars long enough?

Just because some of the others are doingth e work an d seem to like it , is i t an yreason why you should allow or make themdo your part or share of the work, too? I fyou go to work you will enjoy i t as heartilyas they. I f you can no t get a chance to helppull th e oar of progress, then go behind andgive a long, strong an d steady push, an d erelong you will ~ a v e the consciousness ofhaving helped it on to victory.

When your president announces "Goodof th e union," be prepared to do something;do not sit with your hands folded, feetcrossed and your mouth closed during theentire meeting; do you expect to be perpetually fed, for i t is no one's special dutyto see to it that yo u are well entertained,when you will not even attempt to do anything. I f yo u will go to your union meetings an d be prepared to take some part thatwill interest others, you will become in terested yourself, an d will not consider yourunion meetings dull.

Under such circumstances they could notpossibly be dull, or prosy to yoU:. Do no tbe an iceberg in your union, fo r you willhave most of th e ice for your own share.Will yo u do your duty? Resolve then thatyou will never ask to be excused or declineto act well your part, unless you have goodreasons for declining.-Exchange.

Letters from Our Local Correspondents.


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/Tltn IttltCTRICAt wotUr1Ut '1

ease cal1ed locomotor ataxia, th e victimhaving no control over his nervous system orpedalextremities, tbus tb e victim goes staggering around any old place and an y oldtime. I t required the aid of tbe entire medical corps to keep them from staggeringback to work. But they were saved by ahypo of Doc Reading's invigorator, whichmade them feel like the following and looklike thirty cents: From the. view point of theprogress of society th e scab is an injury. Helacks every element which goes to make abero. His whole attitude is that of a sneakan d camp follower, of the man wh o robs th edead on the battle field,or attends a firefor th e sake of th e pickings. He contrib,.utes no element, either of personal honor,public spirit, or gook workmanship, an d

.adds nothing to th e forces which make fo rth e social betterment of anybody. There iseveryreson why honest, industriou s laborersshould despise the scab an d refuse to asso-at e with him. I t is an ethical im pulse toostracise him. As I said, th e good memberssaved them, an d there are none among us .We feel as staunch as the good ship thatlanded the pilgrim fathers upon th e solidrock.

Brother C. J. Reading is in Denver for th egoodof the 1. B. E. W. He will transfer toour local on his return.

Brother B. B. Flock, who is in Park Cityfor a short period, visited No. 57 Saturdayevening, and also transferred to th e ne wlocal.

brothers that are there now have to wade inth e mud, aswell as climb to great heights.The work seems to progress very slowly.No one seems at al l anxious as to th e t imein which to have their work completed.Work in the cit):' is improving, but veryslowly.

Our meetings; are very well attended, andi t is a pleasure to note th e sensible ideasexpressed by the majority of the brothers.An y subject brought up will have due consideration, an d th e eloquence of somewQuldbe a credit to legislative halls of nations.

I t is a painful duty to report the death ofon e of the old war horses in line of work,.Brother John Manley (old man John), whodied the night of th e third instant of Bright'sdisease, an d was bnried th e fifth. No. I wa srepresented by a committee of four, and anumber of th e brothers. The ceremonywas very impressive, and went to show howthe union will cement a friendly feelingthat will remain even after death..

I f Ed. Hanran is in the land of the livingBrother Paul Schlingmarinwould liKe tohave a letter from him.

Brother Harry Parks, president of ourlocal, met with ai l accident, whereby hemashed the great toe on his right foot.From th e way he used the gravel at the lastmeeting we suppose i t must have been painful, but not serious.

Brother Frank Kingsley is still doingwork at th e .world's fair grounds andsigning the pay roll. anyone can do i t


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-.-",THE ELltCTRICAt WORKERI f th e same harmony existed ill: th e I . B.

E. W. ,as in old No. I, we couldcarl'Y an ypoint within reason. Build up harmony,and our cause will be easy sailing.

Brother Frank Lockman is a prominentfigure' here at the present. He is just ashandsome as ever, even i f hi s hair is turning gray.

Brother Akers has been acting as assistantpress secretary, bu t owing to dearth in news,has tendered his resignation an d gone towork.

With kindly greeting to all brothe rs of I .B. E. W, from Local Union No. I, I remain,Yours fraternally,

BALDY.

Local Union No.2 .S-r. LOUIS, Mo., February 28, 1903. '

EDITOR EUC'l'RICAL WORKtR:. Line work is about normal. Line workat the world's fair does not. amount tomuch. Everything will be under ground,and still worse, some will be wireless.

Local No.2 pulled off four men who wereworking for th e World's Falr Company because' they r e f u s ~ d to pa y $4 per da y fo reight hQurs, which is ou r scale fo r World'sFair C0mpany's work. As I understand twoof these men are doing labor work, one leftleft th e city, and one is lookin& fo r a job,

Brother Price Evans has just completed aline for th e Kinloch Long Distance Telephone Company of Missouri, from St . Lbuisto 'Terre Haute, Ind. He took his men to

Tel. Company, $2.75 pe r day, eight hours:Kinloch Long Distance Tel. Company ofMissouri, $45 per month, te n hours; PostalTel. Company, $2.75 per day, eight hours;Western Union Tel. Company, $60 pe rmonth, te n hours in the city; St. LouisTransit Company, $2.75 pe r day, ten hours;St . Louis an d Suburban Railway Companypays the same. Tqis company lost sixtyfive cars and its ca r sheds by fire on thetwenty-fourth instant. The St. Louis fireand police alarm pays $3 pe r day, eighthours. The foremen of th e elecric lightcompanies, Bell Tel. CO!Dpanyand fire an dpolice alarm receive $3.50 pe r day. Troubleshooters for the same companies receive$3.25 per day, eight hours. Kinloch Tel.Company pay foreman $3,25 pe r day; strawbosses $3 pe r day, eight hours; troubleshooters, $65 pe r month. The Union Electric Light Company, th e two Kinloch Tel.Companies an d the Suburban Railway Company art: composed of th e same stockholders.

We had a severe sleet storm here on Sunday, February IS. I t did considerable damage to pole lines in and around St. Louis,bu t it is al l repaired now..Local No.2 received th e following traveling cards in th e month of February: CardNo. 3,715, Wm. H. Jackson, from Local No.50, of Bellville, Ill.; card No. (no llumber),R. C. Kingcade, from Local No. 18, ofKansas City, Mo.; card No. 26,791, A. G.Zachritz, from Local No. 193, of Springfield,Il1.; CArd No. 657, Wm, Cearey, from Local


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/ j "' .. ::1......I -,(" ' ; l . ~ ' ,THE ELECTRICAL WORKER -"-7-./ 9

agreed to do everything in their to powerai d in th e construction of th e hotel. At ameeting of representatives of al l the buildin g trades in the city they appointed a committee, who waited upon the board of directors, presenting a written agreemE'nt, promising that in consideration of their beingrecognized they would do everything intheir power to bring the building to speedycompletion.

A $4,000,1900 electric road, to run throughon e hundred and ninety-four miles in Missouri, is th e project which was charteredFebruary 9 at Tefferson City, under th ename of th e Missouri Central Railroad.Ultimately it is expected to connect St .Louis an d Kansas City with th e line. Permanent surveys have been made of the roadfrom Brookfield through Keytesville, Glasgow, Fayette, Columbia, Fulton, MineolaSprings, Ne w Florence and Troy to CuiverSprings, which, on an air line. is aboutthirty-two miles from St. Louis. As th ebird flies Glasgow is about th e nearest terminal to Kansas City th e distance being about-one hundred miles. Colonel W. H. Chase,of New York, is the- general manager of thecompany.

Th e King Electric Company was granteda forty-five year franchise by th e CountyCourt of St . Louis County February 9 toerect poles and string wires in St . LouisCqunty. This company's headqu arters areat Ferguson, Mo.

The County Court of Mobt!rly, Mo.,

Terre Haute, Ind. The work of construction will be commenced at once. JohnsonBrothers of St. Elmo, Ill., will have chargeof th e construction work.

Frafernally yours,

,AI.. UNOR,

Press Secretary pro tem.Local Union N 7.

SPRINGFmr.D, MASS., March I , 1903.EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:

Local NO.7 has been rather a silent member of th e literary club heretofore, but weexpect to be heard from once in a whilenow. Being ne w at the business I am rathergreen as yet, but hope to live and learn.

Business here is pretty good, and all thebrothers have been PFetty well employed allwinter, with fair prospects of a good, livelyspring and summer.

We have been having some rather livelymeetings lately in regard to th e fixture menhere, some of the firms here not beingunion. Indications now point to a successfn l issue, which will help some.

The building Trades Council held a smoketalk the other night. Some of the brothersattended and reported a good time.

-Brothers, each and every one should getal l workmen into th e nnion, not forgettingthe helpers, as soon as eligible, so as toearly instill into them union principles, thatthey ca n better be able to carryon the goodwork that has been begun by those who hav"egone before them. Every brother should


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10 THE ELECTRICAL WORKER .-:.,-

trouble with th e Pueblo Suburban, Tractionand Lighting Company than we 'expected,with th e assurance ef an increase ef 50 centsper da y for inside men, to. take effect enApril I , a n ~ with all our brotheI,"s workingand geed prespects fo r plenty ef werk inth e near future fer more men than we have,we feel that we have a great deal to rejeiceever.

At ou r last regular meeting a motion wasmade and carried to. instruct the press secretary to. write up one ef eur brethers, who.werked here steady fer some feur er usemonths and left fer Salt Lake witheut payin g his Ie cal board bill.

I feel different in th e matter than a majerity ef eu r members. I den't think thelecaleught to be used as a cellection agency,but my instructions are explicit, so here 'goes: Brether J. G. W., late memberef Lecal No.. 12, ne w ef Salt Lake, will takenetice that i f he wishes to. retain the respectef the members ef this lecal h e must immediately preceed to. liquidate certain justdebts contracted in Pueblo, and fer which Iunderstand seme ef th e brethers haveagreed to. stand geed.

Mr . Editor, I am sorry my last letter was.received teo late. After this I will writeth e first of each menth, and you can pUblishall of my letters, a pu t ef them er nene, asyo u think best.

Wishing yeuand all brethers th e best ofsuccess, I am

Yours fraternally,

in the ceu nty jail, and Brother H. Burnettion the eutside carrying the key; so. BretherLamm will ac t wisely i f he treats BretherBurnett with al l the ceurtesy pessible.

Brether_W. E. Skinner, ef No.. l8,.fermerly ef No.. 55, requests me to. as k i f No.. 55'spress secretary is asleep, er o.nly napping?

We initiated a ne w member last meeting.Brother A. Bickel the victim's name.

Brether Harry Martin requests me to. as kabout Brether Dinlette, ef Saratega, N. Y.,an d to. state that he (Brether Martin) is werking in Kansas City.

Weare getting aleng as smeethly as pessible. There is net much deing in the line ef 'werk, but we ar e a11 living. Brether JackTedhunter says" business is mighty geed,"but den't designate the line e f business.

I want to. say a werd abeuta man who.jeined th e Bretherheed last summer in Kansas City. Later he left Kansas City andteek Brether Slusher's everceat as he went.He was heard frem in Fert Scett, Kans.,where he berrewed what h e ceuld and leftthere fe r Wichita, Kan.s., where he get sickand depended en the beys there fe r aid. Theycemmunicated with No.. 18 at ence and, efcourse, that put th e ex-brether on the ' hummur," so. leek eut fe r him.

Weuld like to. say" hewdy " to. No.. 40. andBrethers Mandeville, Rush, Hubbard, Jenesan d R. Ceurtright. '

I den't knew anything ne w in KansasCity, so. will clese.

Fraternally yours,


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THE ELECTRICAL WORKERtogether in harmony, and aS'one man, bothat ou r meetings an d at th e ballot box, to ensure th e accomplishment of th e purposesand aims of labor organizations, viz: a morejust share of th e value of ou r labor, betterworking conditions, and a larger and broaderunderstanding of 6u r social, economic an dpolitical status as related to th e human racefrom every point of view, scientific, ethicalor religious.

Abraham Lincoln once said that he thought"God had a great work for th e commonpeople to do, else he would no t have madeso many," and he was glad he was one ofthem. He also saw th e present system' ofmonopoly that is fighting organized laborbyevery means possible, even to electing legislatures with th e votes of th e very labor organizati,ons whom they shoot down likedogs, when they choose to incite strikesafter refusing to arbitrate questions' involvin g life itself sometimes, in a land whoseboast is it s freedoUl an d liberiy. When willmen get their brains renovated of these oldcobwebs that stuck to their grandfathersand great-grandfathers an d are consequentlyconsidered good enough? ' .

I tell you, men, there is nothing goodenough when you can have better, whenyou realize that yo u are entitled to it , an dcan have it, by going about i t intelligentlyfo r yourselves; by choosing representativesfrom your own class, whose interests are th esame as yours. I f you want a thing done

necessities of life, or ever hope to? Don'tstudy socialism unless you want to get anidea as to how you might ge t a chance to bea man with some voice in these affairs in stead of a slave to your boss and your breadand butter. Wake up! Do your own thinking! Don't be led around on th e end of achain all your 1ives.

Local No. 24 is thinking seriously of tryin g fo r a nine hour day this spring, an dthere should be no trouble about getting i tat all, boys, i f you al l remember your obligations, as men, and especially as unionmen. Stick together, act like gentlemen,an d use every honorable means to accomplish what your are after.

Brother Benolkin was accidentally killedby a Great Northern train near Larimore re cently while in charge of a diVIsion theretemporarily, being rundown on his speeder.

Hoping that the 1. B. E. ,W. has only be gun the work that i t may accomplish, an dwishing on e an d ai l every success, l amfraternally an d cordiallyA. H. SEI,I,AR,

Press Secretary.Local Union No. 31.DUI,UTH, MINN., March 2, 1903.

EDITOR' ELECTRICAl. WORKER:Owing to being out of ' town a, good deal

this last month, I will be unagle to give anynews regarding our local tilli.t will be of verymuch interest to all concerned; therefore I


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.:.J .:' .:12 THE ELECTRICAL WORKERwe can go you 50 cents better. This is justa dig; throw it back at us if you can.Now I am going to preach again to ou rown boys.A boy gael out to fly hi s ne w kite.This kite he considers as the most preciousan d valuable property which he possesses.Why? Because he has take!! particularpains in making s a m ~ , an d his good workmanship is soon shown, when it is seen torise far above th e kites of his comrades.Does he after he has go t it well up in theai r give it to some other boy to hold? Notmuch, he would no t trust him with it . Doeshe tie it to a fence and go off and play marbles an d le t the kite take care of itself? No,he is watching that kite with the string inhi s hand; pulling in or letting out slack aswill best sliit th e flying of th e kite. .

Now, brothers, this union is nothing buta good example of th e boy and the kite. I fyou don't yourself keep a hold on the stringit is very liable to come down. This unionof ours is th e most prosperous union intown to-day. We have go t our kite toalmost the highest possible point, and now,it is the duty of every member to have, hold of th e string and see that i t is keptthere.

Three years ago to-day th e electrical firmswould tell us that they insisted upon thisand upon thaJ, but to-day they say, "W eagree to your scale ; whatis i t?" Howmanyhours pe r da y would you be working and

Local Union No . 35.MASSILLON, OHIO, March 4,1903'EDITOR EuC'tRlCAI. WORK:ER :

I t ha s alwaYil been an easy matter towatch effect, but no t so easy to discover th ecause. I t is no t so difficult to see th e adverse condition of th e laborer, or to recognize th e great advarttage of capital. .

Capital and labor are at antipodes. Th emulti-millionaire, in all his luxury an dpower, as well as th e laborer, with his pick. an d shovel, are l i n k ~ d together in on e greatuniversal brotherhood of humanity. I t istrue that th e difference in intellect is to beconsidered, but there is a cause for this. Auniversal law has been broken. A law thatwas, is an d always will be, an d as long as i tis broken, social chaos will continue. Thislaw is love-love begets equity; equityequalizes conditions. Th e law that governs business to-day seems to be based uponth e following evils: Selfishness, deception,avarice, greed, tyranny, or might againstright.

Organized labor was for the purpose ofprotection. I f true social conditions existedthere would be no organized labor or capital; organized capital is th e cause of organized labor. Let us go back to th e cause ofth e social condition, back to th e primitiveman, when the .races were divided intotribes; wild beasts roamed th e forests an dth e tribes were constantly at war with eachother. I t was not safe fo r man to till the

C"


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.. ,THE ELECTRICAL WORKER 13to serve seven more years fo r his chosenwife, bu t he got back on hi s father-in-lawwhen he scared his cattle an d caused th ecalves to become speckled, streaked andstripped; that must have been the beginning of th e beef trust. I t was so when theIsraelites were forced down into Egypt byfamine and became slaves to th e Egyptians .But a ma n who could persuade a Jew to workin a brickyard deserves some credit. It wasso at th e time of Nero, when men an dwomen were crucified an d fed to wild beaststo satisfy th e craving tyrant; a tyrant thatmade all his subjects slaves an d then burnedthem up . I t was so when Spain was thecenter of th e tyrannical center of th e populated earth; when me n true an d brave, atthe risk of their lives, started on an almosthopeless voyage to discover a new continent, where they could have freedom of .thought and be free from tyranny. I t wa sso when a handful of brave men of NewEngland defied th e power of England anddrafted the Constitution of the UnitedStates. I t was so when th e Boston te aparty, dressed like Indians, threw th e unfair tea into th e Atlantic Ocean. I f unionmen were as loyal to uni0n principles asour ancestors ou r work would be more ef fective. I t was so when the Spaniards introduced slavery into this Gountry, which,eventually, caused th e beautiful Ohio Riverto become th e bloody boundary line betweenth e North and South. It was so when Czolgosz, under th e pretense of friendly greet

yo u are reaping the henefits of the endeavorof your fellow workmen. Compare yourcondition with th e workingman of fiftyyears ago and then as k yourself th e quest ion: "What has unionism done fo r me an dmy family?" Let us look into the futurean d ask yourselves: "What other benefitscan I receive from organized labor?" Theanswer to t h i ~ question can be found inGalatians. 6 chapter, 7 verse: "Whatsoevera man s0weth that shall he also reap." Notruer words than these were ever written.I f yo u sow your seed judiciously in the fer-.tile fiela of unionism you shall indeedreap a rich an d bounteous harvest, whichwill bring you peace an d prosperity.

Let me ask you i f yo u ar e in the frontrank of this struggle? .I f yo u attend meetings you are. I want to impress upon youthe great importance an d necessity of at tending meetings. TI:e very existence ofyour union and al l that you. hold sacredaround your home life depends to a certainextent upon the mass meetings of yourlocal. I f you do no t attend the meetings ofyour local th e union will gradually disband,. and during the dull seasons we would fiudmen working under th e old system of wagesan d hours. attended with al l the evils fromwhich our brothers have emancipated themselves after a long and fierce struggle,which was accomplished by human sacrifices an d suffering, almost beyond imagination.

We desire to congratulate Brother Clark


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14 THE SLECTRICAL WORKERciation, an d every brother is requested tomake suggestions an d give us his aid in thi.sundertaking.

This time last year more than half ourmembers were loafing, bu t at th e presenttime we do no t know of anyone who is idle,an d that is saying a good deal for this timeof th e year. HARRY S. COYLE,

Press Secretary.

Local Union No . 53.HARRISBURG, PA., February 25,1903'EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:

We ar e bobbing up most serenely. LastTuesday evening we took in five new fixers,and last night four more, so you ca n see. thatold 53 has awakened up once more. Theyar e coming so fast we have to meet everyweek instead of every tw o ~ e e k s , to accommodate th e new rec.ruits, and we have nothought of giving up till we ge t al l th e fix-ers in this sections with us.

There is no t much doing here now, bu twhen spring opens up I ' expect to se e lotsof wo.rk. Th e new Paxtang Electric LightCompany will be ,building then, and th eUnited Tel. an d Tel. Cc;>mpany have aboutfour miles of cable to hang and considerablewire to string.

Hello, Jim Danner, where are yo u now?I f you se e this write to me; and JereO'Shea, (Uncle Dudley), i f you can't write,le t me know, and I will le t you down easy.

We voted unanimously. against changing

We hope yo u do not think that 59 ha s goneto sleep by not having heard from us thisyear. The fact of th e matter is BrotherSimons was elected to this office, but he ha sbeen so busy charging batteries at TylerStation that he could no t possibly write. Heha s also been experimenting with iron fil-ings while our worthy Brother M. A. Walshha s beim working 6n a patent boiler ex ploder. Of course you all know we have aneight hour rule, as well as a wage scale, butth e manager of th e Kinloch Tel. Co. heredoes not seem to be able to ge t it into hisgreat and neble head that such a thing ex ists, or rather does no t seem tc;> be inclinedto dQ so. We supposed that al l trouble withthat coffee mill t,elephone cOlllpany had beensettled, but it is about where we stap:ed th em,onthly scale, so th e inspectors there now,have no cards, but think that in th e courseof twenty-five o,r fifty years they will seeth e mistake they have l;I!ade and will, be inline of march or ready to get in line longbefore Labor Day p a r a d ~ . Let us h()pe soat any rate. We still have our worthy brother , Wm. D. McSorley, in th e president'schair of 59, and hope we may retain hi m atany rate for a few months more. I will saythat while telephone work is quite good herenow with the B. T. Co., I would not adviseanyone to come here just now looking forwork, unless they like to do th e looking an dno work, for there ar e plenty here now to fillth e bill. Hoping I have not taken up toomuch of your time ap,d s p ~ c e , I will hang up .


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;./THE ELECTRICAL WORKER IS

of th e brothers of 106 during th e month.They were on th e heavy en d of a couplepairs of toll lines for th e Union Tel. Co.Jamestown and Warren are now connected.This will give th e Home Co. in Jamestownan outlet to Ohio an d Northern Pa . 1 willbring this to a close as space in our paper istoo valuable to be used fo r anything butreal live news, so wishing success to all, Iam

Yours fraternally,C. D.

Press Secretary,

Local Union No. 69.DALLAS, TEX., March 3, T90 3

EDITOR E L ~ C ' t R l C A L WORnR:No. 69 is sti11living an d doing business ina business-like way- holding meetings everyweek, with a good attendance. I am gladto say that most of the members take a greatinterest in th e meetings, and that makes itencourging. That is the only way to dobusiness. I am very sorry to hear that 194has been having trouble, an d wish them

'success, an d that they ma y all be at workbefore this lej:ter .is published. We werevisited recently by Brothers Stormy Furgiso n and Kid Gillet, who told us about th eShreveport trouble. That was the first wehad heard about it. I will state that workhere is about th e same. but there will beplenty'to do before long, an d anyone headin g this wa y I would advise them to comeprepared with th e necessary documents, for

men. They will be some advantage to usI should think, an d if we come to businessright we shall do better by ourselves an dothers, too. Why. can't the boys in theSouth ge t th e wages an d th e hours that theNorthern an d Western countries get? Theyno t only do the same work, but they do moreof i t - longer hours an d less pay. I t is no taltogether the, fault of the company, bu t wew.ho dothe work must go fo r i t an.t see whatcan be done, or we must take some measures,and see what we,can do. Birmingham willhave some of this fo r a while, bu t i f al l th eforemen were like ours there would be nothing but the best of union men at work.When you ask hi m for work he asks you foryour card, an d that means-no card, no work.So we all join very heartily in thanks fo rhaving such a man to work for.

Well, Bill Schultz, I received your letteran d lost your address, an d wrote to you incare of the Lo s Angeles, but ,have no t received an answer; so send me your addressan d I will take better care of it .

We have a ,cable splicer here from LosAngeles-Brother George Hart. He camein the same day I received your letter.

Well, as it is late, and bed time, I Will pullthe switch and cut ou t th e old grounded circuit. -Wishing al l th e greatest of success, I re main Fraternally yours,

C. J. S'tROUD,Press Secretary.


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I

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I .\/, ; .... ;,:.16 THE ELECTRICAL WORKER ' ! "at L'l Salle, bu t have not met them at th emeeting yet. Come out, boys ; 'we won'thurt you; glad to have you with us .Things are on th e quiet here just now,but will open up in th e spring. The C. U.Tel. Company is going to rebuild and th estreet car eompany is going ahead withtheir work, an d I think that we will have an 'independent telephon e company here. Thecity is to ' enlarge their power plant. Igues!\ there will be something doing herethen an d al l of th e boys will be taken care of.

Will stop before I get crossed up with an -other line and avoid further trouble. .

Fraternally yours, O. L. P. ,Press Secretary;

,Local Union No. 102.P A ~ E R S O N , N. J., March S, 1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:I think I have remained silent long enoughto have given yo u al l a chance to have your

letters published. I therefore will .beg oureditor for a little space in this month'sWorker, so yo u may know we ar e still ondeck.

We have al l th e work we can handle atpresent, but regret we can not extend travelin g brothers an invitation here with promises of plenty of work.Our bi g sister, Local NO.3, of Ne w York,caused us some inconvenience in th e latterpart of month just past by sending men hereand they refusing to deposit traveling cards

courtesy two-fold, an d from ou r narrowviewpoint we think her late action "notproper."We feel as though we but maintained theright our charter grants us in th e action wetook, and regret that our big neighbor showssuch improper conduct in this matter.

We have another ,issue at hand, this beinga contractors' assotiation, composed of thecity's three leading contractors, which promises to make things interesting fo r us beforeou r 1903 agreement is signed. In th e earlierdays of this local's career we found i t prudent to accept al l Il-pplicants fo r membership, consequently some two or three of th ebrothers are contractors, an d these we ar e

"haviilg a hitch over with' the association.We can not force these brothers out nor as kthem to resign, as they have very forciblymade known their intentions to th e contrary -when this subject was broached tothem. While no official notification has beenreceived from the association, interviewswith some of the members are to th e effectthat they will no t ent,ertain our agreementuntil these members have been disposed of.

Thinking I have already written the limitfor th e month's issue, I begto remain;

'Fraternally yours,E. A. B E N E D E ~ ~ I ,

Press Secretary.Local Union No. 103.B O S ~ O N , MASS., March 3, 1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:

,

..


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THE ELECTRICAL WORKER 17complication set in. He has been particu-larly unfortunate lately in having sicknessalm03t continuously in his family for th epast year, an d this, coming as a climax,gives him th e sympathy of th e entire com-munity'of Boston, where he is well and favorably known.

Th e name of our. business agent is Ever-.ett T. Mallory. I, . .for one, believe th ename of the business agent should be published in th e directory, for inasmuch as theelectrical worker is a migratory cuss, th efirst ma n that he naturally wants to see instriking a new town is the business agent,av d how much better fo r all concerned i f hecould dig his directory out an d find th e bus-iness agent at once, for we ' want to keep aline on al l th e floaters.I wish to call the ' attention of al l th ebrothers to th e letter from Loca-l No. 180,in th e February Worker, as it covers a sub-

. ject that is worthy of serious consideration.W. E. POOLE,Press Secretary.

Local Union No. 114.TORON'tO, CANADA, March 2, 1903.

EDITOR ELEC'l'RICAL WORKER:I t is a difficult matter to find anything to

write about, but do not want to be behindth e times. Things are getting along prettywell; we have affiliated with District Trade'sCouncil, . an d i t is very encouraging toattend their meetings. Local No. II4claims th e conduit here in Toronto, an d

but there may be. when warm weathercomes.

This local thinks like a few others doabout this business of . changing the nextconvention from Salt Lake City. We wouldsay "no," leave i t where it is now, althoughit will cost us more to send a delegate to No.57; but we al l think here that we should doas we w o ~ l d lik'e to be done byI am going to say a few words in regard tothe difference in locals charging a mem1;lerthat has to leave his home and go to someother town for a "job. When he .comes tojoin a local union with a good card, andprobably he has carried the"goods as long,or longer, than half of th e brothers in th elocal he wishes to join, and then this localwill say: "Yeiu will have to pay us $ro, filSor $25 before you can work here; we havebeen on a strike here and i t costs th e broth-ers here a lo t of money," never thinkingthat maybe the brother has been in a strikehimself, an d has a family to support an d ha dto leave hi s home town fo r a job. I f thisis what th e 1. B. E. W. is intended for an dstays that way, I think that it is rotten. Itshows very plainly that the locals do not dowhat they claim they are for. The union isto help the members of our Brotherhood andnot that kind of stuff. I f this is no t forminga trust of the boldest kind I would like toknow what it is ?Linemen here get $2.75 for a day's work,and that is eight hours, an d if some floatercomes in here and can geta job and has any


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THE ELECTRICAL WORKERglorious time here, and probably that ha sbeen partly the excuse for no t 'having ourletter in .We had at ou r last meeting nearly a fullattendance, and entered two more memberson ou r roll, and they now feel more able towork thau before, knowing they have thebrothers with them to help them along.

We celebrated our third annual "A tHome" and after a most sumptuous repast,had some very flourishing remarks from ou rpresiden , financial secretary, an d Mr.Thomas Robson, who enlightened our understandingc9nsiderably. Representativesfrom the printers, cigar makers, musical,an d local me n were with us, an d altogetherwe enjoyed a pleasant evening.

Work is about th e same as usual-nothingstartling, but yet enough to keep us going.Th e boys are al l well and all join in withbest wishes to the brothers of th e 1. B. E. W.

Fraternally yours, DICK,Press SecretarY.

Local Union No. 126.LI't'tL1l: ROCK, ARK., March 4, 1903.

EDItOR ELEctRICAl, WORKR :As ou r press secretary comes up with theusual excuse "too much busine'ss, can'twrite," I thought I would drop a few linesto ou r j o u r ~ a l .

Work is very sla-::k here at present; thatis , for union men. Local 12 6 is still trying

other places, an d for that reason sh e strikeback at th e smaller locals.

Now, getting back to th e gang we madeunion men of. The company transferndth e asssstant foreman to another branch,an d in his place appointed on e of the mostnortorious "scabs" in this part of th e country, knowing this would be th e surest wayof getting rid of the union men. Just assoon as "scabby" made th e second move,toward giving orders, th e gang quit, to aman. Now th e climax is reached by th ecompany laying off all the union men undertheir other foremen,' leaving us tw o cardmen working fo r the Bell on th e toll line,an d their heads ma y be knocked off beforenight.

Local 126 is taking in th e boys as fast asthey come to town, an d yet can't keep upup with, the decrease, as they get out ofwork and float to other points.

So , brothers, if you are contemplating achange, I would, advise yo u not to drop inLittle Rock unless yo u wish to work withan d fo r scabs, as that's al l we have left.

Hoping our press secretary can give youbetter ,news next month, and wishing allth e boys success, I will ring 'off.

Yours, fraternally,THos. M. KELLY,

President.Local Union No. 137.ALBANY, N. Y. , M a r c ~ 2,1903'

EDItOR ELEctRICAL WORKER:

.'"


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"'.

THE ELECTRICAL WORKERwas held on Thursday afternoon, February26, and was largely attended, Local No. 137being well represented.

Brother Dan McCarthy is home nursing asprained wrist, an d recovering from a genera l shaking up, he having fallen from a treeth e same day that Brother Carr did. Therewere two others that had falls on that day,but I did no t ge t their names.

A slight disagreement took place betweenth e telephone company an d it s employeeson th e twenty-first of February over .Wash-ington's birthday. That being a legal holidayth e me n demanded time and a half, as pe ragreement. an d which, 1 understand, th ecompany finally agreed to give.

Work is very slow in this vicinity, an dhas been for some time., The Home Telephohe C o m p a ~ y o f Cohoeswill open up for business before many days.

As I expect to leave for other parts, I regret to say that this will be my last letter toour Worker as press secretary of No. 137. I thas been a great pleasure to have ha d th eopportunity of holding the above office. an dhope that my successor will find it th esame.

Fraternany yours..F. E. GROSSMANN,

Press Secretary.Local Union No. 144.

WICHITA, KANSAS, March 2,1903'

Welcome him, boys, wherever yo u meethim.

Brother Shipley has weighed anchor andsailed for parts unknown.

Since my last letter we rode Brother H.M. Jennings on th e goat. He is a man wellposted in hi s business, and will doubtlessprove a credit to ~ h e organization of whichhe has become a member.

Some of the union men of ou r city ar every much interested in th e coming election. Everythi'ng from th e mayor on downis to be elected. Weare expecting somehot times, but we are able to stand the storm.Of course, our man will be elected. So weare resting easy.

Business generally is good, th e outlookfair, an d th e conditions favorable.

Well, I must stop for th e present, so willclose by calling your attention to our worthybusiness agent, Brother J. W. Taylor. Weoften have occasion to pity him. He is continually looking after something ill th e in terest of th e cause, and in some instancesha s been placed in rather a hard position,but he is an old war horse in th e business.and, therefore, on to th e tricks of th e trade.

I will tr y to come again next month. Forth e present will dead end.

I am in the causeFraternally yours,E. S. CRIPPEN,

Press Secretary.


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1 j/":',:, ...// t - r' ,./20 THE ELECTRICAL WORKERth e green goods pass through h ~ r e they ma ybe sure of a warm welcome and a goodmeal.

With best wishes to all members of th e1. B. E. W., I remain,Fraternally yours,

CARL A. PINYERD,Press Secretary.

Local Union No. 154.ROCK ISLAND, ILL., March 3, 1903.

EDItOR ELEctRICAL WORKER:As i t is time fo r our little news to th e journal, I will say that local 154 is doing a goodbusiness at present. We have four applications for our next meeting, and there is noone working that ha s not the green goods.We have two or three members ou t of workat present, but expect them to go to worksoon. I would no t advise any member tocome this way, as th e work is about to closehere.I will close for this time. GQod luck toal l of th e brothers.

Fraternally yours,A.C. S. ,

Press Secretary.

Local Union No . 155.OKLAHOMA CITY, March 1,1903.

EDItOR ELEctRICAL WORKER:As Brother Ireland has gone I was appointed \0 ac t as press secretary, and as this is

will tr y an d have a press secretary electedby next time who can give yo u more news.

Fraternally yours,MARVIN THOMPSON.Local Union No. 156.

FORT WORTH, TEX., Feb. 26,1903.EDItOR' ELEctRICAL WORKER:

Some of ou r brothers will say "what hasbecome of 156; there ha s not been a letterin th e last two Workers?" They wouldfind a lively corpse if they came to oursmoker. Everyone ha d a good time . BrotherW. Perry, the State organizer of Texas,came from Dallas visiting, an d made a goodspiel to the boys. We had everyone invitedthat wears a pair of spurs, but there ar emany lost sheep we would like to se e inou r local again.

Ou r charter ha s been open for a month,and we added several ne w members to ou rlocal. We established a mealticket systemfor th e floating brothers with th e paid upcard.

The Ft. Worth Telephone & TelegraphCompany is stringing some cable, an d a fewfloaters g ot work. We had a sleet storm,and everyone that came here got a job.

The. Independent Telephone Co. is waitin g for poles and material.

Inside work is quiet an d th e sa):ne withthe electric light companies.B r o t h ~ r Anderson has been sick, an d is

just getting well. Brother Ben D. Tyson


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'I'liE ELECTRICAL WORKER 21will entice th e brothers from their ow n fire-side.

Work is a little better here now. TheTri-State Telephone Co. ha s sold ou t to aFayette county syndicate, an d th e new company will improve th e system an d connectup with Pittsburg. Charley Berg is theirmanager: and W. P. Franks.is hunting thecrosses for th e new company;

The Fullman Electrical Co., of Pittsburg,Pa., h3.s th e contract for w"iring th e newhospital. Brother McDonald an d BrotherEmery are working there, bu t anybody going there to work has to have th e greengoods.

We have received by card John Dalton,No. 195 of Marietta, Ohio; Brother H. F.Schockey, of No. 14, Pittsburg, and Brother'Ed. Ray, No. 289, of Hagerstown, Md.

One ne w light was added at our last meeting, and we have three applicants for th enext.

The Pittsburg, McKeesport & Connellsville Railway Co. are having their poles distributed for their high tension line to Connellsville:

At this writing we have on e brother onthe sick list. "Fraternally yours, "

J. D. RIFFI.E,Press Secretary,

Local Union No. 162.

form scale the world over. Did some on esay, "Come out of it?"

Indianapolis, I am ashamed of you;really an d truly I am. You are old eno)lghto know better, and hope you will withdrawfrom your proposition. You will, at least,not get our support. Salt Lake this year,with the G e n e r ~ Office in Omaha fo r th eensuing term.

Work in this locality looks bright fo rApril, with three independents in view;th e Postal with material on the ground, andth e T. H. with considerable work in sight.

To al l 'old Omaha men, I will say thatthere is a fighting chance of getting an opposition telephone in Omaha, an d possiblya light.

Kid Williams give me your address.This being al l fo r th e present I will ring

off and promise to call up again the first ofmonth.

E. J. STARK,Press Secretary.

Local Union No . 167.PITTSFIED, MASS., March 3, 1903.

EDITOR ELEC'rRICAL WORKER: . "As I have been e l e c ~ e d press secretary fo r

Local Union No. 167 I will try and do myduty an d I hope all th e brothers will do th esame. As this is my first letter to theWorker I hope yo u will excuse all mistakes.

We organized our union in Pittsfield,Mass., August 27, 1902, an d received ou r


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month, although the Stanley Electricale()mpany report that from th e manner inwhich th e company is receiving orders fo rth e past week that more building s will beneeded just as soon as they can be put up .Th e company thought that with the completion of th e two big shops on th e Peckproperty, which th e company owns on Beaver street, there would be no demand formore room for some time to come. I t issaid that early next month ground will bebroken for more shops and that they willbe hurried to completion just as fast as alarge force of men can do it .

Scarcely a day passes bu t large shipmentsare made from th e Stanley company's shopsof quantities of long distance transmissionand street railway machinery to differentparts of th e country.. Never, in th e histo.ry of Pittsfield, ha sthere been a better understanding betweenlabor and capital. Bu t little friction hasoccurred of late and everybody seems fullysatisfied with th e wages and the hours otlabor.',fhe carpenters' union has issued a newcode for th e contractors to sign, which wascirculated th e other day. The hoursoflaborremain th e same as last year and th e scaleof wages th e same-the carpenters receive$2.50 a day. A change is made regardingapprentices. Under th e old code th e contractors could have bu t one apprentice,while under th e new schedule there can be_one apprentice for every te n men employed,

permanent home fo r the boys, an d a placeto take our friends, also everything necessary to interest those who desire to becomeone of the boys. Ou r meetings are everyWednesday night in the Bricklayers Hall onCourt Square. Brothers happening in ou rtown come and see us ; we are all very goodfellows; nothing, selfish about us. Work isvery good here n'ow, an d will be better byApril I. There are t;wo companies here, th eW. Va. Western T. Co. and th e C. D. & P.Th e opposition company is rebuilding th etown and enlarging their plant from 900 to3,000. They are installing a 3,000 linecentral energy Stromberg Carlston board.Everything in th e exchange is to be new,even to th e operators. They have put inabout 40,000 ,feet underground and aerielcable, mostly. 200-pair, so we are lookingfo r a very bu'sy summer. Nearly everyelectrical worker in town has joined us , an dthose who are still ou t are asking manyquestions regarding the local union. Wehave on e candidate for Wednesday night.The town of Parkersburg is becoming wellorganized. Everything, even to the bellboys at th e hotels, are organizing. I willtr y to have something of more interest fo ryo u by the next writing, as ou r press secretary, W. C. Vaughn, was taken sick th e firstweek after we were organized, so we havebeen somewhat crippled, but Brother W. C.V. came ou t Monday with hi s hooks acrosshis shoulders and one of those same ol dsmiles.


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THE ELECTRICAL WORKERlooked after, an d i f no t true I . say this fellow should be punished. He is an insidema n an d worked for the Edison company. for 28 cents an hour, an d had th e nerve tocome here and want to pay up hi s card. Ofcourse, he said he was sorry, but that didn'tget'him anything.

He1lo, 197, I hope your trvuble with th eC. U. is settled in your favor. Good luck toyo u all.

Brother Fisher let us hear from you.There is nothing doing here at present;

in fact, everything is dead.Mark Hamm0nd and Brother Martindale,

where ar e you?As this is my first born I must not try to

take up al l th e room in th e Worker, so willground my pike.

Fraternally yours,H. ROBER'tSON,

Press Secretary.Local Union No. 198.DUBUQUE, IOWA, March I, 1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:As there has been no letter from 198 forsome time I will tr y tbe ink, although thesmell is nauseous. To begin with, work isslack here, an d prospects are no t promising,but we still hang on. Some of th e boys aregetting spring fever. Te.xas Stahl is goingto blow in a few days, as he heard 8. bluebird the other day. We would like tohear from Geo. Chunch,.Martin Cavok, JoeWolf, John Benkley, an d others. Kit Cleary

Local Union No. 208.MUSCA'tINE, IOWA, March I, 1903. .

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:Local No. 208 held one meeting in Febru

ary. No new initiations. MemberS wellcontented.

We are still in the grip of winter, an d dono t look fo r much new work before May.

The Miss. Valley Tel. Company recentlyreceived 8 ,000 feet of cable.

The Iowa Tel. Company will probablyput in underground work here this summer.

The Citizens' Railway an d Light Company expect to do some railway extension.

Only one union man out of employment.Fraternally yours, .

A. C. ADAMS,Press Secretary.

Local Union No. 212.CINCINNA.'tI, OHIO, February 26, 1903.EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:

I wa s elected too late for February numbe r so blow this in with March. Two yearsago we had no home in unionism, nobodywould recognize us, and, in fact, th e brother s who came bu r way would not troublethemselves to hunt us up . I f perchancewe saw one all we go t was" howdy" an d hewould disappear. The fact was ,w e wereworking for anything we could get . So th efloater would sympathize with us an d no tintrude on the little we were getting. Well,


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, (.' , I ; -_ .", l 'THE ELECTRICAL WORKER

a shame! We have three brothers of 13 4with us now-Bros. W. Beile, Geo. Hefnerand Olive Olson, which we thank yo u for, asthey are O. K.

Just now we have a small strike on in theE. M. Lawton shops. He belongs to th econtractors' association. We are waiting fo rhim to make'a move. Well, there is plenty

, of conduit work here and the future full ofit , bu t no gas fitters wanted. Brother Ma-loney th e man you mentioned had chargeof conduit work here. He laughed at uswhen we were fighting fo r it, and said wewere suckers an d could not win. He statedno t four months ago there were no conduitmen in Cincinnati. Electrical workers of' 12 , Clnti, are doing i t just th e same, withouthi s assistance. Tell him not to come herean


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. _ . . ~ ' . ; .... ' ' l . . ~ THE ELECTRICAL WO-.xERplace to stay away from. Hoping to hearsomething to report favorably in th e nearfuture, I conclude and remain

Fraternally yours,CHRIS BARKER,Press Secretary.

Local Union No . 216.OWENSBORO, KY., March 2, 1903.

FDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:As the time has come again for us to le tth e boya know how things in Owensboro aregetting along, I will just write a few linesto ou r valuable journal.

Well, things at th e present writing arevery good an d th e prospect for a busy yearwere never better. But, brother, don't f o r ~ ge t to have a paid up car


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"THE ELECTRICAL w o : t i l n t ~ we will be in Qur new one b ~ ~ o r e anothermonth has passed.

In th e December issue of th e Worker I,notice a letter from No. 31 in regard to abrother D;lember of No. I6r being sent ou twith th e militia to fight against th e unions,in which th e press secretary of No. 31 seemsto offer an excuse for him. I have a fewwords to say on that subject, as I have beenwatching th e Worker for something fromth e press secretaries of the other locals, butthey do no t seem to care to discuss th e subject. My opinions a ~ e brief an d to the point.Any man that will belong to th e State militiaand carry a union card is no t a true unionman. In my opinion, he carries the cardbecause-he has to, in order to hold his job,and no t because he has th e good of the unionat heart. In case of trouble th e first thingis call the militia. Who are they going tofight? Probably their own brothers, theycan no t tell. The militia is the worst foe toorganized labor. They are, in my opinon,worse than the scab, for the:scab will take aman's work, and when we talk to them th eboss calls ou t th e militia to commit murder.That is all you can call it. They stand upand shoot th e union men down like dogs.Now, i f al l th e unions would do what isright they would insert a clause in their bylaws to th e effect that no member of theirlocal shall become a member of th e militia,or if he is already a soldier he shall resignfrom the militia or 110t ge t a union card.

In regard to the letterfrom No. 180 about '

here, and is working for th e Lafayette Telephone Company.

Work is slack now, but it will be brisk before long, an d they will be calling fo r moremen with the little green card, as they arethe best workmen, and the people are begining to fi,nd it oU,t. As a ,general' rule,when a ma n be1.oJ;1gs to a union he has servedhi s time and und'hstands his business.

As I think this is enough fo r this time willclose, wishing success to all members of th e1. B. E. W., wherever they may be , an dand wishing them to remember the refrainof th e song from th e Homestead strike,which is as follows:So the man who fights for honor,

None can blame him; ,And no son of his shall ever live to shame

hi mWhile liberty an d honor rule his home.

Fraternally yours,J. E. CALLAHAN,Press Secretary.

Local Union No. 2 5 3 ~ CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, March 1,1903'

EDITOR ELEC'l'RICAL WORKER:No. 253 is still in the ring and most all atwork. No kick, with one exception. Thepress secretary did no t send address and,therefore, 253 did not receive Workers.By the time I put in another letter fo r th eWorker 253 will have quite an addition' toroll call, as fees have been made within th e


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THE ELECTRICAL WORKERthat i t will hold up for some time tocome, as th e future is very bright. Wouldno t advise anyone to come. this way at present. Should any brother come this way hewill no t suffer. Fo r we all have a place toea t an d place to sleep and will treat hi m O.K. if he has got th e proper slip. So boysbear that in mind, always keep a paid upcard. Th e Cumberland Telephone an d Telegraph Company will soon begin to cu t overinto their new handsome building. Th eLight and Railway Company has just completed chauging their trolley wire. Bu tthey expect business to pick up again lateron. There was another Light Co. organizedlast month, and they expect to begin construction at an early date. Will close forthis time as it is my first letter.

Fraternally yours,JNO. H. HANSBERRY,

Press Secretary, pr o tem.

Local Union No. 259.SALEM, MASS., March 2,1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:We had one of ou r members discharged

from t h ~ Salem Electric Light Company thisweek. He was seen coming -out of the localmeeting one night by a fellow workman ofth e electric company, where he was em ployeo ; bu t boys we ar e no t going to le tthis little thing drop. We are going to investigate it and i f such is th e case we willsee i f we can no t 'get hi m back at his oldjob. I f not we will make th e Salem Elec

are .other union shops that will gladly graspthem by th e hand and give them work.

Our friend George Hannon has left th eWoodbury Electric Light Company andgone in business for himself, and al l t h ~ boys hope he will do well, for we know themen he will employ will be nothing butunion men an d union wages. We wishBrother Hannon good luck.

The Woodbury Electric Company, of Beverly, Mass., have made consignment to theircreditors, and i t has made it pretty bad forth e boys, but we ar e in hopes they will opentheir doors before long. I f not you will se esome of th e boys on th e tramp, with paid up

. cards an d Mascott Bill for luck.Boys, I will state that this is the last chanceyou have to get your name sent into LocalNo. 259; for we are going to close th e charter next month. Now get yourselves together an d have your names sent in, and dono t be afraid of $2, for yo u can spend itbut once, and the-time is coming when yo uwill be th e loser, so do no t forget to sendthe money with your name.

W. B. JACKSON,Press Secretary.

Local Union No. 264 .PI't'tSFIELD. MASS., February IS, 1903.

EDITOR EUCTRICAL W O R K ~ R :I hope I am no t too late for a notice in th eMarch Worker, as some of th e b o y ~ do no t

expect me to miss an issue.Up to th e present writing a few changes

have taken place causing much regret, but


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? .. :.THE ELECTRICAL WORKER //"" ,r't,-#

sure an y of ou r fellow brothers that theywill find hi m a good card man-one who

'has done much in helping us in'the benefitswe have received in forming ou r local. No.52 will probably have me t him by th e timetbis goes to print.

Brotber and Treasurer W. Dillion has beenabsent from us for a time, tapping the ai rline for th e De Forrest wireless telegraph inNew York and Staten Island. We expecthim back with a few gold bricks and tales ofdear old New York town.

Business keeps about th e same.I guess' this will cover th e news for thistime. With a good word to aU our brothers,

lam,Fraternally yours,

H. J. NItITZItL,Press Secretary.

Local Union No. 289.HAGItRSTOWN, MD., Feb. 28, 1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAl. WORKEIl:I t is about th e same old thing, and that is

th e sticks every day.Th e United Tel. Company is about

through running their cable.Th e C. and P. are going to do a great deal

deal of work here. They have about eightmiles of cable to string, and there will be agreat deal of work going on here next summer. I think in one's year's time this townwill be strictly union.

The mason's union gave a smoker lastweek, and invited all th e other unions. I twas to organize th e A: F. of Labor, an d I

new pole on Locust street, feeding cablethrough, and, it is supposed, while workinghe got on e foot on th e alternater wire,whichcarried about 2 ,200 volts, and you can imagin e what a ground he had. While he ha dboth of his hands on th e extension wire itburnt al l of his fingers, and one entirely off,then falling about twenty-five feet to theground, crushing.his skull. He ha d an ap plication in for fuembership in our union.Mr. Rodgerson would have made a verygood member for us. He was to have beeninitiated that evening. We held a meetingof al l th e linemen in Hagerstown to makepreparations to attend his funeral, Friday,

. th e twenty-seventh instant. There weretwenty-eight lineman that attended his funeral. His body was sent to Richmond, Ind.,for burial.

I remain yours fraternally.G. S. RIDGItLY,Press Secretary.

Local Union No . 315.CHICA&O, ILL., February 20 , 1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL W OItKO:I t has been quite a- while since No. 315

ha d a letter in th e Worker, but I hope thiswill find a place in your next issue.

Things are going on Tery smooth inChicago, especially in ou r branch of th ebusiness. We have a very nice local here,composed or cable splicers. We a'lso haveal l th e helpers organized. We have chosen'W . A. Lake for president for th e second

,.


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THE ELECTRICAL WORKERI will say this much, that the work in thiswestern country this summer will be greatan d we want al l th e yellow hammers thathave:: the "open sesame" to know the same.A rumor this a. m., to th e effect that weexpect $3.25 without a murmer sounds goodto me. 'Rah for unionism.

Ou r president, cool-headed as ever, ,dur-in g ou r argument over Indianapolis andSalt Lake, gave us to understand that personalities should be cast' aside and" so beit," but to th e credit of ou r local, an d as anassistance to our sister local an d the rightsof th e GreatWest, we were compelled tovoteNo. Give us in th e West recognition as toour local rights. The locals calling for achange were al l east of th e Missouri, an dwe know we have no chance against th eEast in numbers, but a schedule of wagesand, th e West shows th e strongest.

The boys of Local 57, of Salt Lake, havebeen storming heaven an d earth gettingrates from the railroad companies an d givin g balls, no t only to make a financial ac-count, but to show th e world of electricalworkers a grand an n glorious time.

A. PLEA. FOR RIGHT.There is a time in every nation

When an adverse tide is flowing,An d the grand things of creation

'Gainst many odds are growing;So i t is with our grand union,In th e spring time of it s power,

Still will join that bright communion,

We'll not cease ou r music, vocal,Pleading fo r their legal right

Till decision's reached our meetingIn convention by our peers,Says, extend that hearty greetingYe grand workers of few years,

Whoare growing as the sunbeamIn th e spring time of your days;

So le t your brillialllt light gleamWhile we linger by your ways.

Gainers, fixers, trimmers, all,In each local, great an d small,Hear our plea fo r recognitionIn our fa r west position;Grant our rights, fulfill th e oath,Once you acknowledged bo th For yo u win never make mistakeMeeting with us by th e Lake.

An d when your duty's over,When we al l have done ou r best,

Yo u will think some of th e roverIn the city of th e west.

This country may be youthful,But the liveliest ever seen;So accept this ragged tooth full

From a young one-" ' 316."As I have made a party line of this, will

will dead enn the bunch.' Sense is all myletter lax, so here's my n ~ m e .

Yours fraternally,P. S. TRUA.X,

Press Secn;tary.Local Union No. 323.FA.IRMONT, W. Va., Feb. 28,1903'

-,


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.J '.' ;f--'THE ELECTRICAL W O ~ l t . >

kicking in these parts. In my last letter Ispoke of th e inability of th e recording s ~ c -retary to ge t answers from v ~ r i o u 3 locals.I guess th e secretaries of those locals di dno t see my letter, for he has no t as yet received ap y a n ~ w e r s to hi s inquiries.

This local has been making inquiriesabout a certain man, an d we were surprisedto ge t an answer back from one of th e localsto th e effect that this ma u was no good, butou r Grand Organizer, Brother Kennedy,ha d told their local to take an who madeapplication, " good or bad." I also see thatBrother Kennedy makes this statement inhis report for February. Now, we of 323do no t understand this. I f a man who hadscabbed in the late strike of No. 14 makesapplication an d they take hi m in, do youthink this is right? We don't, and I a


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, '/ . /. I :THa ELEC'l'lUCAL W O R ~ R Local Union No. 342.

NEW BRIGHTON, PA., March-6, 1903.EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:

I will le t you know what our local union,No. 342, is doing.

We begari November 17, 1903, with twenty-seven members, an d since then we havehad fifteen ne w members. We meet everyThursday night, and have very interestingmeetings. I believe before many monthsyou can expect to hear from us news for th egood of th e Brotherhood. Our local was organized by Mr. Glass, of New Brighton, buta member of NO.5, Pittsburg, and we ar every proud to think he ha s taken such greatinterest in the electrical workers of thisvalley.

I will close by giving 342's best regards toeach and every local.

Fraternally Yours,W. E. CHERRY,

Press Secretary.Local Union No. 345 .

MOBILE, ALA., February 27, 1903.EinToR ELEcTRICAL WORKER:

We ar e having some good meetings in th eold gulf city. At last, after failing sometwo or three times, I think we will have agood local here, as we ar e getting applications in every meeting hight. I think wewill be able to ge t every man in ou r ranksthat is in ou r line of work. We are veryglad to see th e Brotherhood increasing sorapidly. Just keep your shoulder to th e

that before he will work a negro he will ge tout and do th e work himself, an d i t wouldseem very strange to see th e negroes hiking.sticks, don't yo u think? I think it will beonly a short time when the negroes willstand no show.

We11, I am glad to see a letter from LocalNO.4, of New Orleans, an d to know thatshe is still on the giobe. Brother Lamphierhas left for New Orleans, an d it is regrettedby many of th e boys, but the best of friendsmust part. We have about eight candidatesfor ou r next meeting night. Our charterwas left open for thirty days, and th e timeis up th e first of March; but there are onlya few left on the outside, and I think a11 ofthem will be satisfied to pa y th e regularinitiation in a short time. The reason isthat they were treated so badly before, theywa!1ted to se e this one started in a businessway, an d then they would come up and joinhands. Well, I will assure you that theywill come around in a short time, as we aredoing great business at our meeting, with acrowded house.

Fraternally yours,S. M. P.,

Press Secretary.

Local Union No. 356.KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 7, 1,903.EDI'tOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:

Having been elected to represent No. 356in th e official journal, will do th e best I can


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/ } ' } , 4 , ~ ) /1'141' .. ,THE ELECTRICAL W ORKBR 33

Local Union No.5 .PITTSBURG, PA., March 8, 1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:We are nearing th e close of th e first quarter, which promises to be one year crownedwith success as fa r as labor organizationsare concerned. Very few organizations areanticipating any trouble for th e comingyear. NO . 5 " stands pat" with its oldagreement, which was signed last May.The bitter feeling shown by th e contractorsduring that struggle ha s long since ebbedaway and all seem to be working in harmony. NO.5 has been a busy on e for th epast few months. Her aggressive tacticshave been th e comment of many-ever onth e alert to resist an infringement. Shehas demonstrated to th e ~ b U 1 l d i n g trades'council an d th e public at large that withinhe r folds ar e men who will no t stand idlyby and see he r interests jeopardized throughcorrupt jealous individuals.I would like to put al l locals on theirguard to look ou t for th e WestinghouseElectric and Manufacturing Company,which has gangs of plant installers on theroad. They started to install th e electriclight plant in th e new Farmers Bank Buildin g here, bu t we got after them an d tried topersuade them to join th e union, but to noavail. The only re :lress they had was to ge toff th e job, which they did, and our menare now completing th e work.

Another firm, which bears watching is

the'decision rendered favored us , and, as aresult, th e elevator contractors are now onstrike to maintain this Benedict Arnold.NO.5 will fight hi m and.the elevator work toth e bitter end.

April I will find us in a new hall, in al lprobability at Third avenue and Grantstreet. Ou r trustees ar e using their bestendeavors to s e ~ r e it ., Organizer Kennedy is still with us . Heha s organized two locals in this vicinity andis doing much to th e strenghtening of No.14 Fraternally yours, f P. K.,Press Secretary.

Local Union No.6 .SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., March 3,190 3.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:Th e following letter, ' explaining itself,

ha s been handed to me for pUblication inth e "Electrical Worker," and believing itwill more than fill ou r allotted space I shallnot encroach further than to say that LocalNo.6 is in a prosperous condition.

Yours fraternally, ED. SMITH,Press Secretary.

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., March 5, 190 3.Local Union No. 134, 1. B. E. W.,

Chicago, :J;1linois.BROTHERS: Local Union Nq. 6, 1. B. E.W. , some months ago sent your local $100fo r th e purpose of fighting th e gas fitters


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34 THE ELECTRICAL W01U{!tR.In view of th e fact that both th e National

Building Trades Council an d th e AmericanFederation of Labor have given th e work toour Brotherhood, no t to mention th e localand State qrganizations, i t would have beenmore honorable to have kept' up a losingfight an d died in the last ditch rather thanhave surrendered one iota of ou r rights.But we cannot conceive of it s being po!!sibleto have made a losing fight, before an y in telligent body of me n belonging to our central body or of affiliated trades. We hadth e same fight here shortly after sendingyou aid . We sent i t knowing we would haveth e same fight. We won ou r contentionunaided, on th e general principle of th eevolution of our craft, or, to be more particular, th e evolution of electrical conduits,coupled with th e fact that armored conduitis no t quoted or handled by plumbing orgas fitting supply houses. An d that th ework from it s inception to it s completionmust be under electrical supervision andfinally be accepted by th e fire underwritersor city electrical inspector, an d at no timeis it.subject to gas inspection.

We might have forgiven your letting thequestion lie dormant for a while, or to yourmaking a temporary agreement, but to havesurrendered more than was asked of you,and that for a period of Bve years. "Thatis th e last straw." Your representation tous was for a fight for rights, an d to gainthem; instead of doing so you make concessions. I t would have been a thousand

which, of course, covers conduit work. Youcan only surrender that right to th e Grand Organization at your pleasure, or at their request when they desire to form a ne w localcovering this particular branch of ou r trade.We deny that yo u can surlender this work toanother antagonistic organization by a g r e e ~ ment or o t h e r w i s ~ . We intend to followthis matter to the bitter end, even to th efloor of th e next convention of the 1. B. E.W. Trusting that yo u will bend forth everyendeavor to rectify tb,e sad mistake committed by your local, we remainFraternally yours,

A. H. BARNES,Secretary.

W. F. FISK,President.

Local Union No. 14.PITTSBURG, PA., March 6, 1903.

EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:Brothers, I am sorry I di d no t have anynews in last month's Worker, for I supposethere are a lot of brothers who would liketo kilOW what is going on in th e SmokyCity, but I will make up for that this month.Things around Pittsburg are very dull justat present, but we ~ r e looking for al l kindsof work when th e weather opens up. Wehad a great election here last' time, andelected th e whole county Citizens 'ticket.I t is a great victory for organized labor.The Citizens party have given a pledge thatnothing but union labor shall be employed

, .; ~ . ,


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THE ELECTRICAL WORK ER 35We have with us again Brother Smutnitz,an d al l th e brothers were very glad to seehim ou t again. They are all very sorry thathe had to have his arm taken off. BrotherSmutnitz lost his arm from blood poisoning.He fell, cut hi s arm and blood poisoningdeveloping, had to have it taken off. Now,Brothers, whatever you do keep up yourdues, in case you do ge t hurt you will be ingood standing.

We are having our share of strikes thisyear- the iron workers, tile ,setters, andpainters and carpenters and paperhangers-, so you c an see that Pittsburg is gettinglined up for next year. Bro. Pearl Dye ha staken a gang out for th e Federal, and he hasgood linemen with hi m as travel th e pike.

. Good for you, Pearl; they have al l got thegoods. Brother Sam Harris has a gang ou tfor th e Butler Telephone Co. Brother J.Riely is back with us once again. Comedown and see us , Jimmy, for we al l have th eglad hand to extend to you. Brother Kennedy is here, an d doing good work. I hopethat al l brothers will help him along, for heis a brother that deserves th e kindness ofone and an . Brother HiCks was trying toshute the shutes down the steps tothe UnionDepot an d was laid up fo r five days; hi sshoulder is sore yet. We have had a lo t ofvisiting brothers here lately, an d they haveal l left on other work; we wish them al lsuccess. We have Brother Ried, from Bowlin g Green, with us.

Well, brothers, we received a note fromMr. J. Brennan with a request to have itpublished in th e Worker:Local 14. 1. B. E. W., Pittsburg, P,a.

BROTHERS: I wish you would put thisnote in your Worker for some of th ebrothers that boarded here before th e strike,an d through ahd after the strike. I think Ihave given yo u plenty of time straightenup your accts here. I earnestly wish whenyou see this note that you will tr y an dstraighten up your accounts with me, S0 thatI will no t have to be under th e painful ne cessity of publishing your names -in th eWorker. I remain

Respectfully yours,J AMES BRENNAN,

I I 04 Bedford Ave., Pittsburg, Pa .Well, brothers, being as my letter is get

ting rather long and space is limited in th eWorker, I will blow a fuse that I shallescape th e waste basket.

Fraternally your:.,HUC K,

Press Secretary.Local Union No. 15.

JERSEY CITY, March 8, 1903.EDITOR EUC'l'R1CAL WORKER:

Brothers, yo u must not think that I amknocking, i f I do say things thaf don't suiteverybody. '

There is a brother in Hudson County whoha s caused us quite a little trouble of late,

.t './ "\ . : ~ )


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';/; '(.t' _',. ifI ; , ~ , . " " '.THE ELECTRICAL WORKERtend meetings regularly, I will let themknow that Local No. IS is back in JerseyCity again, where she rightfully belongs,an d we have a meeting'room yo u cannotbeat, an d we have just as good brothers inthis local as yo u find anywhere.

Brothers Joe Wittle and Dick Starcky areputting up some very tall timbers fo r th eHigh Tension Line. Some of th e polesstand ISO feet above ground, so you can seewe ar e high minded in t h ~ s l o c a l i t y .

Work is a little slack around here at present, but th e grand old summer time willsoon be with us again.

Yours fraternally, Press Secretary.Local Union No. 21.

PHII.ADELPHIA, PA.,'March 8, 1903.EDITOR ELECTRICAL WORKER:

In my previous letter I wrote that ourpresent systeni. of line construction is antiquated, and should receive our attention,and if anyone doubts my assertion let himgo and ask the business man 'i f his telep h o n ~ is working satisfactory, and he willtell yo u it works al l right until he has someimportant business to transact over it an dthen it don't work. Ask the manager ofthe telegraph company if he is able to guarantee that a message will be delivered in acertain time, and, if he is candid, he willacknowledge that he can not make thepromise. Ask th e manager of th e electriclight an d power company i f he can give yo u

become complicated, or have th e linemenfailed to keep step with the other mechanicsthat invented and improved them? Yo nmay also as k th e manager of th e electriclight and power company why the bank account of his company is stained with theblood of electrocuted victims, and should hereply that these so-\!alled accidents are unavoidable, inform ''him that twenty-fiveyears from now, when wires will carry millions of volts instead of thousands, theseso-called accidents an d accidental deaths byelectricity will be as -scarce as snow stormsin the Sahara. What is possible then withthe high voltage ought to be possible no wwith the lo w voltage. There is no danger,or the danger is reduced to a minimum,where the work is done well an d the systemis perfect, but where every kind an d an ykind of inexperienced men are employed,an d ar e permitted to string wires to suitthemselves and to set death traps fo r the unwary; where thousands of death wires andpushguys are left hanging until they breakfrom th

508. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker (IBEW)

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Transcript of 508. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker (IBEW)