mittee here, yet our label men are busy, and report that they have done some good, and more will be accomplished in a short time.

We note with pleasure that a goodly number of unions that usually do not send a delegate to the International convention have signified their intention of sending one at the next meeting. We hope that the time is coming when all locals will see the good it does to mingle with those from all over the country, and get pointers that will enable them to show in their communities the spirit that always predominates in the ranks of the typographical union and which wins the respect and good will of all. W. P. DAVIS.

COLUMBUS, OHIO.

Will Wilson, for years an operator on the Dispatch, has received an appointment to Uncle Sam's printery in Washington, D. C., and has taken up his new duties.

John MacIntire, of New York, who has received much notoriety as secretary of the United Typothetæ and for the enthusiasm with which he attends to business pertaining to that organization, was in the city during December. He was given unstinted welcome by employing printers, being the piece de resistance of a banquet at which all of the big bosses were present. It is stated that the following toasts were responded to: "A Long Tail Covereth a Multitude of Errors;" "I Work Sixteen Hours Daily;" "The Less Money, the Less Booze;" "Eight Hours, Eight Dollars;" "A Bit of Heaven-Akron." As a closing ode at similar occasions in the future the writer suggests:

Jawn, Jawn, my Jo Jawn,

Stole some pi and away he rawn;
But the pi was pinched

And Jawn might have been lynched,

Yet still he avers the whole thing's cinched. C. F. Vogle has been transferred from the hon. orary to the active list. He will become a member of the new organization at Chillicothe.

Job business was particularly dull during December, and the newspapers did not have their usual big runs of advertising.

The night force at the Heer plant will again be put on after the legislature commences business. Something not usually seen at union meetings was noticed at the November session of No. 5, a father and two sons being present-W. W. Berry and Carl and Howard Berry, all members. A striking feature about this father and his boys is that the sire looks almost as young as his sons.

It is rumored that Columbus is to have a gents' furnishing store that will handle nothing but union goods.

An interesting letter from W. F. ("Dutchy") Poland was read at the November meeting. Mr. Poland is a member of the Home circle, and is most enthusiastic in praise of that institution.

Despite the fact that most job offices are reporting dull business, Wheeler & Whitaker are adding many hundreds of dollars in improvements and material, the statement being made that theirs is to be the most up-to-date plant in the city.

The Bundle of Sticks, the Odd Fellows' organ in

Ohio, can be easily "put to sticks" so far as the present publishers are concerned if a general effort is made by those interested, not only in that order, but also the better conditions which surround the workingman who thinks and acts for himself. Once more and all together, a good strong push, and over it will go.

Now that the turning in of samples of unlabeled printing is falling behind what it was some time since-perhaps some of us are becoming tiredwhy would it not be wise to enlist the sympathies and aid of our wives, children and sweethearts in the good work of getting all the bad ones? The writer knows of one lady, Mrs. Charles Kreig, who turns in more pieces each month than the twenty men in the office where her husband is employed. She does this because she is aware of the impor tance of the action and believes she is aiding her husband by so doing, and in this she is perfectly correct. All honor to her and all the others who aid us in this cause.

The average oldtime tourist will give Ohio the saucy look for two years, as some sixty counties are in the dry list.

C. S. Davidson, copy cutter on the Dispatch, is going to the Home for lung treatment. Mr. Davidson is thus following the advice of President Lynch and not waiting until the final stages are reached.

F. E. Harrison, manager of the Press-Post, died of double pneumonia December 19.

The fight being made on a certain official organ of a secret society which is printed in a Columbus office, is already giving evidence of hurting the "rat" managers, as they have given the report circulation among brethren of the order that their plant is a haven for old union men. This in itself is surprising, but nothing to the statement that the firm has stood the burial expenses of some of these. Of course, this statement is known to be false by members of the union, but with an outsider it is different, as not one in fifty has any conception of the workings of the International Typographical Union, or any idea of the manner in which our old members are cared for; and thus such untruths gain credence. The facts are that several of the old members of No. 5, who were put out of the business by the lino's advent, have worked at this office, doing composition by the piece, but whenever a death occurred the organization has in every case quickly advanced the usual funeral expenses, besides having given the sick benefits. In no case has this, or any other Columbus firm, to the knowl edge of the officers of No. 5, ever donated a single dollar to bury a member of the union, as such action was in no way necessary. The only case in which members of this firm ever did any service for a deceased union man was when one of them was administrator of the estate of a deceased printer, and even in that event he received remuneration for his services.

The statement is made through the Columbus press that the Anti-Saloon League intends establishing a plant for the printing of the Ohio publication of the American Issue.

HOWE WOODRUFF.

ATLANTA, GA.

The Ben Franklin anniversary, to be given by No. 48, promises to be the most elaborate yet undertaken by this local. The entertainment this month is in the hands of a working committee of fifteen that will produce results. Some of the anniversary celebrations given in the past by Atlanta Union have been very creditable, and the committee realizes that it must work hard to surpass them.

President-elect Dan W. Green is delivering a series of lectures to the scholars of one of the public schools of the city.

G. G. Ethridge, a linotype operator employed on the Constitution for a number of years, died December 15 of consumption. Mr. Ethridge had been ill for quite a while and the end was not unexpected. He was a popular member of No. 48, members of which attended the funeral in a body. The Constitution chapel contributed a very beautiful floral offering.

The Georgia State Allied Printing Trades Council is preparing to do some state-wide label work that it is expected will be productive of gratifying results. The council will hold its second annual meeting in Columbus, Ga., in June.

Ed Bodenhamer, who was sent to New Orleans by President Lynch to present the resolutions passed by the Farmers' Educational and Co-Operative Union, at its recent meeting there, made an interesting report of his trip to New Orleans in behalf of the label at the December meeting of No. 48.

Jim McCormack and James E. Wallace have gone to Chattanooga, and are working on the Times....Earle Broadus drew his card during the month and left for Washington, D. C.... Carroll R. Skinner and Erle E. O'Connor, for some time assistant machinist on the Constitution, have gone to Nashville, Tenn. W. G. GREDIG.

MAKE IT EASY TO BE UNION MEN. There is so much attention being paid to advo cating side lines to the International Typographical Union that it would seem that the original purpose of the organization has been lost sight of, and that it has become necessary to take away the privileges of the individual and place a guardian over him in the shape of an international organization.

The International Typographical Union was or ganized for the worthy purpose of regulating hours, wages and working conditions for the craft, and it should be confined to that line of action as closely as possible if its future welfare is to be taken into consideration. Every side line tacked on to the working plan of the organization has its opponents, and those opponents are not always convinced their opposition was wrong simply because a majority take a different view.

The one thing now before the membership seems to be the question of insurance. Suppose a printer carries fraternal insurance. He may have taken out his policy years ago, when the rate was low, and is receiving some benefit from this in later years, when the rate of insurance is increased, as

is most always done. Do you suppose he will become a better member of the International Typographical Union if he is forced to either drop the insurance he has carried for years or else carry both it and that proposed to be forced on him by the International Typographical Union? Insurance that is optional with the member would come nearer to being just.

If the International Typographical Union wishes to continue in regulating hours, wages and working conditions for its membership it must not be loaded down with ventures that belong outside that policy. It must also revise its constitution and by-laws by cutting out the "chapel laws" and allow justice to be done its members through "local autonomy" or some other way. There are laws that are not enforced and can not be enforced equally in every locality; and because some local officers are trying to enforce them, thereby not taking justice into consideration, does not make the members affected that much better union men, because they are made to do something through fear of loss of card that is apparently an injustice.

For instance, the overtime law: Is it just that a member should be forced to give out overtime when he may just have returned to work from a siege of illness, loaded down with the accumu lated bills? Is it just that a sub should give out overtime when he may not work again for a month? Is it just that a man should be forced to give out overtime that he could not get away from and for which he practically only received single price (in accordance with a recent interpretation of the overtime law which requires a man to give out his overtime when it reaches a day's wages, instead of eight hours, as formerly)? If a man is "hogging" the overtime by reason of a standin with the foreman it is right that he should give it out, but if he is forced to work overtime against his wishes he is entitled to that overtime. He is the one that has to put in the extra hours and stand whatever wear and tear is necessary in meeting the office's requirement. He is entitled to some consideration, at least.

The enforcement of some of our present laws smacks more of persecution than protection, and in any other business it would be designated as cowardly that a body of men should make unjust laws simply because they have the power to enforce them.

There are any number of International laws that should be eliminated and left to local unions for action. This would have the effect of making our membership more loyal and will explain the indifference so perceptible in some localities.

It is not the intention of the writer to enter into any discussion over this point, and he will not do so, but simply give expression to sentiments that are heard often, as can be verified by the vote cast on propositions that involve expenditure of money.

Let's make it easy to become union men.
Omaha, Neb.
I. J. COPENHARVE.

NEVER less alone than when alone.-Cicero.

BOSTON, MASS.

It is with much diffidence that I approach the burning question of priority. I envy those who can conscientiously say, "I don't believe in priority," or, "I believe in priority." I recognize the justice of the contention that this law does restrict that freedom of movement from one city to another, or from one office to another, which made the printer one of the freest and most independ ent workmen on earth, and which in time of peace gives vitality to our International Union; but I also recognize the greater injustice which the law is designed to remedy, that of favoritism in the giving out of situations. In the last analysis no one can deny that the priority law is a species of class legislation, which, generally speaking, is to be condemned. Ethically, one man's card should be just as good as every other man's card in every union office in the country, and capability be the only criterion. But shall we say that the swift man who produces 6,000 ems per hour is a better workman than the man who by honest effort only produces 5,000? On the other hand, if the oldest sub is entitled to the first situation, he is logically entitled to first chance at the work given out; but with one voice the priority men shout, "No, every sub must have an equal chance at the work." The sharpest criticism has been directed against the foreman who gives out a situation in violation of this law, but what about the sub who accepts it? Foremen, we are told, are union men, and should reason as such; but so should the sub, and how many believers in the priority law, if offered a situation out of their turn, would refuse it on that ground? You may think this is altogether too altruistic a view, and say it would be against human nature, but the foreman's human nature is of just the same brand as yours. Now, I hold no brief for the foreman, and while the law stands on our statute book it should be enforced to the letter; but what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and if there were no sub to accept the situation unfairly given to him there would be no foreman to blame for giving it out. If the best man got the situation at all times, then you would hear no demand for a priority law. No one can be more conscious of his shortcomings than the incompetent workman himself. then, do the law's opponents offer in its place? Local option will not do. This is an international union, and there are some questions which must be treated in an international manner. Scales, for instance, being based on living expense, which vary in different sections, are proper subjects for local treatment, but when we established an eighthour day it was done all over the country, and any other treatment would have been useless. Priority must be for all or for none. Bound up with the question of priority is the subject of extra work. If the foreman did not have the power to give out four or five days a week at his discretion, he could not keep the favored sub in the office while waiting for the vacancy. Equally important is the question of what constitutes competency. If the letter and spirit of section 108 were enforced, and foremen were forced to declare in

What,

An

competent and discharge all the subs they wished to jump over, they would certainly hesitate. other thing: Shall the sub have a chance to make good in a department with which he is unfamiliar, or shall the foreman, without trial, declare him incompetent? If we repeal the priority law, we must get over our horror of the word sublist. Different conditions now demand different treatment, and for the general good the members must give up the privilege of putting on their own subs. All work given out must be given out equally by the chairman to the subs in rotation, and this must include all office work also. Every office should be open to every holder of a union card, as freely as it was in the old days, and foremen should declare a man incompetent within a reasonable time or be debarred from the right to make that plea. The sub who is good enough to sub certainly gets no worse as time goes on; on the contrary, familiarity with the office makes him better. With the extra work regulated, why not have a modified priority law, no sub who had not worked six months in the office to have any standing, after that all to be equal? Summing up, no one can blame the foreman for trying to get the best men he can, and no one can defend him for passing over even the average man for the sake of a few lines more of type, or for the good fellow who used to work with him or who belongs to something he himself belongs to. Priority does restrict the individual. The question is. Is it not a restriction that makes for justice and the general benefit? I am open to reason on the matter, and hope it will be thoroughly canvassed, so that the next convention can act intelligently, and I hope finally.

Judging by the December JOURNAL, the last word has not been said on the priority law. Looks as if the editor would have to issue a priority supple

ment.

The benefit night at the Columbia theater netted the sum of $209 for the Frank K. Foster fund, and other donations brought the amount up to nearly $250. Arrangements are being perfected for a ball to be held by No. 13 on the evening of Washington's birthday. An energetic committee of fifty, with Secretary Curtin as chairman, is at work and the entire proceeds will be added to the Foster fund. It is hoped this will give the cue to other labor unions as a means of aiding this most worthy testimonial. Keep the date in mind, and even if you have something else you would rather do than attend, buy a ticket.

Last

The Franklin Typographical Society will celebrate the anniversary of "Ben's" birthday by holding a concert in Jordan hall, January 18. month over $300 was paid out to seventeen disabled and sick members. James Rodgers has presented the society with a framed certificate of stock in the Voice Printing Company, a unique relic of Boston daily journalism of fifty years ago. At the November meeting of No. 13 the memto bers on the relief roll were voted $1 extra buy a Thanksgiving dinner and $5 as a Christmas donation. The meeting was addressed by Robertson G. Hunter, state actuary under the

savings bank insurance law, on the benefits of this plan as compared with old line and industrial insurance. He suggested that some one be appointed to investigate the subject further on behalf of the union, and a committee of three has taken the matter in hand. As far as they have gone they are of opinion this is a good thing and worthy the attention of members contemplating insurance. The committee appointed to handle the alleged discrimination on the Herald reported it inadvisable to resort to arbitration at the present time on this subject, but recommended that the bank on the night shift of the Herald should be run by a regular. The result has been the giving of the situation to the extra man who has been getting the five days a week on this job for some time. This is hardly a satisfactory solution of the matter. It is the old case of an expert in some department and others not claiming to be experts, complicated by the fact that, as there is only one bank man in an office, a good or bad one makes relatively more difference than one good or bad operator in thirty or forty. There was a layoff recently of several regulars in this office, and if there is any vitality in that alleged bulwark of our liberties, the priority law, the situation would seem to belong to one of them. In section 107 the word "competent" is not even mentioned. The law says the men laid off shall be restored before other help can be employed, and if the spirit of section 113 is borne in mind it would seem to be only fair that the prior sub should have a chance at work he is competent to perform, even if it involved some transfers in the force. However disposed of, cases like this unfortunately leave hard feelings.

The Christian Science Monitor has now twentysix cards in its chapel. They have a compactlyarranged and well-equipped composing room, and an abundance of white paint, still in its pristine freshness, adds to the cheerful appearance. Four men are at work as a night force and the plant will be enlarged in the near future. No deduction was made for the holiday, though the force had only been at work one day. Paste that in your hat for reference when next we make a scale, and see if we can not break away from the old piece system far enough to get a holiday that will be a holiday, instead of such an illogical idea as asking for double pay for holidays when you don't even get single pay. By the way, this chapel took the second largest number of tickets for the Foster benefit.

George A. Toothaker, chairman of the New England Druggist chapel, celebrated his crystal wedding anniversary on November 28 at his home in the Maplewood district of Malden. A numerous company was present, among whom was Mayor Richards of that city. His associates in the Druggist office presented him a beautiful cut glass pitcher and glasses, the presentation being made by George Kranefuss. Superintendent Steed contributed choice vocal selections to the entertainment during the evening. Mr. Toothaker has been twice elected chairman of the Druggist chapel. Another law which promises to rival the priority

one in producing friction is the overtime law. Its latest development, that of counting money earned instead of hours worked, is producing several strange situations here. With a scale of 60 cents and 65 cents per hour and an overtime rate of only 20 cents more, the office is ready to run overtime upon the slightest necessity. When, in addition to this, you have day men receiving regular pay at the rate of approximately 85 cents per hour, but only 80 cents for overtime, it must be a source of joy to the economically-minded manager. Some genius has discovered that when he takes a day off for overtime earned at the 80-cent rate he does not get the forty-two hours called for by the scale; ergo, we must go back to hours. This argument won't hold water. The scale says the office shall give you forty-two hours per week, but it does not say that you yourself shall work them. If a five-day law were passed, you would obey it, though the scale still would call for forty-two hours and you and your sub in conjunction would get them. There is a germ of injustice in this law, which could only be remedied by saying that no man could be compelled to work overtime against his will, but such a law would be an impossible one. The question of subs taking off accumulated overtime is another one producing much heartburnings.

Among recent deaths worthy of more than passing notice are those of Capt. Henry K. Oliver and James G. Allbe. Captain Oliver was 87 years of age and a charter member of No. 13, having applied in 1849, along with Silas Hancock, George W. Bigelow and others for authority to organize a union here. He was a native of Vermont and served with distinction in the civil war. In 1872

he became foreman of the Globe composing room, and saw the force grow from thirty to 200 men. William H. Trayes and E. P. Collier were among the pallbearers at the funeral. Mr. Allbe was head proofreader on the Globe for many years. He came to Boston from New Hampshire when a young man, learned the printer's trade, and worked on the Globe night force till failing health compelled him to retire. His illness lasted for eight years.

Nine "sits" have been given out on the Globe, Mort O'Brien, Fred Strehle, Pat O'Connell, Thomas McDonnell, Ambrose Harvey, Frank Hennessey, George Gall, John Luttis and P. B. McHugh being the fortunate ones. The latter was secretary of Lowell Union at the time of the strike. One has been added to the American "lobsters," Mortimer Fitzgerald, the latest victim of the layoff, being restored. Mortimer spent the greater part of his enforced vacation in a visit to the "Ould Sod."

An anti-tuberculosis committee was appointed at the last union meeting. Some of the composing rooms need its attention.

Ex-Secretary Henry Sterling spoke on the aims and objects of trade unionism before the Methodist Ministers' Conference on December 13. How the labor unions reach the foreign element was one of the topics discussed.

Even President Roosevelt takes a rap at priority

in his message when he objects to the promotion of "eminently respectable and elderly incompetents" in the army. Another sentence says: "The princi

ple of the eight-hour day should as rapidly and as far as practicable be extended to the entire work being carried on by the government.'

Superintendent Smythe, of the municipal plant, says that a profit of nearly $34,000 was made last year. Superintendent Smythe was formerly a member of No. 13. Still he says the city should get out of the printing business.

Harry B. Croxford, of the Herald, and J. G. Tilden, of the New England Druggist, were elected members of the Malden Common Council at the election, December 8.

Secretary D. J. McDonald, of the allied printing trades council, was a candidate for alderman at the Boston election, December 15, but was unsuccessful. With a list of forty candidates and the voter only allowed to vote for seven of the thirteen to be elected, this is not to be wondered at. An echo of the late unpleasantness was heard in the Norfolk superior court at Dedham, December 7. On that date what is known in legal circles as the calling of the "old list" took place. This comprises cases in which nothing has been done for two years, and if no sufficient reason for further continuance is shown, they are stricken from the docket and the cases dismissed. those so disposed of on that day was the case of Cushing vs. the Typographical Union. And the eight-hour day goes marching on.

Among

Another echo not quite as pleasant is a notice of a festival at the North End School of Printing, with J. Stearns Cushing presiding, and others of the typothetæ present. The turning out of apprentices, later to become non-union printers, still goes on here.

The "employing printers of Boston" came out with an ad announcing the inauguration of a general eight-hour day on January 1 and an increase in the price of printed matter. 'Twas ever thus. We make the fight and the allied crafts reap the benefit. And to think that had it not been for Martin Higgins this ad would have appeared two years ago and the International Typographical Union would have saved $3,000,000.

Several slight raises on the Herald have equalized the pay among the operators. This is well, but a restoration of some of those laid off would have been better. The whole creed and duty of the union man is not comprised in the words "higher wages." JOHN MITCHELL.

DAYTON, OHIO.

The League of Progressive Printers is the latest in the ranks of No. 57, and, we might add, it is turning quite a few tricks in the interest of the label.

A new scale has gone into effect in this jurisdiction. The job scale has been increased from $15 to $16 per, with a proviso that it be increased to $17 at the expiration of a year. A little difficulty was experienced as far as the newspaper scale is concerned, and the result is not known at this

writing. Organizer Max Hayes has charge of the negotiations, and the boys feel satisfied that the outcome will be satisfactory to all concerned.

Business is pretty fair in the job offices and machine operators are scarce. There are few "subs" for the machine, and there has not been a machinist "sub" in town for many a day.

L. S. Williams, who went south during the strike, is again among us and has assumed the presidency of the League of Progressive Printers.

Here's hoping the new year will bring to all the membership and their employers untold prosperity, and that before the close of the year the printing of the country will be done by the International Typographical Union members only.

CALVIN O. LERCH.

SAN DIEGO, CAL.

On account of their inability to adjust certain differences with the local pressmen's union, Cook & Christiance have been compelled to surrender the allied trades label and are now running a nonunion office. We understand they are losing considerable business because of their inability to put the label on their work. Hildreth & Son are also conducting a non-union office. It is up to the friends of organized labor in San Diego to inform the general public that there is no law to compel a person to have printing done in an office that can not ornament its work with the union label.

In a recent sermon on "The Problems of Labor," Rev. Lewis Thurber Guild, D. D., pastor of the First Methodist church, said: "There are some persons who object to the trade union because of the closed shop and the boycott. No republican can object to the closed shop, for that is what he voted for when he cast his ballot for the protective tariff. The protective tariff is a closed shop on a large scale. And no patriot can object to the boycott, because the men who were the first to declare a boycott in this country were the patriots who instigated the Boston tea party and threw the British tea into Boston harbor." Guild also paid a well-deserved compliment to President Gompers, of the American Federation of Labor, when he said: "That sturdy, honest tribune of the people, Samuel Gompers, who, if he can not dine at the white house, can not be thrust out of the hearts of the honest working people, who know his worth."

Dr.

A change has been made in the management of the Labor Leader, Messrs. Pfahler & Buelow giving up the paper because of other demands being made upon their time. The issue of December 5 appeared under the directorship of William J. Warden, delegate from No. 221 to the federated trades. Mr. Warden has considerable ability along this line of work, and, we doubt not, will keep the Leader up to its former high standard. The new editor would like for all members of No. 221 to consider themselves associates and send in anything for publication that would be of interest to the members of labor organizations.

The wave of prosperity has struck San Diego, and we are to have another job printing office.