setting the pace in the printing trade to many of his younger co-workers.

Wallace W. Cato, the professional ex-reading clerk of No. 8, at a recent union meeting made an unsuccessful effort to have the salary of the reading clerk raised from $2 to $5 a meeting. All of which seems to indicate that Mr. Cato expects reappointment at some future time, and that he merely put on a sub for a year or so that he might look after some "needed legislation" respecting his job.

The many friends of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Knight sympathize with them in the death of their son, Lewis, age 4 years.

"Johnny" Woerner is confined to his home as the result of an accident in which he suffered a sprained ankle.

Stith Stubblefield, of the Globe-Democrat, is looking for the smooth individual who confiscated his brand-new overcoat in a well-known restaurant here.

H. O. Jeffries, of Nowata, Okla., formerly a member of No. 8, was a visitor during the month, purchasing supplies for the Nowata plant, of which he is foreman, and renewing old acquaintances.

F. Robinson, of the Curran chapel, has been nominated by the socialist party for the office of mayor. In the event of his success at the coming spring election, "Honest Mike" Hartigan announces that he will be a candidate for appointment as city jailer.

No. 8 sent its usual Christmas present to the St. Louis residents of the Union Printers Home.

President Lynch's letter, with reference to a donation for the purpose of completing the Cummings memorial addition to the Home, was referred to the executive committee, and no doubt a substantial sum will be sent.

Machinist Kreyling, of the Post-Dispatch, has resigned his position and returned to Chicago, where he will take a similar position.

Edwin R. Wright, of Chicago, was a visitor in December. Mr. Wright is touring the state of Illinois in the interest of the state federation of labor, and reports excellent progress being made.

Messrs. Chapler and Showalter, of No. 8, have copyrighted, and will place on the market, a "universal line measure," which will no doubt be popular with newspaper admen. It shows an inch measure, an agate measure (fourteen lines to the inch), also a pica and nonpareil measure. The center column on the measure shows the reduction of agate lines to picas and points.

The revision of No. 8's constitution goes merrily on. Some complaint is heard on taking up the time at each meeting in discussion, and, in the end, when it comes to voting, we find that a majority adheres to the old constitution. The writer differs from those who make this complaint, and contends that the proceeding has a two-fold benefit: It makes our members familiar with the law, and it demonstrates that the old constitution was carefully framed for our needs, and no radical changes are necessary.

St. Louis delegates to the American Federation of Labor convention at Denver are loud in their

praises of the Union Printers Home and its management.

With the first of the year at hand, it is up to several of the offices who locked out their union printers during the eight-hour contention to "make good" on their agreement with the local pressmen for a closed shop and the eight-hour day, beginning with January 1, 1909. It will not be surprising if some of them rescinded this agreement, as they did the one made with No. 8. However, that remains to be seen.

Letters from Messrs. Martin, Murphy and Rhode, of St. Joseph, convey the information that the committee on arrangements is hard at work to make the 1909 convention one long to be remembered.

The Pictorial Review Company, of New York, announces that, in response to the many requests from members of the woman's auxiliary, it will in the future place the union label on the Pictorial Review patterns. Score one more for the auxiliary! CHARLES HERTENSTEIN.

DES MOINES, 10WA.

No. 118 is conducting a label campaign in earnest. It has a committee of twelve who are making good use of the little sticker. The committee has also issued circulars and other printed matter which are sent to the merchants to induce them to demand. the label on their printing.

Matt Stine, an old member of No. 118, who spent the past summer at the Home, is now in Des Moines and is on the old age pension list. He is the first one of our members to receive the pension.

J. B. Nesbit left the first of December to accept a position in the postoffice department of the house of representatives at Washington, D. C. He held the same position last year during the long session of congress.

No. 118 gave a social and dance a short time ago. The program furnished food for the intellect, harmonies for the feet and delicacies for the taste. The program committee consisted of Messrs. J. F. Holland, Lon Page and J. Dwyer, and they have been highly commended for the pleasant time given the members. We hope these social affairs may occur often.

Barney Slack, foreman of the Daily News, resigned last week, and his place is now filled by Dan Powers, late of St. Paul. Mr. Powers was foreman of this paper four or five years ago, and his friends are pleased to see him back at the "old stand" once more.

The Des Moines Daily Tribune was recently purchased by the Register and Leader-a morning paper-and is now being edited in that office as an evening paper under the name of the New Tribune. The new paper has many friends, and is fast becoming popular with the reading public.

Charles Daniels and "Slim" Hutter have accepted positions as operators on the day side of the Tribune.

Work has been very good this fall, both in job and newspaper offices.

The Capital and News-evening dailies-have

each ordered a new Merg. in order to better handle the work.

No. 118 is taking up the matter of making a Christmas donation for the Home, and the members are responding quite liberally.

Word was received December 17 announcing the death of Mrs. Joseph M. Hatch in a hospital at Council Bluffs on the previous evening. Mrs. Hatch was the wife of Joseph Hatch, the night machinist at the Register and Leader office, and was well known in Des Moines.

It is with deep regret that we chronicle the death of one of our oldest members-J. H. Fitzgerald, who passed away December 3, 1908, after about two weeks' illness of pneumonia. He had been a member of our union for over thirty-five years and was very faithful in his attendance at the meetings. In 1874 he was elected to the office of financial secretary and had filled several important positions in the union since. He was a quiet and unassuming gentleman and made many friends. No. 118 can ill afford to lose such a one.

ELIZABETH Е. ВЕСК.

Work has been good here lately for operators, and at this writing two or three operators are needed at the Success Linotype Company. This office does all the composition on the state work, and, as the legislature will convene in January, there will be no layoff for some time to come. By the way, the state work is being turned out more promptly and accurately since the members of No. 118 are employed on it.

The Register and Leader, known to all printers who have allowed the roving spirit to call them across the Mississippi, has absorbed the Tribune, an evening paper, and now issues morning and evening editions, retaining the name Evening Tribune on their new project. The Tribune was the latest effort to publish a democratic daily in Des Moines. It failed through a lack of patronage, just as its predecessors in the field have done. The Tribune will take its place as an advocate of progressive republicanism and will secure its share of local patronage. The Register and Leader now has twelve Mergs, and has ordered a Hoe press, which will be the largest in the state.

W. G. Williams, of the Success Linotype Company, has purchased an interest in a newspaper at Manchester, Iowa, and has moved his family to that place to make his home. "Bill's" introductory editorial must have been a trifle strong, as the newspapers next day contained an account of a cyclone at Manchester.

"I am going to put Rogers on this machine," said the foreman to the operator. "Who is Rogers?" asked the "keytickler," who had evidently never seen any slugs with ditches in them.

"Do you want this ad set in bold face?" asked the operator of the adman. "No; Roman will do. It would make too much in the bold face."

No. 118 is conducting an active campaign for the label. Charles E. Seymour is acting as business agent and is chairman of the label committee, and devotes all his time to the work. His work is very effective and the condition of the

job branch promises to improve. A large amount of printed matter is being returned bearing the stickers, and the business agent is doing a great deal of missionary work. A large number of writing pads bearing arguments in favor of the use of the label will be distributed to the users of printed matter. The label committee has had the hearty co-operation of members in circulating the following inoffensive card, it being handed out with the money used in making purchases:

ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER.
[Union Label.]

"Do unto others as vou would have others do unto you."

A PERSONAL REQUEST.

The money used in making this purchase was earned in office. In return for my patronage

I request that your printing bear the union label. Names of offices entitled to the use of the union label are printed on the back of this card.

John H. Fitzgerald, one of No. 118's oldest members, passed away at his home in this city December 3. Mr. Fitzgerald was a veteran of the civil war. He was for many years proofreader on the state work and will be remembered by many of the boys who stopped here in the hand days. CHARLES A. DANIEL.

BUFFALO, N. Y.

The windup of 1908 finds No. 9 in good shape, despite the long, uphill fight for the eight-hour day. Good, consistent work for the label is producing results. Label offices have been putting on extra situations, and to a certain extent taking care of some of the strikers. In the newspaper line the effects of the panic are still in evidence, and the cost of white paper is keeping the number of pages down to the minimum. Considerable anxiety has been expressed among admen as to the conditions of trade after Christmas. The prospects are, owing to the fine weather in the east, right up to December, that many of the merchants are pretty well stocked with winter goods that will have to be cleaned off the shelves. The only way that this can be accomplished is by advertising and cutting prices. Let's hope the crusade starts in after the first of January and that everybody will be kept on the jump.

The death of Edward H. Murray occurred during the month at the family residence in this city. A delegation of printers and Maccabees acted as pallbearers. He leaves a wife and two children. Mr. Murray had worked in the government office at Washington and for a Syracuse paper for a number of years. He was of a very genial disposition and well liked by a numerous circle of friends. During the eight-hour fight he took an active part in the label movement and did good work.

The report of the sudden death of Charles Burger in New York city was heard with regret by members of No. 9. He was a hard worker for the cause and as conscientious and earnest a man as ever lived. Mr. Burger was a former member of No. 9, and had held cases on both the News and Enquirer. He had served No. 9 in the capacity of vice-president, corresponding secretary and as a member of the executive committee. He was a

thorough business man in his way, and any task given to him was as good as accomplished. While a resident here he was active in politics and a power in the third ward.

According to President Hadley, of Yale, "American labor has deteriorated in efficiency in the last thirty years." He blamed the carelessness of workingmen and the restraint placed upon them by unions. He then went on to rave about conditions in Germany, and to urge that the United States adopt the military system of Germany. We always understood that in certain trades the Germans are pretty well organized; and, in fact, the unions there are the leaders in the technical training that is so much in vogue. However well Mr. Hadley may admire the military system of Germany, there is little danger of anybody in this country, union or non-union, tumbling over themselves to foist upon the United States a system that is ruining Germany, financially and otherwise.

George Troidl, athlete and basketball promoter, has a team of young athletes that promises to establish a world's record. A suggestion of George's to the superintendents of the school playgrounds and physical inspectors has been acted upon, with the result that all the young athletes who can not afford to pay for uniforms will be furnished them gratis.

President John R. Howard, jr., and his worthy assistants of the consumers' league, have been doing fine work here the past year, and are deserv ing of every encouragement. The society numbers among its membership many of the leading social and professional people of the city. Its officers are: President, John R. Howard, jr.; first vicepresident, Mrs. James A. Gardiner; second vicepresident, Mrs. Dexter P. Rumsey; treasurer, Francis Atmy; recording secretary, Mrs. Irving P. Lyon; executive secretary, Miss Mabel Gillespie.

Among recent callers on "Majah" Patterson was an old partner, Joseph P. Gibbons, of Scranton, Pa. Mr. Gibbons was a delegate to the American Federation of Labor convention, representing the central labor union of Scranton.

One thing that the eight-hour strike did was to drive a goodly number of printers into other avenues of trade. A large amount of latent business ability that had laid dormant for years came to the front in grand style. Some developed into promoters of the first rank, others into the finest of commercial travelers, who can sell goods to the hardest-hearted propositions. As advance agents for theatrical attractions, they can get more free advertising than the average, and so on down the line. The last one that we have heard of to make good is our old friend R. B. (Ruby) Lawrence. Mr. Lawrence has been appointed advertising manager of the Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Company, and when seen recently looked like prosperity.

The New York state hospital for tuberculosis reports that it cost the state $9.47 per week per capita, and a total for all purposes of $109,017. The average number of patients treated during the year was 138.

An impression prevails in International Typographical Union circles that, after the vote of a

few months ago, the priority question was out of the way for a while, at least; but, judging from the numerous letters in the last JOURNAL, the opponents of the law are still hostile and not satisfied with the majority vote in its favor. As far as Buffalo is concerned, the law has given satisfaction from all points of view. However, when the proper time rolls around, why not leave the question to local option? Let each union vote for or against in its own jurisdiction. This plan ought to give satisfaction all around.

The Express chapel Christmas fund has been divided up, and a handsome dividend was declared on the investment. It is announced that other chapels intend to follow the Express plan.

Mr. Knott, of Chicago, appears to have sized up the political situation in regard to the union vote in the presidential campaign. It is a mighty hard proposition to get them to stick together.

The manufacturers' club and various other business clubs are holding dollar dinners, etc., in an effort to boost Buffalo. They gave an industrial exhibition, but no invitation was sent to the workingmen to participate in any manner. It looks like a mighty poor policy, but the people that have helped to hold Buffalo back never were able to see the length of their noses.

William Reilly, foreman of the Times, suffered the loss of his wife during the month. Mrs. Reilly had been an invalid for years. James Reilly, of Chicago, was here to attend the funeral.

W. A. COYELL.

ST. PAUL, MINN.

In a full-page ad the St. Paul House Furnishing Company, which purchased the stock of the failed Winslow Furniture and Carpet Company, ran the following in the center of the page in the St. Paul daily papers:

Important notice to union labor! The Winslow people handled Buck's stoves. We are friends of organized labor, and, knowing the stoves to be on the unfair list, we will positively not handle them. We have a few on hand which were in the stock purchased by us, and we wish to say we will dispose of them to the out-of-town trade so as to enable us to handle only union-made stoves.

Van Cleave is getting the right kind of advertising these days, anyway.

We certainly have got a live and active label committee at work. Printing without the label, both local and foreign, is being briskly gathered up and returned with the sticker attached. Theatrical people are called upon, and the good work is being pushed whenever an opportunity presents itself.

George Thompson, for twenty-four years owner of the St. Paul Dispatch, has sold a half interest in the paper to Charles H. Grasty, who recently sold the Baltimore News to Frank A. Munsey. Mr. Grasty is in St. Paul, but what change, if any, he will make in the paper or its policy remains to be seen.

Frank Gould, the new JOURNAL correspondent from Minneapolis, while not a stranger to the readers, certainly came into the field with a large, graceful and sweeping bow last month. At the

same time he amused himself with a few "flings" at St. Paul as moss-covered as the boulders of Minnehaha creek, which he described so beautifully. However, as Minneapolis is a live candidate for the 1910 convention, we will take special pains to avoid the "retort courteous," and in our loudest tone we second the nomination of Minneapolis and yell for the question. Minneapolis and St. Paul have grown so swiftly in recent years that the imaginary line dividing the cities is obliterated, and we are placed in the embarrassing position of in a couple of years, say-being compelled to annex our neighbor and proceed under the name of Greater St. Paul. So, if you want to see a convention in Minneapolis, send it there in 1910, because we may not be able to hold our annexation project in check much after that time. Now, then, all together, "Minneapolis in 1910."

The Daily News has again been awarded the contract for the city printing, the bids being much lower than the preceding year. The contract calls for 84 cents per inch for all insertions, compared to last year's figures of $1.05 for the first insertion and 90 cents for each additional insertion.

While all union shops are running full time, and some of them overtime, the "rat" haunts are slack, and an average of eight hours per day for the week is not being worked.

After putting in effect a semi-monthly payday, the management of the Daily News, after a protest from the chapel and the executive board, and when the matter was about ready to go to arbitration, decided to again re-establish the weekly payday. Everything is again lovely and the boys are all smiles.

By a vote of 191 to 39, No. 30 has decided to levy an assessment of 10 cents per week for ten weeks as a Christmas gift to the Cummings memorial addition to the Home. No more worthy assessment was ever carried. JOE MAIDEN.

The jobroom of the Journal will be enlarged after January 1. More room is needed for the increasing business.

Cy Hauser, one of the oldtime printers, was through here December 16.

The new scale committee is busily at work concocting a mess for approval or rejection at next meeting. Out of a membership of twenty-two only nine are entitled to vote. under the six months' law.

The writer will meet you at St. Joe-if Providence (and the boss) are willing.

Our label committee did a little missionary work in behalf of the Fort Smith Union, getting the promise from the local theaters here that all tickets in future must bear the label. This cuts out about $300 worth of business from the unfair firm of Weldon, Williams & Lick, of Fort Smith.

W. A. BRADford.

MAILERS' TRADE DISTRICT UNION.

Were you present at the banquet? No! not the one at Washington, but the banquet tendered to ex-President Corcoran by his friends in Local No. 6, at the Palm Garden on November 29. Quite a few notables were in attendance, and among those who spoke were Organizer John E. McLoughlin, President Carroll, of the allied printing trades council; James Kelly, circulation manager of the Evening Call; Mr. Broslen, of the circulation department of the Evening World; Thomas Canary, secretary-treasurer of the allied printing trades council, and several others of no lesser light. ExPresident Daniel J. McCullough acted as toastmaster in his usual genial manner. President Winters presented a set of resolutions to Mr. Corcoran in behalf of his friends there assembled, and a very pleasant evening was spent by every one present.

If the secretaries of Los Angeles, Butte, Portland (Ore.) and New Orleans locals would write to Secretary-Treasurer Allen, of the Mailers' Trade District Union, they would get some valuable information.

I hope by the time you read this article that the question of jurisdiction as to single wrapping will have been decided in our favor.

San Francisco No. 18 has had its scale recommitted by the National Board of Arbitration, with instructions to discontinue professional counsel and to again arbitrate locally. This is a point that will be well to bear in mind for future reference if you would care to save time and expense. I am using every means within my power to promote the interest of our craft, but I am moving forward very slowly, through the great laxity on the part of officers in some locals whom I correspond with, and I am compelled to ask these officers to "wake up."

This office is at this time conducting a campaign of organization and reorganization, and up to the present time has met with fairly good success, so don't be surprised to see some new and possibly old friends among us in the near future. I would suggest to the secretaries of the typographical unions, who have issued cards to mailers, that they would send the names of these men to Secretary-Treasurer Allen, of the Mailers' Trade District Union, box 1817, Boston, Mass., as it would be of great assistance to us.

The strike against the Gardiner Binding Company at this writing is still on, with honors about even, but President Winters has a few things which he is withholding, awaiting an opportunity, and as soon as the proper time comes something will drop, I am thinking.

After some very clever work on the part of the officers of Typographical Union No. 6, we have succeeded in getting an agreement to do the mailing of the City Record from now on.

The trouble with the Christian Herald, which had been drifting along for the past eight or nine months, has been amicably adjusted, with the understanding that the foreman of that chapel would pay all indebtedness to his organization and reimburse a member for the time he was compelled to

lose. Much credit must be given to the committee which handled this affair, not forgetting the valuable assistance of President Carroll, of the allied printing trades council.

The above will prove that no man can successfully baffle the interests of his organization. Bafflers beware! CHARLES N. SMITH, President.

BOSTON MAILERS.

There is some talk of putting in some machines to do the single wrapping and the club bundles for the mail in the large binderies, and the offi cers of the trade district union are to keep in close touch with the different enterprises, with the sole desire to get control of these machines when they become a success. There is no doubt but these machines will be installed in some of the publishing houses in the large cities where there are a number of weekly and monthly publications, and an effort is to be made to get enough mailers acquainted with these machines so they can operate them, as they now operate the Dick mailing machines. President Smith has taken up this matter, together with other important matters which will tend to become a part of the mailing trade, and with the other officers are to give considerable attention to these machines with the idea of union men controlling them.

Secretary T. E. Clements informs me that the Memphis Mailers' Union is beginning to grow in number, and he is looking forward to some prosperity in the future for the mailers of that city. He spent his vacation in Dallas, Texas, this summer, and used his influence in trying to get the mailers of that city together again. They lost their charter some time ago through the influence of certain persons who were opposed to their organization at that time.

There are a number of mailers who are paying per capita to the local typographical unions in cities where mailers' unions do not exist. President Smith has this information, and he is going to take the matter up with these members and try and form mailers' unions in localities where these conditions exist.

I am instructed to notify all secretaries to send in their per capita tax to the trade district union monthly, instead of allowing it to accumulate for two and three months.

Those mailers' unions who are not now in the trade district union are requested to join as early as possible, for, according to the constitution, they are compelled to become members of this union.

It is reported that charters are being issued by the bookbinders' unions to the girls who are doing single wrapping in some of the binderies. It is about time that the mailers woke up and looked into this matter, for it is beginning to get serious. Our men should be able to get control of this work, as we claim sole jurisdiction over it, more so than the bindery girls, because mailers were the original workmen on this sort of work for many years before the girls ever thought of doing it. It originated in the mailrooms of the daily and weekly newspapers. At that time many daily newspapers had weeklies, and the men who worked

on the dailies always finished out their work on these weeklies. No one knows this any better than I, for I worked for years at this kind of work on the Boston Traveler, when at that time they had a weekly on Wednesdays, and two semi-weeklies on Monday and Thursday evenings after the daily paper was finished. At that time we would receive 50 cents an hour for single wrapping and club bundles. We had no Dick machine, all the addresses being written with ink and pencil. That was a few years ago, during my apprenticeship. ROBERT T. ALLEN, Secretary.

SAN FRANCISCO MAILERS.

We

One of the live subjects under discussion among the San Francisco mailers is, who has control of the traveling cards-the Mailers' Trade District or the International Typographical Union? are confronted here with a peculiar situation. On the north of us is Portland Mailers' Union, with Los Angeles Mailers' Union on the south, neither of which belongs to the trade district, yet we are apparently compelled to honor traveling cards from these unions. Generally speaking, we have no ob jection to these cards, but in a few instances candidates, after being refused admission by us for just and legal reasons, immediately proceeded to the unions referred to above, gained admittance to the same, and returned forthwith to us demanding recognition, which, of course, had to be granted.

Section 3, article 1, of the constitution and bylaws of the Mailers' Trade District Union, reads as follows: "Said Mailers' Trade District Union shall issue and have absolute control of certificates of membership and traveling cards of all mailers connected with and under the jurisdiction of the International Typographical Union." President Lynch holds we are compelled to honor all traveling cards within date by no matter what union issued, whether members of the trade district or not. As there seems to be a conflict of authority between the Mailers' Trade District Union and the International Typographical Union, we should very much like to hear from some of the members who drafted that particular conflicting clause and find out by what authority, if any, same was embodied in the constitution.

Ex-President Corcoran, before the expiration of his term, promised us he would take the matter up with President Lynch. The question of jurisdic tion is very apparent, and we are anxious to see it settled, one way or the other, as soon as possible. Moreover, it will work positive harm to us if left in abeyance, for reasons we do not care to state at this time, as we have no desire to open up any controversy with our neighboring unions, who are struggling manfully against great odds for an existence. We want to give them all the moral support we possibly can, and would even go further were we not tied hand and foot, financially speaking, on account of our prolonged arbitration proceedings, which we have hopes of bringing to a conclusion before another issue of THE JOURNAL.

Another whisper launched upon the breeze of time is to the effect that our affable and exacting