THE president of a manufacturing concern recently received a secret letter from the secretary of the National Association of Manufacturers, urging him to join that organization. In this epistle it was claimed that the defeat of the eight-hour and antiinjunction bills in congress last year was brought about by the association. The editor of the Medical World, in a department of that paper conducted under the heading, "Our Monthly Talk," has this to say concerning this confidential communication: "The people go along indifferently and good-naturedly, not knowing what scheming is done by special interests. Labor organizations have worked unremittingly, and are still working, for better factory conditions, shorter hours, against child labor, etc. All these things are for the uplift of humanity, and labor organizations have worked for them in the open. The silent, secret scheming is done by the other side."

SECRETARY V. B. KINNEY presented each member of Omaha Typographical Union No. 190 with a New Year's gift in the form of a tabulated statement of the financial transactions of that body for the year 1904, in printed form. This is a new departure on the part of the local secretary, and THE JOURNAL compliments Secretary Kinney upon his self-imposed task for the benefit of the membership of Omaha Union, and thanks him for a copy of the statement. The example set by Mr. Kinney might be followed by other secretaries of subordinate unions, with great benefit to their membership. The report showed total receipts for the year of $6,052.50; expenditures, $2,968.78, leaving a balance on hand on January 1, 1905, of $3,083.72.

THE JOURNAL'S Des Moines (Iowa) correspondent, in his letter in this issue, questions the truthfulness of the assertion made in this department in the January number, that the Springfield (Mo.) telephone girls were the first to organize a union in that industry. Our information on the subject was gleaned from the daily press, and it was claimed to be based upon statements made by the girls. Surely the correspondent does not desire to question

the veracity of the young ladies? The writer further informs THE JOURNAL that an organization of the kind mentioned has been in existence in Des Moines for some time, which is very pleasing information, indeed.

ACCORDING to press dispatches, C. W. Post, vice-president of the National Manufacturers' Association, and known chiefly on account of his intense hostility to union labor, has created something of a sensation in Battle Creek, Mich., where his "health food" business is located, by posting a notice in the paper box factory connected with his establishment, and in which he has a controlling interest, to the effect that hereafter nine hours will constitute a day's work in that department, the pay to remain the same as for ten hours. Some one will please "break the news" in as gentle a manner as possible to David M.

IN an article dealing with the open shop, in a recent number of McClure's Magazine, Ray Stannard Baker said:

But if the undoubted right of the employer to hire union or non-union men indiscriminately is exercised without resistance, it means that the employers will gradually fill up their shops with non-union men-because non-union men, unprotect ed by organization, will work cheaper; and that ultimately means the end of unionism and all that unionism stands for. Hence the bitter opposition of labor unionists to the unrestricted operation of the right of the employer to hire non-union men. Indeed, the tendency of wages in an unorganized industry is to sink to the wage of the man who will work cheapest and live poorest. A poor wage, like poor money, drives out the good. Allow Chinese labor to compete freely in the American market, and immediately only Chinese wages would be paid, and the American workman would be forced to live like a coolie, or starve. On the other hand, in industries where no unions exist, there is a tendency for all employers to grade downward to compete with the most merciless taskmaster in the trade. An employer who wishes to pay good wages, to share his prosperity, to be benevolent, can not do it, because his neighbor grinds his workmen down, and in order to remain in business the honest employer must stoop to the methods of the dishonest employer.

The properly managed union enables the natu rally upright employer to be upright, and it forces the dishonest employer to be upright.

THE world seldom looks rosy to the man with red eyes.-Ex.

THE EIGHT-HOUR DAY.

"We must all hang together, lest we hang separately," said Ben Franklin on a momentous occasion. Just now this trite saying is the keynote of the typothetæ in its opposition to the eight-hour movement. Thorough organization on the part of the employers is being urged by President Ellis, of the United Typothetæ, and other members of the executive committee of the national body who are traveling in its interest. "Walking Delegate" Ellis is giving his followers good advice. On organization all success depends. While our opponents are preparing to combat the shorter day, let us not be idle. Reports received at headquarters indicate that the "boys" are on the move. A large majority of locals have their men in line, have perfected their plans, and in numerous instances amicably arranged with the employers for the inauguration of the eight-hour day on January 1, 1906. There are some laggards. To these we say: Wake up! Now is the time, and none is so opportune. Every local should organize the workers in its jurisdiction. It can be done, and we believe it will be done. Don't put it off until it is too late.

For some time past two nations have been fighting in the far east. Any follower of events must read the lesson of prepared

there are more to follow. We are going to tell you about them each month.

THE TYPOTHETAE EXCITED.

It sounds like that, don't it? We mean the following circular issued by the joint typothetæ of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The occasion was the visit of President Ellis, of the United Typothetæ, and his executive committee. They gave the visitors a banquet, and this is, in part, how the guests were bid to come:

To the Employing Printers of the Northwest:

A crisis of far-reaching importance to the printing interests of the United States, and especially the northwest, is upon us. The employing printers of the east have been making some preparations to meet it, while we of the west have done next to nothing, until now, when the battle is almost at our doors, we must, as a matter of self-protection, get busy. Chicago will be up against it July 1, 1905; Minneapolis, October 1, 1905; St. Paul, October 1, 1905. If any of these fail it means an eight-hour day, increased payroll, reduced production and the un-American, unconstitutional closed shop to all of you.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Will you elect to stand alone and meet certain swift defeat, or will you join with your fellow printers and fight to the last ditch for the rights the constitution of the United States guaranteesthat of liberty and security in the lawful conduct of your business and the right of every man to gain a living, be he union or non-union, as well as the right of your son to learn the business you are best fitted to teach him?

WHAT WE EXPECT YOU TO DO

Is to positively determine to attend this meeting, fill out, sign and mail at once to the secretary the enclosed postal card, and prevail on your fellow employers to do likewise, thus make this meeting a monster greeting to these gentlemen who have traveled so far to serve you.

Ben Franklin said: "We must all hang together, lest we hang separately."

Will we hang together, or separately?

It is stated in press dispatches that the butlers, valets and second men employed in New York's wealthy homes are making an effort to organize a union. There are said. to be about 5,000 men in that city who are eligible to membership in the proposed organization. The promoters propose to furnish legal aid for members, build a club house and establish an employment bureau, which would fully investigate the standing of would-be employers.

MEETING OF THE JOINT BOARD.

The joint board of appeals formed under the terms of the agreement between the international unions of the printing trade held its second meeting at the headquarters of the International Typographical Union in Indianapolis, on Friday and Saturday, January 13 and 14. The following representatives were present: James M. Lynch, Hugo Miller and J. W. Bramwood, International Typographical Union; Martin P. Higgins, International Printing Pressmen and Assistants' Union; Robert Glockling, International Brotherhood of Bookbinders; James J. Freel, International Stereotypers' and Electrotypers' Union; and H. E. Gudbrandsen, proxy for Louis Flader, International Photo-Engravers' Union.

The secretary-treasurer reported that the receipts during the year had been $266, and the expenditures $36.60, leaving a balance of $236.06 in the treasury. The International Typographical Union was reimbursed in the sum of $15.30 for typewriting and postage necessary in conducting the business of the board during the year.

The most important business transacted at the meeting was the disposition-by unanimous vote of the six appeal cases which had been filed during the year, and upon which it had been found impossible to reach a decision by correspondence.

The agreement and rules of the joint board were combined and amended, and copies of the amended agreement will be furnished those desiring them, on application to the secretary-treasurer. Copies of the amended agreement will also be forwarded to secretaries of allied trades councils.

A motion to establish a joint fund for the protection of the allied label was defeated, it being the opinion that local allied trades councils should bear this expense, as all unions in the council derived benefit from the allied trades label.

The name of the board was changed to joint conference board, and the following officers were elected: President, Martin P. Higgins; vice-president, James J. Freel; secretary-treasurer, J. W. Bramwood. It was unanimously decided to hold the next annual meeting at the headquarters of the

International Typographical Union in Indianapolis.

The spirit of fairness and unanimity of purpose which prevailed at the meeting was especially noticeable in the discussion and disposition of the several appeal cases and the amendment of the agreement. The opinion was freely expressed that the present agreement safeguarded the interests of the different branches of the printing trade, and afforded a means for the amicable settlement of all disputes arising thereunder.

"TRAN up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from it." Our law recommends that local unions admit to membership apprentices in the last year of their apprenticeship, "to the end that, upon the expiration of their term of apprenticeship, they may become acquainted with the workings of the union, and be better fitted to appreciate its privileges and obligations upon assuming full membership." An apprentice correspondent has this to say in the December number of the International Bookbinder:

Now, I have been a member of Local Union No. 9 for the past three years, and although I am not allowed the privilege of vote in my local, I am a regular attendant at the meetings; and hearing the reports of officers, both local and national, read, also committees and actions taken thereon, and debates on different questions, I have become educated to the fact that some time in the near future I must take off my coat and do some of the work that is now being done for me.

But where are we to get our workers from, when all our past and present hustlers retire for good? Don't it seem to be up to us to be educated up to the standard, so that when we become journeymen we must get in and do some hustling? It doesn't seem fair to expect the oldtimers to do all the work for us all the time. Let us do as we are told by our teachers in the union; they expect us in the future to keep the organization up to the present high standard, and we should strive not only to do what they ask, but, if possible, to place it even higher. So get together, boys, and if you belong to the union, attend the meetings regularly, and thereby receive a good education in union principles. Adhere strictly to the laws of your union, pay strict attention to business, and if you know of any boy or man who is not a member try to get him to join. If you follow out these ideas, in time you will be able to take up the work left by the present officers.

THE retrospect of life swarms with lost opportunities. Sir H. Taylor.

COMMENTING on the recent convention of the Parryites in New York city, the Bricklayer and Mason, the official paper of those trades, says:

Just what success these banded and hostile employers will have in their fight against trade unions depends very largely upon the trade unions themselves. If the irresponsible element is to obtain control in any trade union, that organization of wage earners will be crushed-as it will deserve to be. Deserve to be, we say, for we draw no distinction in this case between the bad and the good. For the irresponsible never gain control but when the other element permits them to do so. If this Parry movement will have the effect of sobering trade unions that permit themselves to be led to extremes, it will work to the eternal good of the movement. To say that but few unions permit this is not pertinent; for a movement is sometimes judged not so much by the good it does as by the harm. Those who appreciate the truth of this will see in the present agitation against trade unions in so many quarters every reason for cool-headed, competent leadership and implicit confidence in that leadership.

And the New York Weekly Bulletin of the Clothing Trades, the official paper of that branch of labor, sums it up in this

manner:

The Parry convention in New York was a failure. The measure of the mischief of the Parryites can now be pretty well estimated. They can for a while, in some cities and a few trades, do considerable damage. But when they threaten disaster to the American Federation of Labor, or expect recognition from the first financiers or industrial managers of the United States, they encounter difficulties insurmountable. They belong in little places.

THE output of flour of the Ballard & Ballard Milling Company, of Louisville, Ky., is packed in barrels made by non-unionists, and as a consequence the company was declared unfair to organized labor by the Coopers' International Union and the American Federation of Labor some time ago. The Ballard Company's brands of flour are: "Blue Bird," "Blue Grass," "Bicycle," "Bob White," "Obelisk," "Favorite," "Waterloo," "Old Hickory," "Perfection," "Safety" and "Lucille." Trade unionists should remember this.

THERE was war in a meeting of the citizens' alliance in Fresno recently, says the Kern (Cal.) Union Labor Journal. The secretary had been instructed to procure application blanks. There was not a non

union printer in town, and if there is anything a printer delights in it is seeing the label on his work. When the order was handed in to the printer, the secretary of the alliance did not specify that the label be left off, so, of course, the printer used it. Then things began to happen to that secretary.

DR. MINOT J. SAVAGE, pastor of the Unitarian Church of the Messiah, New York, in a recent sermon said: "I believe in labor unions. If I could have my way I would have all the workers of the world organized instead of partially so. I should have them held legally responsible for their actions, for the keeping of that which they undertake. When the members of a trade union have, by the expenditure of their own time and means, created certain conditions necessary to their safety and well-being in a given industry or institution, it is morally their right and logically their duty to insist that the non-unionist who seeks to share these conditions shall first agree to share the labor and expenditure necessary to their maintenance; in other words, to insist that he shall join the union."

THE child labor bill drafted by the national child labor association, of which United States Senator Knox is vice-president and one of the active spirits, and which was introduced in the Pennsylvania house of representatives by Daniel J. Shern, of Philadelphia, prohibits the employment of any child under thirteen years of age at any kind of work during the months that schools are open. By the provisions of the bill it will be unlawful hereafter for any child under the age of thirteen years to be employed in "any factory, workshop, ¡aundry, renovating works, mercantile establishment, store, office, hotel, restaurant, place of public amusement, or in the distribution of merchandise or messages." The bill also makes it unlawful to permit the employment of any child under the age of sixteen years at any labor or service between the hours of 9 P. M. and 6 A. M. And also, that no child shall be employed more than twelve hours in any one day or more than sixty hours in any week.

THE POLICY OF THE JOURNAL AND KINDRED TOPICS.

The editor of THE JOURNAL has thus far refrained from mentioning the repeated attacks upon its conduct and policy that have been made by a weekly paper in a western city-conducted by a man who glories in a feminine nom de plume-which claims to represent organized labor in that locality, and especially the typographical union. Our correspondents have also been requested to pay no attention to the subject, and we have declined to publish a number of caustic criticisms of the course pursued in this respect by the editor of the weekly publication mentioned. But inasmuch as a campaign of misrepresentation and vilification-directed against both THE JOURNAL and its editor-has been inaugurated by the publisher of the paper in question, it is due to the membership that a statement of fact be presented, so that an unbiased verdict may be reached by those directly interestedthe members of the International Typographical Union.

For some time prior to the St. Louis convention last August, the editor referred to -who is a member of our organization— urged and demanded, through the columns of his paper, that the policy of THE JOURNAL be changed in certain respects; that it be placed on what he termed "the firing line," etc. In its comments on this subject at that time, the paper in question was profuse in throwing bouquets at the editor of THE JOURNAL, and extolled his ability in unmeasured terms; but at the same time it expressed the opinion that he was pursuing a mistaken policy, and that this policy should be changed. No exception can be taken to this. It is simply a difference of opinion. We do not all agree on given subjects, and it is not likely that such a state of affairs will be brought about in the near future, nor would it be desirable.

At the smoker given by No. 8, just prior to the opening of the convention, the editor and publisher of the labor paper mentioned above was called upon for a few remarks, and responded in part by severely criticizing the policy of THE JOURNAL, and urging a change in its conduct. In these remarks, however, the editor in question showered

compliments upon the editor of THE JOURNAL, and expressed the utmost confidence in him, both as editor of the official paper and secretary-treasurer of the International Union. Some of the speakers disagreed in part with this editor-member, maintaining that THE JOURNAL'S policy on the points at issue was absolutely correct, and that it was the proper position for the official paper of our International Union to assume. Official duties prevented the secretary-treasurer from attending this smoker, but the above information came from reliable sources, and will hardly be disputed.

At the solicitation, so we were informed, of this editor-member, one of the delegates to the convention introduced a resolution to change the policy of THE JOURNAL-presumably to make it conform with the ideas of said editor-member. This resolution was referred to the committee on THE TYPOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL. We present herewith the proposition, the committee's report thereon, and the action of the convention, as they appear in the official proceedings of the St. Louis session:

Proposition No. 87:

Resolved, That the secretary-treasurer and editor of THE TYPOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL be and is hereby instructed and directed to change the policy of the official paper from its present course to that of an uncompromising, aggressive and fearless defender of trade unionism, and that the editor be directed to spare no expense in making THE TYPOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL the leading publication in America in its opposition to the newly organized crusade against the trade unions of the country.

The committee reports unfavorably, because we firmly believe that no change is necessary in the policy of our official organ, as we consider The Journal as at present managed to be one of the most uncompromising defenders of trade unionism. The report of the committee was adopted unanimously.

No debate occurred on the committee's report, though the presiding officer twice explained the proposition and report, and asked if there was any objection to the adoption of the report. As will be noted, the action of the convention was unanimous. It speaks for itself.

It may be said at this time that the editor of THE JOURNAL did not appear before the committee, and was unacquainted with its