THE UNIONISTS TAKE CHARGE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12991, 4 June 1904, Page 10

THE UNIONISTS TAKE CHARGE.

(Montreal TYitness.)^ Mr Ray Stannard Baker, who examined the industrial conditions in New York and Chicago last year, and whose revelations created much interest, has been visiting: San Francisco, and in M'Clurc's Magazines gives tho result of his investigations in the "Golden West." He finds a city, where, as one contractor told him, tho "unions own the town, , and where, as another informed him, •'tho employers are flat on their backs" The causes which led up to this state of affairs are many, bu#it may bo immediately traced to the groat strike' of 1901. The de : inar.d of the unions at that time; was the entire control of the labour market,' and from this they have; never swerved.. The struggle tied up all the sea commerce and much of the other business of tho city for months. Non-union teamsters were hauled from their waggons and their arms broken with iron bars so that they could not drive again; "scabs" wero shot and beaten, battles fought between strikers' and deputies, and' violence, bloodshed, and loss of enormous sums of money were the order of the day, until some sort of an agreement was effected. Victory nominally inclined to the employers, but tho unions had learned their power, at least to injure, and .since, that time no employer, individual or corporate,, has been able to contend with them successfully. Noiv, if a store employs other than union labour sentinels arc placed, outside to warn' off prospective customers. Mr Baker saw three separate firms within the space of a block " quarantined "-.in this way, One of thcEe, as the result of the boycott, was obliged to close its doors, throwing 260' workers permanently out of employment, If a union man is caught entering a boycotted store ho is fined anywhere from sdol to 25d01. It is interesting to record that the "randwich men" who Mβ posted outsido the offending shops have a. union of their own, and were obliged to strike before they could obtain what they considered, a fair, wage—even though their.employer was a unionist. . Ono newspaper on the coast, the Los Angeles Times, has taken its life in iia hands and is fighting the labour monopoly. Union men (ill over the continent are fined if found purchasing thp product o£ any firms which advertise in its columns, and wthin tho last few months the proprietors of the Lydia Pinkham medicines have received over a million letters requesting them to withdraw their patronage from the paper on pain ot being included in tho boycott. Newsdealers have been, forced to stop selling the' Times; men employftdin its offices have been offered ae high as fOOOdol to induce them to desert; and just now the International Typographical Union has requested Mr Hearst, owner of the New York Journal, to establish a newspaper to fight the Times, guaranteeing it 10,000. eukeribei's at the start. R. J. Techan, a restaurant-keener, was boycotted because be hired non-union musicians. He finally sold - out, and his orchestra was thrown out of employment..' One of its members, when seeking to make his peace with tho union, was fined lOdol for rehearsing and lOOdol for playing with a non-union orchestra, besides 2Sdol initiation fee, Tho Stonecutters' Union has forced tho stoneyard employers to discharge all- their planer men—expert workmen trained to the handling of machinery— and to fill their places with members of the union. Thi6 turned a whole class of labour out of employment, lessoned the output, and caused numerous accidents with machines in the hands o£ inexperienced men. The planer men were refused admittance- into the union because " they wore not expert stonereuttere." The gravodiggers won a strike_ last year, in the course of which "nan-union" graves Were filled with water and the crematory blown up. There are unions of actors, newspa'por writers, gum boys, elevator boys; soda, soap, and candle workers, carpet layers, shade hangers, piano movers, pie waggon drivers, fish cleaners, bowling alley employees, and many others. ' . , There are two union mergers or central councils. The first, including all the miscellaneous trades, is conducted on liberal lines, and its powers are largely advisory. Tho other, .the Building Trades Councilembracing 62 unions—is an autocracy, and its czar is one P. H. M'Carthy. • M'Carthy is not-a vulgar tyrant like Sam Parks, but he is' content with nothing short of an unlimited sway. Because the aheet. metal wokers would not submit to dictation in the matter of selecting delegates to a convention ho personally expelled the entire union, of 147 men, without cliMge6, and without ;i trial. During a striko tho unions" built a planing mill. They afterwards effected an ngieonent with the other millowners which resulted m aft inefease of wages by some. 25 per cent. The public, as usual, however, had to " pay the piper." aa tho prices of mill products want up from 50 to 100 per cent. When tho men find that they have made Hying dearer they make that a plea for still new demands. In the painting trade a committee of th* Building Trades' Counoil, M'Carthy being a member, meets a committee from the Employers' Association every week, and this joint committee absolutely regulates prices and all details ■of the trad© ia Sam Francisco. In ono typical' instance- the journeymen got an increase of 16J- per cent., whereas the employer increased the price of painting by 25 per cent, and papering by 50 per conr. • The unions jn California , aro not the champions" of the poor against tho rich: they are- rather combines of capitalists. Their initiation fees- are often prohibitive where poor men are concerned. The tilelayera and electricians charge as high as 50dol. Tho latter also charge 25d0l examination fee, which tho candidate loses if he fai's to pass. The unions have gone into politics also, and the present Mayor of San Franpisco, Mr Eugene E. Schaiitz, who was elected by an enormous majority, is a member of the Musicians' Union. Those despotic doings aro bringing about their inevitable, results. Wages'have been forced up in the building trades until the city isthreatened'with a complete cessation of rtiw construction work. Employers who ,are strong enough have been provoked into reprisals, and in some, cases are- endeavouring to dispense altogether' with the services of union men. The limited "union class" which; baa been created prospers only at the expense of other workers and of the public at large, and necessarily brings upon itself tho same ill-will from the non-privi; leged ranks that other priviloged combines have to face. Tho aulooraey of such men as M'Carthy am? Parks has been excused; as a "benevolent despotism," but its benevolence is not to the public- but to a class, and no despotism ever remained ."bonevolont" for lonj. 'It is to be honed, for the sake- of the- member of the union,- that ho will soon daro to call iiis soul his own, and realise that, liko other citizens, ho ig entitled to " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" apart from the permission of "boss" or "czar." . .

Only by driving round a course at comothing like. tfie spend that will bo ai(ainod on it can a really trustworthy opinion bs formed as to its suitability for racing airJ therefore, greater value attaches to the views of Mr A. Eawlinson, who went over the -Isle, of Man route for *lio fiordon-Ben-nott eliminating trials in tlio 40 horse-power Darracq, which attained miles an hour at Southpoi't lai-t autumn. Tho course waa far better tlian ho oxpeoted, and he saw no reason why seme of the sections should r.of allow of ;i speed of 100 miles an hour. Then aro plaors whioh are difficult, but they are not dangerous, the ; only bait bends being in tjio ascent of Glen Helou, where the gradient, one in seven, is so steep that r.o atteinpiii at high spml would bo feasible. Tho climb up.Snaefeil has a riso o? 2000 ft in six miles, and the raid is widocnough for cars to pis*, while the descont is about 17 mile? long, tJiraugh absolutely deserted moorhwd, mi which any speed the enginoa could do would be. safe, and there aro soino dead straight level bits of from, five to seven miles each, on which also any'speed could bo maintained. It would be almost impossible to obtain a course more suited to. test, the cars and tho drivers, and any able to go round it ;iib a good spo-od' would have no difficulty in negotiating tli3 ! course at Homburg, which was somewhat similar. The only 'thing required is the improvement of tho surface between Douglas and Castletown and between Castletown and the railway bridge by Foxdalo, which is rough at present. Tho rest of lha road Mr EawlinSOll found to bo excellent, and comparing moaii favourably with any main road in England. —Tho financial result of tho running of motor omnibuses in Eastbourne (England) by tho town council has been most gratify, in". \ slurt was made with enc vehicle on April 13,'1905, a second-was added on Juno 1, a third on August 27,.and a lourtli on September 19. Tho report shows thai up to the end of tho year 4hey earned 294 922 passengerts over 36,800 miles, ti-.b total cost per car per mile, including capital charges, being; Is 1.6 a. Tho net profit, after paying interest on capital and the first instalment of sinking liinJ, was £67 3s lid, equal to 5 per cent, on the coal of-the omnibuses , , ■, ; . In Franco 5»o youth under 18 years c£ ago is permitted to drive a motor car on tho public roads. The Automobile. Qlubs 61 Victoria has followed ihe example- of the loading similar bodies in England, America, , and France, and will n/it {%»\nininlv»gi under 18 years of age,. . ' ' '