CENTRAL CIRCULATION BOOKSTACKS The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return to the library from which it was borrowed on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. TO RENEW CALL TELEPHONE CENTER, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN UIC SEP 2 0 2 )04 uiL-nu.i» JUN1 3 ’04 When renewing by phone, write new due date below previous due date. L162 “A Tale of Two FREDERICK W, j()B Secretary ol the Employers’ Asosciation of Chicago 3 S' «T5t • k , , • .»••••* . * c '*. • • • * . • •*. *% v. • V *. •. c‘ A peacnabls, ila^abkHng old German citizen owned a small store in Chicago, on the North’ Side. One day three young fellows stepped into his store determined to see just how far they could go in the direction of bluffing the good natured old man. They began by buying a few things which they refused to pay for. Against the protest of the storekeeper they took more articles; finally they helped themselves to anything and everything in sight; they then went behind the counter and took possession of the place, the old man protesting all the while, but believing that their antics would soon end. Emboldened by their successes, they finally pushed him out of his own store onto the sidewalk. Then he started to walk away and they took after him. He began to run and they chased him. He ran down the street, they following closely after him. He turned the corner and ran a couple of blocks farther and finally, in his desperation, ran into an alley. He found it to be a “blind” alley, and when he reached the stone wall at the other end and could proceed no further, he turned around, “took a Stand” and gave his pursuers a sound thrashing. Moral: Occasionally the worm turns. Wo* ► PREFACE Beloit, Wisconsin, a city of 14,000 people, conservative, prosperous, “unor- ganized” from a union standpoint, had, for years, been busy attending to its own affairs, attracting industries which located within its corporate limits, watching the erection of numerous new buildings, and rapidly adding to its population. The State Statistical Bureau reported that in 1902 the wages in Beloit per capita were the highest paid in Wisconsin. No serious differences had ever marred the relations between employers and employes in Beloit; wages and labor conditions had not changed materially for a year or two. In the issue of July 23, 1903, of the Labor Journal of South Bend (Ind.) ap- peared the following correspondence from a union man who had left South Bend and located at Beloit: “Here I am out in Beloit, Wisconsin, all well, with a good job. * * * “Mechanics get all the way from $2.50 per day, at the least, to $4.00 per day, and a few, more than that. “Moulders receive from $2.65 to $3.60 per day. “Machinists receive an average of $2.55 per day. “Outside laborers receive not less than $1.50 per day, and from that to $2.25, and the only part of living that is more expensive than in South Bend is house rent. “I cannot say what percentage of the people own their own homes here, but I know that lots of them do. I have seen but one hovel in this city. * • * “I remain as ever, Yours in union, “A UNION MAN.” Did Beloit Need Organizing or Unionizing ? 3 ^0 2.6 2. 1 2 - PART I. 1903 Spring CHAPTER I. Unionization Two “walking, talking delegates,” George Mulberry, fifth vice-president of the International Association of Machinists, and James Hogan, one of the general organizers of the American Federation of Labor, of which there are over 1,100 scattered throughout the United States, discovered the “unorganized” and hence, contented conditon of Beloit, and hastened there. Under the magical influence of this pair of disturbers, who promised many impossible “improvements” in the already excellent labor conditions of Beloit industries, the workers became innoculated and intoxicated with the virus of unionism; they were persuaded that their conditions were bad. Chicago and other cities had recently been “organized,” had furnished ex- citement for the public, voluntary and involuntary vacations for employes, and a good, fat, easy living for organizers and the walking delegates; and why not Beloit? Loud talk, insane demands, strikes and rumors of boycotts burdened the air. The fever raged and Beloit became union mad. In peaceful June, 1901, there were three labor unions in Beloit, with a membership of 200; in riotous June, 1903, there were 21 unions, with a membership of over 2,000. The character of the work in factories declined; retail merchants were scared to death by threats of being boycotted unless the union card was dis- played in their windows, or hung from their chandeliers. You bought union goods from union clerks who carried union cards, or you were made the object of derision by the unionists on the streets. It was like “tempting fate” to ask for an article that was under the ban of the union. The Musicians’ Union refused to permit its members to play in a grand stand which had been erected by a non-union contractor. It was considered the “Banner Union City of the Northwest,” and for that reason was selected by the International Machinists’ Union at its convention in Milwaukee, May 6 to 9, 1903, as the proper place to make the fight for the complete recognition and domination of union demands and methods. 4 CHAPTER II. Demoralization In discussing the situation, one of her prominent citizens contrasted Beloit’s “paralyzed business situation” in June, 1903, with “the tireless progressive activity” of a year before, and the cause was found to be “the interference by organized labor with the constitutional rights of the citizen.” In the following manner was the city of Beloit advertised by the daily press : “The Gaston Scale Works have locked out the moulders, who demand a minimum wage of $3.00 a day, the scale fixed by the local moulders’ union.” — Chicaga Examiner. “Seven hundred machinists of the Berlin Machine Works struck today for a nine-hour day, an increase in wages and recognition of the union.” — Chicago Inter Ocean. “Judge B. F. Dunwiddie, of the circuit court of Rock county, today issued an injunction against picketing at the Berlin Mlachine Works. The injunction is very sweeping in its nature. The machinists’ union has been out on a strike for nine weeks. ” — Chicago Record-Herald , July 19, 1903. “The labor difficulties in Beloit are being felt amongst the building contrac- tors, perhaps as much or more than in any of the other industries of the city. “The wages of masons, bricklayers, carpenters and plasterers have been raised almost 50 per cent, thus increasing the cost of building greatly, so that the number of contracts in the hands of the builders is small in comparison with the orders of a year ago.” — Belvidere (III.) Republican. Thus was Beloit well advertised as a good place for individuals and industries to stay away from. Intimidation, coercion, violence and assaults were the order of the day. 1903 Spring and Summer CHAPTER III. 1903 Summer Self-Preservation “Beloit, Wis., June 12, 1903. Frederick W. Job, Esq., Secretary Chicago Employers’ Association, Chicago. Dear Sir: — I write you at the suggestion of Mr. Kelley, of Chicago. The radical element of our unions has forced upon our manufacturers demands they cannot grant. Walkouts, lockouts and strikes are the result, until business confidence is destroyed and business is paralyzed. In our extremity our manufacturers, business men and non-union men must organize for self-preservation. I understand that this has been successfully done at many other places. Can you furnish us at Beloit with the outlines of a plan of organization, or put us in touch with proper parties who can furnish details of a suitable plan? Can an experienced organizer be secured? Trusting my letter may receive an early reply, I remain sincerely yours, C. W. MERRIMAN, Formerly City Superin tendeut of Schools of Beloit.” June 16, 1903, M!r. Job addressed a body of about twenty business and professional men at Beloit, and organized an Employers’ Association. They were advised by him, amongst other things that — ; “There must be an end of the intolerant, impossible and unlawful attitude and demands of the unions.” “Honesty, energy and unity of action must mark the work of the associ- ation.” “The same laws apply to both the union and non-union man.” “Freedom of the individual and the salvation of the city are the goals you must seek to attain.” “Petty jealousies, business competition and personal animosities must not prevent the citizens from joining heartily in the movement, and ‘putting their shoulders to the wheel.’ ” “Violations of the laws (both civil and criminal) must be prosecuted — not occasionally, but invariably.” “If the laws are good, enforce them; if bad, repeal them.” “Other cities have freed themselves; why not Beloit?” Note the principles of this association, which are as follows: The open shop. No sympathetic strikes. No iimitation or restriction of output or apprentices. Enforcement of the laws. Can anything he found in these 'principles which an honest , well-meaning , union or non-union man can object to? 6 PART II. CHAPTER I. Restoration “Beloit, Wis., June 26, 1903. “Frederick W. Job, Chicago, 111. “Dear Sir: — * * * We are doing good work and I believe we will be able to meet the conditions here and set the wheels of progress again in motion. “Very truly yours, JOEL B. DOW, “Vice-President of Beloit Employers ’Association.” Later on this association was changed from an Employers’ Association to a Citizens’ Alliance, so that the non-employing, non-union men might join it. When an injunction was issued restraining strikers and pickets from molesting workmen who wanted to earn an honest living, the association vig- orously prosecuted violations of the same. From that time on the influence and membership of the organization grew, and the influence and opposition of unionism waned. The unhappy, unprofitable and unnatural conditions in Beloit changed. Beloit, Wis., August 30, 1903. “After being out sixteen weeks the striking machinists of the Berlin Ma- chine Works have returned to work without any concessions on the part of the company. ’ ’• — Chicago Eecord-Herald. With the return of the employes to the Berlin Machine shops came notice- able reforms in other shops, and the petty annoyances to non-union men ceased to a large degree. Union men learned that there were other interests in business than those of the union. The laws were being enforced. The politicians who keep their ears close to the ground saw the trend of affairs, and the former “political pulls” of the union were found to be ropes of sand. Beloit, September 5, 1903. (Special Correspondence.) “The Citizens’ Alliance of Beloit has now 1,000 members, amongst whom are many mechanics and laborers from various branches of industry. The Alliance maintains an office, and stands ready to aid its members in every way. New members are joining at the rate of from 50 to 100 a week, and the largest hall in the city will soon be required for its meetings. ’ ’ — Chicago Chronicle. Statement of the secretarv of the Citizens’ Alliance of Beloit, December 2, 1903: “Every manufacturing establishment in the city, all painting contractors, 7 1903 Summer and Fall 1903-4 all plumbing contractors, and all carpenter contractors but one, are members Winter of Citizen s’ Alliance. The management of both daily papers, of both tele- phones, of the waterworks, of the electric railway and of the other semi-public corporations, are members of the Alliance. “A very large proportion of all business firms and of all dealers in lumber, coal and other commodities are members of the Alliance.” Beloit resumed the position that it formerly occupied; it became a model town for the manufacturer, the business man and the workman; a city where the spirit of special class rights and of restricted class privileges no longer existed; a city where every man had equal rights and privileges with every other man; a city where every man was the helpful, cordial friend of every other man. This is what the Citizens’ Alliance of Beloit accomplished. CHAPTER II. Emancipation “ ‘Unless the trade unionists of the country answer the appeal of Beloit, Wisconsin, labor organizations for assistance, the latter will be crushed out of existence.’ This statement was made last night by James Hogan, organizer for the American Federation of Labor, who is here (Chicago) to collect funds for the Beloit workers. He said that the employers had organized an Alliance and were carrying on a policy* mapped out by F. W. Job, of Chicago. Nearly every union in Beloit is being fought. ”* — Chicago American, December 9, 1903. (Special Telegram.) “Beloit, Wis., Feb. 3 , 1904 . — The Teamsters’ Union, which has been regarded as one of the most aggressive labor organizations of the city, has surrendered its charter and gone out of business. It is learned that the union has been in a tottering condition for some time, and it was hard to get a sufficient num- ber of members out at the last meeting to take formal action on disbanding. “There is a little money in the treasury, and while under the rules of the union this should revert to the national organization, those who remained with the local are not disposed to make that disposition of the money. It will be divided amongst them. “The prejudice is now so great against the union label that the union man is handicapped in getting work and the teamsters have hastened to get out of the union .” — Chicago Chronicle. *Note the principles of the association, Chapter III, Part I. 8 (Special Telegram.) “Beloit, Wis., Feb. 15. — The Beloit Daily Journal, instituted as an organ for the labor unions four months ago, and which Walking Delegate Mulberry says was the wisest move the local union ever made, has collapsed, like everything radical in Beloit. The union stockholders made strenuous efforts to save the paper. The Daily Journal was the outgrowth of the Weekly Journal, founded by R. D. Hogan, the organizer who unionized Beloit and who sold his weekly to the Daily Journal Stock Company and was manager until a few weeks ago, when Mr. Hogan, seeing the end, sold out his interest in the paper and left town.” — Chicago Chronicle. CHAPTER III. V e r>i f i c a t i o n Federal Labor Union No. 10104 (chartered by the American Federation of Labor) is located at Beloit, Wisconsin. The following figures, taken from the “American Federationist,” the official organ of the American Federation of Labor, show the decrease in monthly con- tributions from “No. 10104” to the national treasury at Washington, since the employers and other good citizens of Beloit “got together:” 1903. Month. June July August . . . September October . . November December . Contributions. $35.00 20.00 12.00 12.00 10.00 2.00 2.00 Shrinkages in the monthly contributions of Local Union No. 139 (at Beloit) of the machinists, to their national treasury, as per their official Journal, since the formation of the Employers’ Association, are indicated by the following: 1903. August . . , September October . . November Contributions. $122.95 80.00 No report No report Membership in eight representative labor unions of Beloit. Spring of 1903. Winter of 1903-4. 400 Federal Labor Union 0 525 Machinists 106 84 Clerks 0 99 Teamsters 0 90 Garment Workers 0 46 Painters and Decorators 0 51 Electrical Workers 11 46 Shoe Workers 0 1,341 117 Through the Shoeworkers’ Journal, the general secretary-treasurer of the Boot and Shoeworkers’ Union, reports the following contributions from the Beloit local: 1903. Months. Contributions. July .$10.67 August None September 10.67 October 50 December None 1904. January None CHAPTER IV. Retrospection But two employers in Beloit have made any reductions in wages since the formation of the Citizens’ Alliance. These are the following: In December one factory made a horizontal reduction of 1V 2 per cent in the wages of all of its employes. But the men now work Saturday afternoons, and so earn exactly as much as before. In one other small factory a slight reduction has recently been made. In each case the change was made because all other factories in the same line throughout the country have readjusted their wage scales; and local conditions had nothing to do with it. In both of these factories the workmen are content. All other shops pay the same wages they were paying a year ago. No attempt has been made by the employers to take any advantage of their work- men because of the formation of the Citizens’ Alliance. This treatment is appreciated by the men, and willing, cheerful workmen and satisfactory output are the results. 10 The following copy of a letter addressed to the Beloit Citizens’ Alliance, explains itself: Beloit, Feb. 1, 1904. “As a former union man, I wish to thank the Alliance for what it has done for me and for the other workmen of Beloit. I had always been a non-union man, but I was forced into the Machinists’ Union just before the Berlin Machine Works’ strike. I was made to feel that I could not hold my job unless I joined the union, and I was told that if I lost my job I could not get another anywhere, as all good shops had become union shops. Then I was forced to go out on the strike within two weeks. Out of all the men\ at the Berlin works there were not more than ten men who really wanted to strike. But when we got that telegram from the International at Milwaukee, out we had to go. Then for ten weeks I had to be a bum tramp, forced to violate the law in picketing my employers shops, day after day, hanging my head in shame as the man who, for fifteen years had paid me good wages, passed me on the way to his office; forced day after day to sit in our meetings and hear that man, who had always treated me fairly, called vile names. Week after week I received that miserable $6.00 from the union in place of my nice wages from the shop. Then I had to drop the payments on my house. My family had to go without the things they always had had. But worst of all was that my wife and children were objects of pity by all good people because I was such a fool as to belong to a union which proved to be made up of socialists, anarchists and fools like me. Then when the injunction came and some of us dared to go back to work, it did seem so nice to be received back kindly, just as if nothing had hap- pened. It seemed like getting back home to have my same machine, the same good wages and be treated like a man. I have heard the Alliance abused as being against the working man. But I think the Alliance should be thanked, as it is the only thing that made it so that a man dared to go back to work. When I joined the Alliance and found that most of its members were working men like myself, I made up my mind that it could do the honest workman more good than all the unions in the country. Why, I heard more good, kind things said the first night I joined than I ever heard at all the union meetings I ever attended. I think Beloit ought to be proud it has such an Alliance. And if there was such a one in every city, there would be no more labor troubles. Yours thankfully, “A Former Union Man.” li There are no labels on teams in Beloit. Union cards have been removed from all stores. The label has been removed from both daily papers. Beloit is again a good city in which to live and conduct business. The word union is seldom mentioned, and a non-union man is again treated as a free American citizen. The output from factories is again normal in all cases, and in one instance the increase has been 10 per cent since the workers were emancipated from the yoke of unionism. The “involuntary members” of labor unions have awakened from the spell cast over them by Messrs. Hogan and Mulberry. They find protection against the intimidating bludgeon methods of the union. They realize that their employers and sane fellow citizens, and not the officers (for revenue only) of the unions, are their friends. They have left the unions. It is again called “BEAUTIFUL BELOIT.” As many employers have asked for copies of this pamphlet for distributing through their mail to employers in other cities, extra copies have been printed. Price, 2 cents a copy up to 100 copies; from 100 copies up, 1 cent a copy. FREDERICK’ W. JOB, , 832 Marquette Building, Chicago. 12