The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 13, 1904, Page 11

THE ¢ that sublime faith in extrems to smmon nd the purchasers of gold se 2t the age of hown world as con- Nebr. What I knew trede absorbed at lian’t pain me any, and ders’ ¢ not finding jobs most any r touched me. Had 1 Aed a procure employment things different. ed a package of hot velope, presenting My strictly ay-Concern age postmas- legged gentleman, n with my gang: hence I was a loo-loe { the foundry. He been The pedigree of the trunk is thus recorded here because it soon eluded me and many years elapsed before I ewned another. Eternal vigilance is the price of trunks, and likewise valises, among the poor and foolish. Har iu society seemed morz firiy estab- lished when I raised the lid and looked at the Cherub. :In time a fellow can do without baggage, when he gets trained down to it. So it came about that one winter day, with the trunk masquerading as baggage and me bumping the red plush in a varnished car, we bore down on Omaha. En route through Iowa 1 studied the whisker exhibits installed on depot platforms, there being noth- ing else worth looking at. The leading export of the State at that time was prohibiticn literature, while the in- habitants raised whiskers for home consumption. Also I observéd experi- erced travelers in the coach drinking from bottles. These alcoholic festivi- ties made me feel like a four-flusher. Having failed to provide a bottle of my own, 1 looked for the conductor to flag me at every mile post on the ground that I had made a false start. That he tolerated one so remiss in his duty to society amazed me. Even now, after a lapse of twenty- five years, this problem racks and nuz- zles.” Why will the man who spenas w decade at home, never thinking of liguor, load up with a quart canteen and souse himself silly on a forty-mile ride? Search me. Does the motion of the train arouse latent thirst, or does the gent think the neck of the bottle protruding from his raiment brands him a traveler of world-wide repute? Funny, isn’t it, what mutts,you meet while flitting from State to State, either on foot.or among the late Mr. Pullman’s plush. y Early on the morning of the second day the train reached Omaha and al- T e lowed me to mingle in the fierce met- ropolitan whirl. 1 left the trunk at the depot for a look "around -before doing anything rash. It was great— valuable asset I rated a ne kind of bark € in it. The out- ¥ rthe air of belng a gay young man ‘b’;h-»:ih‘- \‘.»r}‘ best about town, strutting proudly along subdued yellow pat- paved streets. Most of the people r ,'1, of the lid ap- lcoked like employes and 1 was glad f a bloated Che- - fate hadq carried me to the right place. E o~ = z There was no rea- o0 o P "X, son why 1 should = a * not become an em- . ot T tea anipula- s FACE WAS ADORNED WITH TWO ploye and write to i elied more on UNLIGHTED CIGARS WITH RED AND MYy friends at home own passed letters bearing the GOLD CORSETS ON THEM. ””m.:.“. 008 9600000€0050000 First ANNOUNCEMENT. For the purpose of encouraging-California and Western writers. $5 by offering a consideration for short stories equal to that paid by the best magazines, and for the purpose of bringing young and unknown writers to the front, the Sunday Call announces a weekly fiction con- test in which a cash prize of $50 will be paid each week for the best story submitted. There is no section of America more fertile in ma- terial for fiction or more prolific in pens gifted to give spirit to the material at hand than is California and the West. Therefore the Sun- day Call offers $50 for the best story submitted each week by a West- ern writer. Stories of Western life 2nd Western characters will, as a rule, be given the preference, but all strong stories, and especially strong stories by new writers, will receive careful consideration. Each story will be judged strictly upon its literary merit. Type- written copy is the easiest to read and will receive the first consider- n from the editor. but do not hesitate to send a story in hand- if you cannot afford to have it typewritten. Fifty dollars in cash for a story of not less than 2500 words and not more than 3500 words is approximately $17 per thousand words, or 1.7 cents per word. The highest price paid by the leading magazines for the work of any but the very best writers is rarely more than two cents 2 word, more often one cent and a half, and generally one cent. With the maijority of magazines the writer, after his story is ac- cepted, is compelled to wait until the publication of his story before he is paid, a period of seldom less than six months. and usually from nine months to a year. The stories accepted in this contest will be paid for immediately upon publication, and will be publisied on the Story Will A%\pg pear Next Sun- day lacking original The mere fact of going to bed in order te place anything of value under lock and key did not, in my opinion, class the trunk as an also ran. My position first Sunday following the judeing of the week’s manuscripts. © 300000000069°0000006000000000000000000000000000 5D postmark of a large city. The growth of this idea made me chesty. I SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. v Charles Dryden chucked caution to the winds and de- cided to risk eating something, even before making my debut as an em- ploye. On the rounds of the town I had located in a side street a swagger cafe, bearing this sign: “The Delbeano; Mrs. J. Bunk, Prop.” At the curb Stood an inverted wooden wedge in blue adorned with this legend: “Meals 15 cents and Upward,” which direction I have since learned is, or should be, the natural course of meals taken at that price. In the show window a small pink china pig was mired to its knees in a plate of un- cooked beans—a subtle lure set by Mrs. Bunk to entrap the Boston tour- ist. On pushing open the blue door a bell tinkled above the portal and I glanced back to see who was ringing it. The interior Delbeano was. a gaunt room harboring a few tables and a portholed partition at the back. through which the ambushed cook fired victuals at unwary batrons. There were two vivid works of art on opposite walls. One was the likeness of a fat man, inscribed “I Eat Here.” Hie partner on the other side. a hag- gard gentleman, who looked like Mr. Dante, did not eat there, according to his epitaph. Where he did replenish his inner being will forever remain & mystery to me. Below the thin man hung a business motto, “No Trust, No Bust,” worked in red worsted on per- forated cardboard. P While. noting these appetizing spe- cialties 1 became conscious of a hu-g man presence in the room. At‘a table in the rear sat a razor-faced female of middle age gazing fixedly at me out of snaky eyes. Her face was without expression save the bleck sparks that glowed at either side of her beak. As she looked at me I tried to look in another direction and failéed. Once I made a bold point at the “No Trust, No Bust” poem, but fearing this effort to appear natural might lay me open 00C000000000006007008C000000000000060002 e D=5 e 90000000000000000000002000000000€09000000000 # HISTORY OF ORGANIZED LABOR IN to unjust suspicion, I switched to the epicure who ate there. The undoubted success of that person induced me to sit down and open a bill of fare which resembled a ball programme minus the lead pencil. Pretty soon the lady of the house came over, placed one hand on my table and the other on her hip, mean- while plercing me with her gimlets. Once I.glanced up and she merely pointed one untidy finger -at the bill of fare. To save my neck I couldn’t think of anything but stewed oysters, the only hot food ever served at the Bon Ton restaurant in my town. The wits were scared out of me and still I didn’t know why. Finally I sald “oysters” in a voice inaudible to my- self. Had I been a man of brains and wide experience in dining out it would have been ham and eggs right off the Teel. Aiming her face toward the rear, Mrs. Bunk .yelled, “One stew!" and then leisurely placed some tools and a dish of cold slaw on the table. Mean- v.hile, no sound had come from the kitchen. The order was not bellowed back in true metropolitan fashion. In a little while Mrs. Bunk strolled into the culinary works and instantly there issued the stealthy rattle of pots and a sound of some one raking the fire. Soon the dark eyed lady emerged, wearing an air of extreme abstraction. She went to the front window, shifted the. pink pig to an easier position among the beans and gazed into the street. Having me in her _toils that siren of the West worked her little game to the limit. (« nce she did face about to shriek, “Hurry up that stew; me the swish of her starchy skirts sounded like splashes of rain against a window. ‘With the stew in front of me and that pallid flim-flammer seated in her orig- inal chair, the picture of unconscious virtue and innocence, my first feeling of fear gave way to indignation border- ing on wrath. Did she take me for a lobster? Well, I should hope not; but all the same she had me going for a while. Whether or no the lady kept a cook didn't matter three hoots in the hot place so far as I was concerned. I never had monkeyed with oysters save at church sociables at Mudville, where everything was square and aboveboard. To find that passive bivalve used as a medium of deceit annoyed and disgust- ed me. And the bold trick of that brazen Mrs. Bunk bred in my tender bosom a distrust for the sex which en- dures to this day. The oysters were good. After throw- ing in the warm poultice I produced a roll fit to choke a canary bird, gave d Off the Bread Wagdon oings of an AmateurHobo the jolt produced by the unparliament ary conduct of Mrs. Bunk. Why shoulé she act that way? Food ever has been and always will be the same to me, whether prepared by chef, proprietor, general manager, cashier or floorwalk- er, so long as the viands are properly cooked. The world was new to me then and everybody and everything in it strictly on the level until I bumped into Mrs. J. Bunk of Omaha, Neb. By that one false stroke she forever queered my faith in females and the sincerity of their motives on any proposition. When- ever the gentle passion flickered in my heart, which it sometimes did, there came a warning vision of Mrs. B. and her bunko oyster stew, and I at once grew cold and frosty toward the sex. Can you blame me? No one ever saw a le caterer pull off any such fool performance; it isn't in him. Man is prone to pride in dual- ity without duplicity on the side. Wit- ness scores of little eating joints in every city—mere slits in the wall, most- ly. Row of stools at one side of the counter; range, grub and gear on the other. A fat slob of bilious aspect, in cap and apron that used to be white, cooks and washes dishes in full vieg of his victims and glories in his ver@til- ity. Sometimes the dew of strenuous endeavor mingles with the cuisine; but what of that? There is no attempt to deceive, to create an impression of ab- sent quantity, and the entire process is conducive to calm serenity of mind and unimpaired digestion—for a few years, at least. 1 have made much of this boiled oyster incident because, coming as it did at the very threshold of my youth- Each Week for the Best,t——— SHORT STORY $ 50 $ Submitted to them————"— SUNDAY CALL ful career, it put me up in the clock for the time being. There was I, a lone- some boy, far from home, willing to be a friend to any one who would befriend me, and dependent upon the labor of my hands and feet provided I hit it right. The first human with whom | came in contact was a woman who should have been a mother to me. In- stead she handed me a gold brick with a spoon in it, leaving me a melancholy prey to suspicion and moody distrust The proper study of mankind is man; it is the women who keep us guessing. the gent's a-waiting!” No response. Once more Mrs. Bunk ducked into the kitchen; again I heard the sneaky rat- tle of pots and beheld her skinny hand when she slid the bowl. upon a sheif in the open partition. Moreover, 1 recog- nized the voice when she stepped back and shouted, *‘Stew r-r-ready—take it away!” Again she came forth in a walking trance and moved about, brushing phantom oOUR HABIT WAS TO BITE OUR MONO- flies off the tabies. GRAMS ON THE TOP CRUST 00000000000000000000C00000000080000000000000000000000000000 RULES. 1 No story will be considered that is less than 2500 nor more than 3500 words in length. The length of the story must be marked in lain figures. P gur " In the selection of stories names will not count. The unknown writer will have the same standing as the popular author. 1 As one of the obiects of the Sunday Call is to develop a new corps of Western writers no stories under noms de plume will be 'conmdered. If a story earns publication it will be well worth the writer's name. 1v Stories not accepted will be returned at once. will be published one each week. 50 Those selected v This fiction contest will be continued indefinitely. Vi An author may submit 3s many manuscripts as he 'desires._but no one writer will be permitted to win more than three prizes during the contest. i Vil Always inclose return postage. No manuscripts will be returned unless accompanied by return postage. Vil only; put name and address legibly on SUNDAY EDITOR OF THE CALL. Write ‘on one side of paper and address to the *All of a sudden she saw the bowl and made a dash for it, and as she sped by 50 last pi by SAN ;fiANClSCO, CAL. 03000000000000000000000 Mrs. Bunk a scornful look, and the price, and went out the blue front door, never again to darken it. It was a long while before I got over In the next chapter I cheer up wonder. fully and debut in the protean charac- ter of employe and boarded in an hon- est Omaha family. e CALIFORNIA ¥ | labor organization 1 contemporan- th, if it does not actu- tedate, the discovery of Among the numerous ary records of that early day suggestions of concerted ac- ng the printing trades as far 1846, in wWhich year the first per was issued in the State. precarious conditions of jour- that time are illustrated by n 1848 a half-sheet, is- Star, announced nsion of publication owing to of “gold, gold, gold,” which newspa The nalism at the fa hands—printers, sub- the scene of the Prosperity killed it! article appeared in the Guide, announcing the forma- San Francisco of an American r vion. This was probably an 1 to the Pacific Typographical At this time printers’ wages aged $2 50 per 1000 ems, as com- with the present rate of about Time hands received $12 50 and overtime at the rate of Even the office boy, ed $30 per week. These represented boom rates, and ot last long. a result of the downward tend- we find notice of a meeting, held 50, by the printing fraternity for the purpose of devising a plan to es- general system of time work the rate of printers’ wages ed to $2 per 1000 ems. Im- after the great fire of 1853, o the comparatively low of $1 50 per 1000 ems. ¢ y the latter figure repre- hat was then regarded as the e limit.” At this period, note the first strike in the des, against a reduction to $125 per 1000 ems, y the publishers of the Alta A “stay away” notice was printers, advising the aft in the “States”— East—to refrain from alifornia. The strike was d wages remained, for least, at the rate of $150 Typographical Society ito the Eureka Union, 1s chartered by the Na- Typographical Union in 1855. when the International Typo- Union was formed, the title Old Eureka” was changed and the union became known as Typograph- jcal Union No. 21 of San Francisco, which designation has since been held by that body. Thus the local Typo- graphical Union enjoys the distinction not only of the longest consecutive ex- istence but of being the first trade union in the State to form a national gray of and international alliance with the 2 large. Although always conspicuous among the organized crafis of the State, the printers did not long enjoy sole bonors in the work of organiza- tion. The excitement attendant upon the rush to the gold fields had hardly begun to abate when the enormous immigration of Chinese began to at- tract the attention of the pioneers. Anti Chinese agitation spread throughout the - State. Legislative measures of a. local character were proposed and evidently with some suc- o since we read that in March, 1852, a bill to enforce contracts to la- bor was defeated upon the represent- ation that it was a measure designed to facilitate the importation of cheap labor from Asia. About this time a commission was formed for the pur- pose of crystallizing public sentiment against the Chinese, which body may be regarded as the parent of all the subsequent agitation which culminat- ed in the Chinese exclusion act of the present day. The decade of 1850-60 was charac- terized by the growth of organization among the’various trades and callings then established as a resuit of the de- velopment of industry in the State. An interesting sidelight is thrown upon this phase of the State’s growth by the figures of the United States cén- sus for 1860, which give the profes- sional and industrial callings and the numbers of persons engaged therein, as follows: Herdsmen, 8$01; innke®p- ers, 1404; laborers, 253%4; laun- dresses, 1918; lawwyers, 894 lumber- men, 1051; mariners, 3078; masons, 533; merchants, 5087; miners, 82,573; packers, 679; painters, 1023; phys clans, 1122; printers, 621; ranchers, 751; refectory keepers, 1859. In 1863, immediately after the publi- cation of these figures of the State's industries. we find unmistakable evi- dences of further rapid growth in the existence of a powerful union of tail- ors. In the same year a strike of tail- ors took place, against the large amount of fancy work put upon the coats of the period. This strike was successful at the end of several weeks. In other respects the Tailors’ Union demonstrated jts ability to protect its members in the various matters of fn- terest to the craft. The first evidences of organization in the building’ trades are found in the records of the House Carpenters’ Eight- hour League, organized in 1867. This body was formed, as its name implies, primarily for the purpose of establish- ing the shorter workday. In this con- nection it is interesting to note that much of the “spirit of organization” prevailing among the working classes of those times was inspired by ‘the same general purpose, to wit., the re- duction of the daily hours of labor. The work of the House Carpenters’ Eight-hour League was not confined, however, to a single object. From the newspapers of the day we learn that this body met in Dashaway Hall on July 12, 1870, and adopted a resolution approving the course of the Knights of St. Crispin (presumably the fore- runner of the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union of to-day) in oppesition to Chi- nese labor. Other measures were acted upon at this meeting which are of more than passing interest ®o the pres- ent generation. - The league expressed itself upon certain political matters, declaring that the “on!v hove for jus- tice is through the ballot; that individ- uals can be of little service to each other, except by uniting in associations and nledging ourselves to stand® by and help in the various efforts of reform.” Anotner resolution was adopted con- demnatory of the course of Messrs. Canovan, Winkle and Story in opposing the appropriation of $250 per month for the Mechanics' Eight-hour Labor Ex- change, and declaring that the mem- bers would not in the future support either of these gentlemen for any pub- lic office. The Clerks’ Early Closing Associa- tion was organized in 1870. At first this body met with much success. It was able shortly to report that the mer- chants had determined to abide by the early - closing rule. However, the movement met with a reverse two vears later, due largely, according to all available records, to indifference and lack of harmony among the clerks themselves. In 1870 the Workingmen's Protective Union was formed. This body adopted resolutions on the subject of Chinese immigration; also petitioning the Southern Pacific Railroad to employ free white labor. At this point we note a marked change in the condition of mining, as illustrated by a strike of miners in Amador County in 1871. The members of the Miners’ Labor League struck for the abolition of the prevailing system of dividing labor into four or five classes, and for the establishment of two rates of wages, i. e, $3 and $2 50 per day for first and second class miners, respectively, and for the aboli- tion of Chinese competition with white labor. The, result of the miners' strike is highly suggestive of the saying that “history repeats itself.”" The militia was cailed out, and the strike was com- promised. A contemporary newspaper report informs us that “the San Fran- cisco militia companies engaged in maintaining the peace and dignity of the law at Amador are deserving of credit.” From the same source we learn that the strikers “gained little and lost much,” although they “had the satis- faction of knowing that the mining companies were placed under heavy expense.” The general conditions of the State at this time were described by the New York World as a “singular com- bination of circumstances—labor for- ever on a strike, as it were, and land held almost in feudalism.” This con- dition, according to the World, *“is quite enough to account for the de- cadence of California which for some years past her electoral figures pre- * sent.” In 1871 a branch of the National Labor Union League was formed. This body had political ambitions. It in- dorsed George W. Julien for President of the United States. A State conven- tion of the same body met in June, 1872, but the records at hand do not show what, if any, action was taken to further the candidacy of Brother Julien. The latter gathering was probably a phase of the politico-labor agitation that swept over the State in the year At-this time a body known as the *Laber Party of the Pacific Coast” came into prominence. A Sfate con- vention was held and a platform adopted, among the provisions of which were these: Eight-hour sys- tem of labor: anti-Chinese legislation, and the “disenthralment of labor by the equalization of the wages of labor with the income of capital.” Another organization of this period, which seems to have had more prac- tical, if less ambitious, objects, was the Mechanics’ -State Council, formed for the purpose of. perfecting the eight- hour movement. All mechanics were eligible for membership upon signing the pledge, which read as follows: “I have signed mr name to this piedge and thus become a member of the Eight-Hour League. 1 do pledge my sacred honor timt when the Me- chanics’ State Council shall fix a time for my trade to commence working eight hours a day, I will quit work- ing at my trade until my employer - . . B N s O § | s @ ‘Encouragement. Silent, the beat of 2 mother’s heart’s praver-- Silent, she gazes on her fallen child; Tears of her anguish the breaking heart drinKs. Who can reveal what her thoughtful mind thinks? Mother, forgiving, your prayer shall be heard; God in his promises has not beguiled. From deep remorse spring their virtues again, And perhaps all will be well; - : Hope still remains for the soul that repents, And in its sinning feels real penitence.- Grieve not, dear mother, she yet shall be blessed With God’s rewards if in love’s cause she fell. Be her companion through trial of shame And she will not soon forget in return; Harsh words have thrust into life most Cast off reform, while through sympathy’s care Many a true heart has all loss redeemed; ’ All that crave honor will its reward 3 3 V—ELEONORE E. HOEFT. deifiair,. earn. | | | | shall actept eight hours for a day's verk, or until the council shall release me from this obligation. I will promptly attend all general meetings of the league that may be called by the council and will abide by and !!upl?or! its rules, regulations and by-laws. The year 1878 marks the beginning of the epoch, of organization and federa- tion upon purely labor lines. It will be nected that up to this time most of the labor bodies were formed as much for political as for economic purposes. In the latter year the Representative As- sembly of Trade and Labor Unions was organized. It was understood and ul- timately declared that no subject of a pelitical or religious nature should be discussed or acted upon at the meet- ings. «During the ten years preceding the establishment of this body a number of crafts had been organized upon dis- tinctively trade union lines, among which may be mentioned the ironmold- ers, organized in 1869, and the cigar- makers, , organized in 1874., A large number of these bodies affiliated with the assembly, which did much effective trade union werk during the few years of its existence. In 1885 a new central body was formed in San Francisco under the name of Federated Trades Council of the Pacific Coast. As indicated by its title, the new body claimed jurisdiction throughout the coast territory, a posi- ticn which was justified by the then ex- isting condition of labor organization in the Pacific Coast States. San Fran- cisco was the headquarters of a num- her of unions having branches extend- ing throughout the locality named. Among these were the Sailors’ and the Brewery Workers' unions. Practically, therefore, the ‘Federated Trades Coun- cil formed. during the first years of its existence, the sole means of uniting the widely. scattered labor bodies of the coast under one directing head. Like its predecessors, the Federated Trades Council had its ups and downs. It carried on a persistent and in the main successful campalgn for the ad- vancement and protection of white un- jon labor interests, particularly in the cigarmaking and boot and shoe indus- tries. A notable legisiative achievement due to the work of the Federated Trades more than to any other body was the passage of the Australian bal- lot law. In general the Council of Fed- erated Trades exercised a marked influ- ence unon the character of the factory and other forms of industrial legislation enacted since the period of its estab- lishment. In 1888 the council affiliated with the American Federation of La- bor, a relationship which has been maintained continuously ever since. Under the pressure of varfous circum- stances the strength of organized labor now began .to decline. The year 1591 was signalized by the establishmeflt of the Manufacturers’ and Employers’ As- sociation, which body waged a vigorous warfare upon organized labor. In 1393 this body publicly announced that it bad destroyed every trade union in San Francisco with one exception, namely, Tvnogravhical Union No. 21. This laim. althoverh an exaggeration, was fustified in the sense that the labor movement had been forced to assume the defensive. ! As a means of rehabilitating the un+ jons the reorganization of the central body was determined upon. According-| 1y in 1892 the present Labor Council was established. The history of that body is well known to the present generation of readers. Inheriting, as it'did, a rich fund of experience, the Labor Council has sought, and with marked suc | to avold the causes of failure on ti part of its predecessors, with the result that it is to-day probably the most ef< fective central labor body in the United States. At present there are 122 unions affiliated with the Labor Council. Thesa bodies contain a membership of 40,008 and are represented by 365 delegates. These figures arep of course, exclusive of the unions unaffiliated with the La< bor Council, which probably number 100 or more, the membership of which would bring the total up to §0,000. This sketch, being primarily a review of the early stages of labor organiza- tion in California, is necessarily con< fined in the main to the records of San Francisco. A detailed account of the conditions in this respect as they now exist or as they have existed for say twenty years past would, of course, in- clude every considerable city and town in the State. The leading trades in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland and oth- er localities have been organized for ‘Yoany vears. The number of unions in the leading cities and the total member- ship of organized labor throughout the State is estimated by the State Bureau of Labor Statistics as follows: Number of unions—San Francisco 272, Los An- geles 68, Sacramento 72, Oakland 50; total number of unions in the State 305. Total membership of unions in State, 110,000 JOE ROSENBERG" We Caught. a Woman Stealing Hoslery a while ago; we asked her why "she came to us to rob. She said ours were the best and quickest to sell. (She got six months in House of Correction.) e e 2 Joe Rosenbers BETTER KNOWN AS The PRICE CUTTER