ORGANIZED LABOR
Reflecting the largely agrarian nature of the Southern California economy,
no labor union emerged in Los Angeles until the mid-1870s. Isolation, frontier
conditions, the lack of industry and the slow economic pace prior to the boom
of the 'eighties worked against any early development of a labor movement.
Even in those activities that witnessed formation of craft unions elsewhere,
such as the construction trades, workers made little effort and found little
reason to unite. Men who would cross a continent to seek employment in a still
small cow town were not likely to form labor brotherhoods that sought the
advancement of all rather than the interest of the individual.
That printers organized the first union, a local of the International
Typographical Union, should not be surprising. By the nature of their work,
printers had greater control over their craft than most workers in the city at
that time. They worked in a highly technical occupation that was not easily
entered by the unskilled, while, as will be noted in the letters below, any
unemployed drifter could pass, at least temporarily, for a carpenter. Printers
labored in a relatively few shops, while construction trade "mechanics" {an
early American term for skilled, urban workers that was still in vogue in the
1880s} were scattered throughout the city, either self-employed or hired by one
of the numerous contractors. The line, for example, between painters as
laborers and painters as employers was a fine one, often crossed, while
printers tended to be hired hands. Furthermore, as a result of their
occupation, printers were more in touch than other workers with developments in
the labor movement.
Throughout the 'eighties the Times exhibited a grudging acknowledgment that
labor unions existed, although in light of the later position of editor Otis on
the subject that decade may be considered the high point in good relations
between the paper and the labor movement. Throughout the decade union leaders,
such as Arthur Vinette of Carpenters' Local No. 56, and anonymous workers found
the letters column open to their views. On occasion the Times impartially
reported activities of labor organizations, including the central Trades
Council, but even then the editorial columns were quick to attack the unions'
current efforts to advance their position, whether it be a strike, the anti-
Chinese boycott, the nine-hour movement or wage demands.
A) UNION MEN: SKILLED MECHANICS OR LAGER-BEER AGITATORS?
The tailors' strike in early 1888 typified the hostility between employers
and non-union men on the one hand, and advocates of organized labor,
specifically the Tailors' Assembly of the Knights of Labor, on the other. In
an interview with the Times, the owner of McConnell and Co., tailors, said that
"the union people never explained to me" why they expelled Henry Schauer from
their assembly and on what grounds they wanted McConnell to fire him.
From all I could learn it was simply a case of 'didn't
like the man.' Mr. Schauer suits me in every respect, and
having no ill-will to gratify, I refused to fire him in
obedience to the union's demand.
Mr. Schauer is a good workman, far better than many of
those who are now hounding him. I have decided to keep Mr.
Schauer in my employ.
The fact is, I have decided to run my business in my own
way. I will no longer suffer myself to be harrassed by the
never ending interference of a few lager beer agitators who
run the Los Angeles union, therefore I have turned a new leaf
and now employ none but non-union men.
...It is simply a question as to who shall run my business--
the lager-beer agitators or me....
Jacob Will, another shop owner also involved in the strike, called the
union's demand for the discharge of a non-union worker "simply an unwarrantable
and dictatorial interference with our private rights as merchants and
employers." "The truth is, many of the fellows leading this movement don't
want to work. Some of them are botches and cannot hold a job...."
Two days later the Times carried a reply from union tailor Thomas Vernon,
writing on behalf of the strikers. Vernon garbled the spelling of Will and
Schauer.
{Times, Jan. 20, 1888, p. 6}
The K. of L. on the Tailors' Strike.
Los Angeles, Jan. 18.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
We, the undersigned, having read an article in your issue of
today, headed, "The Other Side," which contains statements by
the firms of McConnell & Co., and Jacob Will & Co., merchant
tailors, relative to the trouble which now exists between
employers and this assembly of K. of L., we are constrained
to lay before the readers of your able journal this first
public statement of our difficulty. In doing so, we will
endeavor to give such a truthful, fair and impartial
explanation as becomes a dignified body of workmen.
We will not deal in suppositions, personalities, or
falsehoods; believing that truth is not only stronger, but
more potent than fiction. The following are the facts:
This strike was inaugurated 15 days ago, and was caused
by McConnell & Co. employing a "scab" who persistently
endeavored to injure this union by working against its best
interests.
This organization protects all its members, and believes
in equal pay for equal work; hence it imperatively demands
that each member work for one firm only, and for the employer
direct. This does away with the "middle man," or, as we call
him the "sweater."
Henry Schaurs violated all this; he not only worked for
more than one firm, but for all who would give him work. He
became a "sweater" and started a "sweaters'" factory. In
order to get work enough for his "sweaters'" factory he takes
work for any price, gives it out to his "under-sweaters" and
pockets his percentage.
Mr. McConnell states that our only reason for wishing
Schaurs' discharge was: "Don't like the man." This is not
true. He was suspended three times; we reinstated him as
many more, and tried every means in our power to get him to
do right before we discharged him. The books of our assembly
will testify to this.
Now, sir, it is to obliterate the loathsome system of
"sweating" that we inaugurated the present strike. Observe,
we do not attack an individual, but a system. We feel that
our object is a laudable one. We believe that our fellow-
workmen should live by the sweat of their own brows, and not
by the sweat of the brows of others. With this as our
principle, we have decided upon a line of action which will
be carried out to the best of our ability.
Mr. Wills's statement to the effect that the men in his
employ had decided not to strike against his shop is also
untrue. They made no such resolve, but decided to abide by
the decisions of the K. of L.
In concluding this statement we wish it to be understood
that we entered this struggle honorably, and we will end it
honorably. Mr. McConnell's uncalled-for personalities, and
coarse abuse might be answered in kind. When he calls us
"lager-beer agitators, " we might retort: "People who live
in glass houses should not throw stones," for Mr. McConnell's
love for the "amber-hued" is well known.
The body which Mr. McConnell attacks is a body of
skilled mechanics which will compare favorably with any body
of men in this or any other city.
Signed for the committee of Tailors' Assembly, 4350,
Knights of Labor:
THOMAS VERNON,
Master Workman.
"Rustler's" response, printed below, while ostensibly a reply to Vernon and
a challenge to what he thought were inflated membership claims by the
carpenters, was in fact an attack upon unions in general. In a second lengthy
letter printed by the Times the same day, "Rustler" recited anti-strike
statistics compiled by the U. S. Bureau of Labor, noting man-days and wages
lost by work stoppages. He concluded:
The laboring man has surrendered his liberty to the
demagogue, and can no longer be depended on for steady work.
The Anarchist is instilling his venom into the minds of the
idle, and the capitalist will not risk his money in
manufactories while these influences predominate.
Otis printed the reply by "Union Carpenter" as the final letter in this
exchange. It has the style of Arthur Vinette.
{Times, Jan. 25, 1888, p. 3}
Labor Unions.
Los Angeles, Jan. 21.--[To the Editor of The Times.] I
noticed in the issue of The Times of Monday, the 16th inst.,
an account of the labor organizations in this city, and,
among others, mention is made of the Carpenter's Union, No.
56, as numbering nearly one thousand. Your informant must
have been a R-- E-- dealer with a large imagination, and
accustomed to give large figures. Carpenters' Union, No. 56,
is as ready as real estate schemers to rope in eastern
suckers. The union gets hold of these newly-arrived
mechanics, and, carrying out the scriptural injunction,
"takes them in," leading the poor victims to believe 'tis the
only way to obtain employment, and a sure way at that.
All this is simply done for the purpose of replenishing
their nearly empty coffers, as financial affairs were pretty
low during the summer months.
This I claim is a shameful wrong. I am acquainted with
about three-fourths of the contractors in this city, and they
say (even those who belong to the union) they are as ready to
employ non-union men as union. Every contractor who joins
the union has an object in view, and that is his own personal
benefit, for in the summer when labor help is scarce he finds
it to his advantage to be a member of the union, for he can
then get his help, such as it is, supplied at short notice.
A man who is a skilled mechanic and master of his trade
can get employment anywhere in America, more particularly in
Southern California, irrespective of his color, nationality
or creed, union or non-union. I know of three or four
contractors who, though members of the Carpenters' Union,
utterly refuse to employ union foremen, giving as a reason
that union foremen are too ready to employ union men, whether
skilled mechanics or not, often refusing to hire men whom
they have every reason to believe are skilled workmen, simply
because they are non-union men. Those things the contractors
are beginning to understand.
It is also beginning to be fully understood that the
only way many can find employment at all is to join the
union, and it is acknowledged by many contractors that a
large majority of union men are unskilled laborers and are
not as represented, and about the only way for them to find
employment is to become members. Skilled labor in Southern
California commands high figures, and the laborer, in many
cases, reaps more benefit from his labor than the contractor;
therefore a good mechanic feels independent, and refuses to
join an association where unskilled wage-earners are
admitted.
Unions are proper and very good institutions when
properly conducted, and used as a means whereby strangers can
become acquainted, hold social entertainments, assist each
other in obtaining employment, etc., but when they become
arbitrary and stubborn and wish to dictate to capitalists,
contractors and others, and seek to control those who have
large interests at stake--men who have put their last dollar
in some undertaking--then, I say, their usefulness ceases.
What misery, privation and suffering, especially to the
women and children, have the many strikes during the past few
years been the cause of, nearly all of which have been total
failures so far as the strikers are concerned, as instanced
by the printers' strike in Louisiana and San Bernardino, as
also the late strikes in our own beautiful city, where we
find today most of the union men who were employed in Brown's
restaurant, McConnell & Co.'s tailoring establishment, and
last spring in Baker's foundry, are out of employment, while
the said establishments are today prospering as favorably as
ever, and in many instances getting new customers, by the
independent stand they have taken, showing they do not
propose to have their business controlled by a lot of
triflers who in many cases would be no better off if their
wages were doubled and they to work one-half the number of
hours.
Most of our wealthy men of today have during some time
in their lives, been wage-earners, but by industry,
perseverance and, last but not least, economy, occupy the
position they do today. These are the men whom a lot of
irresponsible men would control. These are the men who, if
they find a man who wishes to better his condition by working
extra hours, would endeavor to drive out of this free and
independent country. But these men, "sweaters," as
"Masterworkman" Thomas Vernon terms them in his letter to The
Times of January 20th--these men, I say, will, in a few
years, be giving employment to such men as "Masterworkman"
Thomas Vernon and his party. These are the kind of men who,
by working extra hours for extra pay, will be furnishing
employment to a majority of such men as constitutes
Carpenters' Union, No. 56, and other unions of the day.
These are the men who will soar above such men as the Knights
of Labor men. These are the men who will manage the public
affairs of the State, while the other clamoring class will
exist a while longer, growling and grumbling, and finally
pass away and be forgotten.
RUSTLER.
{Times, Jan. 27, 1888, p. 3}
Answer to "Rustler."
Los Angeles, Jan. 25.--[To the Editor of The Times.] It
appears that we have in our midst a "Rustler," who, after
doing the necessary amount of rustling for an honest
livelihood, still finds time enough to indite columns of
tirade against labor organizations and the Carpenters' Union
in particular.
What motives he has for these attacks it would be hard
to determine, and it must give him exceeding great
satisfaction to air his opinions in a daily journal, thereby
saving the expense of a hall. The only thing that strikes me
in his voluminous effusion is the extreme anguish he
apparently undergoes when he reads of any progress made by a
labor union, and it is really kind of you, Mr. Editor, to let
him vent his cry publicly, lest the retention should injure
his constitution. If this meets your eye, Mr. "Rustler," let
me inform you that your first epistle contains just 12
prevarications, . . . awful naughty ones, in regard to Union
No. 56, and your economic, moral and social conclusions are
all based "on error." Do call upon any one of the thousand
members of the union who attends regularly to the meetings
for a little more light in the matter; it will do you a "heap
good."
UNION CARPENTER.
B) THE NINE-HOUR DAY
Led by the newly-arrived French-Canadian Arthur Vinette, Los Angeles
carpenters organized Local No. 56, Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America, in March, 1884. Within a month membership reached 225. While
painters and plasterers had organized earlier, and the bricklayers would soon
follow, Vinette's carpenters quickly took command of the construction unions.
The first task undertaken by Local 56 was to reduce the workday from ten to
nine hours. That goal had already been surpassed by the plasterers, who had
won an eight-hour day with no reduction in wages {$5 a day} in 1883, but the
other trades still worked ten hours. While the carpenters announced that their
new standard would take effect in August, 1884, with a minimum daily wage of
$3.50, they received only partial compliance from contractors so that the
nine-hour day was not universally recognized.
In an effort to force recalcitrant employers into line, Local 56 used the
letters column to pressure them to conform. Over the signatures of Bartholomew
Nelligan and Arthur Vinette, the union offered a defense of the short-hour
demand and, coupled with a list of complying contractors, issued a warning to
those who refused to adhere to the new standard. That set off a series of
rebuttals and replies in the letters column over the next week.
{Times, Mar. 3, 1885, p. 4}
The Short-Hour Movement.
To the Editor of the Times--The Brotherhood of
Carpenters and Joiners of America, maintaining the principle
that workingmen are entitled to shorter hours of labor from
the improved mechanical methods now in use, and that it is
the only practical plan for them to procure more constant
employment, make them more contented with their lot, and
holding out to them the best inducements to practice economy
and secure homes, has constantly urged the local unions to
unite with other tradesmen and secure, if possible, a
reduction of one hour. Acting upon this advice, Union No.
56, of this city, although in a position to enforce a demand
of this kind by a strike, chose rather to consult with their
employers, and proposed an agreement whereby the nine-hour
system was secured without entailing a loss to the latter.
This was in August last, and they were soon followed by the
painters and bricklayers, the plasterers having already
carried the eight-hour system. However, there is a class of
contractors here, as elsewhere, who are not above taking a
mean advantage of those who make concessions to workingmen,
and they still require ten hours for a day's labor. They are
also the first to instigate a reduction of wages; are, as a
rule, of a tyrannical disposition, and promote hostile
feelings between employers and journeymen instead of harmony,
which for the growth and future welfare of this city, the
unions are, in accord with all good citizens, endeavoring to
maintain. Therefore, in justice to the employers in the
building trade who are now working on the nine-hour system,
the Carpenters' Union herewith publishes their names, that
they may become known to the friends of industrial reform.
Any omissions will be cheerfully corrected:
{A lengthy list of contractor-employers followed, broken
down by categories of carpenters, painters, bricklayers and
plasterers. - Ed.}
The Union also deems it fair to notify the public that a
movement was set on foot some time ago among the labor
organizations whereby a record is being kept of all
merchants, business men, professional men and others, who, in
building or repairing, require ten hours for a day's labor
from any of these four branches of work, or give out their
work to ten-hour contractors (the matter of employing Union
or non-Union men being immaterial). Should they notice any
decline of patronage, they can draw their own conclusions.
And should, peradventure, any of these persons ever get an
itching to serve the public officially, they may perhaps find
that party ties will not prove strong enough to overcome
individual interests.
By order of the Union:
B. NELLIGAN,
President.
A. VINETTE, Secretary.
{Times, Mar. 8, 1885, p. 5}
As to Ameliorating the Condition of Workingmen.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: In this age of
progress and material development, by duty, it is enjoined
upon public spirit to not only accept needed reform incident
to all avocations of life, but to vigorously aid and
encourage it by all the means capable of being honorably
employed, and to alleviate the distress and remove the cause
of complaint consequent to a demonstration of indifference to
the appeal made by those who earn bread by manual toil.
Since inventive genius has expanded the facilities for
hastening every kind of work necessary to be performed by
laboring men, the necessity for fixing a day's labor at ten
or twelve hours no longer exists.
The world is constantly growing better, and to those
who, by the force of circumstances, are compelled to drive
the plow, swing the pick and spade, handle the trowel or
carry the hod, it seems that an effort should be made by the
more fortunate to brighten their life and to reflect a sun-
beam upon the rugged paths they are compelled to tread.
The President of the Carpenters' Union, in a
communication recently published in the Times, makes a demand
that will doubtless meet the concurrence of the liberal-
minded in this country. There is nothing unreasonable or
communistic in that demand. By that a compromise is
suggested, which, if accepted, will bring satisfaction and
harmony into the ranks of those upon whom all others depend.
Should a day's labor be reduced from ten to nine hours
per day, the demand for mechanics and all other laborers will
be increased, thereby giving employment to many deserving men
who are begging for the means to buy a supper. Not many days
ago three thousand laborers stood upon the banks of the
Thames, in the city of London, and in an angry voice demanded
of that great city that they be supplied with some kind of
work to enable them to procure bread to feed the hungry
mouths that open with prayer for the means to prevent
starvation. But, fortunately for the favored spot of
creation, rich in resources and bounteous in grain and beef,
famine is impossible, however numerous idle men may be. And
in the demand for a reduction of the time established as a
day's labor, violence is not an element. It is made as a
matter of right and justice, and in keeping with the spirit
of the age; and when those who are interested in and affected
by it, awake to the reason for making it, they will discover
the profit to be gained by the reform.
THE WORKINGMAN'S FRIEND.
{Times, Mar. 7, 1885, p. 3}
The So-called "Nine-Hour Movement."
A REPLY.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: I think it is about
time that the Carpenters' Union was giving us a "rest" on the
nine-hour movement. I see by the Times of last Tuesday that
they claim to have secured the nine-hour system in this city.
They are also trying to bulldoze the merchants, business men
and professional men of this city; and trying to prevent them
from giving any work to ten-hour contractors. Now, sir, I
claim that the nine-hour system was never fully established
in this city. All the good, practical mechanics in this city
do not belong to the union, but all the botch carpenters and
scrub workmen are members of Union No. 56. Of course there
are many good workmen in the union, but for every good
workman I will show you five poor ones.
This continual harping on the nine-hour movement has a
tendency to make times dull in this city. People coming here
from the East think twice before building, when they find out
that the labor market is controlled by a set of men who
cannot cut a rafter for a wood-shed. I have heard them talk
in their own meetings, that when they get strong enough, they
would not let any man work on a building unless be joined the
union. Now, sir, if this union should ever get strong enough
to enforce any such action, it would be the worst enemy a
workingman could have, because they are not willing to grant
the same right to others that they claim for themselves. I
would say to the merchants, business men and professional
men, don't be scared by their bulldozing notices in the
papers, because they are not as strong now, by one third, as
they were last summer, when they tried to establish the
nine-hour movement and failed. Out of their list of about
forty contractors, which they claim are working nine hours,
there are not over ten responsible contractors. They have
some down on their list as contractors who would not be
allowed to figure on a job in some of the architects' offices
in this city.
TRUTH.
Los Angeles, March 4, 1885.
{Times, Mar. 12, 1885, p. 4}
The Nine-hour Movement.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: The wail of anguish
set up by that ten-hour contractor in a recent issue has
moved me deeply. How the galled jade does wince! He wants a
rest, and he is aware that long hours and low wages will
insure him that. As usual in such cases, when men, under the
sacred name of Truth, attempt to further an ignoble project
by misleading the public, they are apt to overshoot the mark
and give themselves away. I will not condescend to answer in
kind the scurrilous epithets applied to our members by this
contractor, for a wage-worker need not be the less a
gentleman, though he be regarded by many as a chattel. The
dull times you refer to, Mr. "Truth," are the outcome of the
accumulative tendencies of the age, regardless of Scriptural
injunction; and enforced idleness to a class of freemen who
depend on their work for a living is an anomaly in a republic
and a primary cause of crime. The various remedies proposed
for the evil are rather problematical, pending the millennial
advent, but the reduction in the hours assumes a tangible
shape to our minds which we can readily grasp, and this
hallucination of ours should be dealt with in charity and
removed by solid argument. Reasoning a posteriori doth
excite the parts assaulted, but fails to reach the seat of
the trouble. We owe no apology to the general community for
labor unions, for experience has shown the necessity of their
existence. They are sanctioned by all the political
economists and the leaders of religious thought, including
Pope Leo XIII., who have told the wage-workers that
association and cooperation are the only means by which they
can protect themselves from oppression. As regards Union No.
56, our record is clear; we have the signatures of
contractors to a certain pledge, and if Mr. "Truth" (?) be
one of those who have proved false (and he announces himself
publicly as a Judas), our late action must necessarily have
aroused his ire.
If it will add any balm to his wounded soul, we will
hasten to inform him that in the last few days, three ten-
hour contractors have been induced to break away from the
entangling alliance sustained by him, and that we are upheld
in this movement by some of the leading real estate owners of
this city. The Trades Assembly will not tolerate bulldozing,
and we call upon you, Mr. "Truth," to report to this union
any member that is guilty of such. Boycotting, i. e.,
letting alone, is an opposite proceeding. It is a game
originating in this city with ten-hour contractors, and wry
faces will not make a counter dose any more palatable. We
claim to understand the nature of our common prosperity fully
as well, if not more, than this champion of long hours. The
unions have steadily refrained from public demonstrations and
mass meetings in this matter, and notwithstanding this
attempt to drive them into a false position, they will
continue the even tenor of their ways, well knowing that
justice and principle will in the long run prevail with the
masses. The public has been notified of our intention and
methods, our system is perfected, and brass bands are
needless. The owners of real estate and the newcomers from
the East know their business, and the assertions of a man who
poses as a renegade should carry no weight. The bugaboo he
attempts to recusitate is a phantom of his own creation,
likely induced by remorse of conscience and will scare none
but his counterparts.
In conclusion, Mr. Editor, this nine-hour movement can
be narrowed down to this: Is it right? Are the unions
justified in upholding it? Are pledges, promises and
signatures of any account among men? Will letting our
opponents alone hurt them any? Any fair argument against the
movement I am prepared to meet, but mud-throwing I will leave
to blackguards.
A. VINETTE.
Secretary Union No. 56.
C) THE CARPENTERS' CIRCULAR
The vast construction projects of the boom years and hard times in the East
in the mid-'eighties drew many job seekers to Southern California. As the real
estate frenzy drew to a close late in 1887 Carpenters Local No. 56 was
concerned that a continuing movement of the unemployed into Los Angeles, lured
by contractors through articles placed in Eastern papers, would jeopardize the
wage and hour standards that they had won. One such announcement had in fact
appeared in the Times early in 1887, placed by the Ventura building firm of
Barnard, Blackstock and Shepherd. The reference to the arrival of cars by Feb.
15 indicated the anticipated arrival of the first Southern Pacific trains over
the new line from Los Angeles.
{Times, Jan. 16, 1887, p. 6}
CARPENTERS WANTED.
San Buenaventura (Cal.), Jan. 12.--[To the Editor of The
Times.] Would you object to say in your paper that there is
a great demand here for carpenters? There is a great amount
of building projected and no carpenters to do the work. Your
paper has a wide circulation in the East, and its columns
would be scanned by many good carpenters desiring work and a
change of climate. The cars will run in here, nothing
preventing, by February 15th. Yours truly,
BARNARD, BLACKSTOCK & SHEPHERD.
Such notices continued to appear in Eastern papers. In particular, the
Boston Globe in early October carried a report from Los Angeles that there was
a dearth of mechanics, resulting in a ruinous advance in wages. Journeymen
carpenters were, according to the article, paid as much as $5.50 per day,
bricklayers $7 and plasterers $6. "Five hundred mechanics in the various
departments of building could be put to work this morning."
Fearful of the effect such publicity would have on working conditions in
Southern California, Local 56 countered with a circular for eastern
distribution warning mechanics that Los Angeles was not an Eden.
Printed in late October, the circular drew the wrath of Otis and the Times.
Otis called it "One of the most singular documents that ever reached the
dignity of print... {and} composed of an equal compound of foolishness,
knavishness and falsehood."
The circular read in part:
Just now Southern California is being extensively
advertised as the "promised land" of the poor, ill-paid slave
of labor. In nearly all the paragraphs going the rounds of
the press there is such a misrepresentation of facts, such
barefaced falsehoods in regard to wages and the demand for
labor, that we have taken upon ourselves to refute them, and
thus save hundreds of families from ruin.
Otis claimed that there was a scarcity of carpenters in Los Angeles, not a
glut, and condemned the circular for misleading carpenters elsewhere into
believing that there was little work in Southern California. He was
particularly outraged by this section, which he described as a cold blooded
lie:
A stream of mechanics and laborers has poured into the city,
whose ranks are daily being swelled by fresh accessions.
Having expended their last dollar for railroad fare, they
rush around from one job to another offering to work for
anything they can get.
The Times offered an alternate solution to what even it recognized as a
slowdown in the economy, suggesting that a greater supply of labor and a
properly adjusted wage rate, by which Otis apparently meant a reduction in pay,
would stimulate the investment of capital and create an abundant supply of
permanent jobs in Los Angeles.
In reply, "A Carpenter" offered his assessment.
{Times, Nov. 6, 1887, p. 6}
That Circular.
A CARPENTER'S STRICTURE.
Los Angeles, Nov. 4.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Having read extracts and editorial comments on the circular
issued by the Carpenters' Union, also the articles in today's
issue of The Times, I would like space to present a few
thoughts. That business is not only brisk, but very lively
in the building department in this city, no one can deny, and
one of the best summers ever known in Southern California has
just passed. As cold weather puts in an appearance in the
East and outdoor work becomes unpleasant, there are many who
head for California to find an agreeable climate and put in
the winter, and the result is that both San Francisco and Los
Angeles have many idle men during that season. The circular
issued by the union was undoubtedly sent forth to prevent
this condition of affairs, for some exaggerated statements
published by the press have drawn many inquiries regarding
the so-stated great scarcity of mechanics, and during the
past month many mechanics have arrived in the city, and the
supply more nearly equals the demand than it has for several
months, and is steadily increasing. Every organization seeks
to protect itself and interests, and if the Carpenters' Union
has seen fit to issue a circular for the purpose of arresting
the influx of their brother workmen, it is very evident that
some good reason existed for their so doing; and no one
familiar with the business will deny that the union has
better means and facilities for finding out the real status
of affairs in the building line than any newspaper or
individual. At one time last winter The Times asserted that
more carpenters were needed, and that 500, I think, could
find work if here. At that time it was not true, and many
men, myself among the number, were idle and "rustling" for a
job. If such statements are to be published, an excellent
time to send them forth would be in the spring, for when
winter comes on there is no occasion to send out reports that
carpenters or other mechanics are needed, for they are sure
to come, and no winter has yet, or will, find the supply less
than the demand.
One year ago last winter an evening paper in San
Francisco declared that 1500 men walked those streets nightly
who had no place to sleep, and every winter sees a repetition
of this condition, only the number may not be so large. To
add to the number of idle men in the dull season is an
excellent way to increase crime and produce tramps, and for
this reason the press should not paint pictures not warranted
by facts, or seek to stir up the surplus and floating
population of other States. Having known what it is to walk
the streets of both San Francisco and Los Angeles in search
of work that couldn't be had, as a workingman I am glad to
see this precaution taken by the union, and I have no fears
that people of means will be debarred from settling up this
glorious country, or that eastern capital will be induced to
keep out of California. Now, one word in regard to the men
who arrive here nearly moneyless and consequently willing to
work for reduced wages. Many of them are "jim-crow"
carpenters, and men who are unfamiliar with the work, but who
seek it because it pays well and nothing else seems to open
up. The union has no more control over such men than the
editor of The Times, and if they work for less than $3.50 per
day you will readily see there was nothing inconsistent in
that portion of the "circular" so declared by you. That the
carpenters who issued that circular desire to see this city
thrive and prosper as much as The Times I have no doubt, and
in my opinion undue disturbance and needless censure has been
created and bestowed on account of said circular. Let the
press of this city curb its tendency to exaggerate facts to
stimulate our present solid boom and the coming winter may
not see so many idle men as this city contained during
January, February and March of 1887, and the occasion will
certainly be less for the issuance of any further circulars.
Respectfully yours,
A CARPENTER.
D) THE LABOR MOVEMENT AND "OTHERS"
"A Carpenter's" off-hand slur on "jim-crow" tradesmen was yet another sign
of the hostility exhibited by the mainstream of the working class toward
competition from blacks, certain Europeans and especially the Chinese. The
"Chinese question" {treated in its larger context in another chapter} was still
an important issue in 1885. Despite congressional passage of an Exclusion Act
in 1882, anti-Chinese hostility only waned. In Southern California the use of
Chinese labor to build the Santa Fe line led to growing worry over increased
unemployment and to a resurgence of an anti-Chinese movement by mid-decade.
The Anti-Chinese Union, formed initially as an independent labor union, was
organized in early 1885. Its initial action was circulation of a petition
patterned after one drawn up by San Francisco coroner Charles O'Donnell. It
called for the city council to evict the Chinese from Los Angeles. Over a
thousand signatures had been collected by early July when Philip Kelly sent
this letter to the Times.
{Times, July 7, 1885, p. 2}
The Chinese Question.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: I don't doubt Dr.
O'Donnell's sincerity when he proclaims his devotion to the
working man. I'm a working man myself, or a laborer, if
that's more distinctive without being different, and with the
natural selfishness of my kind, would inwardly and outwardly
rejoice at the expulsion of the Chinese, on the presumption
that I'd have steady work and better wages; and then, ten to
one, under the control of the same selfish influence, I'd
just as gladly be rid of seventy-five per cent. of what was
left of the toiling mass, as in that case work and wages to
please the most fastidious would be assured for a time at
least; though there were labor troubles of a serious nature
before the Chinaman's advent, and I opine there would be
after his departure.
But for the life of me, I can't see how he interferes
with my welfare as a laborer in Los Angeles, or in scores of
towns besides. His work seems to be confined to gardening
and the laundry, and in a spirit of justice I would ask any
laborer in this town if the Chinaman is not welcome when he
comes with as many vegetables for ten cents as could be
bought for twice the money in a market closed to his
competition. We are compelled to admit, though many of us
will do so with a reluctance which smacks of bigotry, that he
is industrious, economical and inoffensive, traits which
would be a great boon to many of us, and seeing that England,
France and others take advantage of his peace-loving
disposition to invade and take possession of his native
country, therefore it is nothing more than right that he
should enjoy the privilege of eking out an honest living in
foreign lands; and, furthermore, when we stand drinking in
the vehement words of denunciation as they drop from the lips
of our patriotic orators, we might suggest the propriety of
hurling a few bolts of the same material where the real
object of attack is posted--in a word, lay the ax to the root
and direct the force of argument to those who are
responsible. I mean you, I and all the other fellows who
vote into power the law-makers. Now, supposing we shift this
burden to other shoulders. It is established that the
Chinaman is a success in business. We are not indifferent to
the cost of food and clothing and, in view of our
circumstances would not object to a reduction in prices. Let
us encourage a Chinaman to start a store in each of those
branches of business with which we are concerned; give him
our patronage; let one start a saloon centrally located, and,
I believe, with his proverbial tact and cheap style of
living, in the course of human events, the Chinese question
will assume an entirely different phase. More O'Donnells
will rush to the arena than the Chronicle could shake a stick
at in a week, whose business eyes will be opened so wide that
they will find a hundred cases of leprosy where the San
Francisco Coroner finds one. Don't misunderstand me. I have
no object in exaggerating his virtues. I wish rather to
consult with my fellow-laborers as to the best method of
making the journey through life as pleasant as possible. I
am not oblivious of the peculiarly disgusting odor of Dupont
street, which may not be surpassed in any of the haunts of
more populous cities; neither has experience proved that it
can't wash a shirt as badly as any slattern when time is
precious, and he can pass the botchery off on some customer
who won't make a noise about it, and had he his own way he
would be as exacting as possible and would want the most
exorbitant prices for his chattels; but that's not the
question. We want to make a proper use of the ballot, and
instead of going crazy over a name, honestly assist in the
selection of men whose lives, as far was we know, are free
from taint, and who, having professed adherence to principles
before, we feel confident will manfully uphold them after
election.
PHILIP KELLY.
227 Chavez Street.
Los Angeles, July 6th.
The Anti-Chinese Union, led by George Stearns, was attacked by Eliza Otis
in her "Saunterer" column early in July. Whether she had Stearns in mind is
not clear, but Arthur Vinette apparently thought so. The Saunterer depicted a
representative A.C.U. supporter as "a rough, illiterate loafer, a lazy, drunken
fellow" who was "raving in a senseless way against the 'd----d Chinese'" in his
Irish brogue. She also denounced the use of the boycott and dictation: "I
don't believe in Irishmen or any body else coming to this free country of ours
and dictating to me who we shall employ."
Vinette's reply, printed on the same day that Kelly's letter appeared,
refers to an act of vandalism that had just taken place on July 4.
{Times, July 7, 1885, p. 2}
Boycotting.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: Were it not for the
well-known temperate habits of the "Saunterer," I should be
inclined to think that the celebration had caused him to mix
up the characters in his dialogue, which latter bears the
impress of apocrypha. However that may be, the argument put
forth contains a few errors in the premise. The President of
the A. C. U., Geo. L. Stearns, is not an Irishman. He would
be none the less honored by us if he were. He is an
American, a veteran of the late war, an abolitionist who
dares to uphold his colors against coolie slavery that is let
out for hire on this coast, and he is, withal, a new-comer.
The abundance of work for all is purely imaginative. If
the Saunterer will take a stroll with me, I will agree to
point out 500 idle men in one day. Therefore any deductions
thus made from a wrong basis are in their nature beyond the
pale of controversy.
The Saunterer's main argument is against boycotting,
which he terms "dictation," contrary to the spirit of our
free republic, and breeding lawlessness. As to the latter,
how much of it has appeared in our demonstrations? Who did
the "painting" on the glorious Fourth? Was it the Anti-
Chinese Union or some other body?
Boycotting is a double-edged weapon, and the white
laborers have felt one edge of it for years past. Coolie
labor is preferred by many, and the white man walks the
streets. Similia similibus curautur, and time will determine
if the dose prove to be homeopathic. Therefore, those who
employ Chinese in preference to white help have not the least
grounds for a grievance against us if we refuse to assist
them on their way to wealth, luxury and honors; and we fail
to see any dictation in the matter. Competition with coolie
labor and the treatment received by ranch hands on this coast
have not helped to elevate them. Evil birds must eventually
come home to roost, and we desire to stop the process of
incubation. We believe in free speech, a free press and the
freedom of any man to hire whom he pleases. We believe in
letting the coolie alone and the supporters of the six
companies also. We simply request a fair hearing from the
press when attacked unjustly, and as long as the typos have
no grievance against a newspaper, we have none. Our petition
to the Council has nearly a thousand signatures affixed
already, and we are content to await the action of that body
in enforcing the law.
Los Angeles, June {July? - Ed.} 6.
A. V.
The use of non-white labor went beyond the question of Chinese workers.
From time to time the letters column touched on the use of "colored" labor.
Although it is unclear precisely what "A Carpenter" meant by his derogatory
reference to "jim-crow" labor, other writers left no doubt about their
hostility to African American, Chinese or southern European workers.
When the former governor of New Mexico territory, Lionel A. Sheldon,
authored an op-ed piece for the Times on capital and labor, arguing for
cooperation between the two, he unwittingly unleashed the hostility many
"native American" workers held toward "others." I. D. Pasco's letter
represented a view held by a substantial portion of the labor force. His
argument contained elements of socialism yet his defense of "American" workers
seemed to violate the Marxian concept of labor's unity. Another Los Angeles
resident, Ernest Untermann, reconciled that apparent contradiction when, at a
Socialist national convention in the early 1900s, he argued that immigration
restrictions were not incompatible with Marxian theory. After all, said
Untermann, when Marx called on the workers of the world to unite he did not
suggest that they all come to the United States to do so.
{Times, Jan. 17, 1888, p. 6}
Extreme View and Untenable Statements.
Los Angeles, Jan. 15th.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
I have just been reading the most sensible remarks of Lionel
A. Sheldon in The Times of this morning. Although he is
right in nearly all he says, he seems to ignore one fact in
American history. From the very start of the country every
means has been used that legislation could adopt to forestall
the labor market. It was for this purpose the first negro
slaves were brought, and every encouragement given to the
poor of Europe to emigrate and settle here, and the cursed
Chinese. And now on Lux & Miller's big ranch, and the other
big ranches of the country, and the railroads, Americans must
come to the wages of the Chinese, the Italians and the negro
that has been a slave. Our legislators are a grade lower
than idiots; they are fools. We have over 3,000,000 of
blacks that we can never agree with here among us, and
although they are now free, their freedom cost over 800,000
American lives--lives that were their superiors in every
respect--men that the country could rely upon for defense and
support. Capitalists want a blind obedience to their
commands, and if one case can be shown that they have been
generous, a thousand can be shown where they have exacted the
last cent. It would not be as it is if we did not have all
the pauper labor of the world brought in direct competition.
And the monopolists can forestall justice in the courts, buy
the Legislature and own all the land in California or sell it
to tenderfeet at their own prices. Yours,
I. D. PASCO.
The official attitude of organized labor toward non-white workers was made
clear in a series of questions posed by the Evergreen Assembly, Knights of
Labor, to Pomona Valley citrus and grape growers. Evergreen was a mixed
assemblage of wage-workers, as distinguished from craft unions for specific
groups such as painters or carpenters. Shortly after issuing this open letter
the Knights became inactive in the sluggish aftermath of the boom. Other once
powerful unions, such as Carpenters Local No. 56, all but disappeared, their
boasted membership of one thousand shrunk to a handful. George Feller, the
letter writer, joined the Edward Bellamy "Nationalist" movement and advocated
public works for the unemployed.
{Times, Jan. 28, 1889, p. 5}
White Labor in Orchards and Vineyards.
Los Angeles, Jan. 10.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
Please give space to the following open letter:
The San Francisco Examiner of January 3d contained a
letter in reference to the scarcity of labor in the orange
groves and vineyards purporting to have been written by the
following-named gentlemen of Pomona Valley, viz: C. E. White,
Fred J. Smith, George Raymond, Hon. Samuel N. Andrews, Daniel
W. Wentworth, M. M. Baldridge, J. Packard, E. J. Baldwin and
others.
To the above-named gentlemen I wish to say: I am
authorized by Knights of Labor Assembly No. 7647 of this city
to ascertain, if possible, from you the true facts relative
to the extent of the increase of labor in your orange groves
or vineyards, or both. Then, in order that we may understand
each other thoroughly, I beg to ask you the following
questions, which will in justice not only to your own race,
but to the welfare of Southern California. Please answer.
First--How many laborers will you employ in your orange
groves or vineyards, or both, this season?
Second--Will you engage white labor if you can get it,
and to what extent?
Third--What accommodations have you in the way of
sleeping quarters, dining-rooms, and other common comforts of
life?
Fourth--What wages do you pay?
Fifth--How many hours constitute a day's work?
Sixth--How often do you pay your employes?
Seventh--How many months in the year can you give
employment to white labor?
Eighth--What difference in wages do you make between
Chinese and white labor, and in whose favor?
Ninth--Would it be compulsory with you to employ Chinese
if you could secure white men and women?
Tenth--How many more laborers will you employ this
season than last?
Eleventh--Will you inform us when you are in need of
additional help, and allow us to supply it for you?
The above includes both male and female help. We can
furnish you with white male or female labor in any number you
wish at reasonable wages, and will guarantee them to be
sober, steady and respectable. Answer, providing of course
you can furnish respectable accommodations for the laborers.
GEORGE FELLER.
Statistician.
Per C. C. Connelly, Evergreen Assembly Wage Workers, No.
7647.
E) OTHER CONCERNS OF LABORERS
Solitary letters on various labor issues of the 1880s remind a later
generation that the battles they currently fight were the concern of their
counterparts a century ago. "Laboring Man" knew the need for OSHA. "Free
Labor" not only understood the threat of convict or chain gang labor in
competition with the unemployed but also had an opinion regarding shame and
guilt as formulators of good character. "A Distant Reader," writing from
Illinois, presented a socialistic view of capitol and labor. He called for
justice, as did John Duval, a waiter at Louis Christopher's restaurant on No.
Spring Street. In a poignant note that is reminiscent of the letter from hired
ranch hand David Fisher {see agriculture chapter}, Duval's plea for those in
his occupation transcends time.
{Times, Oct. 18, 1885 p. 5}
Accidents to Workmen.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: The boiler explosion
in Pittsburg recently, by which seventeen workmen were
injured, most of them seriously and several fatally, is
another instance of the carelessness of those who have the
safety of their fellow-creatures intrusted to their judgment
and fidelity. The statement of the engineer (who tested
these boilers only a month before) that they were safe, seems
greatly at variance with the fact that corrosion, a gradual
process, had reduced the thickness of the iron of the mud
drum, which exploded, to one thirty-second part of an inch.
The mental and bodily suffering forced upon the families of
workmen by this instance alone should lead to the adoption in
that city, if in not others, of measures to insure the safety
of employes and others, and protect them from defective or
wornout machinery, or incompetent and careless operators, or
others upon whose judgment and fidelity the public safety
depends. One aim of the Knights of Labor is to secure the
adoption of more effective measures to prevent such accidents
to workmen, and provide the remuneration which workmen and
their families sorely need, after the injury, disability, or
death of the one whose labor kept the wolf from the door, or
at least kept his stomach from entertaining the many abodes
through whose doors the hungry jaws and glaring eyes are
alway thrust. The belief of many well-meaning people, that
the K. of L. is an agrarian, anarchist or law-hating order,
is far from the truth.
LABORING MAN.
Los Angeles, October, 1885.
{Times, July 29, 1885, p. 2}
Laborers' Grievances.
To the Editor of the Times--Sir: Being out of work for
the last fourteen days, and as I cannot live without some
employment, and I am not ashamed to earn an honest shilling
by labor, I applied to the Street Superintendent for such and
was told by that gentleman that he had too many men already,
and besides our City Fathers have ordered to have chain-gang
in operation again.
Now, Mr. Editor, I should like to know what this gen-
tleman thinks. Times are hard, plenty of laboring men are
knocking around who are willing to work at most anything if
an opportunity offers itself; and these gentlemen talk about
chain-gangs. After this institution was abolished once, it
should not be re-established to the disgrace of Los Angeles
and in competition of the workingmen. Do these philosophers
of the city expect to get a good opinion of the community at
large? I guess not.
Everybody knows that a great majority of the chain-gang
will consist of men guilty only of a minor offense, not being
able to pay the fine of the city or police court.
Consequently condemned at one dollar per day to drag the
chains and ball through the city, a disgrace to the public at
large. Besides, if there is only a spark of self-respect
left in any of them, it would be extinguished by this measure
and more candidates produced for San Quentin.
FREE LABOR.
{Times, Dec. 10, 1887, p. 6}
The Great Problem of Labor--Justice Its Solution.
Morris (Ill.), Dec. 3.--[To the Editor of The Times.]
We cannot, any of us, afford to neglect the study of the
signs of the times, for they point to change and readjustment
of society to suit new conditions that have been ushered into
existence through inventions and the arts. Machinery has
many times increased the productive powers of man in the last
fifty years, but never before was poverty and discontent more
severe than in our own day. We cannot afford to neglect
causes that produce this unnatural result. It is publicly
estimated that our annual product amounts in value to
$12,000,000,000 or $1000 to each family of five persons; and
the same authority places the wages of the average workingman
at about $300 per annum, upon which to support a family of
five persons. Can we wonder at poverty and discontent?
Some--yes, many--of the best men among us see the wrongs of
society, and are anxious to see reform; but the majority of
people are absolutely ignorant of the causes of poverty. The
man who champions the capitalistic side of the question will
almost invariably tell you that if the workingman would keep
out of the saloon and not waste his money in carousals he
would be well enough off if industrious and prudent; but this
same apologist is never a prohibitionist, but a
protectionist. He does not believe in striking at the root
of any evil. A sharp man can make money among fools. The
more ignorant the masses are, the better it is for the
sharper. He pretends to champion the cause of education,
thinking to cover his tracks; but mark you! the press is the
schoolmaster now, and if he can control that in shaping
public sentiment, he is safe for a time at least. He advises
economy for the poor man whose wages are $300 per annum--and
well he might; but how about the man whose income amounts to
ten, twenty, or fifty thousand per annum? Is it possible in
this country for a man to become rich and add increase to
wealth without labor? Is it not a just and benificent
command that we should labor for what we enjoy? Here is the
key to the discontent that has now been tugging at us to
awaken us to the impending danger. And yet we slumber on,
regardless of the alarm. The only question the two old
parties touch upon relates to tariff adjustment. The thing
not protected in this country is labor. Our labor market is
flooded with the surplus labor of the entire old world, and
this is just what the capitalist class want. They want an
open market where they can buy labor the cheapest, and a
combination, a monopoly or a trust, to sell their product to
the ruination of all opposition. Is there not a lesson to be
learned in these combinations of capital? Are they not
socialist institutions, for selfish instead of general
interests? They are furnishing the very solution of the
labor problem, except that the state should operate these
mammoth enterprises for the public good. But the capitalist
class denounces socialism, and all other isms that look to
rationally solving the labor problem. People were once
frightened at the word abolition. Now it is prohibition and
socialism, but all these words can be condensed into the one
word, justice. Justice has frightened the world's evil-doers
and oppressors. It is the handwriting on the wall. It is the
settlement of all unjust systems. The world's martyrs have
proclaimed it upon the cross, the scaffold and the rack, and
it is the great power that will finally triumph. He who
takes not justice as a ruling principle of his life is at sea
without a compass or rudder.
A DISTANT READER.
{Times, June 15, 1889, p. 5}
Mistreatment of Waiters.
Los Angeles, June 13.--[To the Editor of The Times.] I
am a waiter, and consequently very inexperienced in handling
a pen; therefore, I solicit all your indulgence. In the name
of justice and good sense, I protest emphatically against the
vexations, the humiliations and the wrongs that some
restaurant-going people inflict gratuitously upon waiters.
It may be said without exaggeration that a man who treats
waiters as some do, is not only a vulgar fellow, but also a
coward, because he knows well that a waiter cannot say or do
anything to take revenge of a customer without losing his
job.
Hoping The Times will take the above lines under its
protection, I am, Mr. Editor, very respectfully yours,
JOHN DUVAL.