USA > Ohio > Clark County > Springfield > The centennial celebration of Springfield, Ohio, held August 4th to 10th, 1901 > Part 17
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We do all of the labor on the farm by machinery of the lat- est pattern. There is a happy combination of brain and brawn, and through the union the labor of the sunburnt sons of toil is lessened and the farm is made a pleasure. From being the mud- . sill of society, the farmer of today steps to the front, the peer of any who follow another calling or profession that men are en- gaged in for a living. From our own firesides we converse with parties in all parts of the county. By ringing the bell, pressing the button, or pulling the string, we feed and water the stock upon the farm. As it were, we ride in chariots of fire to church and market. The electric road has joined the city and farm so close that the ideas advanced in the book entitled "Looking Back- ward" are already superceded. Today the farm area of the county is 245,487 acres. The tax valuation of the same is $8,877,428.
There are now under cultivation 192.967 acres. There are 21.702 acres in meadow and pasture. 30.818 acres are in meadow land. Our annual products, according to the assessors' returns, are as follows: Wheat, 853,080 bushels; corn, 2,716,325 bush-
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els ; oats, 447,183 bushels ; Irish potatoes, 51, 175 bushels ; sweet potatoes, 2.394 bushels; hay, 18,000 tons; tobacco, 265,860 pounds : broom corn. 15,640 pounds ; milk sold for family use, 470.745 gallons ; butter sold, 515.233 pounds ; eggs sold, 595,438 dozen ; grapes sold. 65.890 pounds ; apples, 9,979 bushels ; number of horses in the county, 6,017; number of cattle in the county, 19.465 ; number of hogs in the county, 16,286; number of sheep in the county, 29,995. The assessed value of live stock is $1. 171,- 500. From the rude implements used by the carly settlers of the county we passed through all the various steps of improvement until today every farm in the county is well supplied with modern machinery of the most approved pattern. All the agricultural in- terests of the county compare favorably with that of any other county in the State. As a rule our farmers and their families are contented and happy, a reasonable prosperity prevails throughout the county.
We will not weary your patience by recounting the trials and hardships endured. nor the victories won, by the agriculturists of the county during the past century. The real pioneer farmers of the county have all been gathered to their fathers, and their im- mediate successors will soon, very soon, be remembred only by the impress of their characters upon the history of our county. That they lived not in vain, we need only point to the proud con- dition of our times. A few more years and the last living tie that binds the honored memories of the past to the living present will be no more. Like the leaves of autumn, they are fast falling around us, and soon they will be known only by the fragments of their civilization, secured and preserved in the archives of your Historical Society.
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And now, in the bright light of the twentieth century, let us pause for a moment and think of the feats of war and the tri- umphs of peace that have been secured during the period of his- tory we have under consideration. They are indeed such as no dreamer ever could portray; yea, the prophecy of the wisest could not have foretold it. Notwithstanding the complaint of the chronic grumbler, our people today are fed and clothed as no other people in the world. Never in the history of nations was there such wealth found among the people, or such magnificent
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privileges enjoyed. Our children are educated in the best schools in the land, while our people are permitted to worship the true and living God in the best equipped churches on the face of the earth, and no one dares to molest or make them afraid. The news of the day is carried on the wings of lightning to every village in the land. The railroad permeates every part of the country, connects the two great oceans, and binds every State in the Union with a band of steel. The depths of the Atlantic have been made a whispering gallery, and today the glad tidings of freedom are sounded in the ears of eighty millions of contented and happy people, and long before the present generation passes away the electric current will be carrying messages of joy and sorrow, and be doing the errands of trade for a hundred million of human souls. Towns and proud cities are springing up all over our land as if by magic. The fairy stories of the Arabian Nights do not equal the realities of the present. The desert is made to bloom, while the husbandman rejoices in the cattle that feed upon the plains and hills ; our national channels of trade are made white with the commerce of the nation. All over this fair county of Clark, happy homes decorate the hill tops and beautify the valleys, and in these homes virtue sits enthroned, the proud mistress of the heart's greatest joy, and the soul's purest sun- shine. And from the rural homes of the land come ninety per cent of the men and women who are moving the religious, polit- ical and commercial world today. In view of such a wonderful history of the past, what may we hope for the future? We can only hint at the possibilities that rise up to bless the years as they pass by. And now, at the close of the first century of our exist- ence as a city, we are lost in amazement as we look into the fu- ture and see the marvelous and boundless prospects that appear upon the horizon to bless the generations yet unborn. And yet we are only on the threshold of an existence as a nation. Are the victories over, the triumphs all won, or are we not to go on and gain grander and greater victories as the years roll on? My friends, knowledge is to be the key by which the future genera- tions are to unlock the hidden secrets of nature. Here we rest, our minds all too finite to comprehend or measure the results that are growing out of the structure that our fathers erected here in the wilderness, one hundred years ago.
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T. J. CREAGER.
HISTORY OF THE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.
BY T. J. CREAGER.
Labor Omnia Vincit.
When James Demint, in 1801, selected the site upon which to erect his log cabin, he founded what was destined to be one of the greatest manufacturing and industrial cities of our great country. This pioneer settler could not have imagined the won- derful changes which have been wrought since he was the only inhabitant. Could he awake and view Springfield today, and note what wonderful progress has been made during this period, his astonishment would equal that of the leading character of Ed- ward Bellamy's famous book, "Looking Backward," who was aroused from a sleep of one hundred years to see the city of Bos- ton. In no direction has greater progress been made in Spring- field than in its manufacturing interests. During this first one hundred years of our existence as a city, factory after factory has been built, which, with the assistance of the well-known high mechanical ability of Springfield's workmen, have manufactured products which now reach every civilized portion of the earth, and have made Springfield known throughout the entire world as
-
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a city whose products in the line of manufacture in which it en- gages are unexcelled. It is universally admitted that the condi- tion of any community is reflected by the condition of its wage- earners. While Springfield has been so wonderfully progressive in an industrial sense, the proportion in which its working people have contributed to its advancement should not be overlooked. Without competent labor our city could not have progressed. . Without competent labor nothing can be accomplished. In the words of the immortal Abraham Lincoln, "Capital is the fruit of labor and could not exist if labor had not first existed. Labor, therefore, deserves much the higher consideration."
This city numbers among its most substantial citizens some of the men who have for a greater or less period of time worked daily stipulated hours for a stipulated wage in the manufacturing and other concerns of the city. To fully appreciate this fact, one has but to witness one of the annual Labor Day celebrations given in this city on the first Monday in September. It has often been remarked by persons who have witnessed these celebrations, "Springfield should be proud of her workingmen."
While the conditions which surround the wage-earners in our city are not just what they should be, still considerable im- provement has been made, and steady improvement is hoped for and expected in the future. That the conditions which now ob- tain are as good as they are, can be attributed in a great measure to the work, educational and otherwise, of the labor organizations. These unions, formed primarily with the object of advancing their members intellectually, socially, morally and financially, have certainly accomplished a great deal toward elevating the workingmen and their families to the station in life which they should properly occupy.
Better wages, shorter hours, Saturday half-holidays, and bet- ter working conditions generally have resulted from their efforts, to say nothing of the education of the members on questions on which all should be informed, for it is admitted by those familiar with the subject that the trades union is one of the best intellectual training schools in existence.
The Commissioner of Labor of the State of New York says : "It is clear that the working people of the State have reaped in-
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numerable benefits through the influence of the associations de- voted to their interests. Wages have been increased; working time reduced : the membership rolls have been largely augmented ; distressed members have received pecuniary relief ; general con- ditions have been improved and labor has been elevated to a higher position in the social scale."
While the efforts of the labor unions in this city have re- . sulted in great benefit to the members of the organizations, these benefits have not been confined to them exclusively. The effects of their work have been felt and enjoyed also by those who have not held membership, nor contributed financially, or devoted their time to the work of making these efforts successful. When the trades union succeeds in securing something of benefit to its mem- bership, these same benefits must naturally accrue to the entire craft, including those who are not members of the organization.
Previous to 1864 there was no organization of labor in Clark County. In the light of subsequent events this seems to have been due to the fact that the industrial conditions prevailing were entirely satisfactory. With the increase of population and the ever-changing methods of production and distribution, natural opportunities were lessened and competition grew fiercer and fiercer between investors on, the one hand and wage-earners on the other, developing into a struggle of capital against capital and labor against labor.
Capital, to protect and advance its interests, organized ; for the same purpose its example was quickly followed by intelligent labor. Today we have on the one side an almost complete organ- ization of employers in the various branches of industry, on the other, countless organizations of labor. The organization of only one of these forces would mean disaster and ruin to the other, therefore the organization of both is necessary to the success of each, and to conserve justly the rights of all.
Organization promotes higher civilization; individualism is maintained. and the strong come to respect the weak. Our Re- public exemplifies the merits of co-operation advocated by organ- ized labor. Uncle Sam has been a union man for one hundred and twenty-five years. Without the co-operation of the States, this greatest of nations could not exist. No one who understands
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our form of government would exchange it for any other. No claim is made that perfection has been reached in conducting in- dustrial affairs, but through organization a more perfect and equitable condition will be brought about. As rapidly as all come to realize the breadth and depth of a just economic condition, the advocates of an inequitable system of production and distribution will, happily, grow less. Reputable concerns will avoid those who, by attempting to maintain a condition of reduced consump- tion, seek to destroy all in the hope of selfish gain.
When it is understood that short hours, and wages based on the value of the thing produced will mean steady and profitable employment and enable the consumer to buy back the product he has created to the extent of that which is his just portion, thus increasing consumption, then really sound business methods will be understood and prevail universally. Many years of educa- tional work may be necessary to secure a practical understanding of these principles. The labor organizations are seeking to do their share in this direction. It is a school for the workers while, in the meantime, they are endeavoring to secure a sufficient com- pensation and conditions that will enable them to live comfort- ably.
The history of the labor movement in Springfield is very in- teresting, and a paper of this nature is entirely inadequate to a proper treatment of the subject; however, a review of its work as comprehensive as possible will be attempted.
LIST OF UNIONS.
Beginning with 1864, the following labor organizations have been instituted, in the order named, in the city of Springfield :
1864 -- March. Iron Molders' Union, No. 72.
1868-September I. Typographical Union, No. 117. Reorgan- ized July 28, 1882.
1883-March 25. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, San- dusky Division, No. 208.
1883-April 9. Mad River Assembly, K. of L., No. 2582.
1885-June 22. Tailors' Assembly, K. of L., No. 3980.
1885-October 12. Champion City Assembly, K. of L., No. 4351.
1886-January I. Lagonda Assembly, K. of L., No. 4894.
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1886-January 4. Germania Assembly, K. of L., No. 4903. 1886-January 8. Phoenix Assembly, K. of L., No. 4950. 1886-January 15. Excelsior Assembly, K. of L., No. 5007. 1886-February 13. Iron Workers' Assembly, K. of L., No. 5815. 1886-March I. Western Assembly, K. of L., No. 5816.
1886-June 7. Cigar Makers' Assembly, K. of L., No. 7825.
1886-September 12. District Assembly, K. of L., No. 178.
1886-January 13. Journeymen Bakers and Confectioners, No. 94. Reorganized September 11, 1900. 1887-June 26. Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, Lodge 360. 1887-December 12. Cigar Makers' Union, No. 45.
1889-October S. Bricklayers and Masons, No. 25.
1889-April 2. Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, No. 284. Reorganized 1901, April 2. New number 660.
1890-January I. Trades and Labor Assembly.
1890-June 16. Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators, No. 167.
1890-April 2. Journeymen Barbers, No. 26.
1890-December 9. Retail Clerks' National Protective Associa- tion, No. 190.
1890-June 30. National Brotherhood of Boiler Makers, No. 10. Reorganized March 3, 1895, No. 18.
1891-January 16. International Association of Machinists, Lodge 148. Reorganized May 14, 1898.
1891-Newspaper Employes' Union (local).
1891-September 28. Hod Carriers' Union. Incorporated under laws of the State of Ohio.
1891-June. Brotherhood of Brass Workers.
1891-Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association, Lodge 125.
1892-Car Inspectors' and Repairers' Association.
1892-Building Trades Council. .
1892-April 3. Order of Railway Conductors, Division 329. 1892-Quarrymen and Limeburners, Cold Springs Lodge. Re- organized 1896, under A. F. of L.
1892-Teamsters' Union (local). Reorganized and chartered by the International Union, March, 1900. No. 124.
1892-Laborers' Union (local).
1892-August 1. Journeymen Tailors' Union, No. 203. 1892-Shoemakers' and Repairers' Union (local).
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1892-November I. Journeymen Plumbers', Gas Fitters', Steam Fitters' and Steam Fitters' Helpers' Union, No. 97.
1892-October 1. National League of Musicians, No. 64.
1892-Coal Drivers' Union (local).
1893-April 1. Tin, Sheet Iron and Cornice Workers' Interna- tional Association, No. 91.
1893-January. Printing Pressmen's Union, No. 25.
1893-Machine Wood Workers' International.
1894-Journeymen Stone Cutters' Association.
1895-September 15. Press Feeders' Union, No. 7.
1896-March 21. Theatrical Stage Employes' Union, No. 34.
1896-October 4. Brewery Workers' Union, No. 45.
1896-Journeymen Horse Shoers' Union, No. 76.
1896-International Association of Plasterers (operative), No.22.
1897-February 10. Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, No. 139.
1898-June 8. Coremakers' International Union.
1898-November 25. Metal Polishers', Buffers', Platers' and Brass Workers' Union, No. 102.
1899-April 13. Brotherhood of Trainmen, Lodge 573.
1899-July 21. Metal Chippers' Protective Union, No. 7446.
1900-August 23. Suspender Workers' Union, No. 8618.
1900-November 1. Shirt, Waist and Laundry Workers' Union, No. 34.
1900-April 24. Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employes, Division 146.
1901-May 14. Stereotypers' and Electrotypers' Union, No. 55. ' 1901-May 8. Machinists' Helpers' Union, No. 9102.
1901-August: American Federation of Musicians, No. 160. A total of sixty organizations.
To give even a brief history of each organization would oc- cupy much time and seem but a repetition, therefore the history of several of the older unions will be presented, which will, in a general way, cover the history of all.
MOLDERS.
Iron Molders' Union, No. 72, of Springfield, was organized in the month of March, 1864, with twenty-two charter members. and started on her course with John H. Blakeney, President ;
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Isaac Stewart, Vice-President ; William Sykes, Recording Secre- tary ; John Morrison, Financial Secretary ; James Ludlow, Cor- responding Representative; John L. Jayne, Treasurer; William Hope, Doorkeeper. Many of the members on the old charter list are still alive, and speak with pride of the good that was accom- plished in many ways by the organization. Many are well-known and respected citizens, some having held positions of prominence and trust, others have successfully engaged in business, while a few are still in the "sand heap." In the list are found the well- known names of William Irvin, for years foreman at Whiteley, Fassler & Kelly's, afterward at the Wickham & Chapman Com- pany ; Timothy Hennessy, foreman for thirty-five years at James Leffel & Company's, afterward at the Leffel Wheel and Engine Company and the Trump Manufacturing Company; William Shaw, foreman at Rinehart, Ballard & Company and the Spring- field Engine and Thresher Company ; Fred Zigler and John Mor- rison, at the Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Company; James Blakeney, foreman at the New Champion Shops for years, after- ward at the Blakeney Foundry Company; John Shewalter, City Clerk for years, and now with the Springfield Gas Company ; Fred Schuchman, Chief of Police for a number of years and until his death ; William Knox, foreman at the Thomas Manufacturing Company ; William Hope, at the Springfield Brass Company ; James Hennessy, Richard Parker, Primrose Harley. James Lud- low, David Shannon, Jacob Shannon, Morgan Shieler and Daniel Hughes, the last named being still at the trade and an active mem- ber of No. 72. Among other good deeds done by the union at that time was the purchase of a lot in Ferncliff Cemetery for the burial of indigent brothers. The lot is still held and marked with the graves of two brothers. New lots have been secured in St. Raphael's and Calvary Cemeteries.
The panic of 1872 forced many of the members out of the city, and the charter was finally returned. The spirit of union- ism did not remain dormant long, and, Phoenix-like, No. 72 was again soon re-established. In the reorganization. which occurred January, 1878. the following officers were elected: Thomas Digan, President; William Lobaugh. Vice-President; Louis Luibel, Recording Secretary ; Charles Lobaugh, Financial Secre-
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tary ; D. I. Otstott, Corresponding Representative ; John Lynch,. Treasurer. Headquarters of the National Organization had changed from Philadelphia to Cincinnati, and the officers were William Saffin, President, and Martin F. Hayburn, Secretary- . ยป Treasurer. The local union paid about $4,000 for sick and fu- neral benefits up to 1896, when this feature was incorporated in the National body. Since 1896 the members of No. 72 have drawn sick benefits from the International to the amount of sev- enteen hundred dollars. The number of local unions at present is 374; roll of membership, 52,000. A sick benefit of $5 per week is paid. For this purpose $340,600 have been paid to June 30, 1901. Out-of-work benefits for the same period of time have amounted to $23,631. Members who pay their dues promptly while working, have their dues paid when idle from the out-of- work relief fund. When out on a sanctioned strike for better conditions or against a reduction of wages, members receive $7 a week. A death benefit of $100 is paid within thirty days after death, by the International, and an additional $50 after five years' continuous membership, while nearly all local unions add $50 to this amount.
The present officers of the local are: E. F. O'Brien, Presi- dent ; William Warren, Vice-President; H. A. Gnau, Recording Secretary ; Joseph Merkle, Corresponding Representative; Charles
- Haerr, Financial Secretary ; John Spichety, Treasurer.
The employers' organizations are: Stove Plate Molders' De- fense Association, National Foundrymen's Association, and the American, the last recently formed. By an agreement existing between these organizations and the International Molders' Union, all disputes must be heard by a committee representing each of these organizations-a plan that has been very successful, and one that could with profit be employed by all.
TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION, NO. 117.
The second trade union formed in Springfield was the Typo- graphical Union, No. 117, September 1, 1868. The charter was issued by what was then known as the old National Typographical Union. The charter members were: J. H. Campbell, Frederick Meakin, T. E. Harwood, Nine Wartenbe, E. H. Osborne, W. T.
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Brown and W. O. Meade. The names of the National officers attached to this charter were: R. M. Kechnee, President, and John Collins, Secretary and Treasurer. Two of the charter mem- bers, T. E. Harwood and William O. Meade, are still actively en- gaged in the printing business, the former having established and successfully conducted the business of the Harwood Printing and Publishing Company, publishers of the Daily Gasette, while Mr. Meade has for sixteen years been an employe of the New Era Company. The membership seldom exceeded twelve or fifteen, and only through the efforts of Mr. Harwood and several others was the union maintained for even its short life. In June, 1869, the name National Typographical Union, which was instituted in May, 1852, was changed to International Typographical Union. After a brief and uneventful career the local organization ceased. to exist.
July 28, 1882, the union was reorganized. Thomas M. Proc- tor, since deceased, and W. A. Martin, now one of the directors of the Crowell & Kirkpatrick Company, were the most active in forming the organization. Mr. Martin at that time was a mem- ber of the Dayton Union, and bears the distinction of being the only member holding a card. Mr. Proctor had formerly been a member, but had allowed his membership to lapse. The first pre- liminary meeting was held on Thursday evening, July 6, 1882, in 'Squire J. J. Smith's office, in the Kizer Block, East Main street, with A. F. Poysell as chairman and Jacob Geiser, secretary. But seven signatures being required to procure a charter, it was de- cided to draw lots, the seven successful contestants to constitute a committee to make application for a charter. The drawing named T. M. Proctor, W. A. Martin, Ralph Wetmore, W. H. Warner, R. W. Poling, J. H. Bennett and W. H. Newcomer. The Inter- national officers signing the charter were George Clark, President, and Mark L. Crawford, Secretary and Treasurer. Permanent organization was effected August 2, under charter granted to Springfield Typographical Union, No. 117, and the following officers were elected : President, W. A. Martin; Vice-President, T. M. Proctor; Recording and Corresponding Secretary, S. P. Behrends : Financial Secretary, Jacob Geiser; Treasurer, Upton Elifritz ; Sergeant-at-Arms, J. H. Bennett.
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During the nineteen years of its existence, meeting places have been in Fried's Hall, Thomas Building, above 22 South Fountain avenue ; Commercial Building, South Limestone street ; Leitschuch Building, East Main street, and finally in the Johnson Building, West Main street, the present location. At present, and for many years past, the union has held its regular meeting on the first Monday evening of each month. The first scale of prices . was adopted April 5, 1884. The first committee selected to draft a scale of prices consisted of W. A. Martin, W. E. Bratton, J. S. Reed, E. S. Ralph and A. G. Linn. The most notable amend- ments to the scale are : October 4, 1886, an increase of 12 1-2 per cent was asked ; after considerable discussion the matter was left to arbitration, and the Arbitration Committee, composed of W. R. Calhoon for the employers, Daniel Derrickson for the union, and Henry Davis, chosen by these two, decided in favor of the in- crease. December 2, 1899, an increase of II I-9 per cent was asked, and granted without any difficulty. June 4, 1894, a reduc- tion in the hours from ten to nine a day, with a corresponding re- duction in wages. Since 1900 the International has established the nine-hour day throughout the United States and Canada. October 2, 1899, an increase to the wages formerly paid for ten hours. February 5, 1900, all piece work was abolished. Present scale of prices : Day work, per week, foreman $17, assistant fore- man $16, compositors $15, machine operators $18; night work, foreman $21, assistant foreman $18, compositors $18. machine operators $21.
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