m mm wm
WEEKLY
Published Saturday
Nome Mine Workers' Union, No. 240, International Union of Mine,
Hill and Smelter Workers.
Subscription Price
Hi Months
Poe Month
45.00
1.00
"To secure to each laborer the whole product of hit labor, or as
marly as possible is a worthy object of any good government ”—Abra
ham Lincoln. „ H
Address all communications to Trl-Weekly Nome Industrial Worker.
Box 210, Nome, Alaska. rhone, Black 134.
Ah changes In advertisements must reach this office before 9 A. M.
on day of publication to insure lasersion in same isdue.
Advertising rates made knewn on application.
. _
Entered as second class matter August 6, 1918, at the Post Office
•t Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
NOME, ALASKA SATURDAY, JANUARY, 25, 1918. .
KARLLIEBKNECHTij
nWTfOlilED
if as reported Dr Karl Liebknecht
has been killed then the German
working class has lost one of its
staunchest and most fearless cham
pions of the last decade. Liebknecht
when a member of the German Reich
stag championed the workers at all
times. He more than once embar
rassed the government thru his at
tacks and accusations, as for instance
in the famous Krupp case where he
exposed dealings between the Krupp's
and high army officials who had been
giving out advance information about
contemplated contracts for guns and
ammunition to the Krupps.
The outbreak of war found him,
although an army officer, one of the
strongest opponents of the conflict,
openly inciting the soldiers to mutiny
and to refuse to fight. For this first
offense he was called to colors, but
he still presiBted in carrying out his
anti-military and anti-war propagan
da.
Being courtmartialed, he was sen
tenced to four years imprisonment.
It seems that he was very leniently
dealt with in view of being an officer
of the German army serving under
the colors and the nature of his of
fense. He had served two years of
his entence when he was liberated.
The flight of the German Emperor
and the elimination of the German
war party found him with his great
gifts enlisted in the ranks of the
workers eager to fight their battles
arid to lead them into a fairer life.
Distrust of Ebert, Scheideman and
Haase's political aims was, we sup
pose, the main reason for the split
in the Socialist party ranks, and the
formation of the so called Spartacus
group. And well might he distrust
Ebert et al. who almost up to the last
minute were staunch supporters of
the war party and always ready to
vote the necessary credits. After the
collapse, Ebert and hia colleagues
were anxiously ready to champion the
people.
it is really amusing to remember
what a hero Liebknecht was to prac
tically the whole world when he op
posed the German war party was then
fit to live. But when he had the
temerity not only to advocate a
change in the political system in Ger
many but to meddle with the econom
ic system also then he quickly be
came an anarchist, a Hoshevik and an
agent of the Russian radicals. Had
he just contented himself with a po
litical change he would very likely be
alive today and a hero still. How the
mighty fall, and how quickly the
Uourgeoisy will throw bricks instead
of bouquets when a man like Lieb
knecht tries to interfere with the pro
fit system. That he lacked sufficient
support to carry his movement to a
successful end seems a pitiful fact
but when we survey the political situ
ation in Germany it seems that all
the suffering the German people had
; to undergo during the war has failed
to put a little political sense into the
heads of a good many of them.
Ebert's success can easily be ex
plained by the fact that the German
population in the agricultural dis
tricts were always before the war in
tensely conservative and therefore
loyal A socialist was looked upon by
i that class as almost an outcast, and
is yet.
The Clerical party in Germany was
also bound to elect a good many mem
bers in spite of all the agitation of
Liebkneeht and his supporters. The
voters of the clerical party are and
always have been as a body against
1 any modern ideas. These voters
saved Ebert and his bunch.
Well even if Ebert wins out, it
will be one great step forward for the
German people who r.ow for the first
time in their history, and the history
of no country can show the like, have
the opportunity to vote without any
restrictions impor.ed upon them un
der lull and equal suffrage for women
as well as men.
It is a pity that Liebkneeht did
not live to see this day. The charge
brot by the German socialists that
Liebkneeht was murdered may be
founded on fact but it seems hardly
believable that his antagonists would
use such a foul method to remove
him. (But then think of Aladero’s
fate.) ut even his death will not
have the desired effect of killin'- the
cause he advocated. His followers,
we believe are made of better stuff
than to tamely submit to Ebert and
his bunch of so called socialists. Al
though Liebkneeht is dead, his cause
still lives and his followers will give
Ebert many a head ache yet.
CHEAP LABOR
IN CHILE
LONG HOOKS LOW WAGES AND
NO UNION IS IDEAL FOR COP
PER KING
Our readers may not have the
pleasure of the acquaintance of Ed
mund A. Guggenheim, so we will In
troduce him by stating that he has
just returned from an inspection of
Central Chile. This country, we may
remark, is noted for its production
of nitrate and copper, the latter be
ing next to importance to nitrate In
volume of production. The agricul
tural laborer of Chile gets in addi
tion to hia housing, a small ration of
from one to two and one-fifth pounds
of beans per day and his money wage
I ranges from 20 to 40 cents. There
are nearly 20,000 miners employed
in the copper mines of the country,
and their wages range from 80 cents
to $1 per day, measured in American
gold. These facts may enable the
reader to imagine the bliss that bless
es the Chilean workingmen and will
enable us also to complete the intro
duction we are giving Mr Guggen
heim.
He returns to his country flushed
with enthusiasm over Chile, and
through the Wall Street Journal de
clares that labor is plentiful in that
South American state, and “the ab
sence of labor unions is a boon to that
‘that copper can'"be produced from
the Chilean mines to relieve the
scarcity and necessary production of
this country.’* The introduction is
complete and It is unnecessary to
iwell on the fact that Mr Guggenheim
is an American capitalist, and his
heart bleeds for the extension of de
mocracy over the world. Wages of $1
per day, long hours and no Organiza
tion of the workers creates a situa
tion that is a “boon” in the eyes of
Mr Guggenheim. He is happy and
his words leave no doubt that his
happiness would be complete if this
“boon” were brought to the workers
of this country. Shall we swat him
or denounce him for his "un-Ameri
can” views.
It is a temptation that we must
forego, for his views are neither
American or un-American. They are
held by his class almost universally
in this country, in Chile, in Germany
and in all other countries wlsere the
factory and machine has thrust his
class to the front as economic rulers.
It is the capitalist view that has no
racial of nationalistic
Chilean capitalist rdpdi
ees as working cattle as '
Guggeniielm ^oes, and, If ih$ formed
came to this country and found a
similar, situation in the copper regions
of Montana or upper Michigan, he
would return to Chile and report to
his fellow exploiters of the “boon”
he found in America. Cheap labor,
low wages a low standard of living
and no organization of the working
class constitute a “boon” wherever
they are found, and fill the native and
foreign capitaist with the same sense
of profound satisfaction. Mr Gug
genheim can be a good American, a
good Chilean or a good German any
where in the world in the eyes of his
class, as they have no more to do with
determining the standard of “good
ness" in these matters than any
others. We therefore take pleasure
in introducing Mr Guggenheim as a
"good capitalist,” and, if the work
ingmen do not like his acquaintance,
it is not because we have been negli
gent in emphasizing “good qualities”
[that are recognized the world over in
exclusive circles.
!S3S*=£SSH=5Sf
S. The
empjojr
ell as
Mr
-Union Record.
COMBINATION LAWS
OF ENGLAND
Probably the most serious event in’
the early history of the Trades Union
movement in Great Britain was the
passage of the Combination Laws in
1799. Prior to this date it was the
policy of the different governments
to pass laws making it illegal to com
bine in given trades and callings. The
reason for this was alleged to be
that it was the province of parlia
ment to fix the conditions of industry
and that, therefore, an interference
by combinations of workers was un
necessary. By the end of the eigh
teenth century, however, wage-fixing,
in any wide sense, by local authorities
under act of parliament, had long
fallen into disuse, and, in some cases
the Combination Laws were not en
forced. There are instances where the
government recognized trades union
agitation and granted demands for
legislation. What is humorously de
scribed as “free contract” was in gen
eral operation during the last years
of the century, In' 1799, fearful of
the contagion of the French Revolu
tion and of the rapid growth of un
ionism among the textile workers of
Yorkshire and Lancashire, the gov
ernment introduced a general Com
bination Law the effect of which was
to mak all trade unionism penalisa
ble as a act of sedition against the
state. As with Sir Joseph Word's
measure of industrial conscription,
this law was rushed on to the statute
book without so much as giving those
concerned an opportunity of making
a protest. Within twenty-four days
after its introduction into the House
of Commons it had received the Royal
assent. Only one union, the Calico
printers Society in London, had the
opportunity of petitioning against the
measure, and in their objections they
stated that although the bill profess
ed merely “to prevent unlawful com
binations,”’ it created “new crimes of
so indefinite a nature that no one
journeyman of workman will be safe
in holding conversation on the sub
ject of his trade or employment.” No
other unions took action, and the bill,
unaltered, passed into law. In 1880
the act was reaffirmed. Subsequently
it was supplemented by strained in
terpretations of the common law and
of ancient statutes, and in 1819 (four
years after Waterloo had “freed” flu
rope lront French militarism)' by the
infamous “Six Acts” which made ail
public meeting illegal, enabled magis
trates tf search for arms, compelled
all working-class papers to pay a
arushlii): s tamp'duty, and harshened
the law of seditlo libel. Under
these ppressive la vs thousand-! of
workers were imprisoned and deporte
union bioken up and their Hands se
■ nostra'ed One or two cases of per
secution will show liow these arts
were imi by the exploiters to injure
unionism and to war 1 off strikes In
I Sr 7 the Bolton constables nearing
by a'.eluent that ten delegates of the
calico-planters from various parts of
the Kingdom were to meet on New
Year's Hay, arrested them aou seized
their papers. They were given three
months' goal although no dispute
with the government was in progress.
In 18X6 seven scissor grinders were
sentenced to three months' goal for
belonging to a M“isfortune Club”
which paid out-of-work benefit. In
1812 theemployees in the Scottish
weaving industry refused to accept
the rates which the justices had de
clared to be fair. Workers on 40,000
looms struck. The government
straightway arrested their central
committee or five and gave them four
to eighteen months’ .imprisonment.
The Weavers' Association was after
"•■vrds broken up. These cases could
be multiplied indefinitely. Of course
apologists for the Combination Laws
say that they also applied to the em
ployer. This was also lin the in the
letter but not in the fact. Cord Fran
cis Jeffrey, speaking at a dinner to
Joseph Hume, the great Radical poli
tician and writer, said; “A single
master was at liberty at any time
to turn off the whole of his workers
[at once—100 to 1000 in number—
1 if they would not accept the wages he
choose to offer. Bu it was made an
i offense for the whole of the workers
1 to leave that master at once if he re
| fused to give the wages they choose
! to require.” Sydney Webb, in his
“History of Trades Unionism.” says
that “During the whole epoch of re
pression, whilst thousands of jour
neymen suffered for the crime of
combination, there is absolutely no
crime on record in which an employer
was punished for the same offense.”
These Combination Laws were re
pealed mainly through the instru
mentality of Francis Place a master
tailor in Lond,on whose work for
[ unionism and for freedom to organize
should be more widely known and
appreciated by the movement. He
was first moved to work for the re
peal of these laws by the atrocious
; treatment of some printers employed
by the Times newsmaper. About this
he wrote; “The crttel persecutions of
journeymen printers on the Times
newspaper in 1810 were carried to an
almost incrediable extent. The judge
who tried and sentenced some, of
them was the common Sergeant of
London. Sir John Sylvester, common
ly known tty the cognomen of 'Bloody
Black Jack.'* * * * * * No judge took
more pains than did this judge on the
unfort:yiate printers to make it ap
pear that their offense was one of
great enormity, to beat, down and
1 alarm the really respectable men who
had fallen into his clutches, and on
j whom he inflicted scandalously un
fair sentences.' On another occasion,
writing of the degeneration of condi
tions in the textile industries, Place
said: “The sufferings or persons in
the cotton manufacturing districts
were beyond credibility; they were
drawn into combinations, betrayed,
persecuted, convicted and monstrous
ly severe punishments Inflicted on
then; they were reduced to and kept
in the most wretched state of exis
tarct.” The Combination Laws were
repealed in 1825.-—Maoriland Work
er.
BAD WEATHER
FOR ARISTROCRATS
, 1 ._.
if
Democracy is not alone the foe to
autocracy but of aristocracy as well,
and as the war proceed* aristrocrats
shiver almost as much as the auto
crats. An Associated Press cable
*
gram tom Liverpool tells us of
I “stormy days after the war” that are
j predicted by Sir Alfred Booth of the
jCunard Steamship Company. A num
1 bor of clouds appeared to be rising
“ 1 ->*=*=• - ' ::
above the aristocratic horizon, the
m«*t'piorthalo^ W whi<^ from ttw
point of view of the noijtif&y, is “labor
unrest due to false hopes bf a now
heaven and a new earth.*’ The pli|
hell and the old earth never seriously
d: stressed the aristocracy, but the
prospect of change is dreaded.
Nevertheless the change is coming,
and men like President Wilson and
Lloyd George welcome it. As to what
is coming, Mr Wilson last March ex
1 presser himself in a particularly sig
nificant manner in a letter to the
chairman of the New Jersey Demo
cratic convention. What he said is
worth reprinting and keeping in
mind. Read:
“Every sign of these terrible days
of war and revoutionary change,
when economic and social forces are
being released upon the whole world
whose effect no political seer dare
venture to conjure, bids us search our
hearts, through and through and
make them ready for the birth of a
new days—a day, we hope and be
lieve, of geater opportunity and
greater prosperity for the average
mass of struggling men and women,
and of greater safety and occupation
for children.
“The old party slogans have lost
the;- significance and will mean noth
ing to the voters of the future, for
the war is certain to chapge the mind
of Europe as well as the mind Of
Au'erica. Men everywhere are search
ing democratic principles to their
hearts inorler to determine their
soundness, their sincerity, tlieir
adaptability to the real needs of their
life, and every man with any vision
must see that the real test of justice
and right action is presently to come
as it never came before.
“The men in the trenches who have
been freed from the economic serf
dom to which some of them have been
accustomed will. It is likely, return to
their homes with a new view and a
new impatience of all mere political
phrases, and will demand real think
ing and sincere action.
“The days of political and econom
ic reconstruction which are ahead of
us no man can now definitely assess,
but we know this, that every program
must be shot through and through
with utter disinterestedness; that no
party must try to serve itself, but
every party must try to save human
ity, and that the task is a very prac
tical one. meanig that every program,
every measure in every program,
must be tested by this question and
this question alone: Is it just; is it
for the benefit of the average man
without influence or privilege; does
is embody in real fact the highest
conception of social justice and right
dealing without respect of person or
class or particular interest?”
Let these words stand against the
pessimistic forebodings of Sir Alfred
Booth. In aa world in which some
men have too much while others have
had too little it is impossible that con
ditions should be made more nearly
just without impairing some of the
privileges of those who in the past
have fared too well.
President Wilson, in the last para
grapt quoted, raised a standard of
political morality which the people
would do well to keep in mind. In
sentiment it is as lofty as the Gettys
burg address. If rigorously applied
it would revolutionize the United
States. Every public official who in
these momentous days should seek
to serve the interest of a privileged
class should have laid upon him the
lash of public scorn.
i
UK VO $2.30 I'ER DOZEN AT LEH
MANN'S
GET THE NEWS RIGHT REAP
THE WORKER.
Bring your forfeiture notices t»
the Industrial Worker.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
In the United States Commissioner's
Court for the Precinct of Cape
Nome, Second Division, Territory
of Alaska, in Probate.
In the matter of the estate of
FRED LARSEN, deceased.
Notice is hereby given that the un
dersigned has been appointed admin
istrator of the estate of Fred Larsen,
deceased, by the above entitled court.
All persons having claims against
said estate are required to present
them, with the proper vouchers, with
in six months from the date of this
notice, to the undersigned administra
tor, at Nome, Alaska.
J. C. WIDSTEAI)
Administrator of the estate of Fred
Larsen, deceased.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
In the United States Commissioner’s
Court for the Precinct of Cape
Nome, Second Division, 'Territory
of Alaska. In probate.
In the matter of the estate of Christen
Anderson, deceased.
Notice is hereby given that the un
dersigned has been appointed admin
istrator of the estate of Christen An
deron, deceased, by the above named
court.
All persons having claims against
said estate are
them, with the jrpper Voucher
in six months ftors the date of this
notice, to the undersigned admin ie
trator, at Nome, Alaska.
john'a Wilson,
Administrator of the estate of Chris*
ten Anderson, deceased.
PtTB—Sfov 30. JDec t, 14, 21, 28.
NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR
PARENT
M. a; No. 0339
M. S. No. 1218
IN THE UNITED STATES LAND OF*
FICE AT NOME, ALASKA.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that
Archie McDonald, a citizen of the
United States, residing at Nome,
Alaska, and whose post office address
is Nome, Alaska, has made applica
tion before the United States Land
Office at Nome, Alaska, for a United
States Patent for the PLUTUS AS
SOCIATION PHCfS mining cfeim
situate on the left Uinit of Dry Creek,
between the heads of Peluk Creek and
Franklin Gulch, about 2 V4 miles N. H.
of the Town of Nome, in the Chpe
Nome Mining and Recording District,
Alaska, Second Division, being Min
ral Survey No. 1215; said claim being
more particularly described in the
field notes and plat of the official sur
vey thereof now on file in said Land
Office, at Nome, Alaska, as follows:
Beginning at Cor. No. 1, identical
with Cor. No. 3, Sur. No. 1209, Mead
ow Associaton Placer, a fir post 4 ins.
sq., 2 ft. above ground, in earth
mound, scribed M.-3-1209 and 1-1218
P. whence U. S. L. M. No. 19 bears
N. 78 deg. 34 min. E. 4822.4 ft;
thence S. 22 deg. 43 min. W. (Var.
18 deg. 03 min. E.) 1475.60 ft. to Cot.
No. 2, a fir post 4 ft. long, 4 ins. sq.
in earth mound scribed 2-1215 P;
thence N. 63 deg. 05 min. W. (Var.
18 deg. 10 min. E.) 1218.10 ft. to
Cor. No. 3, identical with Cor. No. 2,
Sur. No. 1209, Osiris Placed; thence
N. 17 deg. 51 min. E. (Var. 18 deg.
03 min. E.) 1226.70 ft. to Cor. No. 4.
identical with Cor. No. 1, Sur. No.
1209, Osiris Placer; thence S. 74 deg.
16 min. E. (Var. 18 deg. 03 min. B.)
1329.30 ft. to Cor. No. 1 and place of
beginning; containing an area of 39.
253 acres. Total area applied for be
ing 38.401 acres.
That said claim is in conflict with
and overlapped by Survey No. 1249,
Meadow Association Placer to the ex
tent of 0.589 acres, and by Survey No.
1209, Myrtle Claim Placer to the ex
tent of 0.263 acres, all as shown by
the official plat and field notes of sur
vey thereof, but that said areas so in
conflict with the Piutus Association
Placer are hereby excluded from this
application and patent for same is not
hereby or hereunder applied for.
That said claim is situated on un
surveyed ground on ‘.he left limit of
Dry Creek, between the heads of
| Peluk Creek and Franklin Gulch,
[about 2% miles N. E., of the Town
| of Nome. U. S. L. M. No. 19, to which
' this claim is tied, is a fir post, painted
white, 6 ins. sq. 5 ft. above ground,
| scribed U. S. L. M. No. 19. in earth
! mound, situated on the right limit of
I Otter Creek, about 50 ft. from tho
I railroad and 2 % miles North of Ber
i ing Sea. in Latitude 64 deg. 32 min.
| North, Longitude 165 deg. 17 min. Vf.
That the original notice of location
of said claim is recorded in Volume
190, page 5 of the records of the
Cape Nome Recording District
Alaska.
The adjoining claims are: Oa the
North, Survey No. 1209, Mrytle Claim
Placer and Meadow Association
Placer, Eskimo Gold Dredging Co.,
Claimant; on the East 40 Acre Tract
Association, unsurveyed; on the
I South claims unsurveyed and claim
jnnt unknown; on the West, Sur. No.
1209. Osiris Placer, Eskimo Gold
Dredging Co., claimant.
THOS McGANN
Register.
M
NOTH 'K OK KOUFK ITU l{K
To J. N. Flack, Nome Kougarok Con
solidated Mines Company and Jacob
Zeman, your heirs, executors, admin
istrators and .assigns:
You and each of you, are hereby
notified that the undersigned has ex
pended in labor and improvements
the sum of one hundred dollars dur
ing each of the years of 1914, 1916,
1916, and 1917, upon the following
described placer mining claim, situate,
lying and being in the Kougarok Re
cording District, Territory of Alaska,
to-wit: The upper one half ( % ) of
Creek Claim Number Three on Dahl
Creek in the Kougarok Mining Dis
trict. {
You are further notified that If I
within ninety (90) days after the f
publication of this notice you fail or
neglect to contribute your proportion
of such expenditure, your interest in
said mining claim if any, -will become
the property of the undersigned, your
co-owner, under section 2324 of thn
Revised Statutes of the United States.
AL CAREY
Co-owner.
Published—Nov. 23, 30. Dec. 7. 14,
21, 28. Jan. 4, 11, IS, 26. Feb.l, 8, 16.