Muncie, IND.; News of Local 23, two more automatic machines installed

MUNCIE, IND.

By Harvey Hickman.

Well, brothers, as you have not heard anything from us for some time I will try and let you know we are still in the glass business.

Since our last report there has been another tank put on with two auto-matic machines and three hand shops, which placed twelve more men on our list.

The shipping has been very good up till a few weeks ago, when it fell off and the future does not look very good at present, but we have assurance to work till the last of March.

President W. P. Clarke attended our January meeting and was going to attend our conference on January 7, but was called out of the city on account sickness. So Brother Cook attended in his place with Brothers Cyrus Herron and Glen Neal. At the conference they secured a raise for the gatherers from 71 to 75 per cent of pressers' wages. They also arranged to hold conference in the month of August instead of January. Other important things will be taken up in March.

Brothers Charley McCarthy, Allie Barthan and Cyrus Herron were our nominees for executive.

Brother Charley McCarthy and his big hound dog went out hunting. After getting out about nine miles the dog got in a fight and went all in, so Brother McCarthy carried 80 pounds of dog back with him instead of any rabbits.

Brother Ralph Newhouse, after putting in about a year in the army, is back on the job at the factory gathering.

Brother George Brass, who has for the past four months been knocking |on everything he has seen, has put his carpenter tools away and is back on the job pressing now.

In the December issue of our circular there was an article from one of our local unions recommending a one cent assessment in place of the two-cent and it went through with ease by 1,200 and some to 1,000 and some against it. Now, do you think that was a wise thing to do at this time when so many of our brothers are out of work and no telling when they will get started again. It looks as though some of our members thought just because we had nearly a half million treasury and the armistice had been signed that the laboring man had all he wanted. There is another great war just starting and that is labor against the man who is trying to deprive of us of our rights. Suppose we have five or six big strikes with thousands of men on our relief roll, how long will our half million last? And the paying of one cent not very long, in a few weeks' time we would be paying four or five per cent, and then some of the one-tenth of our membership who voted to change our assessment just to save a few pennies will squeal like a stuck pig.