Muncie, IND.; News of Local 23, report of insulator production by machines

MUNCIE, IND.

By Harvey Hickman.

As the time has rolled around again for me to let you know how things are at the Hemingray Glass Co., I will try to give you the dope.

We thought by this time we would be working at something else besides the glass trade as we expected to be shut down before now. The firm gave us our week's notice on April 23, saying they were going to shut down on April 30, as the yard is full of ware and only have a few small orders, then on April 30th, they notified us that they were not going to shut down at present as they had got some orders for small ware, so in order to get a stock of small ware, which they never had, and fill the new orders coming in, they took all the big shops off and put them on small ware, so all the men and shops except one are working and doing fairly good and don't know just when we will shut down.

We lost one shop and Brother Chester Carmichael was thrown out of work when the firm needed the space his shop was in to experiment on an automatic press with a run out. They have tried it out a few times, but have not done any good up to the present time, but I suppose it is like all other automatics — it will take time, then time will tell. The automatic press in which they have an automatic gathering machine feeding it, is going along about the same, and for the benefit of those who would like to know the production of said machine, I am sending in the figures of a week's work which worked six days and five nights, making 132 hours. The large figures are good ware and the small figures bad ware, day turn: Friday, 4,395-150; Saturday, 3,881-85; Monday, 2,540-150; Tuesday, 4,750-150; Wednesday, 3,820-98; Thursday, 2,693-290. Night turn: Friday, 3,772-160; Monday, 4,396-160; Tuesday, 8.384-175; Wednesday, 4,650-309; Thursday, 4,120-98; this making a total for the 132 hours, 43,401 good, and 1,817 bad.

Brother Martin Erlinbaugh, who has been in the navy for the past year and has made several trips across the pond to France and other countries, and now on the monster troop ship Leviathan, which is helping to bring the American army home, got a 10-day furlough when the transport landed in this country after its last voyage, and visited Muncie and Local 23. He is in the best of health and said that he would be out of the navy about July, and would be ready for a job next fire.

Brother Johnnie Walsh, who has not had very good health for the past two years is on the sick list at the present time. He was to undergo an operation for a paralyzed nerve on the side of his head, but the doctor said if he would have some of his teeth pulled out he would get well, so now Johnnie is under the dentist's care.

Brother Oilie Barth will represent Local 23, at the Bellaire, Ohio, convention this year.

Brother Robert Bailey, who claims to be the champion fisherman of Local No. 23, says that he will have it all over Brother Joe Love and old man Arnold this summer if the stork arrives in time with young Dodie, as Dodie can have all the fishing tackles ready when he gets home from work, he and Dodie can go right for the river and have a start on the other brothers.

Whereas, The war-time prohibition act prohibits the manufacture of any beer and wine after the first day of July, are we going to set still and be chair warmers at our meetings and see our brother unionists thrown out of work and the trades they have been following for years go to the junk pile, while the prohibition fanatic gets out with their vocabulary on the corners and tell us what we should drink, so now I think it is about time that every local union and all its members to get busy and protest against prohibition; and

Whereas, It is the belief and contention of those who have carefully analyzed the matter from all its different aspects, that beer and wines containing not more than 2.75 per cent of alcoholic content by weight, can and should be classed as non-intoxicating, and should therefore be exempted from the constitutional amendment of the war prohibition act; therefore be it

Resolved, That each local union petition their representatives in Congress to work and vote against any measure that will prohibit the manufacture and sale of beer and wine containing less than 2.75 per cent alcoholic content by weight.