Muncie, IND.; News of Local 23, tank 2 building erected in two days

MUNCIE, IND.

By Harvey Hickman.

Just a few lines to let the trade know what is going on in Muncie with Local No. 23, as we have been playing leapfrog at the Hemingray plant for the last five months, changing from one tank to the other, while they were making repairs, I believe now we have got settled down for the winter, as on Oct. 29th, No. 1 tank shut down for repairs and on Nov. 1st the employes on No. 1 tank went to work on No. 4 tank. It has been customary for the past several years to work six shops on No. 4 tank, but they started it with eight shops this fire.

In the November issue of our magazine I spoke of No. 2 factory, which burned to the ground on October 18, and in said issue predicted that several of the men would be thrown out of work, but at this writing I am glad to say that through the ability of Mr. MacBee president of the firm, and the foreman at the plant, will say that they with the assistance of the employes, had nearly all of the ruins cleaned up and were able to start one shop the next morning. They are handy-capped in getting them all started right on a jump, as they had to put up a new wind pipe, and a new building, which was done in three days and all the men back to work.

Local No. 23 has been stricken with a wave of sickness for the past few months. The writer who was off for three weeks with poison is back to work again. Also Bro. John Lang, who has a disabled arm is back to work again, but not following the trade, as his arm is not in the best of condition to do hard work.

Bro. William Casey has been off and on the sick list for the past four weeks and after several examinations by the doctors they sent him to the hospital to be operated on for chronic appendicitis.

Bro. Burt Wolf was married Saturday, November 12. We all wish him well. Some of the boys have been looking for the cigars, but say that bird has not got around yet.

Bro. Ben Smith and William Densmore, who were night foremen, have come back to the trade again making insulators.

Bro. Henry Schmidt, who was off on account of lumbago, is back to work again.

Bro. Cyrus Herron, who was foreman at the Hemingray plant for about a year, has gone back to the trade again stamping insulators.

Just a few lines in regards to the League of Nations and the past election. The big and real issue at stake in the past election was "vote for Harding and kill the League of Nations." Now that Mr. Cox is a dead issue and the League of Nations supposed to be, I notice in our paper that President Wilson will again submit the treaty and the attached League covenant to the Senate, when it reassembles in December, so now for my part I would like to know what difference it makes to the laboring class of people, if we join the League of Nations and help protect Wall Street interests in Europe, or stay ut and protect is just the same, if we join the League to abolish future wars, and the money-mad men of Wall Street get money crazy, we will have war or if we don't join the League and stay out to solve our own destiny and the same men want war with some foreign country we will have war. At the present time the people all over the world are waiting passionately for permanent peace above all things. Promote peace and prevent war is the slogan of every nation, but instead of having peace, we learn each day of new wars being contemplated all over the world, and their only aim is territorial aggression through some of the big powers, and instead of listening to the pleas of the people for peace, the nations of the League of Nations are promoting wars and preventing peace instead of promoting peace and preventing war. Europe is all set ablaze at nearly all times with semi-war declarations. Some nation is at all times ready to make war on the least grievance, as each nation suspects the other. At present Japan is spreading her expansion over China and not contended with the conquest of what is now in her possession, but wants the domination over Siberia and the Saghalien Islands. There is a difference of opinion in England. Lloyd George places Russia in the right, but is willing to use the army and navy against Russia, even though if Russia is fighting for a cause of self-defense. Self-defense is honorable in my opinion, no matter if they are Bolshevists, the cause of right must conquer, as self-defense is nature's first law. Everywhere that Great Britain troops are at, it seems as though there are massacres, slaughters and warfare. Now that the League of Nations is to promote peace, what is the Peace League doing to promote peace? The most eloquent, words do not begin to describe the conditions in which the people of the human race are wishing for the dawn of peace.