The Evening Statesman

START WAR ON
LABOR UNIONS
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS, IN SESSION IN
GOTHAM, OUTLINES PLANS.
NEW YORK, May 19.-A determined
warfare on all labor unions, which will
have the support of the 3000 members
of the National Association of Manufacturers,
representing an
aggregate
capital of fifteen billion dollars,
will
soon be commenced.
This action was determined upon at
today's session
of
the
association,
which is holding its annual convention
at the Waldorf Astoria. Political methods
will be used by the manufacturers
in the fight, which will inject a new and
vital issue into the presidential campaign.
According to
President
James W.
Van Cleve, the membership of the association is practically
unanimous in
the matter of fighting the unions. It is
alleged that of the 30,000,000 laborers
in this country, less than 15,000,000 are
affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor, and that any determined
stand against what is termed the "tyranny"
of organized labor will receive
the support of the great majority
of
these unorganized workmen.
Fight Principles, Not Unions.
It is stated that the association will
not attempt to disrupt the unions, but
will make its fight against some of the
principles which the
unions stand for
and which are obnoxious
to capital.
Among these are the closed shop, the
boycott, sympathetic strikes,
Apprenticeship restrictions
and
compulsory
use of the union label.
New York labor leaders are apparently
not alarmed by
the
proposed
warfare of the association and declare
that it is but another outburst of the
spirit of vain antagonism
to unions
which has
heretofore found feeble ex-