OCR Text |
Show LABOR NEWS OF ALL COUNTRIES There is no hod-carrying In Japan. The native builders have a method of transporting mortar which makes it seem more like play than work to the onlooker. One man makes this up Into balls of about 6 pound weight, which he tosses to a man who stands on a ladder midway between the roof and the ground. This man deftly catches the ball, and then tosses It up to a man who stands on the roof. In Sydney, South Australia, a sum of $500,000 Is to be provided annually annual-ly by parliament for the use of men who desire loans to enable them to build a dwelling house or enlarge one already In their possession, or to discharge dis-charge mortgages on their homes Tho law requires that those who benefit by this fund shall earn four fifths of their income by 'actual personal per-sonal exertion," and that they shall not have an Income of over $1,500 a yoar. The executive council of th'e International In-ternational Bookbinders union is about to establish a school course in bookbinding The council has selected select-ed an Industrial commlSBlbn from tho membership to work out a definite plan, which will be submitted to thc nest convention of thc organization. Schools olther for apprentices or for correspondence work will bo established estab-lished in Boston, N'ew York, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, New Orleans and either San Francisco or Seattle. British union officials are beginning begin-ning to realize that trades unionism Is not In a healthy state in England at present. Last year men went on strike against the advice of their leaders and gained little or nothing This year the officials ordered the strikes, but tho men. following the more astute leaderB, refused to respond. re-spond. The fall in tho bank balances of thc unions and tho failure In most cases to secure any appreciable benefits bene-fits through strikes have made the men more cautious. Among the 100,000 union garment workers there are included 25,000 misses' -and children's dressmakers. 30,000 ladies' waist makers, 10.W0 undorwear and white goods workers, 8,000 wrapper and kimona makers. 5.000 corset workers and several thousand other workers In the affiliated af-filiated branches of the International union. Altogether there are about 75,000 organized workers In tho affiliated af-filiated trades in the United States and Canada, while the unorganized workerB total 250.000 but thc organizers organ-izers a'o rapidly bringing these Into the fold. A special assessment has been levied and this sum will be used for tho payment of all expenses leading lead-ing up to thc expected general strike, About 95 per cent of tho workors In these trades are women, but thc numbers num-bers of men called out will be increased in-creased by the strfk of S.O0O raincoat rain-coat makers, all men, who will bo called out at tho same time with tho garment workors. |