Music Trade Review

194
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MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
ADDRESS OF ALFRED DOLGE.
DELIVERED AT THE 18TH ANNUAL KB-UNION OP HIS
EMPLOYEES, AT THE CLUB HOUSE, IN DOLGEVILLE,
JANUAKY 22, 1887.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : It is an easy as well as
pleasant task to review our doings of tli e year gone by,
before such an essemblage as I see here to-night. A
comparison of this re-union with any previous one is
alone sufficient evidence, that we have prospered last
year to such an extent as to necessitate the increase
of the working force.
Wo have done well, we havo all done our duty, and
I am in the enviable position to say to you, that it
is impossible for me to find a cause for censure or
reproach, although T havo looked for it. I have
turned over in my mind all that was done and all
that happened In the different departments during
the year, and the very best I can do in faultfinding,
(which, as you know, is my second nature) will be
in a joking way to allude to some slight errors, mis-
takes or occasional carelessness caused simply by
attention which some of our fellow-workers paid to
the general excitement which we have witnessed
amongst the working people of the whole country.
It was only for a short time that some of us got a
little too excited and forgot to leave outside ques-
tions out of the workshop—we carried it right
into the factory, and so it happened that some would
talk about the union or the knights and missed their
calculations as to the exact positions which a counter-
shaft should have, and were obliged to take it down
again and put it up the second time, to the merri-
ment of all the rest of th« comrades. Others would
also think too much of the lodge meeting, and make
the hammer felt too short or too narrow, for which I
had to take the blame from our customers and lose
money. The felt makers had the advantage over the
carpenters, and would make the vague claim that the
" w o o l " did not work exactly right. But that Is
about all. Everyone settled down very soon to hard
business again, and left all outside talk where it be-
longed, to the idle busy bodies, which this village
has to endure as well as any other town, and which,
after all, seem to be necessary evils, for if we did
not have these otherwise utterly useless individuals
in our town, and if they had not started and monop-
olized " labor organization " here, we would not have
learned and profited by the experience, without paying
for it.
As I havo said before, we all, without any real ex-
ception, settled down to work, did our level best in
the year gone by, and what is the result ?
We have all been happy, or at least contented—you
have made good wages—I have made a good deal of
money, which will enable me to make another deci-
sive step next spring to build up our town. Our or-
der books are full for several months to come. We
have succeeded in making piano felt which is sought
for by all prominent piano makers in the world. Our
salesmen need not lavish any more of their Ciceron-
ian eloquence to make American piano manufactur-
ers protect home industry and buy our felts in
preference to the imported article. We have not
been able to fill all orders for our best quality of felt
and had to decline some, because our factory could
not turn out as much as the piano makers wanted,
and they wanted it only because it was better- for I
have to say to you the same as last year, our
protective tariff did not protect us ; on the contrary,
imported folt was never offered at as low price as last
year—much lower than we can afford to sell ours. It
is simply and only our determination to send nothing
but the very best felt out of the factory which brought
about our great success. But, my friends, do not
think for a moment that we can rest upen our laurels
and take it easy; we must still be on the alert and
speculate, and work, and think, that the felt which
we will turn out in the fall of 1887, will be as much
superior as the felt of 188G is to that of 1885; for our
competitors will not sit still if there is any business
and enterprise in them, and they will sooner or later
come to where we are now. Consequently we must
keep it up, because you know in every race the best
man only will win.
As you have noticed with pride and satisfaction,
a great deal of machinery has been built during the
last year, so much that we are getting hard up for
room.
With all this improved machinery, we will and
must make felts of improved quality, if it is at all
possible.
Speaking about piano felt, I cannot, as I did last
year, pass the now important branch of piano ham-
mer covering.
Friend Dedicke knows that he deserves credit for
his able management of that branch, and our Mr.
Millett has patiently tried his best to put Dedicke
on his feet until he succeeded the last month of the
year, and greeted me one fine morning with, " Eure-
ka ! —I have got it." And so Mr. Millett hasthesat-
isfaction that he made his mark as well in 1886 ashe
did in 1885. It now depends on Dedicke and his ar-
tists to show in the new year that they are equal to
the opportunity, and I, personally, have no doubt
that we will get our share of busiuess for that branch,
simply on account of the elegant hammers which we
turn out.
Before leaving the felt department, I have a few
words to say to our knights of St. Crispin. To a
greater extent than ever before have we seen how
few of that multitude who call themselves shoemak-
ers are able to make even the plainest kind of slip-
pers, such as we turn out. Almost nine out of every
ten whom I sent up here from New York had to go
back, because their work could not stand the exami-
nation of our foreman. Over $400 in cash I had to
lose on these men, who pretended to understand an
honest trade, and were very loud in speaking of the
rights of the poor laboring men, those very fellows
whe, when young, were actually too lazy to learn a
trade, as an honest working man would. Nine-tenths
had to go back to where they came from ; the others
are here to-night, with our old guard, and have made
just as fine shoes as they have earned good wages.
Our shoe business has been as satisfactory as our.
piano felt business. We have not been able to fill
the orders which came late in the season, although
we have trippled our capacity. The shoemakers, pro-
per, had to get out of the felt factoi y, and occupy the
upper loft of the lumber factory.
An iron suspension bridge has been built, and five
hundred electric lights had to be put up to work at
night, in order to fill at least the most urgent orders
of our old customers. It is in shoes the same as in
piano felts; our prices are higher than those of our
competitors, and it has been proved that the public
is always willing to pay a good price for a good arti-
cle, and as I said before to the felt makers, that be-
cause of our success we must turn out a superior felt
this year. So I say to you, shoemakers, do not let
up—we must improve our opportunity and put a felt
shoe before the public this year which is above com-
parison with anything that our competitors may of-
fer.
Take pride in your work—remember that my name
is on every single shoe, and also a number which
shows who made ihat particular shoe. Out of 15,000
dozen pairs, not quite two dozen came back on ac-
count of slight imperfections.
Let us try to make 25,000 dozen pairs this year so
good that not a single pair will come back.
From all that I have said now, you will have seen
that contrary to the experience of '85, the felt artists
took the wind out of the lumber men's sails in 1886.
Not but that our old friends in the lumber factory
have done their best, but, while you felt makers,
and shoemakers, can, by your skill, produce an arti-
cle that will be bought in preference to any other
because of its superior quality, our comrades In the
lumber department must take the lumber as it will
grow, dress it into shape by machinery, and then trust
to luck whether the state of the lumber market will
allow a fair margin or not.
Kegarding the sounding board industry, I told you
at our last re-union that I was, on account of an al-
together unreasonable competition, placed in a po-
sition where I had to wait for something to turn up,
or burst up. Well, it did neither turn nor burst, but
a sounding board shop burned up, and although our
other competitors were perfectly willing to take what
trade was to be had on that account, the majority of
the piano makers came to us and were willing to pay
what was considered our exhorbitant high price, and
consequently we have done better in sounding boards
and lumber than ever before. It is not out of place
when I mention here, that this success is mainly due
to the intelligent and careful management with
which this department has been conducted.
Whoever knows anything at all about lumber bus-
iness does know that it is next to an impossibility to
make any profit at all out of manufacturing lumber,
and it requires hard work and very close calculations,
as friend Breckwoldt will testify, who used enough
paper in figuring on lumber contracts during the last
year to keep a paper mill going. He is looking for
another paper mill now to furnish the sheets on which
he can figure his profits However, if the lumber
business cannot be compared with the felt business
in any respect, we have the satisfaction that we did
better than just keeping our own, which, considering
the wild and reckless competition we have to fight
is saying enough, and therefore in looking the ground
all over we have good reason to congratulate our-
selves. Not only have we all been prosperous—I
have made good profits, you have made good wages,
such as have not been earned in any mills in the entire
Mohawk V alloy, taking the average, but more than
all that, we can congratulate ourselves and feel proud
that, while almost every manufacturing town, every
branch of trade all over the great country, suffered
seriously in consequence of what is generally called
"labor troubles''—we have harmoniously worked
along every day in the year, and I stand amongst you
here to-night, looking into the faces of men whom I
know to be my friends and of whom I know look up-
on me as their friend.
The Knights of Labor and the trades unions had
published a pronunciamento to the effect that after
May 1, 188G, H hours should constitute a working day.
They were serious in their attempt, because of their
ignorance; they almost threw the whole country in-
to confusion, caused, unwillingly, bloodshed in St.
Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee, aroused the passions
of the ignorant, gave the outlaws and cranks an op-
portunity for a general commotion, ordered strike
after strike, deprived thousands upon thousands of
their only opportunity to earn the dally bread for
their families, only to find out that such an import-
ant change cannot be brought about simply by a
decree or pronunciamento of the so-called Master
Workman of the Knights of Labor, or the Executive
Committee of the trades unions.
Three months ago I explained my views at length
on that question in this same hall, and you know that
I am in favor of eight hours, and that I am satisfied
the time will come when six hours will be consider-
ed sufficient for a day's work in the mill or work-
shop, and if anybody, the free people of this country
will be the first to inaugmate this new era, just as
much as we had our 10 hours hero when the mills
were run 12 hours in old Europe, but the time has not
come yet. More and better labor-saving machinery
must be invented—our statesmen must find ways and
means, by which our industries can compete, after
reducing working hours, and still pay the laborer
better wages than at present, before this change can
and will be brought about. Nothing can bo accom-
plished by long winded proclamations of Mr. Pow-
derly, positively injurious can it only be if thework-
ingman forgets himself and follows the cry of the
crazy anarchist and destroys property. Such far
reaching changes as shortening the working hours,
certainly desired by all who have tho welfare of the
people at heart, will come about when the proper
time has arrived. It will come when at least the
majority of our workingmen have had the benefit of
the same schooling as the son of the wealthy man,
when, because of his schooling and learning even the
commonest workingman will work fully as much
with his brains as with his hands, when, because of
his learning every workingman will prefer the libra-
ry, the museum, the lecture hall, his family circle to
the bar room, the rum hole and the gin mill. We will
have eight hours then, and believe me, every work-
ingman will then turn out more work in eight hours
than he now does in ten hours.
I am not versed in the arts of the politician, or the
statesman, and have but little time to read the pro-
ceedings of congress. When I, however, read how
our goverment in Washington is seriously troubled,
what to do with all those millions of dollars which
are yearly collected in excess of the requirements,
and then read and see how our representatives are
proposing all sorts of projects to either reduce this
income of the government, or invent some new plan
of spending the surplus, without coming to any con-
olusion, I have often wished that the entire congress
could for six months be sent away from Washington
and each representative be compelled to travel
through his district, stop at every single country
school house, and investigate what facilities the
workingmen's children, especially in the oountry
towns, have for education.