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I WIDELY KNOWN LABOR LEADER DIES SUDDENLY* '|!I,f♦Was Vice President of State Labor Federationl.° YEARS A PRIMERI earned rr**«l«» I nder John Mahfn On the Journal: Headed I.oral Laborfor Mativ \ earsIIiI'll-I John J O’Bnen. vies p-psld^ntfhe Iowa stat® Federation of Labor for four \ear* und a possible candidate for M*e presidency ihls year.he ad of f!ie Muscatine Trades and lv»-ixu* assembly for IS consecutive terms; the first man to operate a linotype machine in the rlty and the oldest pr nter .n poin* of servi®* in1 Muscatine died suddenly las* eveninr at h s hr me at «n Iowa avenu* following a series of attacks caused br a blood clot In an artery leading to the heart.Slight attacks nf shortness of th*breath for several weeks. folJnwpd h\severe pains in hi- chest and arm®in the pas? few days, led up to hisdeath Mr O'Brien left h*s machine! in the Journal office about 3 o’clock \ nsterdgy afternoon «hon he became j slightly ill. to consult hi® physician and wen* to hi® home last evening feeling much relieved. The end came-uddenh shortly after -*?f. while hewas laughing and talking with h'swife and daughter.Mr. O Brten had been active in the affairs of organized labor in Mu sead Cne since he entered the printing1, trade. \ charfpr member of the typographlcal union and president of -! the trades attd labor assemble even before his long string of consecutive n elections, word of h.s ability spread c to other organizations and he wa« it. made vice president of the state fed-- oration at the Buriingron conventionin U*2! Two years later, when the; convention was held at Fort .Madison. _ he was re-ejectedj Less than a week ago. Mr. O'BrienI signified that he would not be ad-| verse to the presidency of fh» Tnwa)^fate Federation of Labor if the postw as tendered him. In reply to a telephone communication from Cedar Rapids asking his stand as to the office. he replied that he had never i ought office hut if the po- ition was tendered, he would accept.Outstanding l abor Figure.He was easily the outstanding fig-k ure in labor and trade c ircles of Muscarine. Hilt; long acquaintance withthe problem® of union organizationsand his ability to iron out difficulties made him the advisor in anv laborsituation of consequence in the city. His influence and capability in handling affairs, today brought from official® of the state federation thev statement that he was knownII throughout the e-rufr- state for hi-'* jovial disposition and ability to guide ' fhe federation over the “rough spots.”Most of I,it Spent Here** Practically the whole of Mr O'Brien's life was lt;rpent in his workin Muscatine. Starting as an apprentic e43 years ago when he was about - he “learned the c ase'* in the old Mu-u * at me Journal under the guidance of John Mahin Later he left the city f*i- a short time, working at Omaha, on the l»e- Moines Leader and on an low ii- City paper. He then came back ios Muscatine to take a position o.i rh c Muscatine News. He stayed with that paper when it was consolidated with the Tribune, and when the consolidated paper was purchased by rh** j Journal, he agatn resumed his duties , on fhe paper on which he started his , life's wortc.Approximated ?7 -rear* ago whew the first linotype machine was hrough*into Muacatiife. Mr. O’Brien was selected as the man to operate it. In printing circles he was noted for his correct use of Fnglish and his know ' ledge of grammar.( harder I nion Meml*erI When the typographical union •»II organized here. Mr.•O'Brien was one f of the first to join. This marked th*j start of his untnn activities which| continued, unbroken, until his death Mr O'Brien’s death threw a pall '! over the trades and labor organiza 1 tion members today and especiallover bis colleagues on the staff of the i Journal.I.ahnr Suffers a (.real T otsLabor has suffered a great loss in- his death, said J. C. Lewis, prpsiden** of fhe federation, in a statement isj sued at Des Moines this morning. Headded that hr knew of no one m labor t circles of Iowa who had more friend-, than Mr O’Brien. Profoundest sympathv for members of his familv wa expressed hv federation of fit ials Mr. O'Brien knew personally prac rically all of the foremost labor lead ers of the country for many year® t including Samuel Gompers late presI nient of the American Federation of ! Labor. Likewise his acquaintance*' ship over the state was extensive and n Muscatine everybody knew ‘Jack*as he was usually called.*For several vears Mr. O'Brien hamconduc ted the I^»bor Column in fhJournal in which he edited news **pMB• I—.(Continued on Pa*® Sevan)
Newspaper Details
Muscatine Journal and News Tribune
Muscatine, Iowa, US
Thu, Apr 16, 1925
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Burlington P.
IA, USA 16 Jul 2022
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