The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-02-14
AFFAIRS I'M NEW YORK CITY.
Mass Meeting OF Journeymen Paintsrs.
A meeting was held on Thursday evening, Ia pur.

suanoo Of the following GALL
great MAS meeting OF the Painters Society ana Of
the trade generally will te held In National Hail. 30
Grand street, Thursday evening, February Ia ct
O'Clock to take into consideration ths state OF affairs
nscted with the tradsto regulate wages for the coming
sessonto expose such employers % have broken faith
with during the past and to devise such
may best enable uphold tho interests only a
those In the society but Of every ourneyman painter in
New York eitzsns mechanics OF every trade psnters
fellow labore whether members Of the society or other
wiss, bssses journeymen who believe In the future
welfare Of the working man. that entitled to fair
days wages for fair days work, US at National
Hall on THURSDAY and give US your aid and counsel In
defence OF just rhts-rghts which have already
wreeted from the grasp Of oppression but which
two OF the unprincipled employers would now
audacioualy dare to tamp.r with
(Signed by order OF the following oommittss,)
Edward DAILY, Thomas CoPPin, - Hepburn,
D. g. Wendell, Daniel hogan, James Nc oermott,
A. CLARK, Samuel Montague, John Corner,
John Hughes, Jr., John Cooley, John Hughes,
I.sac Bennett, SAMUEL Dawson Edward Birch,
Tncs Brady, Thomas Malone, James Tracy,
Alex Munroe, John English, James Nc dsnus.
Stewart Banner.
The notice given was very short; but, notwird-
Standing, tho attendance was good, the hall
being occupied by about 500 persons when the
meeting WAS called to order. The following officers
were chosen President, Thomas Bradley; Vice
Presidents, Edward DAILY, stephen Townsend, Sam.
Dawson, John J. Hepburn, j. g. Bennett, Samuel
Montague, Thomas Malone, Alexander Monroe,
Francis Kleiber, w. A Blaisdele, j Tracy. ID.
Dorsey, James Wiber, John Cooley, Thomas Cop
ping, ohm Ward, and John English Sc ,retaries,
Alexander B. Clark, ohm Corner, and ID. e. Wen
dell
The CHAIRMAN could not better explain the OBJ
ject Of the meeting than by aiding the call By
which it had been summoned Little moro than
twelve months ago, they had appesled to them to
organize and demand moderate advance Of wages
The journeymen bad answered in the affirmative;
and seeing they had vitality, energy, and porseve-
rance TO make good their demand, had pledged
thnp hVavu haA Irark a.
mise, some had violated their faith and be-
lied their manhood by working under the es-
tablished wages but still there were enough.
Every one who bad any claim to be o jour
neymap, except the drunkard and the mean,
bringing slave, had given their support, and en-
abled them to gain an easy victory. The Coamit-
tee had thought II right TO call them together and
take counsel at the commencement of new season.
to tell them their dete rminatea net to ask for any
increase, but to insist on the continuance of the
terms stipulated between them and their employers
They knew they ought to have more, but they did
not yet ask for full remuneration for their labor,
nor as much rs they thought they had the power Of
wrestling from the grasp of the capitalists. What
was the object OF that meeting! First, to fix the
standard; and secondly, because they had good
grounds for believing that the moro rich, and CON-
sequently unprincipled bosses, had been putting
their stupid heads together to crush their society
and pull them down TO the old starvation wages.
They had made the employers ri.h, and because
some OF them had been enough to violsts their
pledges, they were met tonight unawed, unterri-
fed and unfnchine, to tell them they regarded not
their Efforts to hurl back their threats and to pro-
claim that, in the name Of God and of oppressed
humanity, if ever they were slaves, it was 80 no
longer.
Mr.. SWIFT then read the following preamble and
resolutions, which he proposed for adoption
deeming it necessary that regular wages standard
should be fixed for the Of trade during the
next twelve months, commencing with the FIRST day Of
March hereby pledge ourselves abide by the terms
Propo.ed by the socety and whereas feeling perfectly
conscious IS we do that have right to still higher
rate OF for labor than that claimed a.
equally conscious that IL is in power at any time to
enforce such right this meeting, anxious to avoid all
occasion Of dispute with the employers dsclsm all in
ntion Of advancing upon last years terms and that We
unanimously agree to the adoption of the following
Resolved That the wages of the trade for the next
twelve months shall be follows viz From the rst Of
March 1861 till the fret day of November following
dollar and evepty i've cents per day and from the first
one dollar and fifty cents per day.
Resolved That the hours of labor shall be hereto
fore nemey ten hours during tbs summer season. and
not more than nine hours in winter.
Resolved That in declining to claim any advance upon
a't years prices and in pedgng ourselves to abide BY
the above resolution we reserve the right to be acted
upoD ss occasion may require Of raising tbs amount Of
wages on such shops that have not may not faturs
comply with our tesms
Resolved That committee to be deneminsted Vigil.
lance Committee bs appointed from this meeting rs
certain the Of such as comply and those
also who do not comply with the above terms aud that
said committee be empowered to publish the of
their inquiries from tine to time in tha daily Journals
thus directing the attention Of tbs public to such shops
~ employ regular mechanics and such do not The
officers Of this meeting to be said committee with power
to add to their numbers.
Resolved That while we gladly acknowledge that the
great Of the bosses cceded to our terms during
the past year and while we believe they intend to
Ply with them in future have at the time re-
gret that two shops Of considerable standing in
the trade have recently broken faith with US requir
ing longer hours without increased compensation, a.
allowed BY the society, during the present month and
that We shall be compelled however reluctantly In
Of their continuance in this courte to make an appeal to
their customers, the pub,i,
Resolved that committee to be hereafter appointed,
b. and they are hereby instructed to devise
the support OF those If any who may hereafter be
on strike and instead Of raising subscriptions APP
propraing the funds already in hands the socie
ty to the maintenance Of meu out Of employment be
recommended to said committee consider the proprie
ty and prscticsbity Of establishing painters
tive Union or Unens as the case may be- in order to find
them employment the result Of said committees labors
be published In report through the press future
public meeting within two weeks from this date.
Resolved That this society and the trade generally
terrain the highest those who having
pledged Themselves to abide by their resolutions have
noby carried them OUT yet at the same tims we cam
not but regard with adherence those of them who have
made spacious promises in order to carry their
actions the sentiment Of Talyrand that language was
made TO deceive.
Mr.. SWIFT, In moving the above, spoke at con.
siderable length, and, IN the of his remarks
stated that the first understanding had been come
70 last spring, but that, in October, some OF the
master painters bad violated their pledges, by in
sitting on the men working till dark which was
after five o'clock. Theythen called meeting, and
most of the bosses complied with their demands.
The jourpeymcn who submitted, no argued, must
be slaves or rogues aud God forbid there should
he slaves in tnia GENTRY, where mechanics were
acknowledged by the laws as men, if they would
orly regard themselves so. They must then ba
T0gues il il be right TO work helf an hour longer
they bad been rObbing him Of that time before,
and, by complying, they wsre party concerned ia
the bosses roGuery, for they enebled him to taxa
contracts lower, TO the preud Of the prin pied
aud upright employer who paid fair wages. They
thus sold themselves, no. Tor mess of pottage but
for the bosss favor. who, az soon as he found q
better mnu, turned him of (Lsughter)
MIR. J. MAoAesos followed, urging the journey.
men TO adhere to their demands, az, by concession
they only enabled the employer to wind biz net
suppose thep would get more work IL twenty or
one Hundred men wanted work, and an employer
wanted ten, he would employ ten, and no more,
whether thoy worked for nine, ton, or fourteen
fh,ilings. lie argued that the fears Of those who