The Portland daily press., 1864-09-24
Saturday Morning, Sept. "A, 1854.
gHNIQ loegas II fi9l1Eas = W y . -
Collapse Of the Printers Union in New


A correspondent OF the Boston Traveller
writing from New York, Sept. 10th, gives the
following account Of the signal failure and
collapse Of the most unreasonable and des-
potic attempts ever yet made, to control the
rightful business of newspaper proprietors:
The Printers Union of this city has come
to an untimely end. 1t was an organization
originally designed to protect the interests OF
t0urneymen printers-tO ensure uniform
rate OF wages, to establish regulations for the
government of the trade, &c.--but during the
past year or two it has fallen into the hands
OF a set Of men who magniAed their office be-
yond reason, and who, in the attempt to i'm
pose restrictions upon newspaper proprietors,
have, '.o'erleaped themselves, and fallen on
t'other side"-fallen too, with such crash,
that TO be a member OF the Printers Union
in New York is now equivalent to being ut
tery destitute of employment
OnSaturday last, the great blow was struck
which gives the key note for the dissolution
OF the Union" The proprietors OF the New
York Times discharged every compositor en-
ploycd in that office who belonged to the
"Union.o Each man received his money for
the work OF the week in an envelope, on the
outside of which was posted a printed notiti-
cation from the foreman that his services were
no longer needed. The announcement OF the
event was made this morning, and tonight
understand the "Unionn is to b Id meeting
for the purpose ol dissolving its organization.
:. 1t may lall short OF this extreme measure,
but at all events the power of the ''machine"
Is broken, and our great newspaper offices
will no longer be subject to the arbitrary die
taiion of their printers.
The price demanded by the "Union" at the
last strike was 60 cents per thousand ems on
leornlng pagers, and 81 cents on the evening
journals The Tribune paid u under protest.
SO did the Times. But one night the Tribune
printers delivered an ultimatum an advertise
inent calling for compositors tor the Times at
Eeauced rates, was not to be inserted in the adj
persing columns OF the Tribune, under penalty
of an Instant and general strike of tie men
in tie middle of the night. To this high hand
ed proceeding the editors of that paper natur-
ally excepted; the advertisement went in, lat
the head of the editorial columu,l and the
as!nteTs struck work. The Tribune appeared
pI The following day without the news,
From that day 10 this, the bitterness hf feel
ing has strengthened. Considerable hard
words have been uttered, and the newspaper
propristors have been quietly at work mean
ZINE TO put themselves in position OF inde-s
pendenee.l The new men have lnally 6een
Engaged, and now there is not Union man
employed on our leading dailies. The Eoen-
inq Post turned them all adrift last Spring,
but paid the new tariff of rates; the Times
and Tribune have brought in printers from
the country; the World has put eight female
printers to the case; the Independent also
saneys wonen n9e 1tgs
And by the way, this field of employment
for women, although not new to you 10 Bos-
ton, Is decided novelty in New York
The women can make from $40. to SIS per
week, and are neat-handed compositors. They
are employed on day work exclusively, Of
course; but their Introduction IN our daily
newspaper offices opens new phase Of New
Yorlxlfe. - 8 u e s4s.a7
The summary and very decided action Of
Saturday, putting an end 10 the extortionate
demands of the printers, creates. as you may
imagine, considerable excitement in the news
paper world hereabouts, and it is nos improb-
able that reduction OF prices may follow.