The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-12-11
STRIKES Aao HARD TIRES.

| III Is very unfortunate, 10 say the least.
that such large numbers of laboring men
should persist IN a course that. in the
ehd, can only work damage. IL not ruin.
10 themselves, and those dependent up
on thelh- And yet strikes, " the modern
pane OF the working classes. seem TO be
the order OF the day. Hard times have
neeesSltated reduction of wages. in
many instances where employers, il POS
siole, would have been glad to have
avoided 1t. With railroads, retrench-
ment IS the prevailing policy. The New
1ork central and Hudson river railroad
mas ordered reduction of ten Fer cent.
OF all day laborers, and 1900 workmen
nave been discharged. The same reduc-
ton in wages las been made on lie
harlem road. The managers OF the Erie
Is now engaged i'll equaliZing reduction,
In the various departments of the Iirr.
ana when completed the reduction ira
wages will amount to fifteen or tweI;tv
per cent. On the Delaware. Laekawau-
ma and Western the same reduction las
been make.
The iron masters in Pittsburg and
Troy have also found it necessary TO eut
down the wages of their employees. The
coal mining companies have done tie
same, and the ocean Steamship colupar-
les, stevedores and others have followed
suit. The employees, in several instances.
have rebelled against these obnoxious
proceedings, and have resorted TO strikes.
which IS now the favOrite method offorc-
ing employers to terms. In nine eases
out of ten the strikers are the losers in
the end. In the recent case Of theSoutE-
prO Illinois rpiparc fh.. eE-;l--. -
Just two weeks, and at last tie miners
bad to submit to the reduction There
are in this district 200O mineis and their
average earning is s. per day. re strike
has, therefore, been maintaine, mt a loss
to them of $1,000 per day. ora erapd az
gregate of S12, 600 for the t,o wees.
which they remained idle
The strike among the Ions loremep.
IN New York and Jersey City, is Il still
more serious affair. Here soge ten
thousand men are thrown out of en-
ployment- Winter is just closing in up
on them, with hard times knocking at
the door. The suffering that lust inc
Nltaoiy follow this rash action viii NOT
1all upon the steamship cOmpa rs, but
upon the wives and children he men
who have ventured upon the 3 .e. ia
loading and unloading steal IS they
have, heretofore, received fC- cents
an hour. They are now ofTe thirty
cents, which they refuse IN insist.
and not without show of reason, that
the employment is not steady, Int fire.
quently they work only portion IF DAYS,
and that. therefore, they shout natur-
ally ask higher wages than if t!lgy were
engaged all the time. On tLe other
hand, the companies urge that business
Is dull, that vessel property Of al kinds
has been very poor within the Dastyear.
reduction of expenses has become abso-
lutely necessary, and that hasd times
not only require. but enforce. rctrench-
ment, in every department Of business
enterprise. This strike is serious af-
fair, for the reason that two or three
persons are dependent upon every long
shOreman, in the form of families or rel
atives, and it is no exaggeration to say.
II a compromise is not effected, thirty
thousand persons will be deprived OF
their daily bread
Thousands of men and women, who
are idle, would be glad to find employ
ment at any price, and at the best. there.
must be much distress and suffering 20
tax the resources of the charitable and
generous.
But men who can find employment
will receive little sympathy, il they refuse
to accept it because they cannot get the
full amount of wages they demand. 49,
B'.gaio Express