, 1877-07-15
JOURNALISTIC.
The New York Tribune's Fight with
the Printers Union.
4 Complete Success for the Tribune:
and the Union Doomed.
fhe Trouble ast Question Of Wages, bot Fight
for Emancipation.
4 Little Trick that Was Played by mr.
Dana Years Ago.
Managing Editors a Dangerous Institution
in Newspaper Offices.

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II Newspaper Vlnces.
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Srteias Correspondence Of The Tribune
NEW YORK, July u.-Some weeks since
| wrote you that the New York Tribune was
about to institute crusade against the Print
ers' Union. Well, the raid has been made pre-
ciscly according to tho programme indicated,
and the Tribune has won the fight Mr.. Thomas
n. Rocker, ! stakeholder, who has been 1m
thirty years the foreman OF the otliee, has been
retired on pension aud gone to Florida The
day after he left Mr.. Whitclaw Reid issued his
Pronunctanento, Which resulted In all tue print
crs-bctween sixty and scTcnty-lcaV'ng The
Office, refusing to abate one iota OF tile scale o1
prices lald down by the Unlon' ihefcupon
Mr.. Thompson, who had been foreman III the
Graphic Office, marched IN nc" set OF hanos'
and the next morning the 1r'on"e not only al'-
peared as Usual, out also printed supp4c-
mcnt 1herc "as httle l11ct'on
Win lie new men Tor lew oaSs,
but everything IS now WORKING smoothly, ana
the Tribune Is cmanclpateu from the tyranhoas
actat1on Of tne fr1hteFs' tn1oh' 1hls contest
was not 20 murh 4 matter OF wares as II was
dlssat's1actlon Win the uhlon' "h,cn 1ao nll-
posca aroltrar5 rules upon Tue employers, VIZ,
tnhlly denying them voice IN Tue management
OIL 1tle nleeaaulcal department u she1 ous4lcss'
Asat1s'actory compromises could easily nave pcen
made with the mcn-somc-of whom mad necn IN
the Office since tue foundation OF tic paper
mad 1t not bccu Tor these unreasonable rulcs o.
Inc Union. buI the Union, Win lis usual pig
hcadeaness, INSISTED more strenuonsiY upon
d1ctatlng no" tile business SHOULD DC CONQUERED
than upon The point oi wages. 1hefc1ore 'lF.
He'd rcsolecd to trtVc thc Union men out Oh the
Office. Some time since he ouerea
TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS
to Well-known printer II he would take tue
Tribune out Of the Union. Lis nnallT 1ound hlr.
Thompson, VINO undertook the loo. Inc pFia-
cipal objection to the Union scale OF prices was
the rule requiring the Office to furnish "oogus "
copyto the printers When there was no other
for them to work Oh. Under the working OF
this rule the Tribune, 1t Is said, has paid S500
per week. know the rule was IN force twenty
years ago, when set type IN tile Office, SO that
tue Tribune must have SPENT large fortune
pay1'9 fo7 type-setttns "t'ch was not OF tne
slightest use to it.. Ihis las nov been done
away with, and it Is stated that the 1faonHe
saved $s00 on the 1rst weeks work OF the new
men. In my previous letter L stated that
the Union imposed burdens upon the
employers which were simply Outrage
ous, anu were only submitted to as
a matter Of necessity, the printers having the
upper-tland at tic time. Your correspondent,
Slug Six,' took issue with Inc as to the Denc-
fits conferred upon workingmcn by these labor
organizations. It Is not q question worth argu-
ing in the facc OF the fact that all over the
country laboring men are withdrawing from
these organizations because they stand between
them and their daily bread. could name
dozen such ORGANIZATIONS IL this vicinity that
have virtually gone to PIECES because its mem-
bers would not submit to their dictat,on. The
Printers Union is notable example Of this.
For over quarter OF a century Typographical
Union No. 6-"Big Six" as it is callctl-has
boosted that it was the strongest labor union
in the country, powerful enough to dictate its
own terms to the employers. And so it was,
until it assumed to make its members its
tools, and then internal dfssensious
and rcbcIlious robbed it of its powers and its
Lust year, contrary to tho judg-
lucut Of its best mc1nners. it ordered
STRIKE OF JOB PRINTERS,
mud for nine weeks. hundreds Of printers lay
nrouul iii ,jl!eness at it's command Finally,
after spending $5U,00U, it Was Obliged to accept
the employers teruls, and the men were glad to
20 to work a..ain. The Union has since ordered
strikes in different newspaper offices, and seen
Union 1ncn turned iuto the streets to make
room for non Union men, while the employers
gained their point every time. To-day there is
but tic scublunec Of Union left; its members
ire working wherever work is to be had, utterly
regardless Of the scale Of prices laid down
,y the Union. Tic 1i1bu'n Times, Post,
4dduer1tsef, Eteni4y Hail, al,l |
Graphic are all non-Union Offices. !
r1e Herald and World arc preparing to throw |
If the yokr, anil in IL very few weeks the mcn |
yho still adhere to tho Union will be ruled out |
# oil the offices. And all this comes OF the |
act that the proprietors will no longer permit |
heir offices to be controlled by their employees.
The question Of wages is one OF secondary i'm
,ortance to the employcrs,-that could always
,e satisfactorily arranged with the mcn,-but it
S the imposition Of arbitrary anu unjust rules
cgarding the management of the oliiccs-rulcs
aid down By the Union without consultation
sith the cmploycrs-tlat has forced the fight
ng. Now the printers arc powcrless and at
lie mercy Of the employers. But these latter +
re not Inclined to push their advantage. On the
tley are determined only upOn one