The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-10-25
Striking Back.

The strike of the male cigar-makers OF
Cincinnati, on the ground that females
ware employed in the business, might be
REGARDED with some anxiety by all
classes of workipg-women, as the inau-
guration of more decisive attemt to
drive women from the labor field, were
it not for the action of the female shirt
ironers of Newark, New Jersey. These
women have shown themselves fully ade-
quate to the occasion and the times, hav
ing given an illustration of equal cour-
age and perseverance with men as strikers
on the principle Of the exclusion of the
"other SEX" AS the story goes, the firm
of Marley, Evenson g. Co., of Newark,
manufacturers of shirts, recently en-
gagged four male ironers. Previous to
this transaction, the ironing in this estab-
lishment had been done entirely by wom-
en-, who, by working by the piece, were
able to make from $3.50 to $500 day.
About so women were required to put
the finishing touches to these garments,
before they are ready for market; and so,
when the announcement came that the
firm had introduced four men into the
business-albeit two brick floors and two
brick walls interviewed between them
and the intruders-they valiantly threw
down their fat-irons and vowed they
would polish no more shirt-bosoms until
the male arpet-baggers" were dis
charged. The number of shirts manu-
featured by the firm amounts to 1000
dozen weekly, or 2SS,O00 annually, and
the action of the women ironers was
serious matter for the proprietors. At
first, the firm concluded to supply the
place of so women strikers with 100 @
men ironers, from Patterson, but finally,
thinking better of the matter, they
agreed to cast out the offensive element.
A compromise was effected-the four
men to be allowed to work until the
present press of business is over, when
they are to be discharged, and women, as
before, will be exclusively employed.
Strikes based upon sex, is hereafter not
to be monopolized by man. Woman has
shown herself capable of this kind of
proceedings, which hereafter will be sim
ply a question of numbers.
There are some curious and interesting
facts in the Cincinnati strike, that are
quite worthy of mention. The firms
struck against are Krohn, Feiss & Co.
and Newburger Brothers. The former
firm employed about 200 men and only a
few women, while in the Newburgers'
establishment about One-fourth only of
the employees are women. In two other
Cincinnati firms, however, the proportion
of women employees is much larger than
the men-Weil, Kahn & Co. employing
nearly 140 women, while the num-
Der of female employees at Lowenthal's
is quite large. 1t is said in these rival
firms, it would make but little difference
whether their male employees struck or
not. They have female hands enough to
go on with the business, and could easily
I'LL up the places of male operatives with
other female workers, as cigar making is
an easy trade to learn. Another curious
fact is, that the firms struck against can
not afford to discharge their girls, as the
other firms would give these ready en-
ployment even if they discharged their
male employees, as they could afford to
reduce rates and undersell firms employ
ing men only. The strike has been the
work of the Trades Union, which re-
fuses to allow women to be employed in
factories it proposes to control. AS mat
tiers now stand, it seems as though the
Trades Union had job on hand that
would last it until the millennium, as
there are strong indications that women
will soon enjoy a monopoly of the cigar
business as they do now of the shirt-iron-
ing industry.-TOledo Blade.