The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-12-21
TWO PTr1snuRan MEN on LABOR.

TWO PTTTsBURGH MEN on LABOR.
some Intersating Testimony Before th'
Hewitt Committee-wages strikea, Say
ings and Unions. nd u.y l,'dn.
WASHINGTON, December 1S.-The ses
sion iofathes Select House Committee foi
Labor this afternoon was devoted to thu
examination Of Messrs, Edwards and Bish
op, Of Pittsburgh. The latter is the Presi
dent Of the Amalgamated Society Of IroI
and Steel Workers, and the former one o
the founders OF the am association, bu
for some years past manager OF q rnllin!
mill in Allegheny City.
Mr.. Edwards saidthat wages In the iror
trade are adjusted upon O sliding scale
which works fairly TO both parties Wher
bar.iron is worth 2 cents. d pound o 9pud
dler getsS5 atom, outof which he pays one
third, plus a small percentage,to his help
decrease in the price Of iron per pound
there Is q rise or fall OF 10 cents per ton In
the puddler's pay. The figures, however
vary according to locality the unions o.
each district having the right to make
their own terms with employers. Mr.,
Edwards did not think workmen in this
country 80 helpless in the presence OF cap
ital as to need'special help from the Gov.
eminent. He did not believe in the ap-
preparation Of public money to settle un.
employed workmen on the public lands
He considered one OF their greatest
needs to be education, and believed
that education should be made compulsory
and that children under fourteen years
old should not be permitted to work In
tile iron trade. He had seen children en-
ploycd at so tender an age that after q
days work they were carried home on
their fathers shoulders: when q child him!
self he had been carried from his work in
this way. He did not believe that educa-
ton would disincline workingmen's child
rem to mechanical labor; but on the con-
trary, thought they should have an, edu'
cation which would be useful To- them In
the trades they design to follow. In the
iron trade, for example, a knowledge OF
chemistry would be useful to the men,
and would sometimes save life. The men
have q crude chemistry OF their. own, but
q theoretical knowledge Of the science
would be Of practical service to them.
In regard to ~workingmen's savings, Mr..
Edwards said that industrious working
men in the iron trade can save something.
The savings are not o. a rule placed In
banks, but as soon rs possible are invested
in homes; and Il Is the aim OF many pud.
dlers to save enough 70 buy little farms, to
which they may ultimately retire. A
good many are addicted to drinking, but in
this respect there has been q great change
for the better within the last twenty or
thirty years.
When questioned in regard to the Pitts.
burgh riots, Mr.. Edwards said that he did
not recognize the men who did the burn.
ing OF property as ~workingmen, and did
not believe that tho railroad hands had
ANYTHING to do with the destruction OF
buildings and rolling. stock. In Allegheny
CITY the railroad men had fired up the
locomotives and taken the rolling stock
away until the danger was past, when
thew returned It. One great cause OF
the present discomfort Of the working
men, inlSfr. Edwards opinion, is that they
fail to realize that prices are fallen In the
same proportion MS wages. From lSb2 70
1854, Inclusive, there was q rapid rise 10
prices, while wages fora long time scarcely
stirred; but prices now are falling as well
rs wages, and clothing, and provisions
have, in his opinion, never been so low
since 1854. -,
mr.. Bishop said the object Of the organ:
ization over which he presides is the good
Of its members. When the members OF o
local branch are dissatisfied with their
terms Of employment, the Executive Com.
mittee OF the district confers with the EN-.
ployers and with the representatives oil
tho men, and does not authorize 0 strike
iinless satisfied that the men are In the
|fieht and that this Is their only way to OBJ.
tain fair wages. The rules require the
committee to make every possible effort
to bring about q satisfactory settlement
without q strike, and Mr.. Bishop believed
that the organization has had the effect Of
diminishing strikes and disagreements Pc
tween employers and men. Its members ara
required TO lie steady and temperate men,
and ~law-abiding citizens, and the use oil
intimidation toward non-union men who
NAV chance to underbid them Tor en-
ployment, Is not only forbidden by the
rules. but discountenanced In practice. In
such cases they confine themselves strictly
IN persuasion. Mr.. Bishopdid not appear
to think fayorably Of the English system q
arbitration, especially inthe present condi-
tion OF trade, and he thought that any de-
narture from the scale ofpriees laid down
by the Union, though made for the bene..
AZ Of an establishment that must stop II
wages are not reduced. Is open 70 serious
objection as setting O bad precedent and
leading to similar demands by other en-
ployers. Such m arrangement might,
however, be authorized by the district
committee, and in that case the men enter
ing into II would. not forfeit their member
ship.
Mr. Bishop said that the society has no
rule which prevents union men IRON
working in the same establishment with
Others, but many masters refuse TO employ
members Of the union. In the West, how
ever. EMPLOYERS are disposed to be fair
and conciliatory. Under the rules OF the
organization It may, In the discretion oil
the proper officers, render assistance TO
non.union men when engaged in 0 strike
II has n reserve fund derived from month
Lly payments, but only for trade purposes
that Is. to sustain its members when en-
gagged IN uuly AutuV, \
employment is slack II Is the pracuce o.
the members OF the union TO favor the d.
vision OF the work so that all may nave
some, but there is no rule on the subject
MI, Bishop said that the number Of In
dustrious workingmen out oil employment
in Pittsburgh Is greater than usual, butno'
as great rs certain %extrayagant statement
about the unemployed in the country o.
large would Indicate. He knew OF ne
remedy for the existing depression unles
the Government could leglslate men intt
wsrk, and said he thought II desirable
that useful public works, such as the im
proyement Of rivers and harbors. shou!t
Be prosecuted as actively as possible atull
any opinion on the money question, which
hethoueht lew understood, and he desire'
10 Ssy that the organization he represent
Is.s no Gvmpathy with Communists q