Morning journal and courier., 1882-06-27
Tuesday Morning, June 2, 1882.

THE FREIGHT HANDLERS STRIKE.
 The strike of the freight handlers in New
 York has already caused great deal of trouble and loss, and at this writing seem l likely to cause considerably more. It has been in progress about two weeks and has grown until it now involves all the roads do-
 ing western business. The freight handlers
 are very moderate in their demands. They
 only ask an increase of three cents an hour.
 As this increase would make their wages only
 twenty cents an hour it cannot be claimed
 that the strike is extravagant and wholly un-
 justifable.
 1 The strikers have thus far for the most
 part behaved well, and this fact and the jus l tice of their cause have secured for them much sympathy. Even many of the merchants
 and others who are directly affected by the
 freight blockade uphold the strikers, and some of them say that if 9 cents an hour in stead of 20 had been asked for it would have
 been none too much. It is said that the op- ' position of the roads to granting the demanded advance is founded on their
 unwillinguess to increase their expenses | in the least at the present and on their objection to establishing a pre-
 cedent of yielding which would encourage
 their other employees to ask for more pay. | Some sensible talk by "a we'll known freight agent" is thus reported: 'It was a great
 mistake to allow this trouble to become gen. eral and public. When the men struck for higher wages at the New York Central's piers 4I,o oEI, l- -cIn n11Ih hox | quietly to their men and said Boys, pota- toes are too high for you to work at present
 wages. Say nothing about it, but go ahead
 working, and you will get twenty cents an hour Under this policy there would have been no trouble and no incentive to 6issatis faction anywhere else than in the city. As regards the question of money, the roads could have compensated themselves possibly for the advance by crowding more work into an hour than heretofore even if later on they could not have put back the old scale of wages"
 It has been suggested that the railroads which have given notice of an increase ln freight rates after the first of July are not altogether displeased with the situation, ex- pecting that it will delay shipment until the new tariff of rates goes into effect. The railroad men are said to be much annoyed by this theory, and a prominent officer of one of the trunk line roads says: "The charge that the roads are encouraging the strike for the purpose of delaying the ship ment of west bound freight under the old con- tract rates is almost too ridiculous to merit reply. The advance in rates was decided upon long before the strike began. The old rates were below the cost of transportation, and had been dictated by the unreasoning animosity among the roads, developed dur ing the war last summer. Now as to this absurd theory; in the first place the roads wouldn't invite such unjust popular criticism as they are now receiving they couldn't af ford purposely to alienate shippers. They are now suffering actual losses in the delay of goods offered for shipment which cannot be received and in the labor lost of the salaried men who are doing little or nothing on ac- count of the strike. Moreover, it is possible, as result of the present agitation, that the dissatisfaction with their wages may spread to their other employees" The merchants claim that the roads are bound to receive and forward the freight delivered to them while present rates are operative, and some of them are also maintaining that the roads are liable for the losses on account of perishable freight, the delivery of which is delayed under these circumstances. It appears highly probable that, besides the immediate losses and endorsements of the companies, they are in for an expensive series of lawsuits, with chance of having to pay heavy dam ages.
 Matters are in such a condition that it is probable that some settlement will be made soon. The longer it is delayed the fewer friends the railroad companies will have, and they have now no friends to spare.