New-York tribune., 1883-03-14
CIcAR.MAKING IN TENEMENEHOUSES.

coNr,,s>-7s on TIE NEW LAW - MANUFACTURERS
BENEFITED AT THE EXPENSE OF woRKMEN.
A TRIBUNE reporter visited several cigar
manufacturers yesterday to get their onions IN regard
10 the effect of the prohibiting the manufacture ot
cigar. in tenement houses which signed by Gov
eruor Cleveland on Monday. Charles Straon, OF the
firm OF Straiton Storm, said: The law VII not Ahect
us we do the tenementhouse system at
all think the effect Of the law Will be 10 increase
rather than TO diminish the cigar trade OF tins CITY
There is great prejudice all the country against
tenemen-house cigars, much so that the mannfac-
turer who make cigars tenement houses have to deny
that fact in order sell their cheaper cigars when
IA known that the law has gone into effect the rtJudce
of country dealers will be removed and they VIII oy
moro freely and more extensively in New-iork do not
think that the will tend 10 raise the price OF
The cheaper cigars All the manufacturers will be on
the same footing and will be able TO get labor cheap
enough to make the cheapest goods In the factories
cheaply as in tenemenhouses The Increase ID trade
will also COMPENSATE for the loss of whatever advantages
the teuement-house system gives
Ious Haas OF the firm Of Kerbs & Spies. when asked
what he thought OF the law, oke strongly against IT,
"The law will not inure we have both the factory
md tenement house systems" he said There Will be
five hundred families in the city thrown ont OF
employment and they will have 10 get other work to do
in cigar 10 other uades or else they must
emgrate There will be loss OF hundreds OF thousands
Of dollars TO the city OF NewYork because the many
manufacturers who use the tenement system
clusyey will GO out of the city 10 Brooklyn, jersey Cy
and other places and great trade will be diverted
from New-IOrk The law is example OF the worst
kind of special legislation 1t Is passed only FOR the
benefit CigarMakers Unions and at their request
In 1877, the time OF the great strike the factory
Lands were idle and tie workers IN the tenement houses
were busy The tenement house system thus broke tho
strike and the labor unions have worked ever since
20 break up the tenement house system.
The labor unions of many trades combined
with tie Cigar Makers Unions TO force the Legislature
10 pass the Din 1t will not raise the price or cheap
cigars II win cheaper labor for the factories by throw
ing so many cigar-nakeIs out or employment III Will
benefit the trade OF Pennsylvania and New-Jersey where
the farmers and their families sit at home and make
cigars think the law Is unconstitutional because 1t
will yiiiate many contracts great many cigar manu-
dacurcrs tenement houses aud make contracts with
the landlords 70 manufacture cigars there Tor certain
number OF years.
At the factory of Bondy Ledcrer Co. the opinion
was expressed by member Of the firm that the law
would bear harder upon the workincn than upon the
manufacturers the wormen could make more money
at home with their wives and older cRildren TO help
hhen than they could by working alone at the factories
uenemen house families made from Sis 10 $50 week
while single factory wOrkmen made only from Sl2 TO
$l5 New-YOrk, IL said, would lose great trade.
Petitions had been sent by great numbers OF wOrkmen
both TO the Legislature and " the Governor obecng TO
dhe bill
The opinion was universal among those who used the
house sytem exclusively that the bill
obnoxious and that woud inure the trade of New
York severely while those who cigars In factories
only thought that IL was good thing and would enve
The cigar trade OF the city " boom.