The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-10-28

and their families actually suffer from
hunger. OBJ, no; none OF them blame
John Roach. They know the old
man like book, know him for liber.
al, generous man. II is as true
as i live that the only fault John
Roach ever fouud with me was for not
paying my men enough money. 1t was
his rule always TO leave the matter OF
wages to his foremen, and never to inter-
iere. But one day while in the foundry
he happened to notice an old man work.
ing near by. When did he come hereT
he asked | told him three or four weeks
before. why, that man worked with me
when was jnurneyman on days
wages, he said. How much are you pay.
ing him? Three dollars, | answered:
'0h, he's worth more than that-you had
better pay him a little more. a"
John Smith, who had charge OF the
stables, said that he knew OF cases where
the mems families would have suffered
terribly II it hadn't been for their relief
societies, whose. members 'chipPcd" in
from TO 10 cents and helped them with
their food and rent
James Riley, the weigh-master, said
the condition Of things WAS terrible. He
didn't see how the men got along at all.
"They understand it ali, too" he re-
marked. "They know as well as any.
body else that it is simply political
persecution in which the Administration
is trying to beat John Roach. Most OF the
men are Democrats, and voted for Cleve-
land. They would give the coats on their
baCks-which is pretty much all they
have leit-for chance to cast that ballot
again voted the Democratic ticket at
tie last election, am sorry TO say. But
it will be many year before | do it
again. Isn't the sight OF these men LOAF
ing around here, with their half.starved
families pretty commentary on Demo-
cratic platform pretensions OF being friends |
OF the workingman!'
The shopUfeR in the vicinity OF the
Morgan Iron Works report that the closing |
OF the works has nearly ruined their busi-
ness.
George B. Higgins has lived near by for
forty-aight yeats, and has seen tho works
come up from a single small machine shop
to their present dimensions. He is an en-
gineer, aud was iour1eyman with John
Roach, but has benin business for himself
for thirty years, and has never traded a
dollars worth with Mr.. Roach. "All the
chops and stores" he said, feel the with
drawal OF this $i5 900 week. In the
Eleventh Ward, which is all around here,
[ was counting up the other day, and l
find that nearly 80 percent OF the little
shops whose keepers were just making
living. have closed up. -Four grocery
stores have wound up, and every body
feels the effect OF this blow. 1t is worse
on the tradesmen here than any OF the
hard panic years, even that oil 81. For
torty-eight years | never heard that old
bell fail TO ring the men to work, except
NJ Sundays and holidays, till Secretary
Whitney undertook to build the Navy.
The failure Of John Roach was an awful
In Chester the sufferings OF the men are
said TO be even worse than here. There
are nearly 8 600 of them there out Of en-
and the local papers are full Of
their distress. The opportunity OF obtain
ing work in Wilmington and Philadelphia
are even more meagre than in New York.
This condition OF things is the more pit
isul because there is no need OF its having
been or OF its continuance. The delay ia
work on the cruisers il absolutely
indeiensIble. Under the terms OF the
contract, in case OF cessation Of work
which the assignment necessarily caused)
d Board OF Inventory and another Of APP.
praisal are ordered to take an account OF
stock, of the wo,k yet to be done, OF ma
terials on hand, and Of probable remaining
cost. But this whole work, with the facil.
tiles that were on hand which the as
siguees we're willing to turn over to the
naval officers, would have required only
three weeks time at the most. The work
done by Mr.. Whitney's Board has only
the facts and figures already
prepared by the Naval Advisory Boards
inspectors and by John Roach's assignees.
Three months OF the time that has passed
since John Roach failed has been literally
wasted while these thousands Of workmen
have been suffering.