New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-10-26
JOHN ROACH'S MEN IN WANT.
SUFFERING CAUSED BY Mr.. WHITNEY.
sKILLrD MECHANICS UNABLE TO OBTAIN WORK
AND IN GREAT DISTRESS.

the shipping iron, coa lumber and other trades can DC
estimated only inferentialy but that they have been
serious can be by single glance at the fact tha HIS
gross business annually from S35OO.OOO 10
S4.Ooo,OOO which sum Is withdrawn from circua-
ton. and that he has turned every from four 10
six iron ships But IL is not necessary resort 10 con-
lecture for picture OF the havoc that as been wrought
by the persecution which ended In his downfall. That
can be seen with painful clearness by any one who
chooses to spend day In the ESventh Ward of New
York CITY, in Chester where his great enterprises
wero centred The little ira 10 failures, the dsappoint-
ment destituton, sickness and deep aaimosty which
he followed ur thousands OF homes are the direct
and ysble results OF this political crime.
In the making OF an Iron ship from the ore anu inc
lown timber as John Roach made them, irany trades
are employed There the PATTERN makers, the car
penters the shlpcarpcnters. the bOatyard men, the
backsmitls. the machnists. tho mOulders the brass
founders the coppersmths the boilcrmakers, the snip
oincrs the caukcrs tho laborers, the fange turner's,
the teamsters, the rivetboys and many others. All
these to the number OF from $500 5000 were cm-
pl0ycd la the Morgan Iron Works and the Delaware
River Ship Building Works In addition to these, Mr..
Roach gave employment TO nearly 800 men In the
Chester Rolling Mills. and to 200 in the COmbna-
ton steel Iron Works So that during the last ten
years from $500 to 1000 have been steadily en-
ployed every week by John Roach They earned from
30 week up TO S50 fair average boing Sl3 His
weekly pay roll seldom went below $4,000 and often
hH hlSn rs SbDOUO. vi TINS sum from Tl=VVV ~
$4,000 was paid out every Saturday night In the
Morgan Iron Works at the foot OF East Ninth-st.
When John Roach suspended fourteen weeks ago, this
army Of men tIrown upon the street. Times were
dull and labor not lreatly In demand. AT hrstf
hoped that work mght he resumed soon. aud the
gathered In front OF the old shops morning after
morning. But time went they began 20 seek
employment elsewhere. II not to bc had. rhe
machine shops were full to OycrnJwng already. They
tramped wcaly every day al over the city only to be
turned away. There was no work among the trades
Even the hsrse lines more than supplied with
drS Scrs. few OF them secured such jobs, ana lew
got temporary places cleaning the streets secre-
Iary whitney bis visits to this city. may probably
have few Of John Ioachs skIlful mechanics
welding a scrnper a broom in the streets as he went
by his carriage. But these temporary jobs were
limited. and Out OF the thousand men, many OF whom
had been working lifetime for John Roach, who we're
turned by the failure no, roro than 200 were abe
TO secure employment OF any Kind.
Every morning for three months the men have
come down Ia tie shops at o'clock. ana they stand
around waiting for tile Old bell TO rlng They don't
seem TO nnders mi that John Roach Is great rascal In
the eyes OF Democratic Administration who bullt
yibratory They don't seem to catch the Idea hat
hls-sounAng Boards Of Inventory and Appraisal ami
Inspection must spend weeks aud months figuring ond
rr,tl,e and reporting 30 that Secretary Whitney who
.ay, hc is not an expert. may understand how many
riyets and spkos hand with which To hDlsh the
crii,srs All they can think Of Is that they aud their
families aro In want and likely TO be turned out OF their
homes.
rhi. Is the exact situation with hundreds Of these
yorlnen nenry Mccullough Is foreman Of the machine
bon lie has been with John Roach Tor twenty three
years lie said on Saturday: had about 300 men
under mo who earned from ~ Ia - day. Not more
than twenty of them have bad q days work since the
shop shut down. Thcy tell puI stories OF ther suner
tncs Many ~ them owe two or three months rent.
t.lH Htu, an lolr
at work would be resumed but that story Is get
tng They live In mortal terror OF going nome
NJ .ght and nnding their wives and children with what
ever ~ furniture they may have lcf 90 the sid walk
Not a few of them have really had that experiuh@e.
They have pawucd almost everything they had in Il
world some OF who lived pretty nicely IN lttlc
bu, respectable nls now huddc their families toge;ner
~ % single room
e How DO they get :oodr'
well honestly IL il hnmItlng that hardly like
to say They borrow aud reg H. myself have lent my
mon 20 much money that hes inning 20 feel rihe
prc.sed mysrf All the oachcs have given ont dollar
arter dollar III, al well enough to fac things about
horo being no need FOR honest man To bog' but II
they can't get work. what they io Their credit Is
exhausted at the stores aud they simply exist on tho
eancst Kind OF fare waiting for Mr. whitney 70 let rs
90 To work They all understand tho siiua-
lion They all know who Ia to blame, and the way
they stand on those by tbs hundred every morn
Ing AMI drnouncc whitney woald make his blood run
cOll II hc could hear II.
1T seems strange that thry cannot get WORK at any
tning"
Oh no Most OF these mcn have been here from ten
To forty years. That there worked here with JOhn
Roach when thej both journey iucn together nat
sort of lob could he get out of liue They know
their business bat nothing else. They VIII take work at
anything Why. they stand around here every day Tor
hours Just 10 pick up lte job cleaning mp the yard
Wncu that ship there, the Saratoga. came IN Tor repairs
~ many as "A thousand men came down tho heAt morn
lug To got work that would only employ twenty hvc aud
set skilled mechanics scrapIng the rust Oh her plates
Four noats ago they would have laughed at man VINO
suggested such n thing them The syocs they tell ue
about hcr sick wives and chldrrn about going 10 ho
City Dspcnslry little food aud money because tAey
have not money buy IT, abont pawhing thor furh
tire aud clothes about being turned out oy their land
lords are fcar.al People thnh this IL exaggerated
but II Il not. II l. Gospel truth
The foreman OF the foundry Is W. Il. Ganer lie has
been n tho Morgan Iron Works since 1876. lio had
from l2J to 800 men under him whose wages range"
rom - to ~ 80 Day wish Mr.. whitney wonh ohy
CONS spend day hers" lie said He wou'd nave
to come incog, for wouldn't hold mys'H re'pohTip'o
FOR what mi sht happen him n hs wore known Bnt
sho aid like INN to -co what he has done Many oi my
men wouldn't hnyc "A roof 10 shelter them II some of us
didn't put our hands In oar pockets ana supply '"o
money. They aud their families actlaly SaHor lrom
hunger ON, no; none OF them blame John ho'ch'
They know the old man like pO"h' NHo" h'' io'
LIBERAL generous II Is true ~ I'VE that tho
only fault John Roach ever found with mo was LOT not
aging my enough money. IL was MS rulo ai"'!S
t leave the matter OF wages 10 his iOrcne ana hrNer
10 interfere But ono day while In the ionhdry nc
happenei to notice an old man working near ny
When did he come uercr lie asked told hm three or
four weeks hefurc. Why, that man worked Win iho
whom : was II Journeyman on "A days wages. hc slid'
How iduch you paying himr IOr'o do'I"rs' i
ana on. le's worth IuOro thau lual YOU nhi
better pay him "A little more.
John smith, who had charge Of the stables sad that
he knew where the mems families wouu nave
suffered terribly II IL hadr been for their relief societies.
whose members chpped In from to 10 cents anu
helped them with thoir food and rent
James Riley, the weigh master, said the cohuoH o'
things was terrible. lie didn't see how the men got
L.II rcnIlrkel.