Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1885-03-03
SUPERINTENDENT PALMER.

He Has No Men on Strike. and Owes
Wages to Only Seven, Who Would Have
Been Paid rs Usual, II the Union Had
Not Stopped W0rk-What He Is Doing,
aud Will DO.
About noon to-day Superintendent
Palmer, of the Minnie Moore, rang up
the TIMES Office by telephone, and
spoke substantially as follows:
have just read your account OF
Saturdays visit to Broadford. 1t does
me great injustice. The failure to pay
wages due had nothing whatever to
do with the strike, rs only seven men,
bers of the Union have wages coming
to them, and they could not look for
wages the time of the strike because
their payday did not come until the
Goth Of February-lG days after the
strike began, by order of the Union.
The question of wages had, therefore,
nothing whatever to do with the
strike.
When, on the 4th of February, the
Union ordered a strike, but seven of
its members were working for me; all
Others at work in the mine were on
contract or lease. The Union men
were getting 81 per day, and had
no intention of reducing their wages.
The strike prevented me from extract
ing ore and paying them their wages
when due--16 days later; but they
and the Union were to blame for that,
and not /.
had made no attempt to reduce
wages, and every man working for
me had worked his job out-all but
the few leasers and contractors. last
December, however, l had informed
the men that when the ore should be
exhausted l would have some dead
work to do, and then when ore was
struck it would not pay to stope I'M
less at So. so per day; that if l could
not get men for that l should develop
the mine on contract, but extract no
ore. But | let every man work his
job out at 81 per day.
When the Union ordered work
stopped the Minnie Moore had no men
on strike. The Queen of the Hills
had had, since the goth of January,
but the Minnie continued working
until the 4th of February. The Union
men could have had no grievance
against me. In fact, during the first
examination, ! asked them through
their counsel-Mr. Angelic put their
demands against me in writing, stat
ing that l would consider them.
He informed me that they
had nothing against me, and
up to this day they have
never made any demands upon me,
unless my being stopped once, on the
street, by some of them, and being
asked if was going to guarantee "a
a day, can be called a demand. The
stoppage of work at the Minnie by
order Of the Union, I therefore look
upon as most unwarranted aggres-
sion.
The old Minnie employees dis
charged during December and Janu-
airy were paid off as soon as dis
charged, and but for their own act in
stopping work at the mine, the seven
men referred to would have been paid
off as usual the goth of the month.
/ am now doing precisely what l
was doing when the Union stopped
me. | have IS men working on con
tract or lease, and two more will &c
to work to. night. Next Monday six
more will go to work on a short con.
tract, and when they get through
shall probably have employment fol
so or GO men. But this will not be
before the end of the month.
At present | have all the men that
can employ. Quantities Of men appl,
for employment every time l 20 on
the street, and many urge as reason
why I should employ them that they
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