St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-07
THE CooPERs, DEADLOCK.
Intelligent Statements From Bot
SideS.-Geuerai Cooper Notes.


Intelligent Statements From Both
Sides--Generai Cooper Notes.
There are always two sides to story, and
In order that the public may get something
like definite understanding of the compll-
cations of the affairs of the coopers OF the
city. which have of late attracted SO much
attention the GLOBE yesterday interviewed
representatives of both the cooperative and
journeyman cooperS.
c.. Nee. Reeve, the manager of the Hall
& Damn Barrel company, which Is the larg-
est .'boss'' shop in the city, was asked to
give his views upon the situation. and re-
Sponded about as follows.
In Minneapolis the coopers are divided
into two claSSeS-co-OperatNeS who own
their own shops, and the journeymen
cOopers who are employed by the boss
shops. The cooperative shops, II they
make anything during the year, divide the
profits pro rata; if they lose they assess
themselves to make up the deficit. 1t the
boss shops sell their barrels for less than
cost the loss comes out of the pockets OF the
proprietors. or bosses" as they are called,
and is not assessed upon the men. Suppose,
as an illustration, that oak barrels are sell
ing at ~ cents, which allows Is cents for.
making and the bosses and the co-operatives
agree to stick to that price for certain
length of time. Suppose, again, that when
the agreement expires we cut to 40 cents
and we find we are losing 2 cents barrel,
and say to our men, We can only pay IA
cents The co-operatives have also been
losing 3 cents barrel. but they will assess
their loss back upon themselves. They will
say to our men, Strike if they cut you to IA
cents. We are paying Is cents and the boss
shops can do it if we cam And they will
pay IS cents, too, but at the end OF the
year or expiration of the contract they will
assess their loss back upon themselves, so
they have in reality been making but Il
cents. If our men strike it makes us trouble,
for the mill men can't be bothered without
difficulties, and will go to the co-OperativeS,
who never strike It has taken the jour
neymen two years to get onto the way III
which the co-operatiyeS assess themselves
for the losses they stand in keeping up
prices and now that they understand
the situation | think there Will be no more
strikes
Last fall we ali entered into Il contract
with the mills to make barrels for ~ cents
to May 1. This shop was equipped with
machinery and was supplying the Pillsbury
4 mill In the meantime the Sixth street
and North Star shops, the largest cooper
alive shops in the city. put in machinery
and before the expiration Of the contract
they 90 to Pillsbury A and offer to furnish
barrels at 40 cents. We of course cut to
40 cents to meet them, but are compelled to
reduce the price for making 2 cents. Then
the journeymen say to the co-operatives,
How comes it that you are cutting down
the price for making" The co-operatives
answer we are not cutting; we are going
TO pay Is cents just the same, but we have
got machinery and find that we can save
the cents there that we are going to lose
by the cut This brings us to
THE MACHINERY QUESTION,
another point in the controversy. When
we get 16 cents, we charge cents
for the machine, and allow
II cents for the hopping, Now these two
cooperative shops claim that it only costs
from 2L to cents to work off barrel by
machinery, and as cents is allowed they
claim they can make the 2 cents here
which they cut on tie price they make to
the mills, We claim that it costs from to
5 cents and that is just the difference be-
tween us. We have had our machinery for
three years, and know that it can't be done
for any less. The co-Operatives have just
got theirs, and don't know within 3 cents
barrel how much it is going to cost them.
Now they have asked for conference and
submit the matter of how much shall go to
the machine and how much for hopping
to an
ARBITRATION COMMITTEE
consisting of disinterested parties who know
very little about the business. Now 1
imagine this arbitration will 60 about as
follows: The North Star and Sixth street
shops will say it only costs 3 cents to turn
off
about cents. The arbitratorsAwill think
that the co-operatives have the advantage
of lately improved machinery, and that we
should get in the same kind. But this is
not the point. The co-operativeS don't
know how much it will cost them, and we
do, as we have had three years experience.
Their machinery is new, and you know a
new broom sweeps clean at first. After
awhile they will have constant expenses for
repairs, which must be charged up to ma
chinery. For instance: We have a Corliss
engine of the best make, but have been COM
PEELED to pay $500 in the past year for re-
pairs upon it. The expense of tress hoops
alone is 5000 a year, and we pay S1.75 a
day on an average for new belts. The CO.
operative machinery is new, and just now
they don't have these expenses. Now in
refusing to submit to this arbitration have
their theory concerning the expense in max
ing barrel by machinery to a committee
which will not fully understand the matter.
There is another way in which l
claim our men are given an
advantage which enables them to make
more money than the co-operatives can at
the same pay. In our shop we deliver the
stock into the building and soak the hoops.
The co-operatives have to get their own
stock and soak it or else pay to have it
DONE There are a number of other eX-
penses, such as removing ashes ETC., which
co-operatives have to stand from which our
men are free. | claim that our men make
more than the co-operativeS by Is per cent.
as rule. and will only make one exception
the Phoenix shop-in which the men receive
the highest pay in the city. This is a small
shop where they make barrels by hand,
and the Crosby mill buys all they can
make"
In making the statement that the CO.
operative shops do not know within cents
the cost of working off a barrel by ma
chinery, Mr.. Reeve said he spoke fgura-
lively, and did not mean to be understood
as literally saying that He did mean,
though that the cO-operativeS have had no
experience with machinery and are not in
position to judge of what the cost is going
to be.
THE OTHER SIDE.
From the following interviews with some
of the leading cooperative coopers it will
be seen that the statements of Mr.. Reeve
are not only denied, but facts are brought
forward to contradict them. 1t is only in
tended at this time to give each side a fair
hearing, and thus allow the public to learn
something concerning the perpleXities of a
of the labor problem of the day. The CO.
nnaratives are at the same time emnlnvarS