The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-05
THE AGITATION SUBSIDING.
Indications that the Local Labor Troub-
les are Already About Over.
A Strike in the Big Four Freight Yards
Which Resulted in the Defeat Of the
Dissatisfied Employes-NOteS.

For several weeks the Chicago & Rock Island
road has been delivering to the c., l.. ST. L. &
c., at Kankakee, thirty to forty carloads of grain
day, and sometimes larger number. The
G. & r. l. being short of cars, would not allow
their cars to come further east than Indianapolis.
Here the c., T., ST. L. & G. transferred
the grain to cars Of the Baltimore &
Ohio or the Chesapeake g. Ohio roads,
to forward to the seaboard. To transfer this
grain thirty men have been employed at the c.,
l., st. L. & G. outer yards at $1.25 per day for
ten hours work. Monday these thirty men noti-
fed VIM. Sullivan, agent Of the c., l., st. L. &
c., that they would strike unless he paid them
$1.25 per day for eight hours, or So per car for
transferring the grain. Under instructions from
Superintendent Sherwood, Mr.. Sullivan declined
to make the advance asked. The men struck,
and Monday night pasted placard
on each car loaded with grain,
warning outsiders against doing this work.
Agent Sullivan telegraphed Superintendent
Sherwood who is in Cincinnati, the situation.
Mr. Sherwood telegraphed instructions to for
ward the sixty cars in the yards and those arriv-
ing hereafter through without transfer to the sea-
board, thus deprvng the strikers of doing the
work or annoying other men who were ready to
take their places Cars are more plenty with
each road in this line, and this expense will be
cut off for the present at least.
Nearly all the strikes in this city were virtual
ly ended yesterday. The strikers at the Central
Chair Company's factory went to work again
yesterday afternoon at the old time-sixty hours
per week. The proprietor of the Lauter factory,
on Massachusetts avenue, has agreed to the
eight-hour plan and to an advance in wages in
the event that the manufacturers succeed in
raising prices. The majority of the striking up
holsterers at Krause's lounge factory will go to
work this morning at the per cent. advance in
wages proposed by the proprietor. Some of the
men at the Western furniture factory attempted,
yesterday, to start the eighthour system in their
establishment. by quitting at o'clock. They
will confer with the proprietors and endeavor to
induce them to agree to an eight-hour day.
Forty five OF the employees in the furniture
factory of Spiege Thoms & Co., where the men
were all paid by the hour, are now working eight
hours. while five or six continue nine hours.
The report on Monday afternoon that strike
had occurred when the men quit work at
o'clock, is contradicted by the employees, who
claim that Mr.. Spiegel was simply requested to
blow the whistle for the end Of the day at 4
o'clock. He replied that he would have the
whistle sounded at o'clock, as usual, but subse
quently, after conference with the other mem
bers of the firm, decided to blow the whistle
twice-at o'clock for the men desiring to work
only eight hours, and at for the nine-hour men.
ment.
The furniture makers and their employees will
hold a meeting at the courthouse, next Satur-
day, to take steps toward advancing the prices
of their products, and thus securing the means
of advancing the wages of workingmen The
latter, in most cases, have been promised the
advantage of any such advance in prices of
goods, should it be made.
Representatives of the turner's at the Wood
burn Sarven wheel works say the statement that
q a
take. They average from So to $40 week.
When men first take hold of lathes, and for the
first few weeks, before they have fully learned
the business, they do not make 80 much. If In
dustrious, however, they can make So or 81 per
week.
Goddard Brothers. stone cutters. have prom
ised the laborers in their employ an advance to
III cents per hour as a compromise. The ad-
vance will go into effect in two weeks
The bootblacks have not been very successful
in enforcing their demand for 10 cents for
shine, but they are having great deal of fun.
They have encountered two very trouble
some obstacles. One is the unwilling
ness of nearly all customers to pay
the demand, while a large majority of the
working sinners have turned out to be what, in
the striking idiom, we know as ''scabs" The
strikers don't boycott, but they ''hoodoo" their
enemies which is much more dreadful means
of punishment The ''hoodoo" gang is armed
with sticks tipped with pins, with which the OBJ
jects of their displeasure vigorously poked.
A committee appointed by the Typographical
Union to confer with propretors of book and
job printing Offices to ascertain what position
they would take in relation to the eight-hour
system have sent out blanks to all members of
the organization, with a view to first learning
what proposition would meet with the ap-
prevail of the majority. The questions asked
are, Would you favor the eight-hour system
with ten hours payg" ''Would you favor the
eight-hour system with nine hours payl"
Would you favor the nine hour system with
ten hours pay, quitting on Saturday at o'clockp
Would you favor the eight-hour system with
eight hours pay, If necessary to secure its adop
tionW do you think that the price of piece
composition should be raised if hours are re-
ducedW and 'tHow much9"
All the retail grocery stores Of the city last
evening closed their places of business at
o'clock. in pursuance of agreement with the
Retail Grocery Clerks ORGANIZATION. Hereafter
the grocery stores will not be opened on Sunday
and will only be open after o'clock on Monday
and Saturday evenings. The movement is uni
versal, including nearly all the grocery stores.
A Bad but Honest Boy.