Omaha daily bee., 1888-10-06
CHICACOANS MUST EXERCISE.
Two-Thirds of the City Without
Street Car Facilities.
YERkEs' EMPLOYEES ON A STRIKE.
Their Request For a Revision OF tho
Hours of Labor Meets With
aContcmptuous Re-
fusal.
A Chicago Street Car Strike.

CHICAGO. Oct. 5.-One- third of Chicago
will be without street car facilities to-mor-
row morning, and within twenty four hours
another third OF the city will be in the same
predicament. President ferkes, of the
North Chicago company, tonight after
weeks OF temporizing, finally refused the oe-
mand of the employees and afterwards de-
clined peremptorily to accept an invitation
from the men to arbitratc All the north
side employees, $50 in number, will therefore,
according to their publicly announced pro.
grammc, strike at n. m.
Interviews tonight with representatives
of $50 employees of the company on the west
side show that they will strike probably be-
fore the ensuing midnight, III order if pos
sible, to cripple the entire Gorkes system and
bring him quickly to time. The grievance
of the north side men, as stated by them, is
that they are, for no apparent reason, paid
considerably less than the westsiders, and,
besides, have their hours of duty so split up
that the amount Of sleep required by the
average human beng cannot be had without
interruption.
The meeting that decided the strike was
held tonight between Mr.. Yerkes and a
committee representing the men. Mr.. Yerkes
insisted at the outset that all communication
between himself and the committee should
be in writing. The committee were given a
room to themselves, and were handed a doc
ument from Gcrkcs declining to entertain
any revision of hours that would at all in-
crease the company's expense account. The
mems other proposition, asking an increase
of salary in addition to the revision of hours,
was rejected wholly as were other minor
propositions, especially one relating to pay
ment by the hour instead of by the day.
The committee drew up reply Offering to
submit the whole subject to two arbitratorS
from each side, the four to choose n fifth.
The committee offered to wait until mid
night for an answer to this, but Mr.. Yerkes
sent up a curt negative considerably before
the hour named. The committee then with
drew, and almost at the same moment the
first nstallment of men being imported by
Mr.. Yerkes from other cities to fill the
places of strikers arrived at the union depot
from Philadelphia. There were twenty five
in the party that stepped from the train,
and they brought word that 125
more were to arrive in the morning.
They had been in the employ of the Yerkes
syndicate on its lines in Philadelphia.
Unlike the Chicago men, few OF them, II
any, are knights of Labor. They worked in
Philadelphia on the system for which sub
stantially the Chicago men are striking, but
it is not generally believed that this will cut
any material figure with the newcomers.
Great preparations have been made by tho
strikers to provide omnibuses, ,exprees wagons
and other conveyances for the public, and
the sights on the streets in the morning,
when something like quarter of million
VI people. patronixe these vehicles and aide
walks, are expected 10 be Of tho most pic
tdf66due order. Whether there will be any
greater disorder than this no one preteuds
To saw W