St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-12
THE EMPOYES' SIDE.
They Claim the Wages Are Below
Living Rates.

Under present salary lists the con-
ductors and drivers receive II and 16
cents, according to the length of time
they have been employed. When the
men are first secured they receive 16
cents per hour, and after having been
employed three months, are raised TO II
cents. On the motor line the conduct
ors receive II cents per hour at first,and
after three months are raised to 21
cents. The engineers receive % cents,
and after six months are raised to 90
cents. In the case of the street car men
the company has reduced the salaries l
cent per hour nnder the amount paid
under the present regulations, when the
men are first hired. In the case of the
motor line conductors it is simply re-
duction of the salaries OF the old men
who have been in the employ of the
company long enough to receive an in
crease. This also applies to the motor
line engineers.
THE salaries under the old scale are
small enough, the Lord knows" SAID
one of the motor engineers YESTERDAY
morning, land now that there has been
reduction. we simply cannot live on
the wages. The company has forced us
into this. To quit was all that was left
for us to do. and we did it."
Said prominent member of the street
car union: ''President Lowry said this
morning in the paper that the company
was losing money. L tell you frankly
there is not driver or conductor i'm
his employ who believes it. He saws
the company must raise money to build
the new cable line and the men must
pinch and starve to pay for it: that fol-
1f,yx-c nf
mental idea Of the company is that if
any one is to pinch.or go hungry it must
be the men. He says that he has re-
peatedly offered to show the books of
the company to the men. 1t may be
that he has, but what would they know
if they did see the books. They
do not know how the COM
pany may have juggled with the
figures or how much they may have
watered the stock 10 prevent the declar-
ing of a dividend. Supt. Goodrich SAYS
that he made thorough investigation
before he discharged any of the men.
and that lie had good reason. That
may be true, but when he discharged
Badger and charged him with dishon-
esty he did him double wrong. He
attacked his character and refused to
! prove the charges true, and be dis
charged him on a prcteXt that he de-
cllned to subStantlate with an eXplana-
| ton. The men have been patient under
! the most tyfann zeal treatment, he went
OH. with increasing warmth. The COM
| pany has deliberately violated It's bust
| ness contract with the union. 1t has
| refused to listen to the grievances of
representatives in violation of one part
of that contract, and it now practically
claims the right, in defiance of the pro-
visions of that contract, to discharge
men arbitrarily at the drop of the hat.
According to the regulations now in
force, man can be called out to work
at any hour in the day or night. He
| may be summoned for two hours SER
vice in the morning, and later for three
or four, and so OH through period of
eighteen hours, so that he has no time
at his disposal. He cannot get his
| meals nor his sleep regularly: he spends
| more money than nc would il his hours
were regulated, Besides. when he has
become accustomed to one set of
hours be is Suddenly changed and COM
PEELED 10 work under another system.
'The men have been patient; they
know the terrible cost of a strike to
them. but they were forced into it. But
the company cannot conquer the union
they may trampIe or the men. injure
them, but they cannot III Ieak the ergani-
Zatiur. L is a very hard task that Mr..
Lowry has uiid1rtaken if he expects to
prove 10 the satisfaction of common
people shat Il company with which he is
connected is losing monay when they
see him day by day piling up his wealth
until according to common report it
now reaches up into the millions. A
few years ago he was pennile5s, they