The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-04-04
taken it upon myself 70 see that union

taken it upon myself to see that union
men did the work.
'sSome OF you present are not old
enough to remember what my record has
been for labor. If / had my way
wouldn't give contract to q contractor
VINO would not bind himself to employ
union men. / believe in the value of
labor organizations, and believed in them
long before there was any general organ
ization of labor in this country. took
my stand in this direction in 1868, and
there are some old longshoremen who
will bear me out. believe that working
men have as much right to form unions
as the great corporations have to form
combinations. Indeed, | hold that the
unions have q greater right, because their
cause Is that of the welfare of the people.
while the corporations principally exist
for their own individual benefit.
II wouldn't employ a man on a sewer
who was not connected with the society
of his trade. This would be just to the
men who belong to the trade society and
beneficial to the public because they
would get better sewer. If I were
building a house | wouldn't employ a
contractor who wouldn't engage union
from those who belonged TO trade asso-
citation. Labor unions should be careful
to admit none but good workmen.
FAIR ENGAGEMENT.
$50 far as legally within my power"
concluded Mr.. Cleveland, land morally
within my influence, | will do my best to
see that union offices have the city's
printing. Am addressing printer in
you, Mr.. Gruber?n
no, SIR" responded Mr.. Gruber. 81
am cigarmaker. That's away above
printing" he added, laughingly.
ION, no; your trade ends in smoke, while
the printing trade lasts for ever" jocu-
larlV returned the MayOr
Edwin Blossom, of Typographical Union
No. "a, replying to the Mayors COM
plaint that he had not been waited on be-
fore, said the trouble had been so well adj
vertised by the resolutions passed by the
labor bodies that they always took 1t for
granted that every public official in this
city knew the conditions existing in the
argus Office.
Patrick O'Hara, of Carpenters Union
No. 482. declared that there were very few
departments of the city that employed
union men, with the exception OF brick
layers. There was work going forward
for the city at the present time by a con-
tractor vino would not employ union men
because he objected to their rates
President Spencer, of the Building
Trades Council, admitted that although
he was a Republican in national and
State politics, he always preferred giving
his vote to q man who was in sympathy
with labor.
John Faulkner, who represented the
bricklayers, said it was notorious that
the argus not only employed srat' labor
from Brooklyn and other outside cities,
but did not even pay these people their
pittances when they were entitled TO
them. AS rule. rats" and s'scabs" are
not citizens.
James Anderson, carpenter, referred to
what Mr.. Cleveland had done for labor,
and appealed to him to do better yet.
FOR UNIONISM ONLY.
James DoWling, of Typographical
Union No. 81, said that under the old
charter the members of the various city
Boards were elected and could be reached
by the popular ballots. Under the new
charter the Mayor was to be held respon-
sible. ''If you think enough of man to
vote him into Office" pithily remar ked
Mr. Dowling, "he ought to appreciate
that fact by doing something for you.
1t is a question of doing something for
labor. We are not here in the interest of
az corporation. bnt for the principle of
unionism and better conditions"
A. OuthWaite, carpenter, instanced the
case of q contractor who took job at
Snake Hill and had the services of the in
mates of the Penitentiary for the work.
thus pocketing what should have gone to
honest labor, in addition TO his own right
full share. The work was so badly done
that it had to be gone over again and cost
would have been paid for good work in
the first instance.
Messrs. Nelson and others having
spoken, the Mayor briefly replied.
Mr.. Cleveland had some recollection of
trouble in the argus office, but thought it
had been settled. Such things as had
been mentioned that night were new to
him. He could speak his views strongly
on this matter if he were not candidate
for Office No one could say of him that
he had introduced politics into hfS labor
speeches. Republicans and Democrats on
such occasions could meet on common
platform. IF belonged TO labor or
ganizationV said His Honor; II would
prefer voting for labor man.
II don't believe in the doctrine of Civ
ing contracts to the lowest bidders. In
the giving out of all contracts the cost of
which Is not to be assessed upon the prop
erty benefited, but is to be paid out of
the city treasury, the Board of Street and
and Water Commissioners has absolute
discretion in the matter. That is the
law.n
Upon being pressed Judge Blair,n he
said, had given it as his opinion that
the Board had right 10 award contracts
to other than the lowest bidders Con-
tractors took work at such low bids that
they could not pay fair wages and the
city suffered in consequences of the bad
work done.n Mr.. Cleveland concluded
by alluding to his determined stand
against the Pinkertons in the time of the
railroad trouble and held that the facts
elected in the great Southwestern strike
had borne out his charge against the
detective agency which had suit
against him in the courts.