Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-13
THE LABOR PROBLEM.
Mr.. Finn Gives His Experience With
the Bellaire Councils.
NO ITALIAN WORkMEN WANTED,
But They Couldn't Get Enough Irish.
English or Americans
WHO WILL DO THE WORK IN DITCHES

Hon. William Finn is perhaps one of the
best judges of labor vsgaries in this city,
and mas had very wide experiences In such
matters. He tells of his experiences in Bel
laire with ludie-ousiy pathetic tone, show
ing how the impossible is often demanded.
When he first started to lay pipe through
the place he was confronted, he says, by the
CITY Council, which STOOD him up" in the
usual manner. An ordinance was intro
duced making the conditions as tough as
tbev could possibly be for carrying out the
work. and this was followed by a request
from a representative knight of Labor that
no workmen should be employed from out
side the city.
"But, said Mr.. Finn. 81 want 800 men;
can you get them for me?"
This rather staggered the labor man, and
he modified his request, although having
previously threatened to have clause intro
duced in the ordinance before Councils re-
stricting the employment of labor 20 resi-
dents of Bellaire. His next condition was
to secure opposition from Italian labor. This
be insisted on, and said that no people who
did not help to support. the place in which
they worked better than the Italians did
should be employed.
THAT PLEASED MR.. FLIEN.
THAT is Just where he caught me. =" con-
tinued Mr.. Finn. TT was the very thing
wanted. l grasped him warmly by the
hand, and pledged myself to employ all
Irishmen or Englishmen if he would pro-
vide them. They were the very class
1 wanted and could utilize to the
best advantage. 1 went further, and said to
him that il he would find 800 Irish or En-
7
as I fully believe 1 should be warranted in
doing on such an acquisition. He hung
back, and, although pressed him to try
what he could do in procuring me that class
of workmen, he would not undertake it
"There is no comparison between the
work of an Irishman, an American or an
Englishman,, and that of an Italian or a
Hungarian as a laborer. This can be ac-
counted for perhaps by the fact OF the diff
ferent styles of living adopted. The one
class eats meat and strengthening food
adapted to the climate, while the other eats
something the same diet which would form
a staple support in sunny Italy.
STRENGTH OF THE HINDoo.
"Of course a Hindoo porter, who lives
upon a handful of rice a dav, will lift a
weight and carry it which no American,
Irishman or Anglo-Saxon would bulge, but
the endurance is not there, and to remove
the H;.-doo to this climate would be simply
to sigs is death warrant if he were to be
exposed to the climatic changes that our la
borers are.
sit is a noticeable fact that the Irish
labOrer is getting out of the trenches where
he was 25 years ago, and filling in the per-
sons OF his children bet er and more respon-
sible positions. He was followed by the
Swede uho soon discovered q hetrer field
for his exertions in the farm lands of the
Northwest, and to-day Minnesota, Wiscon-
sin, Iowa and Kansas have vast Swedish
and Norwegian settlements which are
growing fast, and of which the prosperity is
assured. All of these made good citizens,
and are succeeded by strong, thrifty yet en-
terprising native born children, but what
class or nationality will succeed the Italian
time alone can decide"
This is a rather important question for, as
was asked in similar review of the labor
problem about four weeks ago in The DIS
PATCH. the important bearing consists in
determining the time when the American
will have to go into the ditch.