Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-26
WATCHING EACH OTHER.
THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE WEST.
INGHOUSE STRIKE.

Something OF the misunderstanding About
the Petition-How Il Now Reads, and the
Way II Once Read-The Peculiar Devel.
opments of Yesterday.
The managers of the Westinghouse inter-
ests, and those members of its working force
who are now on strike, seem to be at pres
ent earnestly engaged in watching the
movements of each other. Neither side has
intimated any desire for conference; the one
declaring that it has furnished sufficient
answer to the petition of the men; the other
asseyerating that the terms of the petition are
just and that they will not recede from
them. This was the position yesterday, un-
til broken in upon by a letter from Mr..
George Westinghouse, Jr.
Mr.. Westinghouse, in his letter, says that
''the press generally seems to be very i'm
perfectly acquainted with important facts
regarding the desertion Of their places by
the late employees" La framing this SEN
tence in his statement, Mr.. Westinghouse
evidently forgot for the moment the IRON
clad rule in force throughout his establish
tanning to the company's business being
given OF to the press. Mr.. Westinghouse
is perhaps unaware that The DISPATCH
has applied for information regarding the
company's view of the strike, both at the
general Office and to the superintendents of
the various departments interested, without,
in any case, being able to obtain such in
formation as would suffice for an intelligent
statement of the company's position. Under
these circumstances ''the press" is scarcely
to bl anne if it has not accurate information
regarding the company's position in the
matter.
BEADING OF THE PETITION.
A representative of this paper BY request
of an official of the company on Saturday
called at the general offices and was shown
a copy of the petition presented by the en-
ployes of the electric company to the firm.
Around this petition seems to hang deal of
misunderstanding, both on the side OF the
company and on that of the employees. The
copy of the petition shown to THE Dis
PATCH was as follows:
To the Superintendent Of the Westinghouse Elec-
trio Company:
We. the undersigned employees, do hereby Pc
tition you to grant us the following request,
work 60 hours As minutes per day for i've days,
and hours for Saturday, with go hours pay
at present rate Of wages.
The words ''at present rate of wages" ap-
peared in the copy, but had been erased.
Asked for an explanation of the erasure,
one of the officials, Mr.. Westinghouse
private secretary, said that the copy was
reproduction of the original, and that the
erasure was to show where a similar elimi-
nation had been made in the original, prior
to its presentation. The view taken by the
officials of the petition was that the en-
ployes demanded "a hours work for 60 hours
pay, at a rate to be herea fter fixed, and that
the company, attaching this meaning to the
petition, had practically conceded the re-
quest in its answer, already printed in The
DISPATCH.
A DIFFERENT STORY.
Inquiry, yesterday, from one of the en-
ployes who had framed the petition, elected
very different story. He said that the
petition had been presented in its entirety,
and without the erasure, and that its inten-
tion was to request a 54-hour working week
for 60 hours pay, based on the rate of wages
in vogue when the prayer was presen ted.
Some five years ago the Garrison alley en-
ployes worked 60 hours a week, but on a
strike for less hours ensuing, the company
reduced the time to 56Z hours. with corre-
spending reduction in wages. The petition
of the employees now is that they
want a further reduction in the hours
of ~ hours, with payment equivalent to
what they would receive at current rates for
60 hours work. AS an example, an instru-
ment maker earning 30 cents per hour, and
working 56Z hours per week, now wants 80
cents per hour and payment for 60 hours
work, while working only "a hours.
While this evident misunderstanding be-
tween the employer and employe exists, it is
not surprising that a settlement cannot be
effected. 1t was said yesterday that if there
was a State Board of Arbitration in exist
ence here, this difficulty, as well as others,
would be settled in very short time