Morning journal and courier., 1891-08-28
NO STRIKE
At the Rubber NIanufactory.


 Owing to the excessive heat and hu- at the L. Candee rubber shop quit work for the day yesterday. This gave rise to an unfounded report that strike had taken place, which was not the fact. The following is learned concerning the case:
 When MT. N. P. Blair, foreman of the bootmakers at the factory, entered the boot department yesterday he noticed that several windows were opened at the bot tom, whereupon he ordered them shut down. It was damp day and the fog and mist blew into tue shop. Therefore, there would be considerable lot of boots damaged if the rubber should become damp or wet.
 After the order was given MT. Blair ex- plained to the men near him that the win dows could be opened from the top, if necessary. Thereupon 8 few of the men answered the foreman that the air was so humid and close that they could not work. It being considered good busi= ness policy to let the goods lay behind for day or so rather than have them blis- tered, the foreman gave notice that any one with whom the heat of the room did not agree could go home, if he wished to-, and no objection would be raised if they so decided to do. The result was that both boot rooms contained fair sprinkling of empty benches for the rest of the day, while goodly number of the bootmakers wended their way uptown to see the pa rade. Others went to their homes. When the parade was passing along Church street some of the idle men began to re- mark that it looked like strike to see so many rubber workers out on the day. Others who had been known to be drink ing the night previous (the day before be ing pay day). and who had already began to enjoy themselves in their own familiar fashion, boisterously explained the cause of their holiday by saying they were on strike.
 The fact of the matter is there was no strike, neither was there 200 men who left work, as stated by an evening paper. There are not quite 200 bockmakers in the factory. The men will be at work to-day if the weather is. more endurable, and the order will not be changed All the girls employed in the cool room remained dur ing the day, and a good proportion of the men.
 Of course, this action will throw out the the varnishers and the packers, who will all lose part of day.
 As the benches in the boot room runs up to about one foot above the window sills everything on the benches is liable to become wet, and it has been for years & standing order to keep the windows closed at the bottom on damp day. This order was made necessary to prevent considera- ble loss to the company.
 A committee of the bootmakers' union of the factory wish to deny the report that there was any strike and wish to state is follows, that the heat in their room is some days in summer, in dog days, especially, uncomfortable and that stock is liable to be damaged on cool days the same as it is sometimes on hot, hnmid days; that fans or blowers ought to be introduced to mitigate the oppressiveness of the air on dog day or other hot weather. We have sent, the committee added, committee to Hartford to interview the labor com missioner in order to have an inspection of the premises and see if some remedy cannot be proposed that will meet the case. We are not Knights of Labor, as some claim, and our society is not con nected at all with that organization. There are no Knights of Labor in our shop. The temperature of the room on such days as yesterday is such that we cannot livein it. Of course. the company allows us to quit work on such days, but with some way of lowering the tempera- ture we could get along and the work not be hindered s