Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-03-22

unaware that II costs paren;e "a much n MAKO n
boy machinist as an NJ. ID. or liz D., but such
| IL the case, the compensation being In no In
etance adequate 90 pay even the smallest item
| OF expenditures. Hence the boy must DO sup
ported Tor four years, that being tho regular
timc OF apprenticeship, and but thrae or four
| years are required TO make one an ". ID. Rich
mond W only an iron town IN a small way, but
hids fair 70 be something more IN Che near ttl-
turo' therefore,, We eco and Feel the importance
OF meeting and settling this question once for all
~ this strike will do.
STRIFE THE ONLY REMEDY.
I'VE all know how jealousy the ranks OF the
dlHerent professions are guarded against en-
croachment by what arc termed 'quac1s' and
how contcmptuously they are regarded by tho
regular professors, After arbitration will not
have the desired effect we know the only course
LETT Tor the mechanic is the strike, Of which tho
present II an instance.
d" II has been stated by Mr.. Davis that the
| committee appointed TO wait on him az tho shop
Ola not give tho report TO the men truly.
81 viii say, and vouch for tho truth Of the
same, That tho interview WAS reported 90 tho
men Ucrb1tfra. Those whom we selected 10 meet
him we're men Of intelligence and education,
who discharged the duty ably and TO tho entire
/ fatisfactnn OF the men.
AS was said before, the primary cause OF the
strike Is the employment OF scab labOr-L e.,
mon hired 20 work IN tho shop-swceping set nj
Sl.21 pcr day. Well 70 can readily be seen
what the loss 20 our town and retail merchants
would DO II the system became general, az IL
undoubtedly would In the course Of year or
two. on the pay-rolls OF the Richmond LOcOmO
tive and Machinc-WOrks are five hundred me-
chauics, the average wages of which are $3.50.
making $3.50 per day 10 the city 81 Richmond
through her reta{l merchants. The cost OF Ave
hundred men AT $l.25 Is $625, making loss to
the city Of 1928 per day by tho introduction Of
tho 'scab' labor system, and 81 course whore
there Is 'scab working there is mechanic
out.
CUSTOM ELSEWHERE.
alt is stated that it Il general in other locomo-
fIVg-W0rks NmDl0v
cay, having worked for six years in the largest
locomOuye-works in the world tho Baldwin
works, az Philadelphia, the output Of which is
twenty laTgo-rlhss locomotives per week-that
thcy DO NOT employ 'scab' labor except In such
cases "a those where no mechanic wants the Job,
considering II laborer's work. hayo worked
az tho above shops Aud at Altoona, Pittsburgh,
ana the " \. and y. II. and II. X. T., nj y. II.
Court. and in no instance IS 'scab' labor en-
ploycd 20 do mechanics work.
An Agreement at tho Vulcan Works.
The officers Of the Vulcan Iron-Works,
which were shut down on Thursday be
cause of a disagreement with the Ope-
natives as TO the frequency of pay-dayS,
reached an understanding yesterday with
most Of the men. and about one half Of
them will return 60 work tomorrow morn
iug, when the rolljng-mill5 and foundry
department will start up. The wOrkmen
demanded semi-monthly pay-days, while
the employers wanted 20 pay Oh monthly.
Numerous meetings were Helu NeSltI
and as a compromise II was agreed that the
operatives should receive thor wages once
every four weeks. OF thirteen times year.
The advantage of this over monthly settle
monts IS that payday will always fall on
Saturday and once oftener i'll year than
by the monthly plan.
THE AGREEMENT.
The following agreement was the basis
Of the settlement Of difficulties:
We, the undersigned employees OF the Nul-
can IrOu-Works Company, recognizing the de-
pressed condition Of the iron trade, agree 10
accept monthly payment Of wages until Mr..
Bruce finds the condition Of things admits OF
return 80 scmi-monthly payments"
All Of the men except some twelve or
fifteen Of the bolt-makeTs and nut
punchers have agreed to the above.
ABOUT HALF OUT.
Their failure so 20 do will prevent about
halt the force working. but 1t IS confident
w expected that they will 60 10 work be-
fore the end Of the week.
When the four weeks proposition was
made tho management acquesced quite
cheerfulv, a. the employees seemed reason
able. The bolt and nut departments can
not resume work until the other wOrkmen
come III. The system adopted IA in vogue
at the Tredegar and most other places.