The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-07-16
REID AND THE PRINTERS.

SO much has been written and said
about Whitelaw Reid and his troubles
with his printers since the nomination
of the gentleman for the vice presidency,
and SO varied have been their several
versions that the following from the st.
Louis Republic will be read with more
than ordinary interest. In 1877, according
to the Republic, Whitelaw Reid made a
formal demand on the printers in his
employ that they should reduce the
price of composition to 40 cents per 1000
ems. The price paid in other union Of
fees in New York at that time was AZ
cents per thousand. In addition to this
he demanded that various other conces-
sions be made, such as measuring
double-p price matter at single price, hav-
ing matter paid for by the piece which
made a still greater reduction in the
earnings of his employees.
This printers struck, claiming they
were forced to strike to maintain their
union principles, and from that time,
with the exception of about two weeks.
Whitelaw Reid and the Typographical
union have been at war. After the
strike of 1877 the union was weak IN New
York city for three or four years, and
during that time and years afterward
the New York Tribune Office was the
eastern employment Office for rat print
ers.
In the latter part of 1873 a lockout oc-
Cured on the New York World and a
supply of men was harbored in the
Tribune Office for the express purpose of
rafting that paper. This was accom-
plished on the night of the Goth of
December in that year. The rafting"
also extended to other papers in the city.
But the union gradually built up and
sometime in 1882 it obtained, unbeknown
to Reid, a footing in the Tribune office.
A general strike among printers in the
city was her ordered. The union
carried everything before it and every
daily paper in New York city was
unionized. This was in 1882.
Whitelaw Reid signed a contract with
the officers of the union agreeing to their
demands, both sides STIMULATING that
at least thirty days notice be given if any
change in the scale of wages were to be
made. Within two weeks from the
signing Of the contract Whitelaw Reid
violated his written obligation and
locked out every union nan In the
composing room. Here is the rest of the
story as told by the authority above
referred to:
Then the union began a boycott on the
paper, which eliminated in a demand
being made on the republican national
committee to repudiate Mr.. Reid and his
p or the members of the union would
vote against Mr.. Blaine. Mr.. Jones was
chairman of the committee at that time
and they refused to throw the Tribune
overheard and the union carried out its
threat and Blaine was defeated.
The fight was still continued, and
when Davenport ran against Hill for
governor another attempt was made to
%unionize the composing room of Mr..
Reds paper. The union. however,
would not accept Mr.. Reid's terms, and
the war was continued.
BY this time the boycott was having a
telling effect on the paper, and Mr.. Reid
thought it was necessary to do some
thing to counterfeit its effect. So he an
nounced that thereafter he would pay
80 cents per thousand. This Was only
nominally paying above the scale, for the
way ia which the Office "culled fat" and
measured the matter set brought down
the price paid in his composing room to
less than that paid by any paper in the
city.
For seven years Reid made no %pretense
of paying as high wages as the scale
called for, and for the last seven he only
made a "bluff' at paying as much as
other employers. And yet the republican
organs say the quarrel was not on ac-
count of wages when for fourteen
years Whitelaw Reid has persistently re-
fused to give his printers as much for
their labor as his next door neighbor,
the Sun.