New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-17
NO WORK AT THE QUARRIES.
THE BIG FIGHT OF THE GRANITE MEN BE-
GUN IN EARNEST.


rIoNs AND PAVING WORK INTERRUPTED
The biggest strike that has ever occurred ~
,,e stone industry in this country began yes'er
aay in hundreds of towns and ci'les c",' - ~
M;ssissinpi River. in accordance with the pans
:. .h lohor oroaniz,tions in that industry. Inc
.,r;le which has been ordered for the purpose Vi
,,ircinc 20 an end the lockout Of 2OOOO men iou'
the New-England quarres, was pesun "' ,.
h-.ak Yesterday. and before nightfall al ieae'
IN Ooo mon were idle in consequence l" '''
city and BROOKLYN about 5000 men nave e'oPP'
work already and the strike mas ohlH
How far il will extend, how long II VIII "s' an''
,rha+ tho consequences will be, no one co' "''.
p..h s;dos showed much bad feeling yesterday ana
~ ocor,s IN effect o compromise or a setdcmeh'
~, tho State Board Of Arbitration were fu'lle'
rh ,ror, of the strike committees pegah
~ an carly hour. F. c. Zeigler, OF t,e T"pic
Cartmen's Union, did large amount OF aggrcsSi'o Z
work lie succeeded in stopping ehec'"aiS VI,
delivery Il stone from the locked-out NewEhgIin''
o,orr;es n new buildings This was considered
tho most effective manner of Gripping the mem-
ho-s Of the Granite Manufacturers Association OF
Nou-EpoIand and those builders and contractors
who depend upon the association for their building
material Three schooners loaded with granite
for the Metropolitan Museum Of Art. and some
mason work at High Bridge, were tied up IN
the East River al Ninety -siXth-st These boats
were loaded with stones weighing from four to
ten tons They were shipped from John feirce 5
quarriee at Mount Waldo, Maine. John Nc
Guinness attempted to remove the stones, put ie
had hardly begun when all the men employed Dy
him stopped work McGuiness said that he was
under $500 bonds to remove the stones. ana he
pleaded with the union to allow him to go on
with the work His request was refused Then
Harry Pew went 20 work with large hoatlng
derrick to unload the stones. and his men struck
too. Then horse power was tried but the attempt
was unsuccessful. The three-masted schooner
Hattie NJ Howes from IIallowell. Maine, was
also :" tied up
Work was stopped on the new power houses OF
the Broadway and the Third-avc. cable roads, at
Broadway and Houston-st. and at the Bowery
and Bayardst. Brown d McAllister were sup
plying granite to the Broadway power house, and
John Peirce was supplying the granite to the
Third-ave power house. Work also stopped
on the new IIavemeycr house at SiXty-eeventh-st.
and Fifth-ave. the Gate house at Washington
Bridge, on new house in SiXty-nintf-st.. between
Madison and Fifth avcs., and scores Of smaller
buildings. No trades except those in the stone in
dustry stopped work yesterday. The other build
Ing trades will 90 out to-day. The committee from
the New-York branch of the Granite Cutters Ma
tional Union, which has charge of the strike is
composed of James Maume, f. Williams and p.
Devlin. 1t is the intention Of this committee to
concentrate its fighting energies John Percc,
who is president of the Paving Manufacturers
Association Of New England. The union defeated
Mr.. Pierce two years ago in the fight for work
day of nine hours lie owns the quarries at Vinal
Haven, Hallowell and Mount Waldo. Maine, and he
is the receiving agent for scores OF
Th> hnH Inn
strike committee say that when they went to the
yards of Booth Brothers. at Pleasantave and
One-hundred- a nd thirteenth-st, William Birss, the
general Superintendent of the yards showed docu-
ment purporting 10 be contract transferring
the wards TO him. The document was den ounced
as un;rustvorthy, and all the men there were
called out Besides the calling out of the stone
workers on scores Of small buildings in Brooklyn
Yesterday, work was stopped on the armories OF
the 18th and 23d Regiments.
At the headquarters of the National Paving
Cutters Union, No. 226 East Thirty-ninth-st.
there was unusual activity. +. F. Donovan OF
tile State Board Of Arbitration, went 10 the head
quarters of the union in the morning and VOL
unteered the services of the board. Mr.. Donovan
was anxious to have the whole matter submitted
10 the State Board Of Arbitration for settlement.
He was somewhat surprised when William McNalr,
OF District Assembly No. 40, Knights of Labor,
told him that the strikers would under no circnr-
stances have anything to do with the state Board
of Arbitration. The members Of the board were
determined however, TO do something, ana thcy
sent for John Peirce. Mr.. Peirce went before the
board in the Murray Hill Hotel and gave his
version OF the trouble. None OF the strikers ap-
peared before the board The conference lasteo
about half an hour Mr.. Peirce told the com
xl- IL. Ill. trial
their jurisdiction II any settlement was eff
fected it must be brought about by
a conference with the Granite Manufacturers
Association of New-Englan1 in Boston. 1t was
utterly hopeless, he said, to try TO do anything
in this city toward cfectlng a settlement. 1hc
commissioners decided from Mr.. Peirces remarks
that he was not seeking settlement and that
il there was to be any legal interference in the
strike the State Hoard Of Arbitration Of Massa-
chusctts was the only body that had tie power
TO do anything
Speaking OF the lockout, Mr. Donovan said :
so far as l have been able 10 learn Of the
causes leading up to the strike and lockout. the
employers have very little excuse for their action"
Thomas T. Gilroy. Commissioner Of Public
Works, came 10 his Office yesterday for the first
time in several days, and listened to many coul-
plants about the condition Of the streets where
the old paving has been torn up and the strike
Of PAYERS has prevented the completion OF work
jnst begun. Mr.. Gilroy said that work on the
new pavement had ceased entirely The story
about 200 German PAYERS taking the places OF
the strikers he characterized as a bluff" The
condition of West-st. and other streets was n
source of great annoyance 70 everyone who was
compelled to use them
Mr.. Gilroy received SO many complaints about
the condition of West-st. that he was compced
yesterday to order the contractors TO lay the old
paving blocks and make the streets as nearly pass
able as possible. Consequently at the lower end Of
the street the contractors began to lay the old
pavement, which they had torn up a few weeks
ago. The street is almost mpassable IN the
large storage warehouse Of Oscar Goerke at Nos
ID and Ia West-st., it was said that the firm s
husineas had ali NJ roll greatly on accou,. of -.