The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-06-26
REID AND THE PRINTERS.

In 1877 WHITELAw REID made demand
on the printers in bis employ that they
should reduce the price of composition to
30 cents per thousand ems. The price paid
in other union Offices in New York at that
time was &c cents per thousand. In adj
dition to this he demanded that various
other concessions oe made, such as meas
urlng double price matter at single price,
having matter paid for on time that had
previously been paid for by the piece,
which made still greater reduction in the
earnings Of his employees.
The printers struck, claiming they were
forced to strike to maintain one iota Of
union principles-and from that time. with
the exception OF about two weeks WHITE
Law 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
printers.
A lock out occurred on the World in the
latter part Of 1875 and supply of men
were harbored in the Tribune Office for the
express purpose Of rafting that paper,
and this was accomplished on the night OF
the Goth Of December, with the assistance
Of men that could be spared from the com
posing room OF the Tribune.
The union gradually built up, and some
time in 1882 the union obtained footing in
REID's Office (of course unknown TO him),
and in that year a general strike was or
dered in the city, aud the union carried
everything before it, every daily news
paper in the city being unionized.
WHTTELAw REID signed a contract with
the officers and executive committee of the
union, agreeing to their demands, both
sides stipulating that at least thirty days
notice should be given if any change in the
scale Of wages was to be made. In less
than two weeks time WHITELAw REID
violated his written obligation and locked
ont every union man in the composing
room.
Then the union began boycott on the
paper, which eliminated in demand be,
ing made on the Republican national com
mittee to repudiate Mr.. REID and bis
paper, 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 nude 10 uniouize the
composing room Of Mr.. RE1D's paper. The
union, however, would not accept Mr.,
RrID's terms. and the war was continued
BY this time the boycott was having q
telling effect on the paper. ana MIR. REIr
thought il was necessary to do something
to counteract its effect. So he announced
that thereafter he would pay so cents pei
thousand. This was only nominally paying
above the scale, fer the way in which The
once ''culled fat'' and measured the mat
ter set brought down the price paid in his
composing room to less than that paid by
any paper 10 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
"blufn at paying as much as other en-.
ployers. And yet the Republican organs
say the quarrel was not on account OF
wages, . when for fourteen years WHIrE-
LAW RIED has persistently refused to give
his printers as much for their labor as mis-
next door neighbor, the Sun.