Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-30
STRIKE FIGURES.
Immense Cost Of Strikes-More Thnn
Three-Fourthx of Them Fail.

immense Cost Of Strikes-More Than
Three-FourthS of Them Fail.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
The strike of the employees of the I.ehish
Valley Railroad Company is an appropri-
ate occasion to direct the public attention
10 the official record of strikes in 1892.
those mat succeeded. those that failed the
various purposes for which they were ini-
tiated, and to recall the most suggestive of
all the statistics on the subiect-the losses.
The figures are sufficiently impressive with
out comment
The reports Of the bureau Of Industrial
statistics constituting part three of the an
nual report OF the secretary of internal af-
fairs OF Pennsylvania exhibit the details
relating to strikes and lockouts which &C.
Cured In the state during last year. From
this Official compilation it appears that
there were twenty-six strikes in Pennsyl-
vania OF these, three were successful.
Iour succeeded in part and nineteen totally
failed to accomplish their objects. The
number Of persons directly engaged in
these 70 strikes was 1855; but the number
involved was 7,414. The causes of the Penn
savanna strikes were eleven in number
The most prolific were the refusal of en-
ployers to recognize the Amalgamated Iron
and Steel Association, and their refusal 10
agree to the terms of employees. Each of
THESE produced five strikes. Other strikes
We're Tor increase of wages" against
rutes Q, companies. against reduction of
wages, against non-union men," for
shorter hours Of labor" against the intro
duction of machinery" These, with dis
agreements as to scale of wages the i'm
proper loading of cars by miners and the
improper repairing of tools, embrace All
the causes for which employees have resort
ed to strikes.
me total losses entailed upon the public
by the voluntary suspension of labor bv
employees during 1883 cannot be estimated
Inc loss to employees. shown by the nav
rolls. was S16,2+6. The employers losses
cannot be fixed. They were reported in
only seven instances. In these they reach
ed $oo92o. The heaviest reported loss to
| employers was in the Pittsburg street rail-
way strike. continuing from January IS
| 1892. to March o, 1892 ffty-four DAYS. in
which the companies lost SAB 600 and the
striking employees $4,000. In the other
instances where the employers losses are
estimated the striking employees were by
Tar the greater losers.
In the strike at the Pittsburg iron works
august 80. 1892, to September 49, 1892
twelve days, the employees sacrificed $40 600
while their employing company lost s.. 600
During the strike Of the rolling mill hands
at Allentown, lasting forty-five days, from
July ! to August Is, 1892, the men sacri-
need 5000, against loss Of s. 900 sustain
ed by the company.
Only portion Of the losses resulting
from the great Homestead strike are in
cluded in the tabulated statement 1t last
ed nearly nine months. and. as the monthly
pay roll there was about $3.50, 900, the loss
to the strikers for the entire period Of the
troubles was about 81 $4,000. The secre-
tary of internal affairs SAYS that no esti-
mate of the loss sustained by the company
could be obtained. The expense to Phila-
delphia in maintaining the National Guard
at Homestead was $40, 256.31. Here is
total combined loss and expenditure of
81, $50. 25631, with an underlined loss from
the suspension Of business, and, perhaps
the permanent transfer of some of it to
| other places, to be added to the above sum.
In the face Of these exhibits, with the
complete failure to accomplish the desired
end in nineteen of the twenty-six strikes,
and with only partial success in three in
stances. 1t may be safely asserted that as
means Of redressing grievances and set
ting differences arising between employers
and their employees. strikes do not pay in
Pennsylvania. On the contrary, they have
brought untold losses to the public, great
privations to employees and their families
and serious Interruption to business.