The evening world., 1894-02-09
The POOR.
Families Of Bohemian Cigar-M Ma.
kers Turned Into the Street.
They Are Tenement. House Workers
and Have Been Striking.
Hundreds OF Persons Will Be Made
Homeless In q Few Days.

A bitter struggle is in progress be-
their employees. who live in the tene-
ment-house factories in the blocks
bounded by First avenue and Avenue A
Seventeen and Seventy-third streets.
Just at present the poor tenement-house
wage-earners seem to have the worst OF
the fight. for nearly Il score OF families
have been evicted and dispossess war
rants have been issued for n dozen or
fifteen more families who will be driven
into the street on Monday next.
Schwarzkopf & Co., OF 1885, 1887 and
1889 Avenue A; Pepper & Weigner. OF
COZ East Seventy-third street. and Ben
dy & Lederer. OF First avenue and
SEVENTEEN street, are the principal firms
at war with their employees.
| Schwarzkopf & Co. and Popfer &
Wcigner employ chiefly tenement-house
labor. Schwarzkopf 81 Co. are landlords
OF the three nve-story tenements 1885,
1887 and 1889 Avenue A.. and nifty or
sixty families occupy the different apart
ments, all OF whom make cigars in their
homes. Between 10 A. NJ. and 3 p. NJ.
yesterday fourteen families were evicted
their household effects tumbled on the
sidewalk In haste and confusion. The
families averaged four persons, and
those fifty-fve or sixty persons shivercd
in the street beside their few pieces OF
furniture until late In the day.
These. families were but a portion OF
the strikers in Schwarzkcpf & Co.'S EN-
ploy. and they were picked out by the
landlord-employer in the hope OF dis
%heartcning the others and breaking the
backbone of the strike.
The nlnn failed TODAY the strikers
are As determined as ever. and they
calmly await eviCtion.
The tenement laborers say their cnuse
Is n just one. For nearly "A year what
ever work has been given to them has
been infrequent and for brief periods.
As one Of them said to an Evening
These men who use tenement labor
all lease or own the houses, and they get
US to rent their apartments, dirty, dark
rooms, three TO eich family, for which
we are Obliged to pay from $40 70 81 u
month. They tell us: We viii keep you
busy all the time, you'l nave plenty
Of work 10 DO and you Will earn good
wages Now, We haven't had the work,
hut the landlord gets his rent every
month Whatever We earn a month
making cigars the landlord, who Is our
boss as well. is given 10 us only after
the months rent Is taken out.
such rooms as We occupy We could
rent elsewhere OF In this n%ciGhbor-
hood, for 81 and 81 a month. When we
complain tldt W. maven I WbIh enough,
the boss says: i amt AFFORD to give YOU
work at the rates. II YOU viii work for
30 cents. co cents Of 81 "A thousand less.
why, | can find work for you Oof
course, We ave To accept, II we van "A
root above us, The boss doesn't say
he'll cut down tn" rent. Oh, no. lie
isn't cutting anything hut wages. THAT
iDcsn't. come out Of his pocket, you see.
So. when another reduction Of waE"
was forced ON us Jan. | we all struck.
and We haven't gunc back yet"
GEwarZkupf n co. say their stock Is
friShtfu.ly uyeTrun and business has
been 50 bad they couldn't help cutting
down wages They say they Will only
cut WAGES - cents "A thousand now but
their employees, who are mainly BU-
hrlnians, demand m increase ot ~ and
- cents over the U,d rates, This the
firm refuses TO grant,
Puppcy d WCignrr say they Will give
up the tCncmCnt-house manufacturing
business, They hay" had Summunses Is
sued on dispOsscss warrants for thirteen
families in their big double-dcCkcr at
6G2 Fast Srventy-third street, and on
Monday next out Will go those untortu-
nate Bohemians, Weigner says he has
continued to give work 10 his tenement
long after II vas profitable.
and now when he Is forced TO cut them
down they refuse to work
AT Bsady & Lederer's there Is n tene-