Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-12-17
is NOT A LOCKOUT
So Say the Boss TaiIors Of the
Gotham Difficulty.
NEE WHO SUIT CAN GO TO WORK.

Clear Reputation Of Contract, However,
as shown by the New Rq5es-The Bond
Question Quite Large One-Statements
from Both Sides Of the strusgle-Ex-
Gov. Pattison Fails to Avert Big Street
Railway Strike in PhiladeIphis.
NEW YORK, Dec. I7.-About Is, 900 tailors
n this city, Brooklyn and jersey City
IRE locked out. There are l95 shops in
the Employers association, and Of this
number eighty-three have posted the new
card and the rest are expected to follow.
Within few days 10000 workmen may
be involved. for that is the number con-
trolled by the brotherhood in the three
cities named. The varying stories of the
two opposing factions relate both to the
cause and meaning of the stand made by
contractors. Benjamin Schweitzer, who
Is at present in charge Of the strikers;
Harry jackson, a member of the excel
tive committee of tho brotherhood, and
number Of others united in insisting that
the move Of the contractors meant an at
tempt to return to the old task system.
Means Return to the Task System.
This, they claim, means that the con-
tractor becomes virtually the judge as to
what constitutes q days work. He gives
an employe, for example, ten garments to
do per day, and he has to do them in Or
der to get credit for days work, regard
less of the time it may take him. The
contract which the employers signed last
summer provided that the hands should
work ten hours day; that they should
have their own chairman-who really act
ed chiefly rs a timekeeper-in each shop,
and that a delegate of the union should
have the privilege of examining into the
condition of each shop once a month, no
being allowed fifteen minutes for the
work.
Those Bonds Run to q Big Figure.
For the faithful compliance with these
conditions the contractors gave bonds in
the sum of 500 for each machine. A shop
has anywhere from one to twenty five
machines, and if the union RECEIVERS on all
the bonds it will have many thousand
dollars on hand to fight the men who had
to pay the money. The sudden action of
the bosses Is said by the employees to be
entirely unwarranted, and a great sur
prise to them. They have kept to tho
agreement strictly, they say, and only de-
sire now to be given an opportunity to
continue to do so. Now that it is forced
upon them, though, they say they will
fight it out to the end.
Pretexts Never Hard to Find.
The contractors admit the signing of the
agreement, but say it was one-sided
agreement and that they will have none
of it. Others try to make the point that
the men themselves have first broken tho
agreement, because it provides that in case
of rush times the union shall see that each
shop gets all the extra men required.
This, they assert, the brotherhood has not
done. Benjamin Wilkosky, the secretary
Of the employers organization, insists
that the agreement has nothing to do
with the case. at simply MEANS" he
said, that we are going to run our own
shops. Under the present system we can
not discharge an incompetent man with
out having the union down on u.s. and we
have resolved to put an end to that sort of
thing"
Denies That There Is q Lockout.
WilkOwsky denied that there was any
intention to return to the task system or
that there was any lockout even 1--WE
simply put our rules up in our shops.
Those wanting to work under them may"
The new rules are printed on large cards,
with both English and Hebrew versions on
each. Some of the conditions they pro-
pose are these, literally: "This shop is
open for such employees that will suit our
work. No shop chairman or walking del
egate admitted here. Working hours are
from to IL a m. and from to d. M.
daily. The proprietor is the only boss of
! this shop and the management of it is
under his control"