The record-union., 1895-01-15
Special to the RECoRp-UNIoN.

O'Clock this morning all the street cars in
Brooklyn were tied up, the employees re-
tusing to take out the cars. Over 5000
men quit work. This includes moter-
men, conductors, electricians, switchmen
and others employed at the various power
houses. All but one of the surface roads,
and that a comparatively minor concern,
are affected.
1t is claimed that the strike will extend
to the lines OF the Brooklyn Elevated
Railway Company. The contract be-
tween the Kings County Elevated Rail
way Company and its employees is such
that it is believed there can be no strike
on that line.
District Assembly No. rs, knights OF
Labor, which has control Of ali the troll
ley line employees in Brooklyn, has held
various meetings during the past few
weeks, and after the meeting on Satur-
! DAY their Executive Committee waited
! on President Lewis of the Brooklyn
! lights road and again asked that he
! grant their demands. They discussed
/ the question tOr three and half hours in
/ President Lewis office and finally Mr..
/ Lewis refused TO grant their demands.
Ine outcome OF this was that the commit
-
! O'Clock this morning, at which it was de-
| cided to tie up all the roads in the city Of
( brooklyn, with the exception OF the
, Smith and Jay-Street lines. This was
done this morning and not car outside
OF the Smith and Jay-street lines is run
| ming.
The companies expected the men would
go out this morning, and determined TO
anticipate them. They asked the cleo
trIcIaus, about | 600 III number, if they
hWOuld take out the cars this morning.
Every one OF them refused to do so.
They were then told that there was no
work for them. One foreman was asked
il he was willing 10 take out car. He
refused to do it. He was The only fore
. man asked to go out.
This morning the people had to use the
! elevated roads. The trains were made uD
with extra cars TO accommodate the rush,
and the public was greatly inconveu-
/ fenced. The COurL-Stre9t line Of the
/ brooklyn City Company ran out seven
cars, beginning at , O'Clock. The cars
| were manned, front and rear, by two DO
/ Iicem0n. Ihere was no trouble. There
| was one car running On the Fifteenth
! street branch.
The entire police force of !, 100 men is IN
readiness III case there should be any
! trouble.
The mems grievances and demands
/ are thus stated: The State law provides
that days work of street railway en-
ployes shall be ten hours, within twelve
| consecutive hours Ii is alleged the cor
| porauOns required the men 10 WORK
/ eleven hours, and even twelve hours
/ with 40 Interval longer than ten minutes
/ iOr luncn, anu even dePriving them OF
! that brle. time in most instances. The
! wage rate agreed upon one year ago was
( - IOr statutory days work. IAe com
/ panies, IL is alleged, have made no allow
T-gaNsfR I.., .
herenca to the law, or 81 % for day OF
/ Twelve hours.
an address issued by the Executive
/ Committee OF District Assembly No. 70
/ alleges That the trouble was preciDitaled
I by the Brooklyn Nights Company IN
/ excluding electric workers from work
/ The statement says the Iiagrant violation
OF the ten-hour law has mentally and
! physically incapacitated the men for their
! work. All the companies run trippers, so
! the men can make only from 40 to 80 cents
/ Z day. " nile the corporations are not al
| lowed by law 10 run at high rate Of speed
/ over ten miles an hour, the schedules
are arranged SO the cars have to run at
! q speed OF fifteen to twenty miles an
! hour. In consequence, nearly one hun
/ dred fatal accidents have occurred since
/ the trolley WAS introduced, and the
/ countless injuries to passengers are all
caused by the greed Of the corporation.
| ciQed upon the action, and an hour later
all the master wOr5men. seventy-fiye in
! all, lett the hall with instructions to
! noIiy the motormen and conductors to
! tie up. The master workmen visited
/ each carhOuse, and as the men came in
! they were told that a tie-up had been
! ordered. The men left their cars and
walked out without word to tho fore
| man or superintendent. 1t was q COM
plete desertion Of the cars on the part of
| the men, and the companies were lett
! without men TO handle single car or put
one in condition to be taken out.
! 1t IS the work Of the electricians to put
! the cars IN order, connect the trolley
wires, tlX motors and see that everything
on the car IS in good running order.
| Every car was left IN the condition it
came in, and not one was fixed" up.
There are, all told, thirty-tive lines Of
cars and 4,ZUU men, exclusive of about
1000 electricians employed III the city. 1t
Is estimated that the Brooklyn City line
employs 1900 men, the Atlantic avenue
go men, the Brooklyn City and Newton
! 400, ana the Queens County and Sub
uroan 3i5, making total Of 4, 200 men.
The only cars that went out this morn
! ing were seven cars on the COurt-street
! line, which is part OF the BROOKLYN City
/ system. y large crowd OF men stood a
lew blocks from the stables, and as the
! cars came along they threw several bar
! rels OF ashes in front of them. The motor
! men got oil the cars. and, amid the shouts
! Of "Scabs." removed the ashes from the
! track. ON each car were four policemen.
! two in front and two in the rear, with
! drawn clubs.
Superintendent Cameron OF the Brook
! lyn lights Railway told Superintendent
! Morrison OF the same road that "a commit
! tee of 1000 loyal employees had told him
! they were willing to go TO work If thew
| were provided with proper protection.
President Slocum ofthe Jay and Smith
! street line, when seen, denied the report
that he had conceded anything to the
men. If the men should order a tie-uD
he was prepared, as be had large force
/ OF men on hand to work, if the police
protection was adequate.
The tle-up is materially affecting the
! United States mail service. only one of
the trolley lines delivering the mail this
! morning. POSTMASTER Sullivan said he
would have to go back TO the old system
OF collecting by the aid of mail wagons
lie had called upon every substitute con-
nected with the Office to do duty, ALL
O'Clock United States mail car IO2 on the
4 tlatbush-avenue line came down Fulton
street. y mail carrier was in front and
the passengers We're on the inside. IL
contained the Flatbush mail
Extra detachments of police were do
! tailed 10 patrol the thoroughfares through
which the various railroad lines run. AU
| the old stages that could be resurrected
In the city were pressed into sarv,oa on6