The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-10-02
They MEET
Water Commission and City
Fathers Consult.
POSITION CLEARLY DEFINED
No Authority Of Law to Pay Back
Bills of COntractOrs-MayOr
Declares Workmen Will
Be Protected.

changed up to the present time. All day
yesterday the italian laborers were very
much in evidence and during the morn
ing they marshalled at a dozen different
street corners and crowded round their
spokesmen who made several appealing
addresses. The novelty of such a pro-
ceeding, however, has evidently died
away, and at no one of these open air
meetings was there more than a corpor
ais guard Of listeners. People generally
realized that Mr.. Burke's proposition,
| published at length in yesterdays Asto-
| rian, was fair and reasonable, and that
there was nothing to prevent the men
| from going on with the work and being
| supplied with food and wages at short
| intervals.
Eariy yesterday morning Mr.. Burke tel
egraphed to Portland for Mr.. James Stew
art, his foreman, and half dozen eX-
pert layers of asphalt, all Irishmen. They
will be here this morning, though in view
of some developments yesterday 1t is inn
possible to say whether they will be able
to get to work or not Punctually at l
o'clock, Mr. Burke, with a body guard of
three American laborers, went out to the
water works and ordered them to get
down into the reservoir and begin to
clean up, preparatory to work being
started. There were sixty or seventy
Italians present, who watched the pro-
ceedings very carefully AS soon as the
men started to obey Mr.. Burke the Ital-
ians surrounded them and their leader
stated that If anybody began to do a
stroke he would do it at the peril of his
life. There was no doubt that they were
in earnest, and that their threat was no
idle one. One of the men, anxious to go
to work, approached them and said:
II am laborer like you are, with
wife and big family here They are
starving. Mr.. Burke has offered $500 a
day, and want to go to work to buy my
family food"
The leader Of the Italians replied:
THAT doesn't matter to u.s. You go
down into that reservoir and you are
going to get killed"
Mr.. Burke at once appealed to two po-
lice deputies who were standing along
side taking in all the proceedings, for
protection, but they both absolutely re-
fused to do anything, stating that they
were there to protect property and pow
der, and nothing else was any Of their
business. Mr.. Burke on hearing this at
once came down to the city to consult his
attorneys and the city authorities. In
speaking Of the matter after returning
to the city, he said: 1--WE propose to have
police protection, and ample protection
too, or we will know the reason why.
1t is a shame and an outrage that. under
the present circumstances, the Italians
are allowed to stand around everywhere
and make such threats. Their back pay
has nothing to do with me. Those claims
are being adjudicated as quickly as pos
sible elsewhere. / have made them a
fair proposition, have offered to pay
. - Avva -
go security for their food from the word
go. They can come out on the works and
be making money and living decently un-
til their back claims are settled, and they
dhoose instead to come down into the
streets and beg for food"
Mr.. Burke was asked to appear at a |
meeting of the water commission last
night.
Still another complication has arisen in
the affair. Mr.. z. w. Shively gave Mr. |
Burke notice yesterday that he would |
allow no more water or rock to be taken
off his premises till the total bill for
back services was paid. Mr.. Shively es-
timater this claim at the modest sum OF
$500. Mr. Burke offered him 800 to go
towards future Withdrawals of rock, and |
offered to adjust all future purchases by |
allowing any responsible citizen to figure |
- have anything to do with back debts |
which he said were none Of his business. !
Mr. Shively would not listen to the prop |
osition, and here the matter rests for the |
present.
At the meeting of the water COM
mission in the evening, Mr.. John
Burk, one OF the bondsmen of
Benin and Hamshaw, before the meet
irg, detailed to the commissioners his ex-
perience in attempting to work at l
o'clock and the refusal OF the police to
afford protection, in which action he char
acterized the police force as cowardly and
a disgrace to the stars they wore.
The meeting was called to order by the
chairman. A delegation of the members
of the common council, Messrs. Welch,
Bergman and Shlene were present. Chair
man Welch for the delegation stated that
they were appointed at a special meeting
of the council Monday to act In harmony
with the water commission to see If some
means could not be found to pay the
laborers their back wages, not time
checks in third hands; that they did not
come under Instructions. They realized
that the water commission were the dis
bursers of the funds.
Clerk Van Dusen read the resolution of
the council passed Monday, that 1t was
the sense of the council that the labor
ers should be paid. The statements made
today to the council, Mr.. Welch says.
showed that there were about $1,000 due
to labor. including time checks.
Councilman WEIGH said that on the
18th street sewer the city had set pre-
cedent, they paid worlemen who had been
defrauded by the contractors.
Councilman Bergman thought that re-
gardless of law the men ought to be
paid.
Commissioner Wright asked the council
committee If they paid their bis whether
the citizens would stand by them. Coun-
Gilman Welch said the city council to
man would stand by the commissioners
and 1t was thought, the leading citizens
would do so.
Chairman Parker stated that II the
commission paid anything Il would be
like the man who IL held up-he pays
over what Is in his pocket under protest
Councilman Welch thought that II the