The San Francisco call., 1896-06-11
HACKMEN GAIN
PARTIAL VICTORY
They Want, However, All
They Demand or
Nothing.
THE STRIKE rs STILL ON
They Believe That Things Will
Be Settled Before This
Afternoon.
HAVE A STRONG COMBINATION
Three Undertaking Firms and the En-
tire Riding Public Ride With
Them.

The hackmen's strike is still on. The
Pacific Carriage Company has already
made certain concessions, but not enough
to satisfy the men, who have insisted on
their old schedule of wages. Since Monday
evening a 5 O'Clock when o. S. Carvill an
nounced that the wages of the men had
been reduced from 81 so to 81 % per day,
the strike has been in full swing. but it
has been courteous swing withal-a
strike that is remarkable for the passive
resolution On the part of the men and
determination not to give in until they
accomplished what they believed they
deserved.
Tuesday night H. F. Suhr, representing
the three undertaking esta blishments, in
terviewed the proprietors of the Pacific
Carriage Company The exact words that
were passed in that interview are not
known, but within few minutes after Mr..
Suhr left the company's Office the men
were informed by Mr.. Carvill that the
original rate of wages would be paid.
That is 81 so per day. When this was an
nounced the boys sent up three cheers for
the undertakers and the riding public in
general. They believed at this time that
they had scored a complete victory.
Yesterday the fact leaked out that while
the Pacific Carriage Company manage
ment had agreed to maintain the old wage
rate they did so with the intention of not
employing the three men who had taken
an active lead in the strike. These men
are William Shrewsbury, Charles E.
Edsberg and George Fl. Allen.
In the meantime several of the men,
believing the strike off, had gone back to
during the day and last night. When the
news, however, reached the ears of the
men regarding the condition of debarring
the three leaders, the strike was imme-
diately declared on again and all that had
originally struck determined to stand with
the three men and not go back until they
were reinstalled in their former positions.
Yesterday afternoon the three undertak-
ing frms-H. +. Suhr & Co., II. G. Porter
Il Co. and McGinn Bros.-were interviewed
| by the strikers, and all signifed their in
| tention of remaining solid with them.
This is the present situation: The Pa
cihc Carriage Company on one side, the
| twenty strikers on the other backed by d
strong petition signed by forty-one names
of prominent citizens heretofore patrons
of the company, and backed also by the
undertaking esta blishments. The bone of
contention is no longer the reduction of
wages, but the debarment of three men.
The petition reads as follows:
To the Pacific Carriage Company: We, the
!
! Umpany, do hereby agree TO refrain from
patronizng said company's coupes and car
| riages also from rlnging-in the San Francisco
District Telegraph Company's boxes for the
said company's coupes and carriages, provided
! the contemplated reduction in wages takes
| place. Knowing it is impossible to secure re-
liable drivers for less wages. having had deal
ings with said company for number OF years
and always received courteous and satisfactory
treatment from said company's drivers we pre-
sent this petition TO show our appreciation for
| said services. HOninR this DetitiOn ha
deemed satisfactory, we remain, yours respect
fully.
Hereto are appended forty-one names.
Mr.. CarvilI said yesterday: lowing to
the dullness of the times we were forced
to either cut down the wages of the men
or to discharge a few and send out
smaller numb Der OF carriages. Rather than
have some of the men idle we chose the
former plan of cutting down all the men
25 cents per day. The earnings of each
hack now are not sufficient to keep the
hacks in repair and feed the horses. to say
nothing of paying the men. There 'are
four men whom we will not reinstate on
any condition whatever; we have had
enough of them. We wanted to favor the
up little gone back to the original sched-
ule of wages. This is no strike. We have
simply discharged few men,"
Charles Z. Eds berg, as spokesman for the
men, sald Had the firm come to the
men and offered them a square deal, say
ing that business was dull and that it
would be necessary for the men to take
one day off week, or to reduce the num-
Der of coupes, there would have been no
strike whatever, and the men would have
gone along with their business, but we
feel that we have been treated shabbily in
the matter, because two years ago there