The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-09-21
CRISIS COMES TODAY
In tile Freight Handlers Strike at
New York Boat Wharf.
COMPANY HOPE THE STRIKERS
WILL AGREE TO SCHEDULE.

Way to Settle the Strike, and that is to
Go Back to the 80 Cents an Hour Seized
ule-Both Sides of the Story and the
| Prospects.
The strike of the freight handlers at
the Maine Steamship Company.E is on
again. The 20 men who are employed
by this company in loading and.unload-
ing the big New York boats have quit
work because the company refuses to pay
them 80 cents an hour, which has always
been the regular price up. to-a fewidays
ago.
The matter was brought. tosthis point
| yesterday forenoon. When the notifica-
tion of cut down of five cents an hour
was first posted last Thursday the freight
handlers got together and decided that
| they earned 80 cents an hour and that
they would not work for anything less.
On Saturday the Maine Steamship com
pany had two steamers due to arrive here,
The officials at this end of the line knew
nothing of the proposed cut down in the
wages of the freight handlers until it
was announced to them from the New
York office and SO when they asked the
strikers to go to work on Saturday and
unload and load the two steamers at the
old ratei of 80 cents an hour, the freight
handlers gladly consented to do SO, pend
ing the arrival of letters from New York
which would definitely settle the matter.
The steamers were loaded and sailed
and then the men quit work to wait the
ultimatum from New York. 1t came
yesterday in the form of letter from
John Englis, one of the officials Of the
line. In this letter the position of the
company in the matter was carefully
explained. The New York officials went
on to show why it was necessary for the
company to cut the wages of the freight
handlers to compete with other lines in
the same business as that which the
Maine Steamship company is trying to
build up. The company explained that
with the rates at % cents an hour the
men could be guaranteed many more
hours of work for EVERY day in the year,
while under the old plan the men got 30
cents an hour for few hours work,
something like five nights out of the
week. 1t was very nice letter, even
the strikers admitted that, but they
couldn't see why they should work for
25 cents an hour, even if the freight hand
lers in New York did, and after short
meeting they SO informed the company.
That Is why the strike is on again and
| with steamer at the !, Maine Steamship
Company's dock, with dozens of freight
cars standing about waiting to be I'M
loaded and with many more waiting to
be loaded, with the sheds filed with
board the steamer or placed. in the freight
cars, there was not man working at
the wharf yesterday afternoon and the
place which Is usually so noisy that one
cannot hear ones self think, is now as
quiet as tomb. The officials of the
company are not worrying any, however.
They think that the majority of the men
are willing to return to work and will
do SO at the Is cent rates as soon as some
one Of them has courage to start. The
most of these freight handlers have been
employed by the company for many years,
and they will not like to go to work for
any other concern if they can help it..
The officials of the company here think
the reasons that have been offered for the
cut down are good ones and that under
the scheme which has been fully ex-
planned the men will in the end be better
90 :; .3o17 NTH OK oontc or hour for MANY
hours than they would with 80 cents an
hour rate and work at uncertain hours.
But the large majority of the strikers
are firm in their determination to get 30
cents an hour or nothing. Some of them
say they will never go to work at the %
cents schedule. They say they are only
asking for what is their due, and if the
company does not give it to them it will
suffer- The strikers believe that 1t will
be hard for the company to hire men to
do this freight handling at 25 cents an
hour and they think that they can easily
force the company to their terms. The
Cottage City has to be loaded before
night, and the strikers do not believe the
company will be able to secure enough
men of the right sort to do this and do it
properly. The John Englis is due to
arrive here this noon. She will bringss..a
big cargo of freight and this must be un-
loaded and another return cargo put in
before Wednesday night. Ordinarily this
would be an easy matter, but the strikers
say that few inexperienced men cannot
do it.and they think they have the com.
pany in hole.
Up to a late hour Monday afternoon
very few men had been hired to take the
places of the strikers, but it was ru-
mored that large crew of men would
be brought to Portland on the John
Englis today and that these men would
be able to load the steamer in time for
her to sail Wednesday night While the
strikers are very much excited over the
situation they are behaving very well
and will not attempt to interfere with
any new hands who may want to try
| their luck at freight handling. The
| strikers held anOthe, maetipy 1act pioht