The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-05
NO TROUBLE TO LOAD COTTON.
LABOR PLENTIFUL AND EAGER 70
WORK.

Shipping Men Have no Fears on
This ScOre-Thc Meeting Friday
Night Not Representative of the
COIOred LoHgshOremen-COl. Har-
mon Has All the Men He Wants
and VIII Begin Loading Vessels
This Week-The Meeting Evident
ly the Work of WOuId-Be Labor
Leaders.
The announcement that there would be
trouble in slowing cotton at the port this
fall unless the ship brokers yielded to a
demand OF the eolored longshoremen's as
ISOLATION for a new scale of wages APP
pears to be a rather hazy mist, instead
of big storm cloud. The resolution
adopted by the meeting reported yester-
day morning does not worry Col. r. F.
Harmon, who conducts the stevedoring
business, or the brokers' behind him, in
the slightest
In fact, reporter who circulated among
the shippers yesterday found that they
were inclined to ridicule the idea of
trouble from this source The shipping
men are very well acquainted with the
know well that there is practically
an unlimited supply of the class of labor,
which met at the hall in Yamacraw Fri
day night and adopted the resolution re-
ferred to. The situation is an entirely diff
ferent one from that three years ago,
when the ship brokers grappled with the
two strongly organized white and colored
longshoremen's unions, to the grief of the
latter. The Longshoremen's Protective
Union Association, by which name the
body which met Friday night is known, is
a recent organization, and is said, on good
authority to be composed not simply of
cotton showers, but it includes laborers of
every class, being open in fact to any one
who wishes to join. AS an evidence of the
loosely bound character of the organiza-
ton, members of the body voluntarily stat
ed to Col. Harmon and the ship brokers
yesterday that they were ready to go to
work whenever they were wanted.
A well known ship broker, in speaking
of the matter yesterday, said:
Upon investigation of the facts we find
that the meeting referred to was con-
fined to a lot of indictments. The ma
jority of the best headers and cotton
showers are perfectly satisfied with the
present arrangement. The dissatisfaction
expressed at the meeting arises from the
fact that there are some gangs that are
far better than others. When ships are
to be loaded the good gangs, of course
get the preference. All get the same pay,
but as the poor gangs are not so contin-
uously employed they therefore make less
money during the season. There are a
large number of gangs all ready to go to
work. Those who are well informed of
the conditions of the colored labor of the
city have not the slightest fear that any
trouble will arise
Col. Harmon, when seen by a Morning
News reporter, expressed himself as not
having the slightest apprehension of any
trouble in securing all the skilled labor he
might need. 81 could begin loading to-
morrow if necessary" said he. IT am load
ing q vessel with pig iron now and the
same men who will get % or so cents an
hour for loading cotton are doing the work
at Is cents an hour, and are glad of the
chance. / expect to begin loading cotton
in few days now, and will begin work
with twenty-five gangs. L shall probably
have two vessels to begin on next (thfs)
week"
There" said Col. Harmon, pointing to
party of negro men sitting on the rail-
ing near the cotton exchange, "are half
a dozen headers who have come to me
and stated that they are ready to begin
work as soon as wanted. My best men are
not members of this union association and
those that are will not stick to 1t when
they see the work going away from them.
The men are anxious to work and l ex-
pect to have ten applicants for every place
1 have to fill"
Even some of those who took part in the
meeting, when seen yesterday, seemed in
clined to retire from the extreme position
taken by the meeting and said that they
did not intend to do anything rash.
In discussing the matter with
the business men interested 1t was
pointed out that the leaders in the meet
ing Friday night were not longshoremen
at ALL but simply agitators who were evil
IDENTIFY endeavoring to work the laborers
for their own advantage.
Joe Williams who made the principal
speech at the meeting, is not longshore-
man and has not worked at cotton stow
ing in number of years, if ever. Tom
Golden, who introduced the resolution
that the longshoremen refuse to work at
the present wages, is a saloon keeper. His
place is near the hall of the association,
and is said TO be headquarters for the
men.