El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-01-06
Mr.. Brunner's Statement.

street merchant tailor, called on the
HERALD this morning to make state
ment regarding an article that APP
peared in the Round About column OF
Yesterdays HERALD, which dealt with
a certain tailor who has shops on both
sides of the river
OMr. Drummer said: 81 am the party
referred to in the article and l wish to
right a wrong statement. [ want to
say in regard to differences between
myself aud the Tailor's Union, there is
none that know of. A short time ago
l took contract to make the police
mems new uniforms. l bid against
parties who intended to send the suits
away and have them made and as it
low bid-one on which I did not ex-
pect to make any money. The
price was so low that l could not pay
uuiOn prices and come out even. | cut
the suits and carried them over the
river to have them stitched. While
the suits were being made some one
reported the facts to the custom Off
Gals and l was notified that l would
have to pay q duty on the suits when [
brought them back, but was informed
that if 1 ripped them up and brought
them back in the same condition | took
them over. with consular certificate
dOtdcneu UudI tue Cut Ou1 Sul1S COuiu'uO
entered free of duty. This 1 did.
About this time two tailors came along
aud applied for work. 1 agreed to pay
them 1915 cents suit if they would
stitch them. They agreed to this and
took the suits to their room
on San San Antonio street and
made them. 1 had nothing whatever to
do with their room. It was no sweat
shop of mine. l simply sub-let the
contract to stitch the suits and they
we're delivered to me as soon as fais h.
ed, and 1 want to say now that L do not
want anything to do with a sweat shop
aud will never run one. l have always
kept union men at work in my shop
and have them working there now, and
expect to let them work there as long
as they want to. 1 have lost good
deal of work by so doing, as there are
shops in this town that have always
been scab shops and with these 1 have
to compete, and that at disadvantage,
because they will fstitch suit for So,
while 1 have to pay the union price,
which is SIG.
"Now for the benefit of the public
regarding the police uniforms 1 will
say that l have lost money on the con-
tract, for besides the losses had in
having to rip the suits up and
bringing them back to this side,
the actual cost of the suits were as fol-
lows:
Cloth per suit. .Sl2 80
TrlDlnr Es w
Cost of stitching. ............... IS
Total 1924 %
The contract price was S25 per suit,
so that it can be seen that for cutting,
house rent, taxes, etc., l received 70
cents on each suit. About this, how
ever, am not complaining, as 1 sue
ceeded in having the work done in Ell
Paso and it did somebody good even if
made no profit.
= TN regard 10 mysshopsOver the river
will state that 1 was com PEELED to open
up over there in order to hold my Mex
lean trade. For years 1 have been
making all the uniforms for the Mex
lean Central railroad employees.
formerly made the suits on this side,
nut when Mexican money deprecated
it became impossible for the employees
TO pay me S3S for uniforms when the
money they were receiving was only
worth so cents on the dollar. For this
reason 1 op=ned shop in Juarez and
am still furnishing the railroad en-
ployees uniforms at the same price l
formerly furnished them. I am op-
posed to sweat shops aud am opposed to
sending suits away to be made and shall
do everything in my power to break
the practice up."
A theatrical manager, who tries to
eouara1 hal1nt nd n Or11S hriua6oS