The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-10
CITY WITHOUT NEWSPAPERS
CHICAGO FOUR DAYS WITHOUT
CURRENT NEWS

Details OF the Row Between Pub
fishers and the Stereotypers--
Milwaukee Makes Few Odd Dol
lars Dat of the Situation-TypO-
graphical Union Goes Back on the
StereOtypers.
Correspondence The st. Paul Globe.
CHICAGO, July S.-After being with
out q daily newspaper for four days
this great city is once more able to read
the war news at the breakfast table
and on the car to and from work. Think
Of city of 100000 people without a
daily newspaper! Such has been the
case eff Chicago. About 200 members OF
the stereotypers union are responsible
for this unprecedented state of affairs,
and II is due to them that the big
dailies are now getting out half sheets
containing some war news and a long
and detailed account of the existing
differences between the publishers and
the stereOtypers, which caused the lat
ter to strike last Friday night.
Although the stereotypers are few in
numbers they form an important piece
Of that big machine-the daily newspa-
FER and their services are indispens-
dble in the printing of the papers on
the modern presses used by all papers
or large circulation. The wages of the
stereotypers have been 1875 per day of
eight hours. and so cents an hour for
overtime. While the battle of Santiago
was in progress and the anxiety for
news by the people was at fever heat,
the 200 odd Stereotypers employed on
tie eight daily papers Ct the city struck
because their demand for higher wages
was refused. They asked for 81 a day
OF seven hours and rs cents an hour for
overtime. The strike came at critical
time, and the publishers did just what
the StereotyperS least expected. They
Joined hands and signed an agreement,
pledging themselves to stand by each
other and not to issue one of the pa
pers until all of them could appear
simultaneously. 1t was not the addi-
tional expense involved that actuated
the firm stand taken by the publishers
but it was the knowledge that if they
yielded to the demand all of the other
unions engaged in the printing trades
would demand an increase in
THE SCALE OF WAGES.
Ard the expense of the general rails
ing Of salaries would be too heavy a
burden. The increased circulation of
the big Chicago dailies, resulting from
the present war, has confronted their
publishers with a serious problem
how to prevent. this increased circuIa-
ton from proving an actual loss, in
stead of a profit. The Chicago dailies,
with one exception, are retailed by the
newsboys for l cent. The publishers
are paid half cent apiece for them.
Some of the large morning sheets con-
tain, except on Sundays, from fourteen
10 sixteen pages, and it can be easily
seen that the half a cent does not pay
for the cost Of the white paper and the
press work. Thus, the advertising
must practically support the publica-
ton. The pay roll of a big daily is a
most formidable item. The expenses
CT the different departments, telegraph,
city, business, editorial, distribution
and general offices, are terrific.
The public is not in sympathy with
the striking stereotypers. The selfish
ness displayed by these men in striking
at such critical moment has made
them the objects of almost unanimous
uhcomplimentary criticism, not only
from the public in general, but from
their very brothers, the members of
the Typographical union. This body
OF not more than 200 stereotypers has
thrown out of employment over 10000
people, including the printers and
pressmen, and the men, women and
boys who sell the papers
The first effect of the strike was
dumfounding. Saturday morning came
without the usual noisy cries of the
newsboys The city seemed to be un-
usually quiet. When the report was
circulated from mouth TO mouth, from
house to house, that no papers were
out, the Chicagoans would not at first
believe the news. 1t seemed
IMPROBABLE, ABSURD
that this great metropolis of nearly
two million souls should be without a
daily paper. Had the angel Gabriel ap-
peared floating over the city On a cloud.
the people would not have been more
surprised. The non-publication abso-
lutely effected the people as if they had
received a hard blow in the solar
pleXUs. But when evening came and
with it no evening papers, the anger
of the people began to rise, and the
,tereotypers' union was roundly scored
by all hands. Late in the afternoon a
sheet called the War Extra" gotten
2 out by some enterpriSing job printer,
Is appeared on the streets and was COB
bled up by the public, who gladly paid
i've cents copy for the sheet, which
had a page Of war news and three
pages Of worthless plate matter. The
Chicago publishers had telegraphed all
OF the out-of-town papers not to send
any of their papers to Chicago. The
almighty dollar" proved stronger than
the spirit of journalistic fraternalism,
iAONCNSl, OH OQIudy InUTnlnS the
neWsboyS were reaping rich harvests in
the sales of Milwaukee papers. The
Germans were to be congratulated, for
their daily organ, the Staatszeitung
was not affected by the strike and APP
peared regularly. Soon the ST Louis
Cincinnati, Detroit and Indianapolis pa
pers began shipping big consignments
to the Windy City, and anyone being
the happy possessor of five cent piece
could supply himself with news from
the front The New York Sunday pa
pers sold for twenty-five cents each
The demand for anything in the shape
OF war news was enormous and the
Chicago publishers were disagreeably
surprised at the readiness with which
their field was occupied by the papers
from, neighboring cities Each of the
morning papers came out with four
page sheet Wednesday, printed direct
from the job presses.
The stereOtypers thought that by
Etri<ing at such a time, when the peo-
pie are clamoring for news from the
battle field, that they had their en-
ployers ION the hip" and that re-
fusal to their demands would not be
attempted. They have learned, to their
sorrow, that what promised to be an
Easy victory for them has developed
INTO Waterloo. 1t is but repetition
Of the old story of the pitcher going
too many times to the we'll