Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-08
LABORERS ON A STRIKE
Employees on Street Work Resent Reduction
in Wages.
Proposition to Pay &1.22 Per Day of
Nine Hours Rejected - De-
mand for S1.SO.

The laborers employed in lowering the
water pipes along the line of the old Belt
street railway on E street, where the under
ground electric system is to be installed, re-
fused to go to work this morning. This
action was due to the announcement made
last evening by the boss that hereafter, ow-
ing to the heat, the working day would con-
sist Of nine hours instead of ten, but that
the same rate of wages would be paid, i512
cents per hour This meant to the men re-
duction in the daily wage from $l5o TO VIZ
All the n en- were colored, and there seemed
to be no organization. The only thing thal
held them together was the resolution Eot
to work for that pay. Some OF the iaoorers
who were not so certain on this point loon
their tools, and several got into the trel.ch
at points. In some cases their more ue-
termined comrades wrested the Tools rom
their hands, and by verbal Inducements or
various sorts persuaded most of those VINO
had begun work to stop. The man in
charge of the work was indignant at What
he termed this interference, ana toio me
men they had his terms, and they coulu
either accept them or not, but that they
should not interfere with those who wanted
to work. A detail of policemen was on the
scene and the foreman wanted Lieutenant
Amiss to drive those who would not work
from the vicinity, but this the lieutenant
refused to do.
Old Terms Rejected.
About o o'clock Mr. Saxton, who has the
contract for the street work from the rail-
road company, arrived, and, after short
conference with the boss, drove away Al
ter he had gone the latter, whose name was
Jones, announced to the group of waiting
men that Mr. Saxton had said they might
resume work on the old terms, Sl3o Tor d
day of ten hours The men refused to ac-
cept this offer, stating that they wanted
81 90 for day of tep hours.
From the statements of the men 1t is I'M
derstood that while they were employed by
the same contractor on similar work OF the
City and Suburban street railroad they re
ceived s1.50 for a day OF ten hours, or 10
cents per hour but when they began on the
Belt road their wages We're fixed at Sl.3o
per day of ten hours, or 49, cents per hour.
The demand for the old rate was not &C
ceded to, and the few men in the trenches,
their iabors. while the rest, numbering over
100, marched off to deposit their tools, in
tending later to go to the office OF the con-
tractor and get the pay due them.
Mr. Jones' Statement.
Mr. Jones, who is in charge of the work
on this section of the road, when told OF
the statements by some of the men that
they were paid $50 per day when they
were employed on the City and Suburban
road, said such a statement was miSlead-
ing. Mr.. Saxton has never paid more
than Sl.35 per day for work of this sort.
which is classed unskilled. He paid
$3.50 per day to the men who dug out the
trenches for the iron yokes, the exact
ness with which this was done regulated
the amount of concrete that was used. He
also paid $50 per day to those employed in
mixing the concrete, and as high as s. per
day to men on the iron work. But in both
instances the men were engaged in 4 spe-
cies Of skilled work
Mr.. Jones also said that all last winter
Mr.. Saxton paid 1.25 per day, and volun-
tarily increased the pay to S1.35 per day.
Mr.. Jones was indignant because, he said,
when appealed to by him to make the
strikers go away after they were discov-
cred in trying to influence the workmen in
the trenches to quit work, Lieutenant
Amiss not only refused to do so. but re-
marked in the hearing of the crowd of
men, that they We're acting better than he
was.