The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-07-16
PLUMBERS ARE
WAGING BLOODY WAR
One Faction Claims the Other
Faction
HAS FORMED COMBINATION
To Increase Price OF Work and Plumb
ing Material-They Refused to
Join, and Allege Combine is
Trying to Do Them
HAS FORMED COMBINATION

| There seems to be a serious ROW in the
family" among the master plumbers of the
city, which has been brewing for several
| months There are eight or nine plumbing
establishments in the city, and they are
about equally divided among the two fac
tions. On the kicking side are the firms of
r. Knauff & Co., ]. NJ. Wright, r. w.
Gayle and Ross Bros. On the side being
kicked against are the Alabama Gas FiXt-
ures and Plumbing company, the Birming
ham Steam Heating and Plumbing COM
pany, B. L. Barbour and S. w. LaRosse,
the first two of which are alleged to be run
eo-jointly.
The history of the difficulty as obtained
from the plaintiffs, so to speak, is told by
one of their number as follows:
THE whole story in a NUTSHELL" said C.
W.-SRoss," is that the other fellows have
formed a trust as we call it, and are try
| ing by every means in their power to- influ
ence the journeymen plumbers, the archi-
tects and the contractors against us.
| Wanted to Form Com bination
Zone of their number has been to us sew
| eral times and endeavored to get us to go
| into an agreement to form a combination
| that would make a great increase in the
| price of plumbing, and OF all plumbing ma
| terial. We were to go to headquarters
| every morning and get our quotations, and
| every piece of work we want to do, must
| nave our bid fixed by the head man of the
| combine. Their scheme was nothing less
! than downright robbery of the public and
| we refused TO enter into it. They also
| wanted US to get all our materials from
| one supply house, they are interested in.
| 'E'ailinp in This oil,
| TO Kill us through the Journeyman Plumb
| ers association. Now, all of our firms are
| members of the National Master Plumbers
| association, and hold our certificates as
| such. They have falsely claimed that they
| are the real organization, and call of US
| VINO refused to join their combine, 'scabs.'
| THE journeyman plumbers who have
! been getting ~ day, on May l made a de-
| mand of the master plumbers that their
| wages be increased 80 cents per day, and to
| TINS all OF our people readily agreed. We
| have always been willing and still are
| willing to pay them the wages they de-
| mand and to work their union hours But
| the other crowd has in some manner
| worked on the journeymen association, and
| persuaded them that we are not members
| OF the real organization, and are endeavor-
| ing to get them to refuse to work with US
| until we join the combine.
| ''Of course such practices as this hurt rs
very seriously as l can show you by a lit
| tie incident which happened today. One
| OF our members put in bid on a piece of
| work for $615. One of our opposing firms
in the combine bid over $500 on the same
| work. The architect told our man that his
| bid was clearly the fairest one and the best
| but said that he was afarid to give him
| the contract as the organized journeymen
| would not work with him, and the carpen-
! tiers, blicklayers and other organized la
borers on the building would quit work if
| any other than organized plumbers were
| put on the work. Accordingly the contract
| went to the other fellow, l understand,
| though at an increased price of several
| hundred dollars.
| "One of the grandest impositions they
have worked was to make certain con-
| tractor let them tear out piece of work
one of our men had only half completed
| before the combine would touch it.
| I'VE are making this kick in justice to
| ourselves, and for the purpose of citing
the public know how they are being robbed
| by the trust and why we are powerless,
| just at present, to prevent it. We have the
| organization of the National Master Plumb
ers behind us, we willing to comply
| with any demands which the journeymen
| plumbers formally demand, as have al
| ways been, but we are not willing to go
| intoe any such deal of public robbery with
| the firms / have mentioned. We have
| every hope of having the whole trouble
| cleared, however, as soon as all the facts
become known, which will be within the
| next few days.
Efforts were made last night to see men,
bers OF the firms against whom the kick
is being made in order to get their side of
the affair. but they could not be found at
that late hour.