The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-07-18
PARSONS TALKS.
Says Strikers Position Is
Hourly Becoming
Stronger.

NEW YORK, July IS, 1S99.-General
Workman Parsons said today:-"I consid-
er the position OF the strikers is becom-
ing stronger every hour. President
Rossiter's statement that there is nc
strike in Brooklyn is hardly sustained
by the evidence visible to everybody. Mr.
Rossiter's cheap plan to deceive the
public by keeping the cars in motion back
and forth through the congested sections
of the city especially ON Fulton street
and the Bridge in the hope that the
newspapers would be deceived and declare
the strike failure has bn sn through
sine arly Sunday morning.
ION an ordinary Sunday before the
strike the total number Of cars crossing
the Brooklyn Bridge was 5,5o9 Last sun
day only 900 crossed the bridge. The ordi-
nary number of cars crossing on week
day is $500; yesterday only 100 cars
crossed"
With reference to the mass meeting al
Cooper Union tonight Mr.. Parsons said
Il will preside at the mass meeting at
Cooper Union tonight and the list Of
vice-presidents win include the names OF
the presidents Of all the labor organiza-
tions in Greater New York irrespective
of their affiliations with national obdies-
believe that this meeting will be a mem-
orable one. as it will indicate the inten-
tion of organized labor to assist their as
sociates in securing the enforcement of
the ten hour law Even President Nree-
land, as reported by the State Board OF
Arbitration, has not ventured to say that
the ten hour law is being observed by
his company and has answered questions
relative to the matter by producing a
petition certifying that his men were
satisfied with the conditions.
1.-THE mems complaints were:--Failure
to observe the ten hour law; the system OF
curtaiIing trips and deducting the men $
nav therefor: refusal 10 receive a commit-
tee of the men authorized to represent
their grievances, and failure % pay trip
pers by The hour To this viii be added
after the meeting tonight demand for
a concession Of the right TO organize.
ssThe comTnittee that waited on Presi-
dent Vreeiand represented 400 motormen
rlotorrnan out Of l. 100 and the total num-
Der or members of the organization is
about fifty per cent. OF the employees OF
the road"
Master Workman Pines. in a statement
made at headquarters today, said that
the strikers were numerically stronger to-
day than ar any time since the begin-
ming of the trouble. He continued -
running fewer cars today than at any
time since Sunday morning. The COM
pany is making no effort to carry peo-
pie through outlying sections. Our men
are In good spirits today and they in
tend holding OUT indefinitely if their just
demands are not complied with
DO you notice how he harps on the
loyalty of my men? Instead of trying
to avert trouble his actions are such as
to keep men from going back even If they
would. Not one man who went our
originally has returned TO the company.
We are 1000 stronger today than we were
on Sunday last. Our biggest gains have
been made on the Bay Ridge and Ridge
wood divisions.
The company is not running one-sixth h
of the cars on its regular schedule and
there Is no interference from any quarter.
Many of the men now with us are men
who declined to go out in 1895. They are
as good as any men we have. The Il
guards and conductors are in sympathy
with u.s.
Mr.. Pines remarked that a joint COM
mittee representing the IL" interests
would call on President Rossiter some
time today.
The men are not weakening an iota. y
he continued, "and I repeat it will hold
out indefinitely.