The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-09-03
But FEW STRIKES.
Worcester Has Suf-
fered Little in
That Respect.
STATISTICS PROVE IT.
Report of Carroll D. Wright,
Commissioner of
Labor.
STATISTICS PROVE IT.

Inc wall IN many sections of WorceS-
ter against the oppression of labor or
CARNATIONS is not substantiated by sta
tistics prepared by Carroll D. Wright,
commissioner of labor.
In the number and serious effect up
on business, Worcester strikes are
scarcely mentioned in the exhaustive
report prepared by Labor Commission
Wright, covering a period of seven
years. The moulders' strike more than
score of years ago brought out 500
men, and the citys leading industry,
the manufacture of machinery and ma
chine tools, was crippled. Through the
STUBBORN battle the workmen held out
for fair wages and lost; but from that
battle grew the stauncn body of unicn-
ISIS which today is recognized by the
foundry owner as q formidable cppo-
nent
The great shoemakecs' strike in 1870,
one of the biggest in the history of labor
troubles, had several hundred Worces-
ter shoemakers in sympathy with it. In
1886 the Knights of Labor branch of
shoe workers played it's death card in
conducting strike in this city. Since
then seVera! efforts have been made 20
organize knights of Labor assembly
IN this city, but memory of the rioting
and general misconduct Of the strike is
stun too deeply impressed in the minds
OF oelleVers in the principles of trades
unlonlsm 10 ever become affiliated with
the body Powderly made famous.
SINCE then Worcester's labor organ
lzatons have grown, until today, the
heaft or the commonwealth is the CEN
ter of the labor union strength. and
manufacturers are gradually beginning
10 discard the awe-stricken feeling of
pelng approached by a representative of
a labor organization, and it is not an
uncommon occurrence in this CITY for
an employer to meet the agent of or
ganlzed labor face to face in Quiet dis
cussion of trade conditions and wages.
Smaller New England cities have had
twice the number of serious conflicts of
capital against labor. Worcester has
the mold ON the record for unique bat
ties conducted by labor organizations.
For the first time in the history of la
Dor unionism loca! organizations were
called upon to settle the differences
which existed between labor unions and
FREQ A: klobedanz, pitcher for The
worcester baseball team, or drive the
big pitcher out of the business. The
NoSAAAAoN IliG plySlCIduS WHO CO.
posed organized labor by having a non
union building erected is in its.lf a
novel erSeStment, and enc calculated
10 place Worcester IN the lead when
queer" proceedings are Brought into
discussion.
1t has long been the belief among
Workingmen and followers of doings in
the world Of labor that Chicago was
the greatest of all strike centres, but
this, however, is not the case Accord
ing to statistics prepared by Carroll d
Wright, commissioners of9iiabor, sand
covering seven years, New York han
Z6l4 strikes, Brooklyn 81, making a
total for Greater New York of 1885
strikes, or an average of about 470
strikes every year. To compare with
this large number, Chicago was aff1ict-
ed during the same period of time with
52S strikes, or only IS year. Boston
followed with 257 strikes, and then came
Allegheny and Pittsburg where the
workmen in the steel mills have made
themselves famous the world over as
industrial fighters, with PSI strikes Fol-
lowing Pittsburg comes PHILADELPHIA
and other cities in the order named:
St. Louis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Lynn,
Fall River, San Francisco, Baltimore
and New Haven.
But if New York had the largest num-
Der of strikes in seven years, it can at
least boast that they were not as vto-
lent nor as extended as those of Chi
cago. For instance, in what is now
Greater New York the employers loss
from strikes during seven years was.
only little over 100000, while Chi
Cages loss reached the enormous sum
of $14,40O,OOO giving a graphic insight
into the comparative violence of the
strikers in the two localities.
In the same period the strikers them
selves lost in New York about SIS, 900 600,
while in Chicago the loss was about
$40, 100000, showing that the strikers of
the western city, to use slang phrase,
got more for their money" than the
New York strikers-that is, for every
dollar that the New York strikers spent
in loss of wages and in assistance given
by the labor unions to cases of suffering
they made the employers spend only e
cents.
On the other hand the strikers of Chi
cago for every dollar which they lost,
made the employers lose $1.40 that ID,
they beat them in the contest of dol
lars.
It may also be said in passing that
when Allegheny and Pittsburg have a
strike it is usually struggle to the
DEATH the losses being severe on both
sides, showing that fighting comes nat
ural to the blood of the Pennsylvania.
Although these two cities had only
PSI strikes in the seven years named,
the employees lost 100000 and the
employers lost nearly $2,60O,000.
Another curious fact which comes to
light as a result of the present appar-
emit epidemic of strikes, is what may
be called the strike cycle" A flnan-
cial panic is supposed to come once in
every 20 years. Statistics would indi-
cate that strike epidemic is due about
once in every II years.
In the middle COS, just following the
war, there were a large number of
strikes all over the United States.
About II years later some of the bit
railroad strikes of the world took
is still known in histories as the Strike
year of IL" Again, about II years
later. in the late SOS, came the famous
%" strikes beginning with the Chi
cago. Burlington and Quincy and
finally involving many other railroad
ines-a strike almost unequaled in
length and bitterness.
And now, if the 11-year cycle holds
good, it would seem that we are ap-
preaching another epidemic, and the
fever of the strike situation in New
York and Cleveland, to say nothing Of
rumors of disturbances elsewhere,
would indicate that the cycle theory
was not unfounded in fact.
Given any one particular strike, it is
easy to compute all the
chances in connection with it, how long
it will last, which side will win and in
a general way what the percentage of
loss will be to both strikers and to
employers.
In gathering his statistics for Is years
Mr. Wright has shown that the strik-
ers and employers are about equally
plucky as fighters; that is, that they
each stand about equal chance of win
ming a victory. Statistics were collect
ed showing how many strikes succeed
ed. how many failed and how many
partly succeeded. The results reveal
~ foot that A 40 ner cent of the