The times., 1899-08-02
THE CONTRACTORS HEARD.
az
The Street sweepers Tell Their
Side of the SquabAe.
The Hours for Doing Certain Kind of
Work the Chief Cause of Trouble
An Enquiry ns to the Employers
System of Store Orders-The In
vestigntion to Continue Today.

The street cleaning imbroglio resulting
from the charges which Warner Stutler,
Superintendent of Street Cleaning, has
made against Daggett & Dugan, the Dis
trict hand-cleaning contractors. resulted
in long hearing before the Commission
ers yesterday. The meeting was well at
tended and owing to the exhaustive man
ner in which the Commissioners desired
both sides OF the question presented an
II O'Clock this morning, when the confer
ence will be resumed.
Mr.. Daggett began with an explanation
concerning the delay experienced In secur-
ing bar carriers from the manufac-
turers. He said he was now ten bag
carriers short. Judge Wilson then laid
before the Commissioners, as an evil
dence Of good faith, the correspondence
and kilograms which passed between Dag
gett & Dugan and the various manufac-
turers from whom they endeavored to OBJ
tain the bag carriers. He then submitted
a number Of questions TO Contractor Dag
gett, which the latter answered, for the
purpose OF better presenting the side of
the contractors TO the Commissioners.
How many men do you think necessary
to sweep the 1,21s,456 square yards under
your contract" asked Judge Wilson.
Il think 140 men all that are necessary"
replied Contractor Daggett Il have 155 men
at work. not because think they are nee
essary, but because the District thinks we
should have more than 140 men. A man
can average about $500 square yards a
day on some streets and from Il, 600 to H.,
600 on other thoroughfares."
In reply 10 q question by Judge Wilson
o. -h.r ha r,ri- hat,u
the contractors and the District was TO be
found Mr.. Daggett said: The trouble is
over paragraph five of the specifications
which provides sweeping shall be done in
the morning. and that afterward the work.
men should do what is known as patrol
ling the streets. Superintendent Stutler
claimed, under that paragraph, that he had
the right TO fix the hour when sweeping
should cease. We denied that, and he con-
cluded that he did not have such powers.
Then he said that we should be required to
curb to curb. We think we should not be
required TO sweep that portion which is
clean That is the real difference. We do
not see why or how we should be required
to sweep spots in the streets which are al
ready clean. That would be physical i'm
possibility. / claim that we have the right
to allow our men to sweep until u, and
deny that the superintendent has the
right to require the men to begin TO patrol
at 10 o'clock.
Judge Wilson enquired what advantage
would result from having the sweepers
brush the clean spots, and Mr.. Daggett re-
piled that there would be no advantage.
In reply to a question relative TO the COM
plant that the men had not been paid, Mr..
Dagget said:
"The contract says that the men shall
be paid in cash, but there is nothing III
the contract that states when they shall
be paid Under our old contract We paid
our men weekly. Mr.. Dugan thought that
ii was a hardship to be forced to pay his
men weekly when the District only pays
us monthly, and since our new contract
was signed we have determined to pay our
men twice month. Prior TO their engage
ment all our men understood this arrange
ment On July "A, Mr.. Dugan asked Mr.
| Stutler for our vouchers, and he said tina,
| Mr. Ross said that we would not be paid
| Just then. We were not paid, and, con-
sequently. did not pay our men. When
our men struck on July q, We paid them
the same day, and they returned TO work
| The first thIrty-fOur men TO strike were
former District employees. | mention this
as a strange coincidence"
Contractor Daggett made a statement rel
ative 10 the grocery store which is CON
| Quoted by the contractors saying that the
| workmen employed by them are not forced
TO purchase at the establishment They art
| given orders on the store. he said, but tn,
| orders are not deducted from the men
| wages. They are paid in full in cash. h,
| said, and then they pay their bills at tn,
| store