The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-09-11

+ they will be by the time the cables are
ready to be made fast to them.
! How serious is the difficulty raised by
, the injunction proceedings remains to
! be seen. A temporary injunction was
! applied for in the name OF julius Mey-
ers, a citizen, to restrain the bridge
commissioners from letting the con-
, tracts for the steel approaches to the
bridge on both sides of the river. The
| chief grounds on which the injunction
was asked We're, first, that the labor
| law which must be inserted in and
made part of the contract is uncon-
stitutional and, second, that the re-
| quirements that the steel shall be acid
steel practically gives the contract In
| advance to one company, the Carbon
I Steel company of Pennsylvania, which
is the only company equipped to pro-
/ duce that kind of steel. The temporar
injunction was granted an tide argu-
ment on the application to have the
temporary injunction mae pdermanent
was heard on Tuesday last by Justice
Gildersleeve who took the papers in
the case and will probably render de-
cision some time during the present
week.
The labor law which it is argued is
| unconstitutional is the act which it Is
provided must be inserted in and made
a part Of all contracts for municipal
| labor. It provides that eight hours
shall constitute days labor and that
the pay shall be at the prevailing rate
of wages in the class Of work involved.
! That members of the bridge commits
sion are awaiting with some anxiety
Justice Gildersleeve's decision on this
and other points involved in the In
junction proceedings is evident from
their comments on the situation. Here
tofore they have successfully met In
junction proceedings of this nature
The Carnegie Steel company, for in
stance, asked for an injunctSn to pre-
vent the awarding of certain contracts
basing its application on one Of the
/, very points now before Justice Giledr-
sleeve for declsion-the point that the
specification for acid steel takes away
the element of competition, for the rea-
son that only one concern makes acid
steel On this point the Carnegie peo-
pie were beaten. 1t was shown that if
only one concern actually did make acid
steel there was no reason why all the
concerns in the country should not
make ii. All that it involves is a
change in the lining of the furnaces.
Furthermore, it was shown that the
reasons for demanding acid steel were
very sound. Acid steel can only be
made from the very best quality of pig
iron. Scraps cannot be used unless 1t
be the scraps Of the new pig iron it.
self. In the basic steel the process per-
mits the use of scrap iron of all sorts,
with the result that an inferior quality
of steel may be prouced. One Of the
members of the bridge commissioners
said yesterday that the commissioners
had been informed by an expert that
there was in existence a certain rail-
way bridge on an important line of
road of which one of the spans was al
ready in a very unsatisfactory condi-
ton, although the bridge was compare
lively new, because it was made of ba-
sic steel into the composition of which
an inferior quality Of iron obviously
had entered. Furthermore, the bridge
commission submitted the matter to the
firm of Stowell & Cunningham of Troy.
who are counted among the first ex-
perts in bridges and bridge material in
this country This firm advised the
commission by all means to insist on
the acid steel
So the Carnegie company was beaten
on the acid steel question In It's appli-
cation for an injunction and the mem
bors of the commission do not fear the
60
AZ that point Is concerned The ques-
ton of the constitutionality of the law
governing municipal labor Is another
matter There are lawyers entirely
unconnected with the case who express
the opinion that there Is so much ques-
ton as to the constitutionality of the
law that Judge would be justified in
granting a permanent injunction. This
might put back the date of the compile
ton Of the bridge and it's being thrown
open TO the public by perhaps a full
year, or maybe even longer. The ques-
ton would have to be threshed ousmin
the courts all the way up to the court of
appeals, and 1t does not require a very
vivid imagination to picture the posi-
bilities of delay which that involves.
There Is suspicion among those in
terested in the early completion of the
bridge that this injunction movement
In reality has no other object than the
mere creation of delay.
Il am not prepared as yet" said
member of the commission yesterday.
'to commit myself to the fat-footed
statement that the action for an injunc-
ton 10 backed from quarters which
would benefit If the date of the bridges
completion were indefinitely postponed
1T Is not very hard. however, to find
parties to whom such delay would be a
great benefit ! could name one con-
Germ that might very we'll afford to put
UP one hundred thousand dollars a
year to delay the completion of the
bridge. 7 do not say that that concern
is back of these injunction proceedings,
for | have no proof Of It, but it would
he pretty sharp business practice in
them to throw all the obstacles in the
way of the completion of the bridge
that they could Furthermore a re-
mark was made to me some time ago to
which I am inclined to give rather
more significance now than I did when
| heard 1t. / was asked when I thought
the bridge would be completed, and I
mentioned a guess at about the date
that seemed then reasonable. Don't be
SNn