Evening star., 1900-10-10
CHICAGO PLUMBERS
Interesting Testimony Before the
Industrial Commission.
ALLEGED COLLUSION OF BIDDERS
How the Cost of Work, it is
Charged, is Advanced.
BUILDING TRADES LOCKOUT

The industrial commission today listened
to an interesting relation Of the conditions
attending the building trades lockout in
Chicago, which was inaugurated February
4 last. Mr.. John s. Kelly, president Of the
| United Association of Journeymen Plumb
ers and Gasfitters of Chicago, was the wit
ness before the commission. and repre-
sented the side Of the workmen. He
claimed that the association of master
plumbers. who do from 65 to TOPPER cent of
the plumbing work Of Chicago, forms a
| trust. He said 1t was because the plumbers
are resisting the pretensions of this trust
arrangement that the lockout Is being pro-
1onged. Mr.. Kelly also said that since
| February work Of building had been done
| in Chicago to the extent Of $1,0O0,00O or
81, 100000. but that had there been no
strike he was satisfied that S10,OOO.OOO Of
additional buildings would have been put
up.
COlIusiOn In Making Bids.
The witness said that the master plumb
ers association of Chicago had an agree
ment with their workmen forming the
United Association Of Journeymen Plumb
ers and Gasfitters, whereby the latter
would work for no one not MEMBER OF
their employers association. The employ
ers then had practice of combining in a
peculiar way all work they secured. If
piece of work they would do SO, and in
stead of submitting their bids at once to
the contractor they would meet together,
and in the presence of one another their
bids would be opened. Then they would
award the contract to the lowest bidder,
and the lowest bidder would add to his bid
2 per cent Of its amount for each OF the
bidders. If there were ten bidders that
would result in adding % per cent to be
divided among the unsuccessful men. Each
bidder would then increase his bid an equal
amount and sumbit it to the contractor.
This had been shown, he said. to nave
been done in five cases of men who were
dismissed from the Association Of Master
Plumbers because they had refused to
finally pay over the per cent TO 5sn eacn ana ot
the association Of which the witness was
the president was called on to forbid its
men from working for the dismissed MEM
ber of the Association of Master Plumbers.
He said that he had no doubt this practice
is being carried out today not only In Chi
cago, but all over the country, Chiefly In
the west.
"Sandbagging the Public"
When asked if people who employ the
master plumbers did not understand that
this practice was going on. he said he
thought it was very hard to convince the
public of anything until 1t had been robbed
He regarded this practice as similar to
sandbagging the public and as being trust
in It's practical operation. He also said the
association of master plumbers had sue
ceeded in Chicago and in most all large
cities in making contracts with dealers in
plumbers supplies to sell to no one but its
members, SO that although he was himself
a plumber he could not get plumbing sup
plies to use If he should desire to put them
in house owned by himself without per-
mission of the association of master plumb
ers. In order to discourage other men from
joining their association the master plumb
ers make the initiation fee very high, 1t
being high as $3.50 in Sioux Falls and 800
in Chicago.
Lockout Gradually Diminishing.
He said he thought the lockout was grad
ually dying out in Chicago. While the lock-
out is now on many Of the members Of his
association are at work, the master plum
bers doing work in the names OF owners of
buildings while publicly declaring that they
are locking out the men and shutting down
their work.
The witness told of wethods practiced by
master plumbers. He said they charge 81
a day for the time of an apprentice they
send out to do work, while they pay the ap-
prentice but Sc a week. Much Of the jokes
that had been made at the expense of
plumbers, and most Of the unsatisfactory
Of sending apprentices to do the work that
should be done properly by journeymen
plumbers.
Favored Compulsory Arbitration.
He was in favor of compulsory arbitration
as means Of settling labor troubles. There
are. he said. 10.050 to 10,075 plumbers In his
association in the United States and Can
ada, being thirty per cent of all the plumb
ers in the United States. At the present
time 290 plumbers are at work in Chicago