The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-04
WATER STRIKE FEARED
SERIES OF CONVENTIONS CAUSES
DINING ROOM MEN TO BE-
COME RESTLESS
HIGHER WAGES ASKED FOR
Hotel and Restaurant Proprietors
Are at Partial Disadvantage,
and Some Concessions
Have Been Made.

Whatever question there may have been
as to its benefits to others, the present
convention season has been generally re-
garded as a harvest, pure and simple.
to the hotelkeepers and proprietors Of
restaurants. But the hotel man finds
| that even a rush of business has it's at
tendant disadvantages, and beside the
hopeless struggle to accommodate many
times the number of guests that his
house will possibly hold. and to give each
individual the best there is in the house,
he has other troubles Of which the gen.
eral public know nothing but which If
continued for any great length of time
would certainly drive him hopelessly in
sane.
The walters of the city, or portion Of
them at least, have taken advantage
of the present unusual press of business
to force upon their employers certain
concessions in the matter of wages and
privileges, and the employers finding
themselves helpless to make any resist
ence, under the existing conditions, ap-
parently have no course but to submit.
The movement is by no means general,
owing to the fact that the walters them
selves are of three different classes,
white men and girls, and colored men,
and also to different conditions pertain
ing to their different places of employ
ment. Therefore whatever action has
been taken or is contemplated has ap-
piled separately to certain hotels or GER
tain restaurants. Then too, some Of
the employers, anticipating trouble, fore
stalled it by adjusting matters with their
help in advance.
The white men walters recently organ
lied and adopted a scale of wages. This
scale. some of the hotels and restaurants
which employ that class of walters were
already paying, except as regards certain
kinds of service In which a Slight ad-
do IN ad-
justment without trouble will probably
be reached, but some of the restaurants
and smaller hotels where white men are
employed fear that there may be a strike.
For some time past there have been
white men in the dining room at the
Merchants, and yesterday the union scale
was presented to Manager Kfbbe for his
approval. Last night he had not vet
acted upon it, but he stated that the
prices were about the same as the hotel
had been paying, except for an @ivance
for service at banquets. Further than
that he declined to make any statement,
At the Clarendon, Mr.. Foley stated that
he had heard some talk of an organiza-
tion among the men walters, but had not
yet heard from them as to new scale
of wages. He also employed some girls,
he said but as far as he knew there
no dissatisfaction among them.
White men are also employed at the
Metropolitan hotel, and it is understood
that the union scale will be presented to
Col. Barker for his consideration.
At the Windsor girls are employed in
the main dining room, and men in the
cafe, where the number OF walters is
comparatively small. Some time ago
Col. Monfort took up the convention
question with his employees and adjusted
the matter of wages.
Many of the larger restaurants en-
ploy union men and have already agreed
to the scale, and some of the others have
consented to advance the wages Of their
help during the rush.