Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1901-07-26

From Binghamton, N. Y, Independ-
.ent. Last week Wednesday sixty-five
girls working at the Trust Cigar fac
tory struck for an increase. On Sat
urday about 300 more were locked out
of the same factory. 1t is now more
than a week since the strike started
and not a mention of the matter has
appeared in the daily papers. Brief re-
ports have appeared in few papers
outside, and the silence OF the home
papers is causing much comment, and
a great deal of adverse criticism.
The American Tobacco company,
commonly known as the Tobacco trust.
after having secured practical mon
'opoly of the chewing and smoking
tobacco business, has now turned its
attention to the cigar making branch.
and an attempt Is being made to con-
troll this also. AS Binghamton is next
to New York as a cigar center the
trust decided to open a factory here.
Barlow, Rogers & Co., sold out their
large factory to the Trust about two
months ago. When the change was
made Mr.. Barlow assured the en-
ployes that no change would be made
in wages and that it would be good
thing for the men and women work.
ing. A superintendent from Kingston,
where the trust has large factory,
was put in charge, and several foremen
from the same place installed.
Very soon a change was made in
the system. Girls were paid the
amount they had averaged under the
old system while they were learning
the new and then their pay was by the
hundred. Rolling machines were part
of the new method. What are known
as bunch makers were paid seven and
one-half cents hundred, the same
price that was paid by Barlow. But
while before they could make from
1000 to 1900 punches day, under the
trust system they could make but 700
or 800. Rollers were paid twenty-sev-
en- and one-half cents per hundred. or
the same as before, but instead OF
being able to make 700 or 800 a day
they could make only 300 or 400.
The effect of the change was to re-
duce wages nearly one-half. and In
stoad of making from $1.75 to 1925 a
day, the girls could make only seven
ty-five cents to SLIPS. After working
from two to five weeks under the new
system the girls were convinced that
they could not make enough to sup
port themselves decently, and when
their request for higher price was
refused, they struck. About 300 en-
ployes were still working on the old
work, but as they understood that it
was but a question of few weeks
when they would have to do the work
under the new system they agreed to
help the strikers.
In addition to the increased amount
OF work they are compelled to do, the
strikers complain about the way they
are given tobacco. Out of each pad
they are required to get. 100 cigars
They say that the pads have been
made SO small that they can get but
about eighty, and as they are locked
for all they use over at the rate of 30
cents pad, this still further reduces
their wages. Another thing they COM
plain of is the practice of taking out
of each hundred from to II cigars
as defective, for which they get no
pay. These cigars they say are put up
in hundred packages and sent to the
packing room.
The work that the. trust wants is
practically. hand made cigars. At the
prices paid the cigarmakers would get
$3.50 per thousand for doing the work.
The same work at the union scale
would come to $3.50 a thousand. The
trust claims that the same work Is be-
ing done at Kingston for less than the
price offered here, and that the girls
are making big wages. Those who
know the conditions at Kingston
know that the wages there are very
low, and that the girls make barely
enough to pay expenses A few speedy
operators may by working long hours
get what would seem to them to be
fair pay. but on the average the pay
is not what girls should have in Or
der to live respectfully