The Washington times., 1902-01-01
TOOK A HALF
DAY ANYWAY.
War Department Bricklay.
erS in Rebellion.
STRIKE At THE PRINTING OFFICE.
Refused to Return to Work After
the Noon Recess Because They
Claimed Right to the Same HOli-
day Granted in Other Depart
mentS.

| The War Department has open rebellion
to contend with in one of its divisions,
and there are serious mutterings and
signs OF discomfort in other divisions.
All this results frosn the failure of the
War department to take the half holiday
as usual before New Year Day.
The fifty-fve bricklayers employed on
| the new Government Printing Office, which
! is being constructed under the supervision
of the War Department, furnish the re-
bellion, having taken their half holiday
| anyway, while the clerks OF. the depart
ment are the ones who threaten to be-
come insurgents.
| How II Happened.
This is the way ii happened that the
| War Department didn't take half day
| off:
The President several days ago in
formed the departmental heads that
half holiday would be given the employees
in the Government departments, and, act
ing upon the authority of the Executive,
the Treasury Department and the Navy
Department closed at noon yesterday.
the holiday.
Clerks Couldn't Be Spared.
His reason for doing so was that the
bureau chiefs had been complaining that
the work was behind because of the short
clerical force, and he did not see how any
of the clerks could be spared.
This is in conformity with the depart
tai bpr 4,
are always limited to these who can be
spared" The War Department officials
say that in this case none could be spared
owing to the pressure of work and the
limited clerical force.
WaIk-Out of BrickIayers.
The clerks have done nothing yet, but
the bricklayers at the stroke of IL yester-
day one man laid aside the habliments
of toll, and at 12:30 o'clock. when A. ].
NcGrath, the timekeeper, called the roll,
they not only refused to answer to their
names, but walked away from the scene
of their labors without stating any griey-
ance.
When out of the sight of their superiors
the jugglers of trowels and bricks began
were not entitled to a half holiday on the
day preceding New Year Day the same as
those employed in other departments of
the Government.
They had not worked Monday and had
worked only three full days since Decem-
ber a. but the knights of the trowel were
unwilling to resume their work in the
afternoon.
The carpenters, iron workers, stone set
tiers, and laborers employed on the Gov
ernment Printing Office builling resumed
work IN the afternoon. AbouL fifty of the
laborers whose duty il is to wait OF the
bricklayers had of necessity TO suspend
operations.
Why They Struck.
To Times reporter one of the striking
bricklayers said:
I'VE refused 10 work simply hcca i,e we
felt We were as much entitled to i half
holiday on the day preceding Ne~ Wear
Day as the employees of the other Gov
ernment departments. Again we signed
pay vouchers for the two days we laid oil
for President McKinley's funeral, and
never received any pay for the two & ys."
Their Secondary Grievance.
In regard to their not being paid for
the two days they laid off for President
McKinley's funeral, when they had signed
vouchers for it, Mark Wil.narth, assistant
engineer of the construction work on the
building, said:
AT the time Captain SeweIl Chief En-
ginner. in charge of the construction of
the Government Printing Office, referred
the matter to Mr.. Tracewell. the Comp
troller of the Treasury, and he notified
us that the men could not ip maid for I ne
time. Further, they did not sign any
vouchers for pay for those two days
AS the men employed on the construc-
tion work did not work the day before
and the day after Christmas Day they
will not receive any pay for Christmas
Day. and the same deduction will in all
probability be made for New Year Day
on account Of their not working full
day today