The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-15
UNION PAINTERS KICK
WANT MEN AT WORK on COURT
HOUSE DISCHARGED
PROTEST TO COMMISSIONERS
APPEALED FOR .sTAxPAYERs AND
SKILLED LABOR"

Union Committee and Contractor
Taylor Appeared Before the Board.
Mr.. Taylor Proved That He Is Pay
ing From 20 Cents to 10 Cents n
Day More Than the Union Scale.
A Majority of HIS Painters Are
Union Men, but He Never Inquired
Whether They Were Taxpayers.
Commissioners Refused to Inter-
fere With MIR. TnyIOr's Employees.
An effort to have Contractor William
Taylor discharge the men now engaged
in painting the interior of the Court
House and replace them with others
more acceptable to the local union of
painters and decorators was made at
yesterdays meeting of the Board of
County Commissioners.
Several days ago a committee of the
union, consisting of President E. D.
Alexander, Treasurer P. H. Miller and
G. o. Smith, addressed a letter to the
commissioners, requesting the privi-
lege of making an appearance and a
2 kick. Permission was granted, and
President Alexander, with one other
member of the committee, appeared.
The hearing was conducted by the
commissioners behind closed doors, the
clerk and county attorney, Mr.. Tay-
Tor and the two members of the COM
mittee being, besides the commission
ers, the only ones allowed to be pres
ent. The written protest that had
reached the board was to the follow
ing effect:
The Unions Protest.
I'm view of the fact that the Court
House is being painted by one William
Taylor, contractor, having hired all
non-taxpayers and unskilled labor
upon said work, we, as a committee of
three, having been appointed by local
union, No. 80, B. of p, D. and P. of A,
do hereby pray for an interview with
your honorable body at the most early
date, to set forth and explain facts
why taxpayers and skilled labor should
have preference over non-taXpayers
and unskilled labor
Mr.. Taylor began with an offer
to show that he was paying
every man employed on the painting
than the scale demanded by the union.
Knew what He Was Doing.
And know what I'm doing" said
Mr.. Taylor; II pay the extra price to
get the pick of the bunch. The men
working on the contract are the best
in town." He called out the names of
his workmen in turn and the COM
mittee had to acknowledge their skill
could not be discounted.
Mr.. Taylor said a majority of his
men were union men, and that he had
never refused employment to anyone
on that account.
There are some members of the
union l won't employ" he said, "but
not because of their connection with
the union. I won't employ them be-
cause they can't be trusted inside a
house, having fondness for drinking
up whisky and breaking into wine Gel
lars that interferes with work Also
1t makes them unpopular with the man
who owns the house."
Didn't Inquire About Their Taxes,
Mr.. Taylor said he never inquired
whether the applicant for a job was
taxpayer or not, if he was painter
and, indeed. didn't feel that this was
any of his business. The chair
man of the committee admitted
he had been in town less than three
years and Mr.. Taylor offered to show
that some of the men on the work had
been here for fifteen years-some their
entire lives.
During all this the commissioners
had been struggling to see what they
had to do with it, but they never had
succeeded. One of them inter-
posed to say the commissioners could
not interfere, as Mr. Taylor had a
contract to do the work and the right,
so long as it came up to specifica-
tons, to do it as he pleased. On this
showing the incident ended