The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-23
TORYOFS2OO,0OOLABOR GRAFT
DruiND or STONECUTTERS FOR
!SJOOOO IN FINES.

$40 200 Collected Because Brooklyn Em-
plo,ers and Men Had Got Along Eight
Years without the Manhattan Union
and without a ments for
E>tortiOn Likely to s'0i!ow Revela-
lions Of Murphy Trial--Murphy Says a
Ring in the Union Divided the Graft
and sucnt lt-One Bought q Farm.
Involved in the prosecution OF Lawrence
NIrphv, formerly treasurer of the Journey
men Stonecutters' Union. who is now on
trial before Justice Newburger in General
Sessions on IA charge of embezzling 81, 900
of the unions funds is a story Of labor
"graCr" the revelation Of which has as
founded District Attorney Jerome. even
after his discovery of Sam Parks, and
which promises to lead to the indictment
of four prominent members Of the stone
cutters union for extortion.
len thousand dollars of the S12 900 which
Murphy is accused of embezzling from
his union was secured in lump sum
FROM the Stonecltters Association OF
Brooklyn an organic cation Of employ
ers the money being paid in the form
OF check, after demand for $4,000
had been made and refused. The only
excuse for the demand for this money
was that the employers had for years hired
non-union labor and that the fines imposed
upon them by the union for this imperti-
nenCe came to $4,000.
The check for $40, 900, which the four
representatives. of organized labor finally
agreed to compromise on, was given to
them by Andrew ID. Bairi, the well-known
Brooklyn contractor 1t was given only
when the union men served notice on the
employers that a strike they had just sue
cecded in calling among the Brooklyn
stonecutters would continue until the
fines" were paid.
BY an order of the court, District Attorney
Jerome has just succeeded in getting pos
session of the check from Mr. Baird, and
thorough investigation of the circum-
stances surrounding the transaction in
which ii was given is now being made.
This investigation is almost sure TO lead
to indictments. for Murphy, bitter at his
union for prosecuting him, has agreed to
go on the witness stand in his own defence
and tell, not only the methods by which
this check was obi aimed. but also how other
big sums of money were secured by a chosen
few in the union and squandered by them.
In all, it is underst God. he knows of about
$500, 600 obtained by the union leaders from
employers by constant threatening and
harassing.
There is to be no let up in the prosecu-
ton OF Murphy by the District Att orney
because of his willingness to reveal the
secrets Of his union. The defence on which
his lawyer, John F. Mcintyre. expects to
get him of is that as the money he is ac-
cused of embezzling was obtained by extor-
ton, the union never had q clear title to
it. II any crime was Committed In the
matter of this money. Gays Mr.. Mcintyre,
it was ths'.erixnvpscfsSHtor tion, and those
guilty OF that are those who demanded
and got the check from Andrew ID. Baird
Murphy was not one of these.
The questions asked Of talesmen called
on Tuesday to try Murphy indicate
revelations of corruption among the repre-
sent atives of the working stonecutters,
but the extent of this corruption did not
become known until yesterday, when Mr..
Mcintyre, in questioning William Scott,
talesman, put this query
Should it happen that body OF men. styling
themselves a secret committee. went to tho
boss builders Of Brooklyn and then asked
FIRST $50 600. next $4,000, then s25 900. then
3d. 900. and then offered to take SO, 900. and
AT the same time stating that if the latter
amount we're not paid all the stone cutters
would he ordered on a strike: that the sum
paid TO man OF the name OF Cauld. and
that this sum Of money was divided up as fol-
lows among the following men: S.. 900 to John
Black. 81 900 to Jack Wait. $500 to John Fitz-
patrick, 500 to Jack DAILY. and $500 to John
McC,lory, and to the trustees in sums OF Is
and $40 at n time; suppose that these facts
we're brought forth in this trial, would these
fActs prejudice you against the defendant?
Mr. Scott thought il would prejudice him
and he was excused. But the question
served to make public for the first time
the transaction referred to above. Last
night Mr. Baird admitted to a Sun
reporter that such demand had been
made on him and his associates among
the BROOKLYN builders and that the check
for $4,000 had been paid as result The
story Of the payment Of this money has
loen we'll known among Brooklyn builders
for some time, but has never been made
public before. This il the story OF the
transaction as told to q Sun reporter yes
teulay
For over eight years and up to March.
1902, the boss stonecutters in Brooklyn Sue
cen5"d in getting along very well with the
men they employed by keeping them in
union among themselves and keeping them
ont Of the lourncymen Stonecutters' Union,
which has headquarters in Manhattan.
Regretted attempts on the part Of the Man
htt"u union TO force the Brooklyn men to
Join them failed. principally because the
hookjyn men were we'll peid; and as there
We're only $50 of them in the borough, it
vi easy to keep them together, These $50
Non W"rc divided into three classes, the
FIRST class getting $3.50 day. the second
81 and the third $3.50. The men in the big
union were not doing as well as this at the
'rrr, Int they afterward adopted the same
scale
The Brooklyn stonecutters were perse-
rl''i by the delegates from the big union
and were called scabs by other organized
ahorlng men. Despite all this, they were
We'll content until March, 1902, when by
som" induccmont that does not appear,
they we're captured by the Journeymen
S'on"outtcrs' Union, The very next day
after they Joined. these men. who had
w"rN"d steadily for the best pay given to
lhclI class of aECr in the country, were